I have a 2023 Octavia VRS manual with under 10,000 miles. Was bought in February with 8,000 on it. I’m experiencing a notchy/clunky gear shift when moving from 1st to 2nd gear and back from 2nd to 1st, but only while the car is moving. The shift feels like it's catching on something, requiring two movements instead of one smooth transition. However, if the car is stationary (engine on or off), the gear change is completely smooth.

I took my car to the local dealership and the mechanic didn't recognise a fault, checked the gear linkages and they are apparently fine, but the service manager took it for a test drive as well and did recognise that it didn't feel fully right. They're currently waiting until they have another manual Octavia in before proceeding.

 

This issue is particularly concerning when entering a roundabout or at junctions, where quick and reliable gear changes are crucial for safe driving. The notchy gear shift makes it difficult to confidently engage 2nd gear, which could be dangerous in these situations.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue with a manual Octavia VRS or another VW/Skoda car? Could this be related to engine/transmission mounts (such as the dogbone mount)? What steps should I take to ensure this is resolved under warranty, given that it’s still a new car?

In mine (1.5TSI), the shift from first to second is usually not as smooth as changing up to the higher gears, but sometimes it is absolutely fine! It isn't as bad as yours sounds to be and I have never felt the need to speak to the dealer about it. As the mileage has increased it has improved notably but still there at 48k miles - the times it is smoother are when the engine/transmission are fully warmed up and a relatively leisurely gear change.

 

On and off over my 45+ years of motoring I have noticed the same thing in cars including my late 70s Triumph Dolomite, 80s Mini, Ford Escort & Vauxhall Astra and 14 plate Superb. But who knows! The 'box on my Dolomite was rebuilt and a roller bearing replaced and linkages adjusted several times, all to no avail. Because of this I have assumed there is something in my driving style - perhaps my timing of clutch & gear shift actions in the lower gears which are usually a quicker shift than those to higher gears, especially around town.

 

Lots of me blathering on, and I'm not sure it's much help... 🙄

Welcome to the forum.

 

I would think getting in another Master Tech or technician would be a better plan than waiting for them to see if another faulty one comes in so that the 'mechanic' can say 'They all do that', or 'It is a characteristic'    At least he can not say 'Never seen that before'.  

 

Full factory trained technicians .  Selectively, deaf, dumb or blind',  put off fixing faults as long as possible. Someone else can do it. 

I haven't owned a manual for about 20years, but FWIW, most (possibly all) of the manual cars I have ever owned had similar 'notchy' downshifts into the 1st & 2nd gears, but mostly into 1st gear. I'd always put it down to the synchromesh being less effective in the low gears, for whatever engineering reason that may be. I never really noticed it in the upshifts. Double declutching smooths it out, in fact many earlier cars didn't have synchro on 1st gear and even older ones had no synchro at all, so that method was a normal part of driving (showing my age now!). Not so easy in today's hurried times where everyone wants to arrive before they've even left, let alone exercise patience while you nurse your clutch and gearbox in front of them.

We are in 2024 now & the OP has a 2023 Skoda..

Skoda have been building cars from 1905. VW from 1938.   There is no reason for sh!te engineering.   

They are always on about Motorsport Heritage. No need for manual shifts to feel like a rally car gearbox. 

Hello, never experienced any 'baulking' between 1st and 2nd in either of our M6 boxes. I do notice some slight added resistance from the synchro's if changing down to 1st in the Octavia on the move, but not something I would call excessive baulking - and not something often required, even on lowly 1.4.

Will operate marginally faster with double de-clutch on down-shift though.   

Edited 9 September, 20241 yr by Warrior193
added information

I sometimes go down into 1st from 2nd when I'm crawling along in traffic. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to come to a complete stop and then go into 1st. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this though, because this is not even close to the main problem I'm having. Every time you set off you have to go through the gears and 1st to 2nd is horrible 9 times out of 10.

 

As well as the obvious safety concerns, it's taking the enjoyment out of the car. I've driven plenty of manuals. Owned a 2003 Polo and a 2011 Scirocco. Driven friends' SEATs, Peugeots, Fords, never came across a gearbox that feels like this. Don't have to think about how to change gear in any of those cars, it just happens. 

 

The mechanic was talking about "driving styles". I don't know how to describe my driving style other than I push the gear selector to the left and then down if I want 2nd gear. He then went on to talk about how these engines and gearboxes are time tested. My response was that it's irrelevant and faults still occur with anything that has been done the same way for a long time. Seems like the usual resistance to investigate and fix. Anyone have any advice on how I'd get this sorted under the warranty? 

 

Sorry I couldn't find an edit function. Something I want to reiterate is that it's only when moving. When stationary, with the engine running and the clutch down, or with the engine not running, it slots into 2nd every single time no problem. 

Edit is the 3 dots top right hand side.  But you have a limited time to edit if not a Freedom Member. 

It does sound to me that you have a fault with your gearbox.

4 hours ago, sc0tt88 said:

. I don't know how to describe my driving style other than I push the gear selector to the left and then down if I want 2nd gear.

 

I have a 22 plate Scala  with the 1.5TSI engine and manual box. I assume that is the same engine and box as your Octavia. I find the box is very smooth, almost one finger operation but the 1st/2nd transition is slightly stiffer than the others.  You say you 'push the gear selector to the left and then down'.  Did you really mean push because that implies a degree of force. I find the box needs to be gently 'stroked' (for want of a better term) into the required gear. If I was going from 1st to 2nd (and that usually is somewhere about 2000 -3000 rpm) then I would merely push the clutch down and slide the gear selector down into second without holding it to the left. It should find its own way into gear. 

John

I didn't mean with force. Maybe a better word would be move. I've tried doing it a lot of different ways. The end result is always the same, the car decides if it's going in or not, and at what pace/how smooth it feels. It's inconsistent as well like I previously mentioned. 1 in 10/15 1st to 2nd gear changes are super smooth. The rest aren't. Tried pushing it all the way over to the left and maintaining a bit of pressure to the left as I pull down, tried moving it almost all the way to the left, slightly to the right, tried different amounts of force, always get the same result. 

Edited 9 September, 20241 yr by sc0tt88

Oh sorry to hear that. I did find the box quite stiff until I had covered about 5k miles and then it suddenly settled down. As your car has been examined by a Skoda dealer I don’t imagine the linkage needs a squirt of lubricant, or does it?

 

I agree with your comment that the box will decide if it’s going to change gear smoothly or not. 
 

John

16 hours ago, John2022 said:

I have a 22 plate Scala  with the 1.5TSI engine and manual box. I assume that is the same engine and box as your Octavia. I find the box is very smooth, almost one finger operation but the 1st/2nd transition is slightly stiffer than the others.  You say you 'push the gear selector to the left and then down'.  Did you really mean push because that implies a degree of force. I find the box needs to be gently 'stroked' (for want of a better term) into the required gear. If I was going from 1st to 2nd (and that usually is somewhere about 2000 -3000 rpm) then I would merely push the clutch down and slide the gear selector down into second without holding it to the left. It should find its own way into gear. 

John

Because of the way 1 to 2 and 5 to 6 gates are biased, you do need to maintain very slight left or right pressure on the stick to align those gates correctly, as the stick is weighted towards middle gate. 

2 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

Because of the way 1 to 2 and 5 to 6 gates are biased, you do need to maintain very slight left or right pressure on the stick to align those gates correctly, as the stick is weighted towards middle gate. 

I was taught not to grip the gear lever but to cup an open hand around it in a way that 'suggests' to it the direction you want it to go.

 

For 1st hand on the right rear, for 2nd hand on right front, for 3rd hand behind, for 4th hand in front, for 5th hand on the left rear and for 6th hand on the left front.

I really need to find someone nearby with a manual VRS. I think when I'm stationary and move to 1st and 2nd, that's probably what people are describing as notchy. It's smooth, but with an audible click sound. It's satisfying to use. But when I'm moving, it's more than that. There's excessive resistance for sure. I really need to find one and compare to mine.

What you describe sounds like faulty baulk synchro ring on 1st cluster, I consider it's very unlikely for this difficulty in selecting 1st gear to be normal.

Do you know how to double declutch to test synchro fault possibility?  

7 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

What you describe sounds like faulty baulk synchro ring on 1st cluster, I consider it's very unlikely for this difficulty in selecting 1st gear to be normal.

Do you know how to double declutch to test synchro fault possibility?  

Thanks I'll try this tomorrow 

Got upto 10-15mph in 1st, clutch down, neutral, clutch up, clutch down and it almost fell into 2nd it was that smooth. Guessing this isn't good news 😬

58 minutes ago, sc0tt88 said:

Got upto 10-15mph in 1st, clutch down, neutral, clutch up, clutch down and it almost fell into 2nd it was that smooth. Guessing this isn't good news 😬

Pretty strong indication that something's wrong with 1st cluster synchro or baulk ring.  

Thanks for the help. Now I have to convince them to actually investigate it.

Can anyone with a manual please do me a favour, and get a passenger to record them shifting into 2nd normally? I'd like to compare it to mine.

Quick update. They changed my gearbox oil and told me to do 500 miles before I go back to them and report the results. After about 100 miles, the entire gearbox feels slightly smoother, but the issue remains, double clutching is still necessary for smoother shifts between 1st and 2nd. No metal shavings were found in the oil, which is a positive sign, but it still feels like there’s an underlying issue. I’ll continue driving up to 500 miles as instructed, but for a VRS, it just doesn’t feel right to have shifting depend on double clutching. 

Another thing I've noticed with this. Before I set off for the day I can get into 1st gear no problem. If I stop fully in another gear, I can then shift to 1st no problem. But if I then go into neutral, clutch up, then clutch down and try 1st there is a major resistance every time. Once it goes in though, I can come out and go back in as many times as I want, until I clutch up in neutral and try going into 1st again, where there's resistance again. Is this still indicative of a synchro issue? 

Edited 6 November, 20241 yr by sc0tt88

I dont know if scott is still here but i have the same issue in my 2015 octavia, resistance in 2nd only when moving which goes unoticed after driving for a while. Have you found what is was? Thanks

Just now, poor said:

I dont know if scott is still here but i have the same issue in my 2015 octavia, resistance in 2nd only when moving which goes unoticed after driving for a while. Have you found what is was? Thanks

Altough for me double clutching makes no difference