The car comes out of gear on the slope!!!

[kedzis]

I noticed today that my Leon started to roll down slightly when i got into the car, i thought it maybe problem with the hand brake or maybe it was not applied properly. I checked it and hand brake was applied properly and the car was in first gear which normally would hold it on it's own, i released the hand brake and to my surprise i have noticed that car kept coming out of the gear without applying the clutch, i also tried reverse gear and it was the same, my drive it is not even very steep. I worry about the children which normally play in front of it. It is potentially very dangerous problem. I drove many cars in my life and i have never experienced anything similar. It is my first car with hill assist, but i do not think this is related to hill assist or is it? Can anyone try to park Leon on the hill and leave it on the first gear without the hand brake? Please make sure you have your keys in ignition in last position as without it you car will not have power in the brake and it is really difficult to hold it when car is switched off. I just wanted to add my engine is 1.2 petrol 105 and i have 6 speed manual gearbox. Anyone with similar problem?

 

[dw911]

Is the car jumping out of gear I.E the gear stick is moving on its own from first to neutral ?
Or do you mean the car is staying in gear but the steepness of the hill and weight of car is overcoming the compression of the engine?

 

[kedzis]

The weight of the car is overcoming the compression of the engine. There is only 2ft height difference in my drive so it is not very steep at all..

 

[dw911]

The weight of the car is overcoming the compression of the engine. There is only 2ft height difference in my drive so it is not very steep at all..

What previous cars are you compering it too?
It's a very small engined car and turbocharged engines have lower compression than normally aspirated ones.

Just my opinion, but I'd just say that was normal and not any sort of fault with the car

 

[kedzis]

so they would roll on first or reverse gear? I do not think is right? I used to drive different cars with different engines, but never with small turbocharged ones. Can anyone confirm their car does the same on small slope?

 

[dw911]

so they would roll on first or reverse gear? I do not think is right? I used to drive different cars with different engines, but never with small turbocharged ones. Can anyone confirm their car does the same on small slope?

All cars will will roll in gear if there are enough forces acting upon it, be that gravity and weight or someone pushing it to bump start it
It

Have you tried it more than once ?
It maybe the reason it seemed to roll easily was because the car was able to roll a little bit until the engine reached a compression stroke and that little bit of movement before reaching a compression stroke was enough for the weight and momentum of the car to overcome the compression of the engine and carry on turning over and for the car to carry on rolling ?

How easy is the car to push on the flat in gear?

 

[jimiC]

I worry about the children which normally play in front of it.

excuse my screwy logic but am i correct in reading that as the car is facing down the gradient? in which case id have the vehicle held with the handbrake and the gear set in reverse then it won't endanger the children by rolling forward. if facing up the slope id do the opposite and leave it in first gear.

the car might creep a little but i've only experienced that on fairly steep driveways and one extra click on the handbrake usually sorts it but if the brake is on as far as you're comfortable pulling (by which i mean its not difficult to release) and it's still rolling id take it to the dealers and have it checked. it's not referred to as a parking brake for nothing

 

[kedzis]

I tried parking upwards and downwards applied first or reverse gear in normal or opposite direction, it is still rolling downwards. I know that handbrake is creeping but I am talking about the gearbox, when parking without the handbrake. I always apply both but noticed today that leaving it in gear is not enough, the force is comparable to parking in second or higher gear in other cars. The car was empty with me onboard only and the gradient is very low. Do any owners of new Leon have similar problem? Have you tried? The problem is that if I would forget to apply the hand brake the car would roll on its own and it could hurt somebody below.

 

[jimiC]

applying the handbrake when the car is parked should be as routine as breathing. it's a key basic element to owning a driving license and a violation of the Highway Code if it's not used. your concerns of safety are rightly so which is why a dealer should examine it as soon you're able. for the time being and peace of mind id park with the wheels chocked with a brick or similar so it can't roll anywhere.

hope it gets sorted

 

[kedzis]

As long as a hand brake is applied and it is in the gear it is fine, my only concern is the very low resistance of the gears. I was hoping that someone could test it with his own Leon so I know if it is normal or not. Apart from that I am very happy with the car.

 

[kedzis]

I sent my Leon to the dealer as they could not test it them self with other car, i waited 30 days for and finally i received courtesy Ibiza 1.2 TSI 2014, before service department let me know what's wrong i already knew that it must be characteristic of this engine as on my driveway Ibiza did exactly the same, i found some info on internet about owners of other cars with small turbo engines experienced the same thing. Apparently those engines have very low compression which means i need to make sure i always apply properly handbrake even on the slight slope(mine is about 15 degrees) otherwise it will roll down. I am not sure if 1.4 will do the same. Anybody experienced similar thing?

 

[noonoo63]

Just a little tip ,press down the foot brake, keep it down and then pull up the hand brake you will find it will pull up further than just pulling on hand brake by itself. Think it has something to do with the hill hold function.

 

[kedzis]

Guys I know how to apply the handbrake, I also know tips about hill assist, thanks, but my main issue was car rolling on the gear without the handbrake, I drove many cars in the past and never experienced it, but now I know that small turbo engines have low compression, does this apply to 1.4? Can someone check?

 

[NinjaPirateUK]

Guys I know how to apply the handbrake, I also know tips about hill assist, thanks, but my main issue was car rolling on the gear without the handbrake, I drove many cars in the past and never experienced it, but now I know that small turbo engines have low compression, does this apply to 1.4? Can someone check?

Mine rolls in gear too. I have a 1.8 TSI and if I park facing uphill in 1st gear on a fairly shallow gradient the car will actually crank the engine over backwards. The compression of the engine isn't up to much for holding the car it seems.

After finding my car in the middle of the road one day after it rolled off the driveway, in gear, with the handbrake applied, I took it up with the dealer. Neither they, nor SEAT have a solution other than cranking on the handbrake.

 

[kedzis]

Mine rolls in gear too. I have a 1.8 TSI and if I park facing uphill in 1st gear on a fairly shallow gradient the car will actually crank the engine over backwards. The compression of the engine isn't up to much for holding the car it seems.

After finding my car in the middle of the road one day after it rolled off the driveway, in gear, with the handbrake applied, I took it up with the dealer. Neither they, nor SEAT have a solution other than cranking on the handbrake.

Finally some direct answer, thank you! Anybody else? Don't you think it can be potentially leathal?, there are children constantly playing in front of my driveway, i just want to avoid an accident, i thought that handbrake should help, but it seems that it does not always help. When I noticed rolling for first time I had handbrake also applied. After some time applying handbrake feels different, before it did not click and was very resistant, now it clicks and is more like in normal car. Maybe because I use it combined with brake pedal?

 

[Mr Pig]

You shouldn't be relying on the engine to hold the car anyway. That's what the handbrake is for. Leaving the car in gear is a sensible additional precaution but is not in itself a reliable way to secure the car.

 

[NinjaPirateUK]

You shouldn't be relying on the engine to hold the car anyway. That's what the handbrake is for. Leaving the car in gear is a sensible additional precaution but is not in itself a reliable way to secure the car.

I wasn't relying solely on the engine when mine rolled. The handbrake held it for about 5 hours, then started to creep. I'm not sure why, it was firmly applied. In normal circumstances you would expect the engine compression to hold the car, but it doesn't. The mechanical disadvantage to the wheels should have been massive in this situation.

My point is that you can't rely on the handbrake or the engine to hold the car. With my driveway situation, I can even angle the wheels into a kerb to stop it.

I pointed out to the dealers that this is a safety issue. That said, I also appreciate that when my car does cause an accident in my absence, it will be very difficult for me to prove that the handbrake was correctly applied.

All TSI Leons should come with wheel chocks as standard.

 

[Mr Pig]

Handbrakes that are working on a disk-brake seem to be more prone to slipping than they were back in the day when it was all drum brakes. I've seen/heard of them slipping a few times over the years with some cars being well known for it. Years ago my boss had a big Rover that did it. I've seen a car roll slowly down a slope in a car park into another car. It's not a new problem although you'd think it would be fixed by now.

One bugbear of mine is that Seat have not bothered to move the handbrake over to the right for the right-hand drive cars. They've just left it next to the passenger seat. It make it awkward to pull and harder to tell just how hard it's on. I'm going to write to Seat and complain about it. They haven't moved the bonnet release lever over either.

 

[mick_n3]

Guys I know how to apply the handbrake, I also know tips about hill assist, thanks, but my main issue was car rolling on the gear without the handbrake, I drove many cars in the past and never experienced it, but now I know that small turbo engines have low compression, does this apply to 1.4? Can someone check?

I have a 2.8 Shogun 4x4 park it on a slope in first gear no handbrake it rolls, that's why vehicles are fitted with a handbrake or park brake.

If the handbrake isn't working properly take it to the dealer asap if the hand brake holds then there is no fault with car
simples

 

[Seastormer]

Glad I have a DSG, the car can't be left unless in park (the key won't come out) and that locks the gearbox.