4.2 Wonky 5Th Gear - Worst Case Scenario

[rpaterson]

Hi Folks,

Long time member, very rarely drop by - coz the wife's RAV is just too reliable! Anyway, for a good couple of years, we've had the vibrating gear lever whilst under any load in 5th gear. I see the topic has been raised a couple fo times lately with various costs being mooted for the fix.

My question is; if left unchecked until something actually fails then what is the outcome? No 5th gear, but rest of the box is fine? Total lock-up of the box? Something inbetween??? The car doesn't do huge mileages which is probably why it's still 'OK' so to speak.

[anchorman]

TBH its hard to answer that with any certainty. It depends just how it fails but if bits end up in there it could be bad. I would start thinking about getting it done. You can guarantee you will be out in the wilds and the sleet and in a hurry to get somewhere important when it throws its hand in.

[Tech01]

Agree with Don. If you decide to never use 5th gear again, then the worn components will probably (probably) just sit there, and things will get no worse. However, if you continue to use 5th, then the vibration will get gradually worse, and other components will suffer expensive damage - gearbox, gear-change cables/mechanism, and maybe the drivetrain.

IMHO, I would just get it fixed. c£500 in parts, and about 3-4h labour. Full details posted already.

Chris