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Gear lever vibration, 1.0L engine.

11K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Impala 
#1 ·
Hi All
I've noticed a fairly strong gear lever vibration in 5th gear, just driving normally, not pushing it as it is a brand new car. I think that it may be a loose linkage because I can stop the vibration by gently pushing forward on the gear stick, taking up a tiny bit of slack. When I let go the vibes return. Otherwise the car is smooth, er, apart from an occasional thud going into 1st gear when stationary, but this may be me rushing things. Anyway, I'm booked in for a diagnostic inspection and hopefully a fix on Thursday 16th Jan.
Does anyone else have gear lever vibrations, especially those with the 1.0L engine ?
 
#2 ·
Just me then.
So far 74 views and no me toos ! In a way this is good because I now know that vibration through the gear stick is not a "characteristic " of the 1.0 engine.
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure how many of the 74 views are owners of 1.0L engine T Rocs.
I don't have mine yet so can't say 'me too' but I hope not!
 
#7 ·
T Roc Chick said:
I'm not sure how many of the 74 views are owners of 1.0L engine T Rocs.
I don't have mine yet so can't say 'me too' but I hope not!
I'm sure yours will be fine T Roc Chick. Hopefully mine will be after Thursday's visit to the workshop.
 
#8 ·
T Roo said:
Sorry Rocadoodledoo, I viewed but didn't comment because my 1.5 didn't have this issue; I suspect, as T Roc Chick says, many here won't have the 1.0. I can say that the 1.0 demonstrator I drove was as smooth as silk :) .
Thanks T Roo, I'll post the results of my visit to the workshop later this week. Hopefully it is just a matter of resetting the gear change cable clamps, a job that I've done before on a Golf, but while the T-Roc is under g'tee I'll leave it to the dealership.
 
#9 ·
My Red One said:
I have had this marvelous car for 17 months done 44k and gears are still smooth as silk. :D
That's good to hear, and more ammunition to take to the workshop.
 
#10 ·
RedRoc said:
No vibrations on ours. Lovely engine for a 1.0, although I do find the clutch operation gives a slightly 'fragile' feel at times compared to previous VDubs.
The clutch is certainly a lot lighter than the one in my previous car ( a mk6 Golf ), and I sometimes get a jolt when putting the car into 1st when getting going again after the stop/start system has operated. Consequently I've taken to switching the stop/start system off, although I suppose I should leave it on and investigate further.
 
#11 ·
Rocadoodledo said:
The clutch is certainly a lot lighter than the one in my previous car ( a mk6 Golf ), and I sometimes get a jolt when putting the car into 1st when getting going again after the stop/start system has operated. Consequently I've taken to switching the stop/start system off, although I suppose I should leave it on and investigate further.
Yep, sod the workarounds and changing driving style and it's a characteristic bs, whilst it's under warranty, have it sorted out :) .
 
#12 ·
Rocadoodledo said:
The clutch is certainly a lot lighter than the one in my previous car ( a mk6 Golf ), and I sometimes get a jolt when putting the car into 1st when getting going again after the stop/start system has operated. Consequently I've taken to switching the stop/start system off, although I suppose I should leave it on and investigate further.
Sounds like either the clutch is not disengaging properly to cause a 'jolt' into 1st, or the gear shift cables aren't set right, may be causing the jolt in 1st and judder in 5th. Get them to check both out - some have had problems with burnt out clutches on 1.0's. Maybe they rushed the cable attaching during build and not set them up right.
 
#13 ·
RedRoc said:
Sounds like either the clutch is not disengaging properly to cause a 'jolt' into 1st, or the gear shift cables aren't set right, may be causing the jolt in 1st and judder in 5th. Get them to check both out - some have had problems with burnt out clutches on 1.0's. Maybe they rushed the cable attaching during build and not set them up right.
Good point. Although there haven't been that many reports of burnout (as far as we know), it's best to make sure the car you own isn't one of them, so bringing problems to a dealer's attention before anything develops is a good idea to cut off the "you should have told us it didn't seem right" routine :) .
 
#14 ·
I also have the 1.0l but dont have this problem. But i would add that i find 5th gear absolutely useless. There seems to be hardly any power in it and generally go from gear 4 to 6. On flat for example, 4th gear is fine up to 45-50mph without stressing the engine over 3000rpm, then straight up to 6th where the engine will sit just below 2000rpm where the power seems to start.
 
#15 ·
davidf27 said:
I also have the 1.0l but dont have this problem. But i would add that i find 5th gear absolutely useless. There seems to be hardly any power in it and generally go from gear 4 to 6. On flat for example, 4th gear is fine up to 45-50mph without stressing the engine over 3000rpm, then straight up to 6th where the engine will sit just below 2000rpm where the power seems to start.
Thanks for your input davidf27. I've only done just over 100 miles in my new T-Roc, all on the flat, there are no hills to speak of in Cambridgeshire, so I'm still driving very carefully. What with all the A14 improvement roadworks,mud,and widespread 40 mph limits in my neck of the woods I've barely touched 6th gear yet!
It'll be interesting to see if I experience the same lack of performance in 5th once my car is run-in and I can give it some beans on the M11 :eek: :shock:
 
#17 ·
So I took my car in for an inspection regarding the gear lever vibration in 5th today. I sat in with the technician as he ran it up the road and he agreed that there was stick vibration when the engine was under load in 5th gear, which disappeared when he backed off the accelerator slightly, or pushed lightly forwards on the gear stick.
They didn't have another T-Roc 1.0L on site to compare mine against, but we did try a T-Cross 1.0L which had minimal vibration under the same conditions.
The technician tested the gear linkages for accuracy ( no tendency to jump out of gear under load, and no bulking or grabbing ). There isn't anything fouling the cables in the 5th gear orientation either, and the clutch isn't slipping.
So the outcome is that there may be an internal gearbox reason for the vibration problem. The advice I was given is very much along the lines of T-Roo's comment. As the 'fault' has now been documented I've been asked to drive the car as normal and wait to see what happens to the vibrations as I run the car in. After about 3K miles if there has been no improvement I should take the car back in for a more in-depth investigation.
I was hoping for a simple fix today, but nothing is ever that simple and I'm OK with the advice given, the vibes aren't exactly finger breaking, just irritating.
The jolting on start-up during a stop/start cycle turned out to be me being too quick on the gear stick ...... slowing down a little improves the restart a lot. The only effect that I get now is a muted jolt due to the torque of the powerful starter motor acting on a small light engine.
Incidentally I haven't noticed any rear brake mooing yet, but, like many others I have noticed some wind noise which seems to me to be lower down the driver's door than the wing mirror position. I'm thinking that it might be worth looking at the area around the door-stay aperture, and the drain holes in the bottom of the door.
 
#18 ·
My car was in for its first service recently, and as it had done sufficient miles to be considered run-in they agreed to take another look at the vibrating gearstick in 5th gear problem. They did run it up the road, I saw them take it out, but I was flabberghasted when the job sheet said "no fault found" when the vibration was evident on my way to the workshop. I let them know that I wasn't happy and the service manager asked the head technician to take it for another test drive. He did experience the vibration, and VW were contacted for permission to investigate further, under warranty. VW asked for another identical car to be tested for the vibration, which they did, and no vibration was detected. So my car is currently in the workshop having the gearbox stripped down, the plan being to replace any faulty parts around the fifth gear, or if necessary, fit a replacement gearbox.

I would be interested to know if any other T-Roc 1.0 owners out there have experienced this 5th gear vibration since I last enquired almost a year ago, and there were no others at that time.
I'll post again when the problem has been resolved.
 
#19 ·
I'm surprised they didn't accuse you of driving with your hand resting on the gear lever.

I would have thought fitting a new box would be the best solution - probably cheaper and it would allow the suspect box to be returned to VW for a proper engineering examination to determine the root cause. I can't imagine anyone in the workshop will have the necessary expertise and unless it is a really obvious defect they could end up taking several attempts at a fix and replacing components on a try it and see basis.

Good luck.
 
#20 ·
Hi All.
So the outcome of the gearbox strip-down was that they found an abnormality with the 5th gear synchromesh which had caused wear to the associated components. The gearbox has been replaced under warranty and the gearlever vibration problem has been resolved. The car is now a pleasure to drive, as it should have been straight out of the factory.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
 
#21 ·
Rocadoodledo said:
The gearbox has been replaced under warranty and the gearlever vibration problem has been resolved.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
Happy days, glad it was done under warranty ££££

Happy Christmas & new year 🎄🎅
 
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