This has been an issue for me, really since I bought my car a year ago, but now seems worse.

When cold, the gearbox is fairly lethargic but only for a short time. On the road the gearchange is perfect. However when the car is well heated up, around town it starts off with a jerk from lights or junctions, especially when I need to move off quickly. I find this more and more irritating to the extent that I hate driving the car in town.

I've read a lot about Mechatronic problems on this site, and am concerned that this may be early symptoms of such.

The car was out of warranty on miles so I never approached Skoda.

Anyone got ideas or advice?

Do you sit in neutral at the lights (like you should do really) and then put the car into drive just as you want to pull away? If so that could be your problem, you are engaging drive and not giving the car enough time to disengage the clutch, engage the gear and let the clutch out before wanting to pull away. I do get a small jerk from time to time pulling away, when I try to anticipate the lights and put the car into D a few seconds before releasing the brake I have no problem at all. The biggest jerkiness I have is the dreaded roundabout syndrome when I catch the car out slowing down and then accelerate pulling onto the roundabout. It only seems to happen on the 3rd to 2nd change though, perhaps because 90% of the roundabouts I go around are in that speed range.

Ian

Do you sit in neutral at the lights (like you should do really) and then put the car into drive just as you want to pull away? If so that could be your problem, you are engaging drive and not giving the car enough time to disengage the clutch, engage the gear and let the clutch out before wanting to pull away. I do get a small jerk from time to time pulling away, when I try to anticipate the lights and put the car into D a few seconds before releasing the brake I have no problem at all. The biggest jerkiness I have is the dreaded roundabout syndrome when I catch the car out slowing down and then accelerate pulling onto the roundabout. It only seems to happen on the 3rd to 2nd change though, perhaps because 90% of the roundabouts I go around are in that speed range.

Ian

The car is at its worst from neutral but is still jerky even when already in drive. I phoned the dealer today won't discuss, must book in for diagnostics which I reckon is a waste of money at this stage.

Edited 8 April, 201115 yr by kenbo

Without the dealer hooking up their VAS diagnostic tool to check for any gearbox faults, its going to be difficult to say with any certainty what the problem maybe.

Without the dealer hooking up their VAS diagnostic tool to check for any gearbox faults, its going to be difficult to say with any certainty what the problem maybe.

I actually had the car at a local VAG specialist a couple of weeks ago for a wiring fault. I mentioned the gearbox issue but no codes or faults showing. Automatics not as common over here in Northern Ireland so it's hard to get advice.

A few years ago you could phone up a garage and speak to a mechanic who could give a bit of advice based on his experience . When I phoned the Skoda dealer I couldn't get past the receptionist who only wanted to book the car for diagnosis.

I suppose it's good business sense for them. I did speak to a service manager at a major Audi dealership, he told me they probably replace a mechatronic unit most months, not really what I want to hear.

Well, even if you have a mechatronic fault, they can be reconditioned.

Well, even if you have a mechatronic fault, they can be reconditioned.

I thought that the mechatronic unit was a main dealer job as the unit has to be matched to the car, and at over £1000, not a sum of money I want to spend on a 3 year old car.

I hate the complexity of modern vehicles.

I thought that the mechatronic unit was a main dealer job as the unit has to be matched to the car, and at over £1000, not a sum of money I want to spend on a 3 year old car.

I hate the complexity of modern vehicles.

This is why I opted for a 2.0 pd tdi and a manual gear box and no DPF , hopefully less to worry about, I am very old so I can remember ,with my enginering background that i would never set foot in a garage, when a engine was worn out you would bung in a recon or take a chance down the scrapyard,do my own welding, make and fit my own towbars, didn't need a bloody laptop to set points etc and diagnose problems. Hope your gearbox works out ok.

Go to a dealer and test drive any other car they have with the same engine/gearbox. If it behaves in the same way as yours then the effect is more likely to be based on your driving style or the way that set up works. If the car is completely different to yours then you know there are settings or parts that can be modified to change things.

Maybe try at least 2 or 3 other cars if they are available to be sure of the differences.

This is why I opted for a 2.0 pd tdi and a manual gear box and no DPF , hopefully less to worry about, I am very old so I can remember ,with my enginering background that i would never set foot in a garage, when a engine was worn out you would bung in a recon or take a chance down the scrapyard,do my own welding, make and fit my own towbars, didn't need a bloody laptop to set points etc and diagnose problems. Hope your gearbox works out ok.

Yes, you talk my language. I went for the 1.9 for the same reason but fancied the DSG as we already own 2 autos. I drove several cars with this transmission and liked them. Mine drove well on purchase albeit a bit sharp on take off. 10,000 miles on it's now much worse and I certainly didn't abuse it with harsh driving.

The cars of the nineties were in my opinion the best with a good balance of equipment, comfort, economy, and reliability and quite easy to maintain at home. My wife has driven a '95 Corsa auto for years, it's a great little car and I have a collection of older cars which I can maintain and enjoy in the Summer months (Manta GTE, 4wd Cavalier Turbo which I've had at 150 on a track, a very rare 205 GTI Auto....) I was spoiled by a Citroen Xsara, bought new in 1998 and which was unbelievably reliable over nearly 250,000 miles, I couldn't part with it when I bought the Skoda....I could start to drive it again!!

The Octy is probably unsaleable at the moment. I could trade it in by leaving it near a garage until it cooled and it would test drive well. That goes against my conscience though and I don't know what modern car I would want to buy in its place...Insignia perhaps with a ten year warranty? If I repair it, might as well keep it as I reckon I've been a bit unlucky, they're essentially good cars.

I thought that the mechatronic unit was a main dealer job as the unit has to be matched to the car, and at over £1000, not a sum of money I want to spend on a 3 year old car.

Well, it will need coding, but anyone with VCDS could do it. Also, even though I'd not be keen on a £1000 bill, compared to the cost of buying the 3 yo car is it that high? It's only the price of a service and a set of tyres after all- motoring is exepnsive these days, even if you run an old, relatively simple car.

I hate the complexity of modern vehicles.

The complexity does have it's upsides: todays cars are safer, perform better, are cleaner, and are more economical than older ones, while needing less servicing, and some of the complexity is what enables this.

Thought about a secondhand box?