Hi all,

I drive a 04 Octavia VRS.

Today, its been giving me trouble.

It is very stiff going into 4th gear and although the car will drive fine when its in 4th, the gear lever itself isnt actually fully in 4th.

After this, I was reversing and lever would not come out of reverse...

Any advice would be appreciated as this is doing my head in......

Anybody???

maybe the linkage needs setting up, theres a guide on youtube for setting VAG gear linkage cables up.

1st port of call would be to check that nothing is jamming/blocking the shift lever on top of the gearbox. Simple to visually check, and is normally caused by the SAI pipe coming free and getting in the way.

After that you'd try adjusting the shift cables. Again very easy, and you don't need any tools. Use google for a how to guide if you need one.

If that doesn't help then it starts getting more serious. Does pumping the clutch help? As the slave cylinders can develop leaky internal seals. Also check the reservoir level to make sure you don't have a leak.

Beyond that it's probably something wrong in the gearbox, like a shift fork or something. Try replacing the gearbox fluid with genuine VAG stuff and see if it helps.

If it's none of the above, try living with it, as you'll probably end up needing a replacement box (a second hand box will be cheaper than getting your one rebuilt).

Cheers lads