Had this car just over a month a now mostly for motorway driving, but off the motorway and around town I'm struggling to get a smooth upshift from 1st, 2nd and into 3rd. The only way I can get a smooth change is to be very slow on bringing up the clutch and change up early around 2k, the clutch feels like it has a very long bite range and quite high up meaning I can't accelerate from standing quickly and lose so much time upshifting. 1st and 2nd seem very short gears too which makes forward progress difficult from standing up to around 30mph, once in 3rd it pull well it's just getting to 3rd I struggle with.

Another thing I've noticed is I can feel shudder/vibration through the clutch pedal when going through the bite point when pulling away.

I guess what I want to know is are these characteristics normal for this car? I've also been driving a 1.3 KA and it's much faster from standing to 30mph and upshifts faster and smoother making it easier to keep up around town and from standing.

how many miles on the car? and age of it?

do you get any judder in 5th then pulling up a slight incline?

You may still be getting used to it. You now drive a low revving very powerful car. I assure you it's much faster to 30mph when you get used to it than a 1.3ka. If you are moving off with too few revs you may feel some vibration through the clutch pedal. Experiment with your gearchange technique. You won't be the first to have been thrown by the fact you need to get used to the stark difference between a smaller higher revving petrol engined car and the now very powerful lower revving diesel engine. It means you must temporarily go back to basics with your gearchange technique to make sure you are doing it correctly. Remember...to change up, clutch down, off gas, then change gear. Next, a little gas as you lift the clutch searching for the biting point to take up the drive. Do it all very slowly a few times and you will find it falls into place easily and you will speed up very quickly with your technique. Sorry to sound as if I'm treating you as a bad driver, not my intention. You are not I am sure. But it does no harm to remember the basic technique. I had to show hundreds of customers over the years who came back complaining of jerky gearchange in their new diesel cars. Usually they had been driving a petrol car prior to making their new purchase and would find it very difficult to make the transition. Most do not of course, some find it easier than others. From your description of the problem that's all it is I'm sure. There are other things mechanically that can cause it such as a duff Dual Mass Flywheel. But normally they don't give trouble for years and not until high miles are covered.

I wouldn't describe the 1.9d as "very powerful" tbh, but it depends on what u are used to I suppose!

Sounds to me like the clutch is on the way out?

The car has done 45k and is a 57 plate Fabia 105 PD with no judder in 5th or in gear.

One thing I noticed earlier is some of the jolt/judder is coming from the throttle, as earlier I changed up slowly from 2nd to 3rd with the clutch all the way up, then I reapplied the throttle and there was a noticable jolt. It's very possible I need to adapt further to the car, however earlier I let someone else drive the car today who is a very experienced driver and they also got jerky upshifts from 1st to 3rd. I still think the KA is quicker to 30mph as it can hit 30mph in 1st with lots of revs plus is 300kg lighter, in the skoda I need to upshift to 2nd which still lacks torque, once in 3rd though it pulls well and from 30-50mph or 30-70mph is much faster. From 30mph and upwards I really like the car, it's just getting to 30mph I'm having trouble with and going around corners.

Edited 18 May, 201313 yr by BYF

Do you mean you brought the clutch up with no throttle being applied after you changed gear from 2nd to 3rd and then applied the throttle? If you do that on a diesel, you will get a resounding jolt especially with a DMF flywheel to amplify the effect. The Skoda should definitely be much much faster to 30mph than any of the KA's. While torque in not the only factor in getting off the line, you do have 240nm of it at 1800rpm that chucks it down the road quicker than you can blink. That's just 10nm less than the 180ps VRs. Depending what model KA we are talking about the 1.3 60ps version is just 99nm of torque at 2500rpm. They are pretty gutless, even the 72ps version (niece has one). I wonder if you have an egr/turbo problem. That can also produce jerky powerless driving. Can be lots of things though. Maybe a visit to the dealers is called for if you still find smoothness and power a problem. The 1.9pd engine is very trouble free usually, but problems occur if someone has used it for predominantly shorter trips throughout it's life. Egr and turbo get bunged up.

Do you mean you brought the clutch up with no throttle being applied after you changed gear from 2nd to 3rd and then applied the throttle? If you do that on a diesel, you will get a resounding jolt especially with a DMF flywheel to amplify the effect. The Skoda should definitely be much much faster to 30mph than any of the KA's. While torque in not the only factor in getting off the line, you do have 240nm of it at 1800rpm that chucks it down the road quicker than you can blink. That's just 10nm less than the 180ps VRs. Depending what model KA we are talking about the 1.3 60ps version is just 99nm of torque at 2500rpm. They are pretty gutless, even the 72ps version (niece has one). I wonder if you have an egr/turbo problem. That can also produce jerky powerless driving. Can be lots of things though. Maybe a visit to the dealers is called for if you still find smoothness and power a problem. The 1.9pd engine is very trouble free usually, but problems occur if someone has used it for predominantly shorter trips throughout it's life. Egr and turbo get bunged up.

You maybe onto something there, checking the cars history it's done very limited miles in the past 2-3 years and sat about, just goes to show cars with low miles aren't always great used buys. It also has multiple breaks in the wiring loom in the drivers door meaning the electric mirror on one side doesn't adjust and on the other the heating element doesn't work, been like this from day 1 and something I or the dealer didn't know when I bought it, thankfully they're sorting it under warranty, also the rear parking sensors are playing up now. So much for main dealers checking over cars when they part ex and sell them on as approved used cars.

Edited 19 May, 201313 yr by BYF

It could well be a sticky egr or one that's partially clogged. Could be sticky vanes on the turbo. You may find with regular use and some Millers fuel system cleaner in the fuel a couple of times it will cure itself. Best thing is not to spare the horses. Use plenty of revs and throttle to load the engine for a few trips and get it nice and hot first. Deliberately go on a longer trip or two to 'excercise' the engine. Low miles isn't great on diesels. But you will be covered under warranty if there is a fault I would think. Just make sure you tell your dealer about the problem so that even if they don't act right away, it will be logged on the system as a potential problem. At least the Skoda approved warranty is brilliant. I too bought second hand this time round. Got the petrol version of the estate car with the 1.6 16v tiptronic auto box. Goes nicely. It only had a genuine 10,000 on the clock in 3 years. Only got used 3 times a week and the rest of the time was in a heated garage. Lovely!