Golf 5 Gearbox: Won't Shift Gears While Driving (Solution)

Hello,

I have a Golf 5 GTI here that belongs to my brother-in-law.
All the gears shift perfectly well when the car is stationary (manual 6-speed transmission), whether the engine is running or not. However, once you start moving, it becomes difficult to properly engage the 2nd, 4th, and 6th gears.
There's no resistance, meaning I can fully retract the lever, but at the same time, no gears are being engaged.

Sometimes it works again for a while.
It's particularly bad in the 2nd and 4th gears.
Sometimes, it also helps to hold the lever in place; it will then engage after 1-2 seconds.

I'm a bit at a loss here. If it were the derailleur cages, wouldn't the chainrings be very difficult to engage? Could it be related to the cables, that the chainrings are a bit harder to engage when riding, and that the defective cable is preventing the necessary force from being generated? (I've adjusted the cables, so it's not that).

Thank you very much for the answers!

best regards
Christian.

First, check if the movement of the gear lever is being transmitted directly to the shifting mechanism on the gearbox. It's possible that a Bowden cable has become detached or is loose, preventing the inner wire from being pushed correctly (e.g., not engaging the 2nd, 4th, or 6th gear). Is the gear lever in the center neutral position, or is it already pointing towards the rear?

If everything works correctly, we'll move on to the transmission. For that, we'll first need some data.

I can shift through all the gears while the bike is stationary. Does that mean it's impossible for a cable to have come off, or am I missing something?

I have already adjusted the ropes, and the lever is now perfectly centered.

What gearbox data would be required?

Quote:

I can shift through all the gears while the car is stationary. This means that it's unlikely a cable has come loose, or am I missing something?

Basically, yes, but make sure a 100% transfer occurs, and that, for example, a control cable doesn't slip out of its mounting due to vibration – before you proceed.

What happens when the engine is idling?

Data: Engine and transmission code, vehicle type, year of manufacture.

The gears are working perfectly in the LL.

I'll take a look at the gear mechanism tomorrow. Maybe we'll see something then.

First registration date: 03.06. Vehicle type: 1K1. I will find out the engine and transmission codes tomorrow morning.

Hello again,

The car is running again.

I only found the error by chance!
The gears could be shifted very easily directly on the gearbox itself, just like through the gear lever, so I was thinking more about the gearbox. I was also hesitant about the amount of work involved in removing the gear lever (completely removing the exhaust system from the turbo to the exhaust silencer, and removing the entire center console from inside the car).

Before I got to the gearbox, I held the ends of the cable in place and had someone else pull on the gear stick. At first, everything seemed normal, but after the third or fourth pull, the outer sheath of the shift cable popped out of its crimp (which is why I didn't have any problems with gears 1, 3, and 5, as the cable is pulled in those positions).
During the ride, the cable likely extended only a few millimeters (when shifting into the 2nd, 4th, or 6th gear) and then slid back into place. Since everything worked fine when the vehicle was stationary, this issue would have been impossible to detect.

Luckily, it wasn't too expensive!

Thank you again for your help!

Best regards,
Christian.

and thank you for the feedback.