[bykerdawg]

Sigh. This is such a predicament. I'm looking at a broken gearshift, on a brand New Chevrolet Beat. And the car doesn't belong to me :(. Apparently I muscled in the pin-type gear lock on the third failed attempt a bit too much, after slotting the car into reverse (the pin locks the gearshift in reverse). I left and when I came back a few hours later, I pulled out the gear lock and the gear shift was dangling like a limp you-know-what. Its a 4 day old car :(. Not to take anything away from the fact that it seems like an outright mistake on my part, I just went along with the whole new-things-take-a-while-to-get-into-the-groove feeling about it, and just didn't know how much force was unusual. It snapped shut and I shrugged and walked off.

Now it's broken. Any ideas on what could be the damage? It's a cable shift, so I'm guessing the linkage could have given away? Or is it possible that idiotic Jonny Bravo here might have done more damage? :(

I'm losing my bearings, coz it isn't my car. I've had worse things happen to my Palio GTX and lived. I'm headed to the Chevy dealership tomorrow. Any tips on how not to get fleeced into replacing things that aren't broken or have nothing to do with this?

Also, is this something that is covered under warranty?
Or will they go all crazy on me?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by bykerdawg

Sigh. This is such a predicament. I'm looking at a broken gearshift, on a brand New Chevrolet Beat. And the car doesn't belong to me :(. Apparently I muscled in the pin-type gear lock on the third failed attempt a bit too much, after slotting the car into reverse (the pin locks the gearshift in reverse). I left and when I came back a few hours later, I pulled out the gear lock and the gear shift was dangling like a limp you-know-what. Its a 4 day old car :(. Not to take anything away from the fact that it seems like an outright mistake on my part, I just went along with the whole new-things-take-a-while-to-get-into-the-groove feeling about it, and just didn't know how much force was unusual. It snapped shut and I shrugged and walked off.

Now it's broken. Any ideas on what could be the damage? It's a cable shift, so I'm guessing the linkage could have given away? Or is it possible that idiotic Jonny Bravo here might have done more damage? :(

I'm losing my bearings, coz it isn't my car. I've had worse things happen to my Palio GTX and lived. I'm headed to the Chevy dealership tomorrow. Any tips on how not to get fleeced into replacing things that aren't broken or have nothing to do with this?

Also, is this something that is covered under warranty?
Or will they go all crazy on me?

First of all, relax! You seem to be quite upset, and understandably so.

I'm sure the car has insurance, and even if warranty doesn't cover damages, insurance should help.

There isn't much that one can say from what you've mentioned. But from what I understand, it's the linkage that has taken the hit. I don't believe that there is much damage otherwise. Do take it to the service center ASAP, and give us the low-down.

Next time, please be careful. Don't wrestle with ANYTHING in the car. Some components might be delicate and you don't want to be caught in a similar situation again.

EDIT: The best thing to do to avoid getting fleeced is: Stay with the car at the workshop and take a mechanic/enthusiast -friend along with you. Don't leave the car at the service-station and walk away. Ask questions, talk about warranty, stay on top of the mechanic and engineers around there. Show them that you're genuinely concerned, and ask them for a proper break-up of the bill. Sit on their heads if you have to. If you choose to be ignorant, they will fleece you. But if you show concern and interest, they may think twice and won't take their chances.

The kind of people who generally get fleeced are the ones who send their drivers along with their cars to the service-centers, or drop of the cars and ask for a bill in the mail. People who don't show interest and concern are the ones who are most likely to be sent a huge bill. And they're most likely to pay up without asking questions either!

[bykerdawg]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

First of all, relax! You seem to be quite upset, and understandably so.
=============================
And they're most likely to pay up without asking questions either!

Thanks for the pointers, Suhas . Yea, the car has insurance. Although I plan to pay for the damages if it isn't covered under warranty. I'm going to camp at the service center while this is taken care of. I'm also hoping its nothing too serious.

[Firebird]

Just a small note from me.

I had Chevy UVA then. I had experienced a similar (not same) situation on a daily drive to work. While down-shifting from 2nd to 1st, I did little extra efforts and i heard "clong" sound. The gearshift just became loose on the left side and would not stand in middle. All gear were engaging however, I had to search for 1st and 2nd gear.

The issue was with gearshifter spring . one of the spring came loose at 6K km. I made them cover under warranty and the entire shifter assembly was changed.

You may want to convey which will ease the situation at service center.

[libranof1987]

A loose gear shaft could also be attributed to the clutch cable not being fitted properly. And in a hugely remote case, the gear cable.

A.S.S should diagnose it better; do try your luck with warranty/reducing the replacements!

[cyberwhizs]

Interesting, are the mechanicals in the beat so delicate? or was there been a malfunction in the first place which has led to this.

[ragzv]

Recently in my friend's 1 year old Dzire Diesel 1st & Reverse gears got 'locked' out - This is how he explained, actually he was unable to engage the said gears and the rest of the gears worked fine.

The car was repaired under warranty within an hour and the culprit was two broken/damaged 'linking pins' as was explained by the SA. My friend was thus saved from the nightmare of an internal gearbox problem.

So the problem maybe small and also get solved under warranty.