Reverse Gear

[Bures]

My 2014 1.25 has now developed a worrying habit for jumping out of reverse gear
Put it into reverse, let out the clutch and Bang its jumped out

Are we looking at an simple adjustment here or a gear box problem
Fortunately, its still under the Used Warranty

[Titanium]

I have had numerous Fiestas and always had the same problem. My latest Fiesta X I purchased new in Aug 2016 I now have1800 miles on the clock still has the problem, I have to make sure that I place it in gear with a slight force as I have arthritis and tend to be rather gentle in engaging reverse gear to avoid the pain.

[iantt]

read the owners manual and it gives a procedure for selecting reverse. that advise is not as daft as it sounds . lol

[Bures]

1 hour ago, iantt said:

read the owners manual and it gives a procedure for selecting reverse. that advise is not as daft as it sounds . lol

I never occurred to me to read a book on how to select reverse !
Do you take me for some sort of idiot, the handbook states " not to engage reverse gear while moving forward"
I can tell the difference between jumping out of gear or stripping the gear wheels of their teeth !!

[Bures]

2 hours ago, Titanium said:

I have had numerous Fiestas and always had the same problem. My latest Fiesta X I purchased new in Aug 2016 I now have1800 miles on the clock still has the problem, I have to make sure that I place it in gear with a slight force as I have arthritis and tend to be rather gentle in engaging reverse gear to avoid the pain.

Well, I find that either very re-assuring or very worrying
My Fiesta has only done 10k, it only started last week, so I will try different techniques of engaging gear

Thanks for the advice

[Ryan_Tango]

33 minutes ago, Bures said:

Well, I find that either very re-assuring or very worrying
My Fiesta has only done 10k, it only started last week, so I will try different techniques of engaging gear

Thanks for the advice

Same when I had a Fiesta my technique was selecting first gear, move forwards ever so slightly like just a nudge then selecting reverse, I hated the Fiesta for this problem and came to be one of the reasons I finally got rid of it.

[Bobr]

The last three Fiestas I've had have all had that problem.   It's a design fault in the box.   If you don't make absolutely sure it's positively into reverse, sometimes there's no drive, just a grinding noise.

 

[iantt]

i dont take for some idiot, my apologies, the fiesta manual does not have the added note that the focus does regarding the 5speed transmission that they both share (ib/b5) reverse does not have a synchromesh. in the focus owners manual it states " fully depress the clutch and wait for 3 seconds before you select reverse gear."

give that a try .

[iantt]

it is a 1985 design box basically with a few updates over the years

[Bures]

10 hours ago, Bobr said:

The last three Fiestas I've had have all had that problem.   It's a design fault in the box.   If you don't make absolutely sure it's positively into reverse, sometimes there's no drive, just a grinding noise.

 

Yes, when it first occurred, I wondered what the heck had happened
I was on a grass verge, I selected reverse, there was a bang/crash then the engine was racing like fury - as I had my foot on the accelerator

[Bures]

9 hours ago, iantt said:

i dont take for some idiot, my apologies, the fiesta manual does not have the added note that the focus does regarding the 5speed transmission that they both share (ib/b5) reverse does not have a synchromesh. in the focus owners manual it states " fully depress the clutch and wait for 3 seconds before you select reverse gear."

give that a try .

Ok, I will give that a try
I was under the assumption, your reply was some sort of joke
Sounds a feasible option to try

[Maltozo]

It's a 'characteristic'! ....and a very well known too! Iv'e had couple of Fiesta's over past year or so; a 'standard' Zetec S and a  Zetec S Red Edition, both exhibiting very similar traits. Just try various little 'tricks'/ways when selecting reverse. My S would best select reverse by holding onto/pulling back the gear lever as I lifted the clutch when it would then quite positively 'snick' into gear halfway up the pedals travel - before the clutch engaged! Difficult to get used to at first but eventually my jittery nerves calmed down as I realised it worked most of the time. Also try holding down clutch for 3 or 4 secs first etc etc. Mostly worse at cold start-up. Essentially as another comment says, gearbox is the weakness/ ancient and not really up to the job in this the 21st century, if ever it was any good in the first place. Apparently no 'cure' except eventual gearbox replacement if it gets bad. Not actually heard of many if any totally failing though?? Would simply get dealership to 'log' it when you book it in for its next service in case it gets intolerable but very much likely to remain an irritating ruddy nuisance. You are not alone! 

[Russ]

No synchromesh on reverse gear hence you have to depress clutch, wait a couple of seconds (to let the gears stop rotating) then slip it into reverse gear. Not a problem when you know!

[dfriel2]

I had thought that my reverse gear was on the way out, until I read this thread.. now I use it properly, and it works! Thanks.

[iantt]

just give it a few seconds and it works fine for me, if i had a £1 for every time ive had to explian to customers why and how. lol