Struggle with gears 2nd and 4th

[cacafulla]

Hi there.

I own a 2009 Auris 1.33 with 71k miles and a 6 speed gearbox.

My issue is with the gear changes. Sometimes, not very often and almost randomly, when engaging 2^nd and 4^th, even though it goes into gear, the gear stick seems to struggle. There is no crunching or grinding, just the stick seem not to fully engage the gear… it feels like it doesn’t travel all the way to the correct position. But strangely enough, it does go into gear!

It tends to happen only in 2^nd and 4^th, when I shift quick from 1^st into 2^nd or I downshift from 5^th into 4^th. My mechanical knowledge is limited but I doubt it's anything to do with the clutch. Maybe the gearbox or the synchros? The issue occurs from time to time, regardless of a warm engine or a cold start. Also, if anyone has removed the gear gaiter would have had the chance to observe a rather complicated linkage system in order for the gear stick to engage the gears, which could also be the source of the problem.

It’s worth mentioning I bought the car almost a year ago and I took it back to the dealer while in warranty, but as they probably only test drove it round the block for 2 minutes, could not find anything wrong with it.

Many thanks!

Edited March 6, 2017 by cacafulla
adding extra info

[cacafulla]

No one has had any similar issues?

[alan333]

Since both the problem gears are at the bottom of the H, I suggest the linkage system first, or cables if it has them.  Are there other gears at the bottom, like 6th or reverse?  If so, do they have the same problem?

[TAuris]

On 06/03/2017 at 0:04 PM, cacafulla said:

Hi there.

I own a 2009 Auris 1.33 with 71k miles and a 6 speed gearbox.

My issue is with the gear changes. Sometimes, not very often and almost randomly, when engaging 2^nd and 4^th, even though it goes into gear, the gear stick seems to struggle. There is no crunching or grinding, just the stick seem not to fully engage the gear… it feels like it doesn’t travel all the way to the correct position. But strangely enough, it does go into gear!

It tends to happen only in 2^nd and 4^th, when I shift quick from 1^st into 2^nd or I downshift from 5^th into 4^th. My mechanical knowledge is limited but I doubt it's anything to do with the clutch. Maybe the gearbox or the synchros? The issue occurs from time to time, regardless of a warm engine or a cold start. Also, if anyone has removed the gear gaiter would have had the chance to observe a rather complicated linkage system in order for the gear stick to engage the gears, which could also be the source of the problem.

It’s worth mentioning I bought the car almost a year ago and I took it back to the dealer while in warranty, but as they probably only test drove it round the block for 2 minutes, could not find anything wrong with it.

Many thanks!

I have the same problem with 2nd gear and happens 98% of the time.

[cacafulla]

16 hours ago, alan333 said:

Since both the problem gears are at the bottom of the H, I suggest the linkage system first, or cables if it has them.  Are there other gears at the bottom, like 6th or reverse?  If so, do they have the same problem?

R  1  3  5

     2  4  6

 

To be honest, I also think is something to do with the linkage system. I had a look down there and it seems over-complicated, with too many moving parts interacting with each other.

[cacafulla]

10 hours ago, TAuris said:

I have the same problem with 2nd gear and happens 98% of the time.

I feel that if I take my time changing gears, it hardly happens. But if I try to change quick, it happens more often.

[TAuris]

5 hours ago, cacafulla said:

I feel that if I take my time changing gears, it hardly happens. But if I try to change quick, it happens more often.

Toyota boxes were renowned for being silky smooth and you never had this problem 20-30 years ago. Nowadays they produce s*&!

[cacafulla]

10 minutes ago, TAuris said:

Toyota boxes were renowned for being silky smooth and you never had this problem 20-30 years ago. Nowadays they produce s*&!

Even on a 2002 Yaris I had before, you could slap the gear stick like it owe you money, and it will always go into gear without an issue!

[Countrylad]

I had similar on a VW Passat a couple of years ago, and yes, it was the linkage. Or to be precise, one of the linkages. It was most likely to happen when the engine was hot but I was in town traffic (for instance, when I'd just come off the motorway) , and sometimes the gear lever didn't want to go past second at all! And my garage fixed it in an hour and no parts were needed.

I know that's not the exact symptoms you've got, but hang in there.  You've got two cables (or rods - not sure on a Toyota?), and one of them does up and down and the other one does left to right. My prob was with the left/right, yours sounds like the up/down.

There are two sets of linkages for each cable/rod - one at the gear lever end and one on the side of the gearbox.They can get misaligned, or they can wear out the nylon bushes which they ride on. In my case it was down to a bit of stiffness on the bottom bush linkage, and a little bit of corrosion in the cup and ball. A bit of steel wool and a dollop of grease fixed mine! But the nylon bushes would have cost only pennies.

That was on a VW obviously, but the principle's the same here I think. First thing to check would be the alignment at the bottom linkage - if you ask a mate to waggle the gear lever about (while you're in neutral with engine off), you should be able to see inside the bonnet whether the bottom linkage is moving freely or whether it's pulling the cables and springs about in an awkward, jumpy way. If it isn't, suspect that the gate alignment might have slipped out of adjustment.

 

Good luck