Toyota Aygo is there something wrong with my car?

[BadBanshee]

Not exactly a sports coupe, I know, but I like to drive it... enthusiastically... shall we say.

I'm not sure if this problem has arisen recently or has been there all along or whether it is even a problem at all. I love many things about this car. It's boot is big enough to fit the weekly shopping and it's one of the last of the era of featherweight cars, so it's lively off the mark for a 67bhp toy.

The thing I hate about it with a passion: The Gearbox.

It feels like stirring a pool of medicine balls with a disposable spoon.

It resists being put into 1st from anything above about 10mph unless you really force it. And it sounds and feels as though when I put it in 3rd there's a click I haven't heard before. Plus the interior is starting to rattle at certain engine speeds. Also, there's a burning clutch smell when I change it quickly (when I'm driving extra enthusiastically) even though I took my foot off the throttle when I dipped the clutch. Is there any way to DIY check the health of gearboxes? What should I be looking out for, or is this normal on a car with no sporty intentions whatsoever?

People talk alot about looking after their motor and I'm starting to wonder what I do to look after my motor. Not much off the top of my head. It goes in for its MOT every year... But I wouldn't say I misuse it. Wouldn't that involve crashing into a wall or tipping it upside down after going round a corner too fast? I've only been driving 6 months and to me looking after your car means reading a dipstick. Starting to wonder, what if I'm neglecting my car?

[BadBanshee]

Toecutter said:

You're clutch needs adjusting.

The clutch is operated via cable rather than hydraulically, so the cable streches and leads to the problems you are experiencing with the gearchanges.

Look here on how to do it.

http://www.c1oc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&...

Thanks for replying. Isn't the info on that page just to do with adjusting the bite and to prevent clutch slippage? My problem just seems to be a notchy jerky gear change. Doesn't seem to be a problem with clutch bite/slippage unless I misunderstand lol.

[BadBanshee]

Thanks again lol. I'll have a gander under the bonnet. Btw, how do you know all this? I wish there was a manual telling you exactly how your car works and all the possible things that could go wrong with it and how to fix it.

[BadBanshee]

We replaced the clutch with the newer 190mm one about 6 months ago. I didn't have my license when it went so I don't know how it felt. It's my gf's car actually. Just texting her now to ask her what she noticed about the clutch that made her take it in for repair.

[BadBanshee]

You guys are missing out big time. As soon as you start piling on the gears, you start killing the torque. 2nd gear at 10mph is pointless. Might aswell just resign yourself to boring driving because your wheels are rolling so it's too late to go into 1st... or knock it into 1st and watch what happens when you floor the throttle, especially mid corner

[BadBanshee]

I just think it's pretty foolish if you're sat in too high a gear and flooring the throttle wishing you had a more powerful car. Foolish because you're strangling its power in the first place.

[BadBanshee]

I'm not trashing her car at all...

[BadBanshee]

RobCrezz said:

Nothing wrong with flooring it in 1st, when you engaged it from stationary, but banging it into first when you are doing 10mph just wrong.

What's the difference? I can understand if you believe flooring it in first is wrong too, but if you're going at 10mph and you knock it down to 1st, you're revs are going to be much lower than if you floored it in first from setting off. When pushing hard I don't change up to 2nd gear until I'm at around 30mph. So at 10mph going from 2nd to 1st, doesn't seem like it should be a big deal at all.

[BadBanshee]

sunbeam alpine said:

BadBanshee said:

Not exactly a sports coupe, I know, but I like to drive it... enthusiastically... shall we say.

...It resists being put into 1st from anything above about 10mph unless you really force it...

And it sounds and feels as though when I put it in 3rd there's a click I haven't heard before...

Plus the interior is starting to rattle at certain engine speeds...

Also, there's a burning clutch smell when I change it quickly...

Starting to wonder, what if I'm neglecting my car?

I thought maybe your first post suggested you might have been mistreating it a bit - so I highlighted the bits which led me to think that it might not be enjoying your attentions as much as you seem to be.



P.S. When I come back from a hoon all I have is the smell of leather, hot oil and the plink plink of an engine cooling.

Maybe it's just that the Aygo has always had a gear change that's a bit of a pain, it's just that I didn't take much notice before. After all, it's not a sports car, so maybe the transmission never was Galaxy chocolate smooth. I like to push it a little, that's all.

[BadBanshee]

Toecutter said:

A clutch replacemnt 6 months ago and no evidence of clutch adjustment (the clutch has now started to wear) is most probably what is causing you problems with difficulty in engaging gears.

I would recommend replacing the gearbox fluid, it made a massive difference to the gearchange, especially in colder winter months.

I have a full set of winter tyres (Continental Wintercontact TS800) with steel wheels for the Aygo in my garage, PM me if interested?

Does gearbox fluid share the power steering fluid? (Top left) Can't see where else it would be

[BadBanshee]

MercScot said:

So you don't know the difference between a brake fluid reservoir and a gearbox and you are complaining that a gearbox on a car never designed to be driven in the way you are driving it is poor?

I would suggest there is nothing wrong with that poor Aygo.

And I would suggest that your opinion doesn't matter

[BadBanshee]

xRIEx said:

It's in the gearbox

Take it to a garage to change it.

Oh haha . How likely is it that the gearbox fluid will have been changed when going through MOT/servicing?

[BadBanshee]

AW35 said:

Toyota have not helped here. In order to give good fuel figures to sell more cars they put very long gearing in, from memory

1st approx 30-33
2nd about 65
3rd 90
4th 120+
5th 145

Considering it has 68bhp and top speed is 96mph those are quite ridiculous and means lots of cog swapping to keep up with traffic. 50-70 in 5th is more than 20 seconds, bad if you are on a multilane road.

The engine sounds good when extended (luckily) as it is a 3 pot of course.

What are those figures for each gear?

[BadBanshee]

Yeah they looked like mph figures but 4th and 5th didn't make sense to me lol. 1st 2nd and 3rd looks just right from experience. So the long gearing might explain why I feel like 2nd at low speeds is just dead, confirming I'm not a complete idiot for wanting to go into 1st.... A Thank You!