Gear slipping to neutral? - Wagon R

risga · 18th January 2008, 15:57

Faced a similar issue with my Wagon R. While going over a pothole at relatively low speed, the gearbox became rough. Only 1st & 2nd gear engaging, that too with difficulty.

As I had seen this thread, first thoughts were that some link is broken. After driving slowly to the work-shop found out that the engine mounting bolt had broken. Took a couple of hours to get it fixed.

Set me back by 1000 bucks, as a cross member also had to be replaced. as the broken bolt could not be dislodged from the cross member.

johy · 18th January 2008, 16:19

Car still at the dealers. They tried to reproduce the problem, but they have not been successful thus far.

They are going to keep the car overnight to check for issues.

What do I do if they are not able to "reproduce" the problem?

Jaggu · 18th January 2008, 16:33

aree baba johy. replace the bushes and inspect the linkages first, this is from hands on experience

synchro and all for later (IF) things become very bad

johy · 19th January 2008, 13:37

Just back from the dealers. They have changed the gear lever assembly. Hope this suffices. They have asked me to drive it for a few days before letting them know of the results.

johy · 21st January 2008, 13:29

Problem recurred today, twice, both in 2nd gear and I was going over a kuccha road (mostly stones) at around 15-20 kmph.

I took the car immediately to the dealer. They said they will look into the gear box this time.

johy · 24th January 2008, 17:53

Continuing on my problem, I spoke to the dealers today and and asked the service department on how far they had progressed. They said they were changing the "Gear Lever Assembly." That got me furious as I told them that when I gave my car on the 18th, they claimed to have done the same thing (Changed the gear lever assembly), and today they are giving me the same story!!!

Then the technician said that it was "another lever."

I took this up and escalated the email that I had earlier written to Maruti (first email was written on the 22nd of January). I then got an call within an hour of the email from the Calcutta office of Maruti from the Deputy Manager/Territory Service Manager, a Mr. Amitava Ghosh looking into all the dealerships in West Bengal.

He assured me that Maruti would get my problem resolved and that I need not worry about it at all. He assured me that they would make all repairs at to the gear problem at their expense - even if it is not covered under warranty. I don't know, but aren't all gear problems covered by warranty? Anyways, I told him fine; I wanted the problem resolved as I had lost confidence in the car and the company. He also clarified that today they had replaced a ?linkage lever ... and that Maruti would rectify any gear box issues if it came to that.

Then in the evening I got a call from the dealers that they had done the repairs, tried out the car, and the problem had not occurred - on cross-questioning, I realized that they had taken it on flat tarmac where the possibility of reproducing the problem is almost nil or next to nil

. So I have asked them to bring them over to my place tomorrow from where we can take the car to some bad patch of road ( stony roads) where the problem has been occurring frequently. I hope to come back with updates tomorrow.

DRC · 24th January 2008, 18:22

Johy, Dont worry,
Maruti had goofed up on this issue by design.
My friend had a same issue, which was sorted out b y the dealer.

Problem is a few batches of the Wagon Rs came out with a gear level bracket made of plastic. Later they realized they needed a metal one.
Maruti might have sent a recall notice on this, which dealers hardly execute some times.

johy · 24th January 2008, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRC

Johy, Dont worry,
Maruti had goofed up on this issue by design.
My friend had a same issue, which was sorted out b y the dealer.

Problem is a few batches of the Wagon Rs came out with a gear level bracket made of plastic. Later they realized they needed a metal one.
Maruti might have sent a recall notice on this, which dealers hardly execute some times.

Hope you are right there. I am worried...and the sooner this gets resolved, the better. Hoping for the best.

johy · 2nd February 2008, 06:54

The car is back now. They changed the gear lever assembly again and this time the gears did not slip; I have been doing bad roads for a while now.

The gear also certainly feels different, very different and unlike a Wagon Rs.

One thing I have noticed though, on 2nd, 3rd, 4th gears, when I put my foot off the accelerator, I feel the rpms are coming down much faster than earlier (pre-gear slippage problem), as if engine braking had improved. Is that an expected thing? Or are we looking at a new problem?

ankit.jhamb · 2nd February 2008, 10:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW-X5

.But happends only if i hit a pot hole or bad patch at good speed. I have read some where that this issue exists with Santro as well.

Has happened to my santro,gear changes from 5th/3rd to neutral...very common problem

johy · 2nd February 2008, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by johy

One thing I have noticed though, on 2nd, 3rd, 4th gears, when I put my foot off the accelerator, I feel the rpms are coming down much faster than earlier (pre-gear slippage problem), as if engine braking had improved. Is that an expected thing? Or are we looking at a new problem?

Looking at the RPM meter, one does not notice any rapid decline of the rpms, but I just feel the engine braking is much more now .

Alfa_Kilo · 2nd February 2008, 13:39

A selected 'gear' is held in place by two sets of spring loaded cams/tabs. One set is found in the synchro rings and the other in the shift rail. If either is not functioning, the 'gear' may disengage.

Changing the gear lever assemby may be a short term solution if the problem is with the synchro rings.

alankarmotor · 2nd February 2008, 16:31

Hi the probelem u r facing in your WR is basicaly due to a defective gear lever selector shaft. This was identified as a faulty batch of these shafts supplied by the vendor, here the issue can be resolved by changing the angle of this shaft,however since your veh is under wtty. just go to the dealer ask him to replace this shaft and not to touch any other part. This work should take about half an hour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johy

My 1.5-year old WagonR seems to be having a recurrent problem now. When I am on bad roads and going at maybe 50 or so, when there is a lot of jerking/jolts, the gear seems to come to Neutral (happened from Gear 3 as well as Gear 4).

It happened twice before in the past (in 1 year), but both times I was not sure if the gear had engaged properly in first place. However, it happened twice today so there is a problem.

What could be wrong? Please help.

Car is under extended warranty.

EDIT: Just came across this Slipping Gears - Suzuki Forums: Suzuki Forum Site

johy · 2nd February 2008, 18:39

Hi alanksarmotor,

Thanks for your reply. I think the second time they change the gear lever assembly plus the shaft as well - I will have it confirmed.

@alfa - if the problem was a sychro ring problem, won't it recur very soon if they just replace the gear lever assembly/gear lever selector shaft? Problem has not recurred since the change.

johy · 21st February 2008, 08:27

It has been a while since the dealer replaced my gear lever assembly and the shaft, and although the gear has not slipped (to neutral) since then, I have noticed the following problems.

1) Increase in Engine whine. Most noticeable in gears 1, 2, and 3.

2) The car feels heavier than before - needs more accelerator to reach the same speeds. This is especially noticeable on gears 2 and 3. On the 2nd and 3th gears especially, feels like something is "stopping" or "pulling back" the car.

3) When downshifting from 4th to 3rd gear there is a lot of jerking - when downshifting from 5th to 4th gear - the jerking is not so obvious.

My brother is taking the car to the dealers again today to have the issues looked into. What might be the cause of these problems? Gentlemen please help.

18th January 2008, 15:57	#16
risga BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 233 Thanked: 59 Times	Faced a similar issue with my Wagon R. While going over a pothole at relatively low speed, the gearbox became rough. Only 1st & 2nd gear engaging, that too with difficulty. As I had seen this thread, first thoughts were that some link is broken. After driving slowly to the work-shop found out that the engine mounting bolt had broken. Took a couple of hours to get it fixed. Set me back by 1000 bucks, as a cross member also had to be replaced. as the broken bolt could not be dislodged from the cross member.
	() Thanks

18th January 2008, 16:19	#17
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Car still at the dealers. They tried to reproduce the problem, but they have not been successful thus far. They are going to keep the car overnight to check for issues. What do I do if they are not able to "reproduce" the problem?
	() Thanks

18th January 2008, 16:33	#18
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,318 Thanked: 16,664 Times	aree baba johy. replace the bushes and inspect the linkages first, this is from hands on experience synchro and all for later (IF) things become very bad
	() Thanks

19th January 2008, 13:37	#19
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Update: Gear lever assembly changed Just back from the dealers. They have changed the gear lever assembly. Hope this suffices. They have asked me to drive it for a few days before letting them know of the results.
	() Thanks

21st January 2008, 13:29	#20
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Update Problem recurred today, twice, both in 2nd gear and I was going over a kuccha road (mostly stones) at around 15-20 kmph. I took the car immediately to the dealer. They said they will look into the gear box this time.
	() Thanks

24th January 2008, 17:53	#21
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Re: More updates Continuing on my problem, I spoke to the dealers today and and asked the service department on how far they had progressed. They said they were changing the "Gear Lever Assembly." That got me furious as I told them that when I gave my car on the 18th, they claimed to have done the same thing (Changed the gear lever assembly), and today they are giving me the same story!!! Then the technician said that it was "another lever." I took this up and escalated the email that I had earlier written to Maruti (first email was written on the 22nd of January). I then got an call within an hour of the email from the Calcutta office of Maruti from the Deputy Manager/Territory Service Manager, a Mr. Amitava Ghosh looking into all the dealerships in West Bengal. He assured me that Maruti would get my problem resolved and that I need not worry about it at all. He assured me that they would make all repairs at to the gear problem at their expense - even if it is not covered under warranty. I don't know, but aren't all gear problems covered by warranty? Anyways, I told him fine; I wanted the problem resolved as I had lost confidence in the car and the company. He also clarified that today they had replaced a ?linkage lever ... and that Maruti would rectify any gear box issues if it came to that. Then in the evening I got a call from the dealers that they had done the repairs, tried out the car, and the problem had not occurred - on cross-questioning, I realized that they had taken it on flat tarmac where the possibility of reproducing the problem is almost nil or next to nil . So I have asked them to bring them over to my place tomorrow from where we can take the car to some bad patch of road ( stony roads) where the problem has been occurring frequently. I hope to come back with updates tomorrow.
	() Thanks

24th January 2008, 18:22	#22
DRC BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cockpit Posts: 911 Thanked: 66 Times View My Garage	Johy, Dont worry, Maruti had goofed up on this issue by design. My friend had a same issue, which was sorted out b y the dealer. Problem is a few batches of the Wagon Rs came out with a gear level bracket made of plastic. Later they realized they needed a metal one. Maruti might have sent a recall notice on this, which dealers hardly execute some times.
	() Thanks

2nd February 2008, 06:54	#24
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Car back now - rpms come down faster??? The car is back now. They changed the gear lever assembly again and this time the gears did not slip; I have been doing bad roads for a while now. The gear also certainly feels different, very different and unlike a Wagon Rs. One thing I have noticed though, on 2nd, 3rd, 4th gears, when I put my foot off the accelerator, I feel the rpms are coming down much faster than earlier (pre-gear slippage problem), as if engine braking had improved. Is that an expected thing? Or are we looking at a new problem?
	() Thanks

2nd February 2008, 13:39	#27
Alfa_Kilo BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jaipur Posts: 328 Thanked: 13 Times	A selected 'gear' is held in place by two sets of spring loaded cams/tabs. One set is found in the synchro rings and the other in the shift rail. If either is not functioning, the 'gear' may disengage. Changing the gear lever assemby may be a short term solution if the problem is with the synchro rings.
	() Thanks

2nd February 2008, 18:39	#29
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Hi alanksarmotor, Thanks for your reply. I think the second time they change the gear lever assembly plus the shaft as well - I will have it confirmed. @alfa - if the problem was a sychro ring problem, won't it recur very soon if they just replace the gear lever assembly/gear lever selector shaft? Problem has not recurred since the change.
	() Thanks

21st February 2008, 08:27	#30
johy BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Siliguri Posts: 988 Thanked: 631 Times View My Garage	Update - new problems? It has been a while since the dealer replaced my gear lever assembly and the shaft, and although the gear has not slipped (to neutral) since then, I have noticed the following problems. 1) Increase in Engine whine. Most noticeable in gears 1, 2, and 3. 2) The car feels heavier than before - needs more accelerator to reach the same speeds. This is especially noticeable on gears 2 and 3. On the 2nd and 3th gears especially, feels like something is "stopping" or "pulling back" the car. 3) When downshifting from 4th to 3rd gear there is a lot of jerking - when downshifting from 5th to 4th gear - the jerking is not so obvious. My brother is taking the car to the dealers again today to have the issues looked into. What might be the cause of these problems? Gentlemen please help. Last edited by johy : 21st February 2008 at 08:30.
	() Thanks