Technical Get the hell into gear !.....

[jonathaneuk]

As my car is going into the garage on Monday under warranty for possible head gasket failure,I 'm also going to tell them about my gearbox which sometimes just doesn't let ne put it into 1st, and when I'm changing gears it feels notchy, and crap.
Also to put it into reverse I need to select 3rd first then reverse.
My car is 1.4 8v 2007 GP, covered 38,000 miles.

Any ideas what this could be ?

 

[Nathanm]

My 08 GP tjet 120 also has issues going into first or reverse, I took it to the dealer after about 3 months since new and they told me they couldn't replicate the problem. So long as the issue is consistent you should have more luck. Its disappointing as the car I test drove have very smooth gears, was one of the things I liked.

 

[jonathaneuk]

Oh i see....well i hope they do something about it..i only have like 4 weeks left of warranty... :/ hmmm

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

What's up with reverse?

And when are you try to select 1st, and it's not allowing it to select? Not when the car is in motion is it

 

[MISC1691]

On the last month of my warranty (so very end of 3rd year) Fiat re-built my gearbox because of similar faults, I always thought I was lucky but to tell the truth I don't believe they did anything really, never felt or performed any better to me.

 

[jonathaneuk]

What's up with reverse?

And when are you try to select 1st, and it's not allowing it to select? Not when the car is in motion is it

Does not go into reverse, and when I'm at traffic lights and try and select 1st, it dosent wanna go in

 

[Magic Johnson]

The GP gearbox on the 1.2/4 is pretty horrible. First is hard to get in to, you pretty much have to be at a complete stop otherwise you need to RAM it in, so unless I am at a total stop I always leave it in 2nd.

Reverse is horrible too, I leave it in neutral for 5 seconds if I can before selecting R, if I'm reverse parking on a busy road I select first then R as they are both on the same syncro that makes it much easier and no crunching.

If it's flat out refusing to go in to first that to me indicates a gearbox that is on its way out. One day you'll start it up and you won't be able to select anything.

 

[Ffoxy]

Worth checking the operating cables and that the clutch is releasing fully.
For 1st gear selection issues, try popping it into 2nd before you go for 1st initially, be quick about it but NEVER force your gearbox....

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

The GP gearbox on the 1.2/4 is pretty horrible. First is hard to get in to, you pretty much have to be at a complete stop otherwise you need to RAM it in, so unless I am at a total stop I always leave it in 2nd.

Reverse is horrible too, I leave it in neutral for 5 seconds if I can before selecting R, if I'm reverse parking on a busy road I select first then R as they are both on the same syncro that makes it much easier and no crunching.

First gear is only a moving off gear anyway, hence why it'll only allow you to use 2nd, helps prevent damage to the gearbox, so nothing should be being rammed.

Reverse hasn't got a syncro, so not sure where you've got the info about it using the same as 1st, a syncro is gear specific.

OP's problems don't sound normal though.

 

[Magic Johnson]

First gear is only a moving off gear anyway, hence why it'll only allow you to use 2nd, helps prevent damage to the gearbox, so nothing should be being rammed.

Reverse hasn't got a syncro, so not sure where you've got the info about it using the same as 1st, a syncro is gear specific.

OP's problems don't sound normal though.

Aye that's what I meant, wife has a bad habit of using 1st to pull away from roundabouts whilst moving. :|

A cog then? Was I getting mixed up? I'm sure it shares something with 1st as it always goes in nicely when I select first initially.

No not actually going in to first, that was the death knoll for my Clio's box. Started it up one morning and could only get it in to 5th.

 

[Nathanm]

If OP's gear issues are similar to mine then first gear is difficult to select even when you should use it (like in traffic when you have come to a full stop), going from second to first is slightly easier than other gears and the outside temperature makes a slight difference for me (hot summer - much less of an issue).

Selecting reverse I think OP's issue is different from mine in that my old problem was that reverse simply would not engage sometimes and car stay in neutral - touch wood this hasent happend in a couple of years, maybe im just used to doing it now (im pretty deleberate selecting reverse, dont force anything of course).

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

A cog then? Was I getting mixed up? I'm sure it shares something with 1st as it always goes in nicely when I select first initially.

Nope, reverse has no syncro, so putting it into 1st first stops it spinning and allows easier selection of reverse.

Should work the same putting it into 2nd etc first also I believe.

 

[jonathaneuk]

Well my car has gone into the garage anyways as i had to get towed home on Sunday Night because my head gasket has gone... so waiting to hear back from them still :/

 

[Magic Johnson]

Jeez not good mate. At least it is under warranty.

Are you getting them to look at gearbox too?

 

[jonathaneuk]

Jeez not good mate. At least it is under warranty.

Are you getting them to look at gearbox too?

Yeah told them to look at the gearbox too mate

 

[Didge3]

I had a similar issue but all my gears felt very wobbly when in gear, like the gearstick wobbled around when in gear. It was the gear selector cables but I drove around with it like that for about 2 weeks because the car was already booked in for a service then, after about 10 days it started becoming quite hard to get it into 1st on occasion, normally just upon first selection, to get around this I had to put it in neutral, engage the clutch and then 1st gear would work as normal.
Also have to do this for reverse but I've more or less always had to do it for reverse. (Reverse will actually go in but it doesn't engage without engaging neutral first)

They replaced my gear selector cables and the issues with 1st and the wobbly stick went away, reverse issue is still persistent.

 

[jonathaneuk]

I had a similar issue but all my gears felt very wobbly when in gear, like the gearstick wobbled around when in gear. It was the gear selector cables but I drove around with it like that for about 2 weeks because the car was already booked in for a service then, after about 10 days it started becoming quite hard to get it into 1st on occasion, normally just upon first selection, to get around this I had to put it in neutral, engage the clutch and then 1st gear would work as normal.
Also have to do this for reverse but I've more or less always had to do it for reverse. (Reverse will actually go in but it doesn't engage without engaging neutral first)

They replaced my gear selector cables and the issues with 1st and the wobbly stick went away, reverse issue is still persistent.

Oh so wasn't too much of a job then ? Hope mine is something simple like that then