UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Josh: Did you put your car in the garage to fix this gear stick rocking quirk or was it in for something else which happen to inadvertently fix this problem two.

Marc

No, I said to them, "I'm sick of my bloody gearstick rocking backwards and forwards when I let off the gas in 4th gear... It's been like it since I bought the car, so please fix it".

Josh

Thanks for the reply mate. Ive booked it in the garage for them to have a look. My warranty runs out in three weeks so I want to get everything sorted before its too late.

marc

Hey chap,

I had the same problem to, my gear box was rocking when I accelerated and eased off.

But my car went in for a service and "they had tightened up the gear box mounts" I was told. Not very helpful.

But now engaging reverse seems to be easier now no more crunching.

Simrich and fellow members,

I collected my motor last night, they didn't charge for the gearbox, apparently it was a simple mis-alignment of the linkages and so it just needed adjusting. It feels fine now.

Also, they sorted out the problem of the gear lever 'jumping' forward when accelerating although I didn't ask for this to be done, may be a consequence of having the linkages tightened?

Hope this helps you and others...

Easy now!

cyhliu,

Glad you got the problem sorted out, just one thing, i still need to take mine into the dealership and have the same problem sorted myself but as said before arent forking out their labour costs to strip gearbox/clutch only to find its a 'wear and tewar thing'!
Can you clarify what work they precisely did - what does it say on the job sheet they provided you with? Did they have to strip the gearbox/clutch?
I need this clarifying so that i can tell this to my dealer and go ahead with the repair work.

Cheers

Simrich,

Sorry I'm going to have to get back to you on that, the receipt they gave me for the work is at home, will check it asap and reply. Hope that's okay mate.

Chris

Simrich,

Terribly sorry for the lateness of the reply, I've only managed to get home this weekend. On the receipt it says that I've had my gear linkage and clutch cable adjusted, nothing else. If it helps the lady told me that it was a simple job, they lift the car up, look underneath and use a template to ensure that the linkages are in the right place, if not, even by a bit it will cause the gears the grind. I think they said it was a half day job and they did complete within a day. The lady also said that it was a common thing in motors, not restricted to VWs as it is due to the increasing number of road bumps etc which mean that the gearbox gets a fair bashing...(poor excuse I thought).

Good luck and hope it was of some help.

ello ppl


just a flying visit,
for any1 that remembers me---- HI!!!

i had the same problem with my polo gti when i had it (2001) and it was repaired under warranty @ the time. Was done at Loughbrough VW. Think it was called arthur prince.

Tas

Yep - same problem here. First noticed it a month ago and its got progressively worse. Reverse is the big problem - really have to force it in, and sometimes theres a grinding when going from 2nd to 3rd. Clearly a VW design problem

A lot of LupoGTi owners have had this problem also!

If anybody (like me) has suffered this problem after the warrenty had ran out then you can expect to pay approx. £328 including vat & parts to get the Pedal box replaced @ VW.

It can work out cheaper to get the parts and have them replaced elsewhere.

Parts required: Pedal Box bracket and Clutch Pedal
VW Price £39 + vat... Delivered next day.
VAG Parts £25 + vat (poss bracket only)... About 1 week delivery time.

VW charge £60 + vat per hour in labour and it is an extensive job. Part of the dashbaord needs to be removed etc it works out approx. 4 hours with VW mechanics.

I've paid £80 at the local garage to have it done.

Just a little bit of advice so that nobody gets shafted by VW labour costs (how much to the mechanics get paid per hour??? £60 + vat??? I don't think so!!)

if your pedal box happens to go faulty it is my experience that you get the faulty one re welded as your original one only has 2 spot welds on the bracket for the clutch and so does the replacement one so expect the same problem in a couple of years again

by the way vw charge £60/hour for cars under 3years old so if its older you are getting over charged!!!

As per my last Clutch grauch thread, I was having trouble accelerating as it would stall... the clutch must have been sticking.

I asked the VW dealer to replace the clutch cable under the warranty which they've done, and it's fine now.

The only comment I have is the clutch on the Polo GTI is pants.

It is supposed to have a spring dampening (engine end of cable), but I believe the cable is too long as if adjusted so you get good pedel control, then you loose the spring in the adjustment as it's tightened down.

So, you compromise and have the spring uncoiled slightly to bring the pedal down about 1 inch.

It is a poor mechanism as it means there is not much leverage so that the clutch is fully engaged when pressing the pedal down. This makes it difficult to engage gears.

So, I'd recommend you first try either buying a new clutch cable and adjusting it as above, or just adjust the clutch cable you have.

It's made all the difference to mine, both in acceleration and engaging gears.

Can someone briefly explain what happens to the Pedal Box? Do the pedals (foot pedals???) break or jam? Seen the gearbox linkage bit... this seems to be a common problem.