Hi I have a Mk 3 Fabia

The gear shift is difficult when selecting 2nd and 1st when car is moving

On line suggests reset the gear selector cables however the gear box does not have the little black locking lever that all the images show. There is a blanking plug in that place.

Is there some other method for this model

I believe you make sure its in neutral and then follow the process of locking gearstick and removing reattaching cable ends. Worked on my son in laws caddy as his had no locking pin either. If that doesnt make a difference it may be a clutch/slave problem or perhaps a small amount of air in system. Make sure the plastic selector that the cables attach to isnt seizing either and is moving freely.

Alasdair

Hi Jenny, welcome.

By all means check the cables and reset them if required but are you sure your issue isn't with the the clutch system, do you get noises (other than gear selection noises)?

How many miles is on the car's clock, if low the car might have been used a lot for frequent regular short journeys with lots of gear changes and lugged about if the driver followed the silly gear selection recommendations on the dash.

My wife's 1.2 TSI has another VW 5-speed gearbox in it old and crude but solid enough but I still changed the "lifetime" gearbox oil (more faff than an any changes I've done but that's German design for ya) at 6 years and for a better oil than VW used.

This is a good video and cover your gearbox. -

Hi Alasdair1 and nta16

The clutch was replaced about 4 months ago shortly after we got it, thankfully under the dealers warranty. Yes it is a low mileage car I suspect previous driver slipped the clutch habitually wearing it out prematurely. I’ve seen that before.

I’ve added a photo of the selector in the engine bay with the blanking plug (circled)where the locking lever is most often shown/described. Should have done that in the first place in so people can see what I have and maybe be familiar with this arrangement and it’s working.

All input gratefully received. I’ll see if I can improve it.

That looks like my soninlaw vw caddy. As said I put it into neutral at gearstick end and then reset the cables etc.

Found this on a VW UP forum. Gbox without locking pin. Should be the same or similar procedure. Make sure the cast weigted lever is secure. My soninlaws caddy was worn and loose so 1st and second gear were awkward to change

2 minutes ago, Jennyfab said:

previous driver slipped the clutch habitually wearing it out prematurely

Possibly plus lower quality (VW) clutch fitted to the car from the factory.

The photo you've put up is not like what I was expecting, others will know though. (ETA: as proven, I was still typing as usual)

In other cars you might check gearbox oil level but not so straightforward with the gearbox in my wife's TSI and I've no idea about this box, more information on your gearbox may be in the Citgo section and forums.

If you can do the work yourself and it's a (relatively as its a VW) easy straightforward job then I'd do a thorough change of oil as the car is new to me, it might not solve the issue but might help to ease the matter whilst you find out how to sort it or improve it more. You can't overcome the original VW design and build and match of gearbox to car. VW's tend to be heavy cars and they force this on the VWŠkoda brand too it seems and possibly a Citgo (UP!?) engine and gearbox might be more pushed in the bigger Fabia (Polo-ish) car so more care and attention is need with them.

Years ago now the Dealership frighten my wife by say the clutch (pedal) was "heavy" and quoted over £1,000 to replace the clutch which worried her as a previous cars have had clutch problems. I said so what if the clutch is "heavy", that's in comparison with other cars with less use of clutch and that it could remain that way without issue for many years and it has. If there was/is clutch slip or problems engaging gears (other than the usual old crude VW design) then that is a different matter, that stage has yet to be reached on her car (75k-miles, lots of frequent short journeys as well as longer mileage journeys).

Edited 21 December, 202521 Dec by nta16
ETA:

Jenny, the following video came up on my YouTube feed, it's from the excellent Hat Boy Harvey, it relates to a Mk1 Fabia with diesel engine but the principles remain the same and it shows real world reset of gear clutch cables too.

HTH.

Edited 21 December, 202521 Dec by nta16

Hi thanks all

The handbook extract from Alisdair looks right.

I have tried to access the gear lever gaitor with no success. Worried I will break something. The middle does not come up as per vid from Hatboyharvey. I have tried the glossy black trim with a feeler gauge but no movement.

Does page 37 of that manual shed any light on gaitors with trim that look like the one below?

Best Regards

Ian

On my sons mk2 you lever around the edge of the black trim where it meets the grey consol. His was really tight. I used an old flat narrow scraper and gradually worked around it. You are better with plastic trim removal tools as its easy to damage plastic.

I would try easing up from the back round the sides forward as I think the two tags that go into slots are at the front. You can use a plastic trim tool or try a kitchen spatula with plastic or with care a screwdriver. Place them between the console plastic and the shiny black plastic of the gear lever gaiter trim. Usually these things are a bit fiddly and awkward to do rather than difficult, always just take your time and don't loose your patience, take care but you might need to apply a little force.

Good luck.

Hi Nta16

Thank you - success!

the key point is you suggestion working at back edge and not following the video guides which seem to be for different/older models. No way can this be done with just fingers.

I did it with an old plastic card inserted between the shiny trim and the console (photo attached)

I the slowly slid the card toward the left corner while gently pulling up on the gaiter and pushing down on the card , not levering, and it just clicked out. Then it was easy to do the other corner and lift the gaiter up to reveal the gear-lever location pin holes. The shiny trim and gaiter are separate pieces . I saw another thread where members had failed trying to follow YT videos etc.

Thanks again- now to try resetting the gear change cables as per Alisdairs info.

Regards

Ian

Well done Ian, a great idea of using an old plastic card. I'm sure there will be videos of that type of gaiter being removed that show the slots but it's finding them and they could be on other VW brands and models.

That Hat Boy Harvey video I posted earlier shows the real world adjustment of the cables rather than the workshop manual versions where all things are super clean and unworn. In the real world the manufacturers usual have black parts against black or dark backgrounds so even seeing them is awkward then they might be covered in all sorts of debris making thing more difficult to plainly see until the area is cleaned up, with the lovely diesel engines there's even more muck and oil everywhere. Messing with internal combustion engines particularly tends to be a messy and mucky business (which some seem to enjoy, each to their own and whatever floats your boat but its just annoying to me.

Good luck let us know how you get on. When the clutch was changed the cables might have been adjusted, or not required or not bothered with but if your adjustments don't give you enough improvement or you want more improvement there might be another hopefully reasonable easy and relatively low cost improvement I can suggest and recommend from my decades of experience with old cars and on my wife's 2016 Fabia with basic old clunky design 5-speed VW gearbox.

Hi nta16

Thanks again.

Just went through the cable reset procedure. Used a nail as the gear lever locking tool.

It was really easy as the cable adjusters were accessible without removing any ancillaries and I had worked out how to access under the gear lever gaiter.

The result is no change. Still notchy going down to 2nd and 1st.

When it goes in for a service I might the garage for an opinion.

Good to hear it was an easy straight forward job so nothing wasted trying it.

I'd put a small bet on any garage that knows or has heard about the car just sez something like "that's how they are / can be" but perhaps not, no harm asking.

After you've been to the garage if you want to know about how to possibly get some improvement at least which might help if not fully resolve the issue just repost here.

Check that when the clutch was replaced they fitted a new slave cylinder. I generally fit a new one as if it goes then its back to square one re clutch. Just wondering if the seals are failing and its not operating clutch fully. (same can happen with master when they allow fluid past seals. You could also try double declutch ie in 1st clutch down then into neutral then clutch up then clutch down and into 2nd. May have to blip throttle. If the gears drop into place then it may be 1st/2nd syncro going in Gbox.

Thanks Alasdair

I did try the double de clutch to check for synchromesh issues previously. I didn’t notice any difference. Maybe I’m not so good at double clutching it’s almost 40 years since I drove any cars without synchro on 1 or more gears!

Best Regards

Ian

It may be that you will have to leave it and live with it at moment. If its the slave/master then at some point will fail completely or it will get progressively worse to the point its diagnosible. Replacing master is fairly straight forward but difficult to get to. Depending on Gbox the slave may be internal so would require Gbox out again. If its like my sons MK1 its removable from outside bell housing although the rod that operates clutch is internal. Some are fully internal (very stupid design) If the garage who replaced the clutch fitted a new one as a matter of course then I would see about replacing Master if it gets worse. Next service get them to check it out. I would take car out with the mechanic and show them the problem. Get them to check Gbox oil level/quality as well.

Alasdair