Please can someone help?? I bought a 2015 Citigo last October, 17,000 miles, from a VW approved garage.  I couldn't get it into reverse gear, from cold, intermittently. It went into the garage, but they only had it that day and probably tested warm, came back as ok at time of test.  It got worse until I couldn't get other gears after reverse gear.  It went in last month and they said it was clutch drag and put a new clutch in.  Days after back, I struggled with reverse again.  Sometimes it goes in perfectly, other times, it feels "knotchy" or gratey or just won't go in and takes 3 attempts.  With the old clutch, it was always from cold, just setting off.  Since the new clutch, it sets off ok everytime, but I might drive 5 minutes, park and reverse and get the problem.  Also, there is a rough noise, that stops when the clutch is pressed in. My local garage said it sounded louder than it should be for a car that's now done 18,000 miles and there must still be a problem if reverse is still a problem.  We can't remember noticing this noise before.  Anyone know what's happening?? 

Assuming they replaced the whole clutch assembly, and ensured the clutch hydraulics were OK, a 'rough noise' in neutral with the clutch engaged may well point to the gearbox , particularly a bearing on a shaft. You must go back to the dealer, and Skoda UK, and if they don't agree to fix it, you'll need to get a written report from a gearbox/drivetrain specialist and start talking about legal action....

Agree, totally unacceptable.

 

The box should be smooth and work correctly every time for many more mile than yours has run.

Wife's Citigo is only 9K miles/4 years but is a great box BUT the clutch (release bearing?) is a bit of a noisy thing compared to any car I've owned, but gear change quality hot or sub zero is perfect, no glitches.

Move the problem up a gear so to speak.

Good luck with the dealers/organisations.

In need of advice please:

So, the new clutch sorted out the problems happening with getting into reverse, first, second and third gears.  Ater that, it was an intermittent problem with reverse gear, sometimes ok, but sometimes refusing totally, or going in but feeling notchy or crunchy.

The car's just back from the garage and the gear selector tower was replaced.

It's still got the same reverse gear problem.

Garage guy says they've tried everything VW tells them to do to sort this particular problem. The guy tells me the car gears have NEVER played up for them, they have just sought to try things to fix it.

Passed the buck back to me, saying “This isn't the car for you, is it, Miss.....” jokingly but annoyingly.

As two (male) friends have experienced the same problem, one filmed it on his phone before the new clutch was in, it's not just me. Keep having to answer the same questions: “yes I'm putting the clutch pedal right to the floor, yes it's stationary when I try and yes I wait between changing gears!!!”

help!

 

forgot to say, they say the idling noise that stops when the clutch is engaged, is normal.

Garages often make out that it is somehow just down to the driver when there is a problem - it usually means they don't really know what to do.

 

The 'box on these (at least recent ones) is genuinely not a bad one for a small, city car. I have however had many gearboxes that were far slicker, and even more that were rubbish (by poor design or poor components)! Mine always selects reverse cleanly, unless I hurry to get into reverse when coming to a halt, which clearly is not the issue here.  Gear "grating" is often down to clutches not 100% disengaging, which causes the gearbox shafts to not stop spinning. This is usually worse on reverse because it has no synchromesh, but is 'masked' a bit on the forward gears....

 

I have also had cars where selecting certain gears was hard owing to badly adjusted or slack/worn linkages between the shift lever and the gearbox, but I admit haven't looked at my  Citigo to see exactly how it connects up. Sounds like the part your garage replaced was a "let's make a guess and try something" approach to sorting out those linkages. Did they check the gearbox oil, for level, cleanliness (no metal dust in it) and quality? Is it possible a previous owner put the wrong oil in? (I suspect not as the car is practically new, mileage-wise, and gearboxes rarely need attention!).

I'd seek a second opinion....

 

Also, normally when the clutch is engaged you get a slight noise from the shafts in the gearbox - this should stop when you disengage the clutch (ie press the pedal) - all manual cars do this but some have better sound insulation than others! If it is very noisy, then there may be a worn bearing or some other damage.

 

Edited 29 August, 20205 yr by freemansteve

other people have tried driving it and noticed that when they move the gear stick into reverse, it seems like there is a notch to get around.  Most of the time the stick goes into reverse effortlessly, but my struggle with reverse gear may be because there's this notch (??) that I don't get the gear stick to go around and so it sometimes refuses completely to go into reverse, feels like it's going around this notch or grates a bit.  is this even a gear box problem or is the notch somewhere else? is this a known Skoda Citigo thing?

 

Thanks

No this is not a known Citigo/Up/Mii thing as far I know, and from my tiny experience of driving only two examples, one mine (and a loan car I had), reverse  engages as smoothly as any other gear, or almost any other car.

 

TBH, I am assuming there is a genuine problem, but it is hard to speculate about the cause without trying it out... :(

 

I have learned that if someone tells me something isn't working right, then they are almost always right!

 

There are, I suggest (maybe the forum has other ideas?), only three possible things that will make a normally decent, gear change feel notchy, and we are talking about a static gear change here. One, there is some clutch drag, which is usually most noticeable with selecting reverse (no synchromesh); two, the linkages to the gearbox are misaligned, or there is slack in the control rods in the gearbox; three, there is a damaged gear or a worn bearing in the gearbox.

 

I'd certainly try another garage or dealership that might possibly be less dismissive or, dare I say, less misogynist.....

Edited 5 September, 20205 yr by freemansteve

Begs the question .....how do you and others ,select reverse gear??

 

Handbook says " Stop the vehicle.Fully depress clutch pedal.Move shift lever to neutral and WAIT A SHORT WHILE.Push down then on the shift lever,then push fully over to the right,and then back ,to reverse position" ........

When I was new to the car,the gear lever would baulk (block) momentarily if the pause was not observed. Now I know the car ,gear change and selection is like a knife through butter....

That'd be the same in most  cars, if you'd been moving, or otherwise had spun up the gearbox.  If you start from 'engine on', you have to disengage the clutch (at least on my model) so nothing in the box is spinning, and then if you immediately engage reverse, and it's still notchy, I'd then think there was a fault.

I'll try anything, but my hand book doesn't mention pausing.  Mine's a 15 reg, is yours?

 

I always go into neutral,  press down, move right and into reverse.  A friend suggested only pressing down when above reverse and then back,  didn't work,  the manual says to do it as I normally do.