Have you had gearbox problems with your Polo GTI?

[NickZ]

Does any one have problem with

1) about 50-60 on coasting or just very low load on accelerator on 4th gear with slight humming? I took it to dealer, manager knew the problem already, said it's just mechanical diff humm. And said 'they all do that sir, no problem'. When you press accelerator a bit more (say 1/3 or 1/5th) it goes away. After 65km/h, the hum disappears.

I get that too, your not the first person to bring it up, and all have said the same reason. I would say its not an issue

2) Hard acceleration then off throttle, or put the clutch in quickly, I will get the drive train slack / gear lashing. Sometimes, when the car is stationary, put clutch in, shift to any gear, with clutch still in, and back into neutral, and let the clutch out, on biting point (on release) it will make a very quiet 'chink' noise which can only be heard in enclosed single car garage. Garage checked gearbox oil -> apparently looked brand new, no metal pieces or anything around magnet. Oil level is perfectly fine too. Manager said just don't drive like that...

Otherwise, everything else is good. Shifting at high RPM - no problem.

I am going to try another dealer tomorrow / Tuesday. Anyone else?

Will try and keep a look out for this, but to be honest I haven't heard it.

[gpk_gti]

shaneth here had problems with his gb and he changed it under warrenty.search under his user name as he is currently offline from the net.

[Jmac]

Hum comes from cables but there is a modified weight gets fitted to the shift control on the box from memory not sure of the part number at this stage but there is a service technical bulletin on this subject.
Cheers

[MINTpolo]

My gearbox has the characteristics you just described, the diff whine in 4th the and 5th at 65-70kph has been there since day one and i think is pretty normal.
The drivetrain slack is due to the torque shift and soft engine mounts, try holding the throttle longer between first and second to smooth things.
I also get the noise when i let the clutch out in the garage in neutral, i think its just the mechanical noise of the clutch doing its job or the gearbox shafts starting to rotate again, i also think its nothing to worry about.

I havent encountered any shifting issues at high rpm (touch wood) but i generally shift pretty gently 1-2 cos both my previous cars couldnt be hurried on high rpm shifts either.

The most annoying gearshifting issue i have is the 1mm or so play in the shift knob, I hate the loose feeling!

[PoloGTi]

I get a bad grinding hum type noise in 1st and second under load or high rpm. Had it about 1 year now and has not changed also getting the problem back of the syncros not meshing from 2nd to 3rd. Have not had the dealer look at it yet be will be very near in the future.

[insanekiwi]

My gearbox has the characteristics you just described, the diff whine in 4th the and 5th at 65-70kph has been there since day one and i think is pretty normal.
The drivetrain slack is due to the torque shift and soft engine mounts, try holding the throttle longer between first and second to smooth things.
I also get the noise when i let the clutch out in the garage in neutral, i think its just the mechanical noise of the clutch doing its job or the gearbox shafts starting to rotate again, i also think its nothing to worry about.

I havent encountered any shifting issues at high rpm (touch wood) but i generally shift pretty gently 1-2 cos both my previous cars couldnt be hurried on high rpm shifts either.

The most annoying gearshifting issue i have is the 1mm or so play in the shift knob, I hate the loose feeling!

Thanks Mintpolo for your reply. Mine is also 2006 Model delivered in Feb. So this is quite normal thing. Apart from the sounds, nothing wrong driving wise... thanks for the tip too! I got it second hand at 19000km, and I've done 23000km now, and no real change in the sound. Cheers!

I'll ask if there is the bulletin for this matter (the hum at 4th gear)

Also thanks Nickz, let us know if you have problem number 2?

[Sharkie]

I've had a gearbox whine since about 3000km in 4th and 5th as described above. I had the factory rep listen to it and he indicated it was nothing to worry about. I've kept an ear on it since but it has not gotton any worse so assuming OK.

[insanekiwi]

Okay, had a previlage to meet a nice assistant service manager who is a VW fan.

I told him I have a REVO, and said secretly 'keep it that way'.

Anyway, he let me drive a showroom Polo GTI which had 47km on it.

First of all,

1) The gear lashing / drive train slack - is there.
2) The shift is nice, and does not have a whine, but it's a brand new car, and the manager said it's very common, and as long as doesn't get worse it's fine. Most likely cable harmonics.
3) The little clutch noise - present on a brand new car.

However the brand new car had,
1) no slight whine on engine braking using 2nd gear. Mine has some whine on engine braking. No whine on acceleration. Similar to 4th gear in certain REV range / load.
2) Shifting characteristics - similar.
3) Engine was louder!? why? / steering was lighter too.

Anyway, I think I will just monitor the noise carefully, but the worries that I had was present on the brand new car, except for the hum.

By the way, I do not get hum with 5th gear, just 4th on light throttle. But most of the time around 50-60km, I am already on 5th gear, so it does not really bother me. Hopefully the engine brake whine on 2nd gear is not bad. It's been there since I got the car at 19000km, and hasn't changed for last 3000km.

[morbo2000]

Mine has started crunching 1st to 2nd in the last week or so. Mainly if you boot it up to around 5k rpm but it has happened lower a couple of times.
Was really bad today when I was driving with the air con on.

It's booked in to see the dealer Jan 10 (the earliest time they had available).

[marco polo]

I have the crunching problem from 1st to 2nd @ hi revs
It is booked in for the 8th of Jan to get the syncros changed they ordered the parts from overseas a month ago and they just arrived.
I want them to change the syncros and the damged gears because after Continuous crunching im sure there is some metal pieces in there.

[mitch_gti]

gearbox problems

Im yet to have any problems. I mean fair enough ive crunched a gear here and there, but at the time it was due simply to a driving error.

I had the gearbox oil changed at my first service and they added a tube of nulon diff/gearbox treatment. Silky smooth gear changes.

Before i start snappin cogs i give the car a good chance to warm up before i drive off,then when i do i give it 10 minutes of nice easy slow/low rpm shifts.

Bit of mechanical sympathy goes along way. I disagree with people who say you should drive the car like you stole it from day one.

[leck]

Well one gear and three syncros are on order. Camberwell VW had a looksy and got everything organised for replacement start of Feb.

With the number of people going back for this i would say its an actual fault and nothing to do with how the cars driven although perhaps it comes on sooner for those that drive hard.

I cant wait for it to be fixed though. Have been driving around having to shift under 3500rpm for 1st/2nd/3rd for three months now and anohter month wait is still on the cards :\. Some days are better than others, but its not pleasant and simply not what you buy a new car for

Camberwell VW are doing what they can though so hats of to them for trying to make it happen as quickly as possible.

[archangel_7]

Hey Guys, was getting a a loud grinding noise in first gear took it to the dealer and they have just oredered me a new gear box from Germany. Should be out of action for 3 weeks. covered under warranty, but i am still spewing! 35000kms

[insanekiwi]

Hi!
What sort of grinding noise do you get?

When driving my car normally it's fine, but like on traffic, if I hold on to first year or the second gear, it whines (on deceleration only) like the diff noise.

Especially if I am rolling down hill with first gear (and clutch fully pressed in), it whines also, if I take the lever out of 1st to neutral, the noise disappears.

Overall, the gearbox makes quite a bit of diff noise. 4th coasting between 50-70km apparently is really common. This I saw on a brand new 07 demo as well. It didn't make any noise in 1st or 2nd gear though.

I have no problem selecting gears at any rev, and noise isn't getting louder. The new gearbox oil has been put in a month ago. (new type / mineral instead of synthetic).

Hmmm.... it drives perfect, but noises annoy me. And just makes me worry if it's going to go kaputt!

[Flaps]

I recently had an LSD installed and had to have the box rebuilt as the synchros from 1st to 4th were worn. I'd never had one crunch or problem. I guess it was coming though

Seems like VW went cheap in certain areas when building the Polo...