Volkswagen: not able to go in reverse, mr dempsey, shift mechanism

Question
Mr. Dempsey,

Thank you for fielding this question.

I own a 1999 manual trans, V6 jetta with 82,000 miles.

Out of nowhere - today, when I went to put my car in reverse, it just kept going forward. I moved the clutch around a couple of times, and tried again; still nothing. The car sat all day while I was working, when I started it up again and tried the reverse, still nothing.

I did notice that the clutch/shifter was extremely loose...while driving, all the other gears did work - no slipping going on..

could it be that I need to add transmission fluid - I've been driving a great deal lately - 200 plus mile road trips for work....

Hopefully it is something that is not too expensive to fix....

Thank you for your help.

Sam D.  

Answer
it is unlikely to be lack of fluid, however it may be as simple as the locating bolt for the shift mechanism has work loosed. this is something that could do with checking at a garage. this is the only thing i can really suggest, as it is the only thing i have ever come across for 1st gear being in reverse's place.