1.0 MPi difficult gear selection for first and reverse

[montecarlo]

I have a 2017 1.0 MPi Fabia and it’s a great little car, but, it can be very reluctant to go into first or reverse gear. It doesn’t make much difference if it’s hot or cold, and sometimes it goes into gear very easily, especially if the engine has just been started. If I go in and out of a couple of other gears I can get around green problem but this isn’t ideal in stop start traffic etc. Many thanks for any help

[nta16]

A quick thought, if it's a manual gearbox, is that the cables from lever to box might need sorting, videos and info around.

 

Also if the idle revs are too high perhaps, then of course there's clutch and other issues, operation of gear lever (particularly if not manual box), I  doubt it's the gearbox itself (unless DSG/auto perhaps) but if you put which gearbox it is or look for problems on that gearbox if required.  Does your model have anything like dual mass flywheel, dual clutch or other exotic stuff.

 

Also do a search as there might be the other issues around this covered in previous threads for Fabia Mk3 but I can't remember the details.

 

All being well someone else will be along with more relevant info and knows the models more but more information about your gearbox. clutch, transmission might be also useful to them.

 

Good luck.

 

[montecarlo]

Thanks Nigel

thats a good point, yes it is a manual gearbox, I didn’t realise they made automatics, I bet they’re interesting to drive. I did try searching on here before posting and found a couple of threads that hadn’t been answered. If it was the cables would it still be difficult without having the engine running because it’s easy to go through the gears with the engine switched off. The tick over isn’t high but I’m not sure if the flywheel is dual mass I’ve always thought they were reserved for diesels. By the way that looks like a very nice Estelle. Cheers Tony

[nta16]

Tony, I'm (almost) sure(?) there was something about this before, perhaps it wasn't in the Fabia Mk3 forum, when others see this thread they'll probably have chapter and verse on it.  In the meantime if you want to clarify more. 

 

5 or 6 speed manual?  Where is reverse position with the gearstick in relation to reverse?

 

Have you had the car from new?  How long  have you had this difficulty?  How often does it happen?  Does anyone else who drives the car report this issue?

 

It depends on what and how you like to drive if DSG autos might be interesting to you, I've never driven one other than a smart at the turn of the century.  If you've  a 6 speed manual the gearing is so low you might as well have an auto box I think, save all the VW computer programs pestering whilst you're supposed to be driving but they want to tell you how to drive, like a nervous and interfering passenger, well to me anyway. 🙂

 

With the engine running you have moving parts so things could become more awkward.

 

In the old days (when it was all fields around here) you'd check the box oil level and perhaps clutch operation or even gear lever rubber rubber grommet or anti-tizz springs cup but now there's so much more including all that's needed for the various computer programs.

 

I'm very unusual here, and other places, but particularly here because I'm not a VW fan (Golf Mk1 GTi being the exception) and find in my very limited experience of VW engines they sound badger's bottom rough and the manual Fabia 2015 5-speed gearbox and 2023 6-speed gearboxes to be a clunky feel of shift, decidedly family car, I don't rush a gear change and make sure the clutch pedal is fully depressed and not pressed or lifted too quickly and foot fully off accelerator pedal.  I have found reverse can take a little bit of rolling to get it on cog more than other cars I've driven but can't think of any issues getting 1st.

 

Thanks for the comment on the Skoda 130 Coupe, unfortunately the photo is from 1986/7, before becoming a VW brand and the Skoda Dealerships were small friendly backstreet garages and not the Velcro name badge places of today.

 

[nta16]

Tony, as the last time I put such a suggestion it caused some posters here some upset I'll put - this is what I might do if the car is mine and out of warranty and I thought it wasn't cable adjustment and if it's easy to get the gear lever cover off or out of the way.  As the gear lever mech tends to be VW fantastic plastic of some sort I would see what movements there are from going from neutral to 1st and neutral to reverse and I would treat these areas with a careful little spray of lubricant and work that in by constantly selecting those gears a good number of times.  If it worked I'd be happy, if it didn't I'd have wasted a bit of time, effort and spray.

 

You and others may not agree, want or bother with the idea and that's fine ,it's just what I might try as I loathe farting about with my own car and want a quick easy thing to try and I don't really fully trust most at Dealerships and garages.  The lubricant can be whatever is suitable or personal choice.  I'd avoid WD-40 Multi-Use as it's not a long lasting lubricant and would use GT85 (or a silicone spray I'd run out of GT85 by using it on stuff I do for neighbours).

 

https://gt85.co.uk/

 

Release the hounds. 😁 

[montecarlo]

Thanks for your suggestions Nigel, I have tried lubricating the linkages to no avail. In reply to your earlier questions it's a five speed with reverse next to fourth gear. I have tried a few things this week to see what makes the gear selections easier.

At the traffic lights I tend to keep the car in neutral and I select first just before setting off, if this is rushed the first gear is hard to select, but if the clutch is depressed in advance by a few seconds to allow the gears to slow down it is easier, to get around the problem another gear can be selected before first which makes this a lot easier. Third then first is better than second then first, presumably because both first and third are in the same direction for the gear lever, when selecting reverse this is made easier by selecting fourth gear beforehand, also same direction of travel. I think a different grade of gear oil would help but need to know which grade is best. When the engine isn't running all the gears select  easily.

[nta16]

Yes going in different gears before might help, making sure the revs are right down to idle especially for reverse, sometimes letting the car roll forward or back a very small amount can help for first.  Pushing the clutch down twice before selecting gear might help too, bit hit and miss if i's "off cog".

 

2 hours ago, montecarlo said:

I think a different grade of gear oil would help but need to know which grade is best. When the engine isn't running all the gears select  easily.

Probably not a different grade but wider grade and better quality oil might help when the gearbox is very cold or warm/hot - but these may be very marginal differences if your existing gear oil is at correct level and good condition.   Any change in gearbox oil you notice will be pure placebo, any mechanical engineer will tell you this and they are never wrong, as they will always tell you. 😄  They are why travelling Encyclopaedia salesmen went out of business, if you know the old joke.

 

Tony,  I change the gearbox oil on my wife's 2015 Fabia at 5 1/2 years old and 38k-miles and she said she did notice the difference and we've been together far too many decades for her to say anything just to please me.  If I was you I'd go for something very good like Millers EE Performance MTF 75W "Fully synthetic gear oil with ester technology".  It will protect more and for longer.  Look for it selling at lower price somewhere.  As the box appears to have a 1.1 litre refill you could either go for one 1-litre bottle as residue oil is always left in the box, or go for two 1-litre bottles and use some of the second botte (warmed in water or left out in the sun on a warm day on warm tarmac or concreate) as a  good rinse-flush after the last drops of existing oil has drained.  I found the gearbox overfilled I presumed from factory so if yours is the same with plenty left in a second bottle you could if you want to and wanted to go to the bother overfill again but I'd not bother, perhaps the overfill makes selecting gears more difficult.  🤣

 

Millers EE Performance MTF 75W "Fully synthetic gear oil with ester technology" - https://www.millersoils.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/8327.pdf

 

If you do an oil change get the gear oil warm/hot before draining, leave to drain to drops, warm flush-rinse oil if you want, always check you can fully remove the fill plug before you remove the drain plug for obvious reasons.  But like forgetting to put the engine oil drain plug back in and torqued before putting fresh oi in these mistakes do happen.  On my wife's Fabia the fill and drain plugs were close to each other in position of both depth and proximity.  The fill plug was a PITA to get at with the tools I had available.  I don't have a pressure filler so I used an always very relucent "glamorous assistant" to till the gearbox from the engine bay using a funnel and garden hose off-cut whilst I laid under the car making sure the 1/2" pipe stayed in the filler hole and to shout stop when the oil started coming out.  I also have to take the plastic under-shield off and put it back on which is always a PITA thing for me, I am always a very reluctant "mechanic" on my cars or this VW product (simple jobs on neighbour's cars a lot less so).   

 

Whether you do an oil change or not let us know how you get on.