pops out of 3rd gear under load

[itsmydaughterscar]

1 minute ago, Gray86 said:

Honestly, a German equivalent will be no better built - they are often worse. After a string of VWs before by Corolla, they aren’t what they used to be back in the 90s. Look at satisfaction surveys such as the one Auto Express did. VW, Audi near the bottom, BMW not great - Lexus, Toyota & Honda at the top

See my list below! German cars from when they were designed and built properly. The E class is 2002, but has the W124 underpinnings.... just rust is a problem.....

[Cyker]

Yeah I really don't know what happened to the German brands - It used to be said that if you wanted a reliable car, go Japanese or German, but that really isn't the case any more - Their reliability is about the level of Ford/Vauxhall, so not terrible, just... average.

Have you checked the gear linkages/cables? It might be they aren't set correctly and the gear isn't going in fully, so the spring-loaded detent isn't holding the gear in as strongly as it should. Or maybe the detent itself has failed in some way - I remember an episode of Wheeler Dealers where the spring-loaded detent had fallen out somehow so the gear could just pop out.

You can manually move the selectors on the gearbox and see if there is any slack compared to doing it with the gear shifter.

[Hornet3D]

4 hours ago, itsmydaughterscar said:

Here are mine - can you see a theme??? Where are you in Wiltshire, we used to live in Calne(fornia!!!)

1.  Audi 80 CL saloon

2. Audi 80 Sport saloon

3. Audi 80 Sport saloon

4. Audi 80 TDI avant

5. Audi 100 quattro avant

6. Audi 100 quattro saloon

7. Audi 100 SE avant

8. Audi 100 turbo avant

9. Audi A4 1.9 TDI SE avant

VW T4 Caravelle

Land Rover Discovery 3 TDV6 HSE

Mercedes E320CDI wagon

Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI

Oh, Oh Yes I can see a theme - you like cars with numbers in the model name😃.

 

I am located on the outskirts of Swindon, close to junction 16 of the M4.