Hi everyone, having a bit of gear trouble with my 8V (2013 2.0TDi).
9 times out of 10 when I try to go into 6th gear the gear stick feels like it's hitting something solid and simply will not go in.
I have to go back to 5th and try again, sometimes upto 4 or 5 times before it slots in.
All other gears are fine, it's just that , can kind of live with it for the most part but it does drive me up the wall when I am on motorways and have to pop into 6th and back regularly due to traffic.
Any help appreciated.
From past experience, (at least with VW) you in for a long hard slog, that will end up just as you are.
I bought a MK7 Golf GTI performance back in 2014. I drove away from the dealers and noticed that when trying to select 5th gear it slightly stuck. Being a new car, I thought it would just bed in. It only happened now and then, either going up from 4th, or down from 6th.
After a couple months, and feeling like it was getting worse, I took it to my local dealer (I bought the car 250 miles away) who at first said there was nothing wrong with it. I took it back again and insisted that I sat in with the mechanic on the test drive. Sure enough the gearbox problem happened, and he acknowledged it. Car was in for a couple days, and it `was fixed` Hurray !!!
No. Kept happening. Long story short, it was back and forth to the dealer to get `fixed` but never was. I phoned VW customer services, who have as much power to resolve these things as I do. Lots of phone calls and trips back the dealer continued. I asked for a new gearbox, but the answer was no. After more trips to the dealer who now `insisted` it was fixed, it kept happening. And would you know it, when the dealer had the car, there was never an issue. When I insisted on going out with the mechanic, it happened every time. I even went to another dealer who tried and failed to sort the problem.
Anyway, after another month or so, VW agreed to change the gearbox. Great. Car was missing another couple weeks, and then I got the call to say all done and dusted. Great. Picked the car up, got down the road, and it happened again !!!! Turned round, walked in, and complained. Got told the gearbox was changed, and maybe I should learn how to drive a manual car. This F***ing P***ed me off something rotten. Insisted a mechanic drive the car straight away. He did and acknowledged the problem was still there.
VW customer services said they could do no more. I even wrote to VW Germany, only for them to forward it on to VW UK. By this time, I tried to reject the car. This then led me having to write to the dealer that sold me the car. They insisted on being given the opportunity to fix the problem. When pointed out that the car had been back to 2 dealers and had received a new gearbox, they still insisted on being given the opportunity to fix it. When I asked how many times they would want the chance (bearing in mind it was a 500 mile round trip and involved trains, as they would want the car for a few days) to look at it, they replied, `as many times as it takes`.
No keen to play this game, I went back to my local dealer, who had the car another week. Again, they informed me that there was no issue (even though a mechanic had already acknowledged the problem was still there) and I should return to collect the car. Upon returning to the dealer, I was met by the manager, who again insisted that the car was fine. They had all driven it, and he had personally used it all week to try and replicate the problem. They had even got the receptionists to test drive the car, and not once did the issue arise. He then insisted that I either learn to drive a manual car, or they could sell me a DSG equipped Golf. Either way, don't bring the car back unless for routine servicing.
I've never had so much anger in my life. Wanted to launch the table between us over, smash is face in, and smash in every car sat in the showroom. I was absolutely F***ing livid. I think I was actually shaking.
Luckily I was able to control my anger, walked away and sat in the car to calm down before driving home. Once home I had a good think about it. I really think the gearbox was never changed. If it had, I must be the unluckiest guy to get 2 gearboxes, with identical problems. Bearing in mind the car was now about 10 month old, and I had been without it for about 4 months, with it being in the dealers, I gave up.
I parked the car up, advertised it for sale, and never drove it again. It was collected a few weeks later after I'd agreed a sale with another dealer. It's got to be the most frustrating car owning experiences I've ever had. I'll never buy from or use that dealer again, even though they are just round the corner from me. And it'll be a while before I buy another VW.
Once the Golf was sold, I was unsure whether or not to buy an Audi, as they are all part of the same group. But given they are different brands, and there was very little out there from other manufacturers that I wanted to own, I bought the S3. I lost a fortune on the Golf. Nearly £7000 in all, but I just couldn't drive / own it no more.
So to the OP. If you have the same issue my Golf had, and if you come up against the same experience from the dealer and customer services I had, you are in for a long, and frustrating ride.
