gearbox and reverse gear issues!!

Hello im fairly certain of the prognosis of the issue but i thought id ask the like minded folk on here. since my wife has had the car approx 2 yrs and gone approx 10000 miles there has been an issue going into reverse ( it a spinning slipping metal to metal sound) i.e not fully engaging reverse now at first i just put it down to being new driver and not giving enough slap into gear. But now shes started to just slip/pop/jump out of gear (reverse only) so was thinking at least the cables could be giving a bit of slack but would expect that in other gears!
So i have also wondered if it could be gear box oil issue as ive never changed it and there is a weep from ns driveshaft seal and it could be low but im not thinking that going to be likely i got the oil the cables are £100 off of ebay and £142 from citroen.
could it be gearbox refurb time???? citroen c3 1.4 hdi lx manual original 2003 120000+

MATTHEW LOMAX wrote:So i have also wondered if it could be gear box oil issue as ive never changed it and there is a weep from ns driveshaft seal and it could be low but im not thinking that going to be likely

You don't need to change the gear box oil for the life of the car. BUT if its been leaking how can you know there is any oil in it?

You say its not likely, but I have never had an oil leak refill itself and only ever known them to continue to leak.

MATTHEW LOMAX wrote:But now shes started to just slip/pop/jump out of gear (reverse only)

I have not experienced this, but I would expect the gearbox over the cables.

MATTHEW LOMAX wrote:so was thinking at least the cables could be giving a bit of slack but would expect that in other gears!

Have a look at the forums fix for faulty gear cables thanks to Chapster, here https://citroenc3owners.com/citroen-c3-t ... t1519.html you may be able to recognise a faulty cable from the photo if you can compare them to yours.

MATTHEW LOMAX wrote:could it be gearbox refurb time????

If you drain the oil out and inspect it for bits of metal or anything that shouldn't be in there, you can get an idea from metal that you will need a replacement gearbox

well about a month ago i managed to get some work on the car done changed gearbox oil all was fine and then took centre console out and well i was surprised as it was exactly as was shown in the other post so i tried the screw and jubilee clips and they just broke off so i put the car in first gear and squashed the metal collar that's suppose to hold the sheathing in place then put duct tape around to hold into place and finally i added 6/7 cable ties tightly round it. So its been a month and she's still holding firm no subtitute for new cables but a workaround for now!

MATTHEW LOMAX wrote:well about a month ago i managed to get some work on the car done changed gearbox oil all was fine and then took centre console out and well i was surprised as it was exactly as was shown in the other post so i tried the screw and jubilee clips and they just broke off so i put the car in first gear and squashed the metal collar that's suppose to hold the sheathing in place then put duct tape around to hold into place and finally i added 6/7 cable ties tightly round it. So its been a month and she's still holding firm no subtitute for new cables but a workaround for now!

Thanks for the update!

If anyone else has the same problem and a temporary repair has failed or new cables are preferred, take a look at this link: for new C3 gear box cables.

Temporary repair tip is Click Here (Thanks to Chapster)