Hi,

Any ideas why my Octavia mk1 gear stick has suddenly become stiff in neutral? (Very slow to centre itself below 3rd gear, whether engine running or not, whether hot or cold). Have had a similar problem in the past and had gearbox oil changed which seemed to cure it, but that was only about 10,000 miles ago. Surely it shouldn't need changing again? Will it do lasting damage if I continue to drive until my next scheduled service in about 4000 miles? No other symptoms/noises to report.

Would give the gearbox oil a change myself on the off chance that's the problem, but it looks a bit tricky for a technical idiot such as myself.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Benny.

Edited 8 January, 201214 yr by Benny the Ball

You need to have a look at gearstick linkage that sits on top of the gearbox. It may need to be reset or could be that something is obstructing it. There are how to guides on youtube.

You will probably find the pivots have seized, there are two plastic collars around the pivot on the shift tower. The tube these sit in corrodes and pinches the collars making it stiff. It will need the collar removing which normally break and cleaning out the tube with a thin wire brush on a drill and new collar put in with some grease.