Hi all,

 

Was out driving on Saturday near the Trafford Centre in Manchester when for some unknown the reason the car stopped quite rapidly by it's self. At first I thought it was the brakes jammed on hard or something or the clutch had gone however there is some roll back and forward but very limited and there is plenty of power when trying to go forward.

 

The recovery guy though it may be the drive shaft or cv boots and a mate thought it may be the diff lock but I don't think the Roomster has one of those.

 

Any one got some concrete idea's as to the problem.  Both my parents had to have the cv boots on both Passats changed and both cars are newer than mine and my brothers A3 suffered a similar issue and several other drivers with Skodas, mainly a 2011 superb and 2 brand new Octavia's in my dad's taxi company all suffered with the same issue within a year.

 

I'm suspecting faulty cv boots based on that but then the wheels would still turn.

Edited 9 June, 201412 yr by Jaym105

had a gearbox select 1st and 3rd many years ago due to a thrust washer breaking up 70mph on the m4 near newbury, left about 100 yards of skids mark up the hard should and a few in my underwear

 

locked the gearbox solid and the rear axle (old rear wheel drive datson)

 

yours a manual or DSG?

 

a CV boot or joint would be noisy or worst case loss of drive, clutch failure would give loss of drive or not able to engage a gear, neither I suspect would not give the rocking you talk of, that would seem to suggest something locking the drive train solid

 

wheel bearing seized, brake locked, gearbox locked would give the symptoms you describe

 

I assume you left some skid marks on the road? did you see if they were from front or rear wheels? as it would give you  clue as to which axle to investigate

 

do you have drum brakes on the rear? if so I think on older car if the return springs failed on drum brakes they can lock, not common and haven't heard of any recently

 

what did you do immediately before the incident, touch the brakes? change gear? nothing?

Edited 9 June, 201412 yr by bluecar1

Some random thoughts!

 

If the car stopped in a straight line then it can't be CV or driveshaft related - VERY unlikely that both would fail at the same time and 1 failing in a mode that locks the wheel would rip the steering wheel out of your hands.

 

To get a diagnosis you really need to work out what you were doing at the time: just cruising along in a straight line? braking? accelerating? changing gear? straight line? cornering? was there any accompanying mechanical noise?

 

Also not clear from your post whether the wheels can turn again after the incident.

 

If yes then coupled with your comment "I thought it was the brakes jammed on hard" - I would say it is a braking problem possibly ABS related; maybe the emergency brake assist system?  did your hazard flashers switch themselves on?  Have you had a diagnostic check done?

 

Anything gearbox or diff related would have locked the wheels solid - not like "I thought it was the brakes jammed on hard"

Hi,

 

I was driving in a straight line, braking from around 25mph and stopped the car. I tried to pull off again and as I got to about 10 miles an hour the car just came to a dead stop.

 

The gear box was confirmed as the source of the problem by my mechanic today. It's a manual 1.9 tdi. The wheels won't do a full revolution.

 

The gear box has seized up. The car has always had an issue with changing up or down to second since I bought it where it would grind and then when retried the gear changed and I always assumed it was me but I self taught how to drive a manual, learning the best way to regulate the clutch and accelerator,  (my instructor remarked how smooth and well timed the changes were I don't think it's me now)

When was the gearbox oil changed last? Mine did the same second gear crunching when I bought it, 5 yrs old and 50k - it needed a half second pause between the gears or it would grind. Don't know if the oil was dirty or had started breaking down, but a change of the gearbox oil - can't remember if a slightly heavier grade was used - but 2.5 yrs later and 105k on the clock, it hasn't crunched again.

I've seen a dual mass flywheel on a 1.9 go wrong and stop the car as you describe.

The mechanic confirmed that a locking pin in the diff had sheared off causing the diff to rub against the gearbox casing and making a hole about the size of a credit card and the oil drained away. He says the gear box can be rebuilt and with a new clutch will cost in the region of £1k.

 

I'm currently battling with Skoda for them to cover the repair as this is not a wear & tear issue. If anyone has experienced this please let me know. I understand it's not just the roomster gearbox.