Occasional difficulty selecting reverse gear

[Yusee]

So the story continues... (if anyone interested!)

I emailed customer services and threatened to get the issue investigated and resolved independently -at their expense. They soon responded accepting "possible mis-diagnosis" and suggesting booking into another dealer for a second opinion.

So I arranged for VW Worcester to investigate- I must say this dealership seems a much better run outfit than the 3 others I have had dealings with. Service manager took interest and gave me confidence they'd investigate properly. They score well on google reviews, which shows that, at the very least, they give a sh1t.

The master tech didn't feel there's any issue with the clutch- he thought the pedal feel was fine, bite point was good, no slip on road testing and no oil underneath the transmission on inspection.
Gear linkages checked and adjusted- he did feel they needed a fair degree of adjustment and was confident this would solve the problem.
They did cold test this morning and felt gears working ok.
I've had the car back. Reverse going in ok, but first now very reluctant to go in!
I'm taking it back to them next week, when hopefully the problem will be resolved.

I'm pretty confident now that there isn't a clutch issue, and that some fine tuning of the linkages will sort it out.
( and obviously happy that I haven't had to needlessly shell out £1000 - or £1700 if flywheel replaced too).

Incidentally an interesting discrepancy in brake pads checks between the first and second garages - 40/50% and 10% respectively!

[barrym381]

The brakes are them just trying to get your money when clearly they don’t need done and that’s at least some good news you’re finally getting it sorted at there expense 

[Watts]

Top marks for perseverance Glad it's finally getting sorted and now you have a decent dealer to turn to for servicing.

[Yusee]

Thanks both. Yeah, I'm pretty happy it's getting resolved. And yes, I've found a good dealer.

[monkeyhanger]

if dealers aren't bleeding your brakes, they're bleeding you for brakes.

My R had 90% worn brakes from 6 months old until 46 months old when I got rid...according to the dealers. I've previously been told that my brake wear is very low vs mileage for previous cars as I read the road ahead well and don't brake as much as others.

[Gtiless]

Glad you are getting it sorted this kind of sums main dealers up.

When my Gti went in for a service (as part of the pack I got with the car via Das Velt) the video they sent me, Im sure you have all had these, included a look around the car, everything ok, blar blar blar then the interesting bit- the tyres are on approx 7mm wear all round and it may be something you will want to think about shortly.

The tyres in question were 1 week old Pilot sports and had done probably less than 50 miles. What interested me about this was if you knew nothing about cars or were elderly and a bit confused and you then said to them on the service desk- do I need to do something about the tyres, would they be honest and say no they are fine or would they try and gouge you for a set?

I have always wondered about this because it just seemed such a strange remark to drop into the video?

[golfdave]

The master tech didn't feel there's any issue with the clutch- he thought the pedal feel was fine, bite point was good, no slip on road testing and no oil underneath the transmission on inspection.
Gear linkages checked and adjusted- he did feel they needed a fair degree of adjustment and was confident this would solve the problem.
They did cold test this morning and felt gears working ok.
I've had the car back. Reverse going in ok, but first now very reluctant to go in!
I'm taking it back to them next week, when hopefully the problem will be resolved.

I'm pretty confident now that there isn't a clutch issue, and that some fine tuning of the linkages will sort it out.

VAG switched from all metal to plastic for the gearshift mech at both ends of the gear linkages....The mech under the gearstick boot has too much slop in it & there is a useless yellow plastic pivot pin, which breaks down over time....Best is to fit the Dieselgeek "Superpin"..unfortunately you have to remove the whole centre console to get at it....whilst you have it off, also fit the Dieselgeek "Delrin shaft bushes"..

Then if you want fit better bushes & convert to all metal relay & side lever plates on the mech which sits on top of the gearbox...But the biggest & best is the superpin...I had done all the others & still had problems..the superpin solved the rest!

[Yusee]

I've only ever used main dealers while a car is in warranty. There's no incentive for them to offer good service.

@golfdave. The problem I had was very minor, certainly not worth extensive work to remove the centre console. In fact since I've got the car back it's far worse- first gear is virtually impossible to engage without first selecting reverse then keeping the clutch in. At least I'm sure of the cause of the problem, and that it's a warranty job.

[barrym381]

Glad you are getting it sorted this kind of sums main dealers up.

When my Gti went in for a service (as part of the pack I got with the car via Das Velt) the video they sent me, Im sure you have all had these, included a look around the car, everything ok, blar blar blar then the interesting bit- the tyres are on approx 7mm wear all round and it may be something you will want to think about shortly.

The tyres in question were 1 week old Pilot sports and had done probably less than 50 miles. What interested me about this was if you knew nothing about cars or were elderly and a bit confused and you then said to them on the service desk- do I need to do something about the tyres, would they be honest and say no they are fine or would they try and gouge you for a set?

I have always wondered about this because it just seemed such a strange remark to drop into the video?

Not a chance they would take your money and then give your car a courtesy wash with a dirty brush 

[golfdave]

@golfdave. The problem I had was very minor, certainly not worth extensive work to remove the centre console. In fact since I've got the car back it's far worse- first gear is virtually impossible to engage without first selecting reverse then keeping the clutch in. At least I'm sure of the cause of the problem, and that it's a warranty job.

If they have ruled clutch out as cause of problems then I bet its the linkage...

To get accurate alignment of the gear selector cables you need to 100% lock in "netural" both mech at end of the cables...as they swapped from metal parts to plastic parts for cheapness it is virtually impossible to get near 80% accuracy...so you always has mis-alignment & mainly in reverse as the "hook" under the gear stick can't hit the lock out ramp properly & slips off...so you sometimes hit 1st instead!