Test tomorrow but I have trouble going into 5th gear! Please help.

Hi all,

Basically I have my driving test tomorrow. I consider myself a good driver and can do all maneuvers very well and can drive around fine.

The only problem I have is going from fourth to fifth on dual carriageways. Almost EVERY time I attempt to go into fifth I go into third instead, obviously the car makes a horrendous noise and I go back into fourth and try again. Then I try to go into fifth again but I go into third again. Eventually I get it right after lots of coaxing from my instructor. Obviously tomorrow I will be expected to make a seamless transition, without any help from the examiner.

Does anyone have any advice on changing into fifth gear that might help me? At the moment I try moving to the right and up, but it seems to lock for some reason? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the car as my examiner teaches 12+ people a week who have no problems with this, so it must be something I'm doing wrong.

I'd love some advice as I've had an examiner in the car before checking my examiners teaching who said I was a great driver, so I would love any advice on how to solve this issue.

Thanks

Hi all,

Basically I have my driving test tomorrow. I consider myself a good driver and can do all maneuvers very well and can drive around fine.

The only problem I have is going from fourth to fifth on dual carriageways. Almost EVERY time I attempt to go into fifth I go into third instead, obviously the car makes a horrendous noise and I go back into fourth and try again. Then I try to go into fifth again but I go into third again. Eventually I get it right after lots of coaxing from my instructor. Obviously tomorrow I will be expected to make a seamless transition, without any help from the examiner.

Does anyone have any advice on changing into fifth gear that might help me? At the moment I try moving to the right and up, but it seems to lock for some reason? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the car as my examiner teaches 12+ people a week who have no problems with this, so it must be something I'm doing wrong.

I'd love some advice as I've had an examiner in the car before checking my examiners teaching who said I was a great driver, so I would love any advice on how to solve this issue.

Thanks

I didn't even end up going in 5th gear during my test.

But as long as you FIX it, they can't fail you. So if you go into 3rd, don't panic, just go back into 4th calmly.

Best of luck

Can you not spend sometime tonight in a parents car parked up just changing from 4th to 5th? It'll just be practice that is needed.

I have a lesson before my test tomorrow, so I could ask her to practice stationary then. Unfortunately I seem to go back to square one whenever I actually get on the road!

Reaching the last gear is just a matter of pushing the gear stick as far right as possible and the pushing it up, it should be a smooth action.



See how the line from 4th goes into neutral--right--and then up? (sorry if I sound patronising, I'm just making it simple). Just follow what it shows on the joy stick and don't push the gear stick straight up into 3rd, get into neutral then push right and then up. You will only need to get into 5th gear of a dual carriage way to meet the speed limit, luckily if it's busy you will not even have to go into 5th.

Hope I helped and good luck

Did you go on the dual carriageway? I don't really know how many test routes use the dual carriageway knowing my luck I'll go on it in the first five minutes. Ok, I'm ok with going back into fourth, I'm just worried they'll be expecting me to try fifth again!

Thanks

...

You may just be panicking when you get there. Try taking your time with the gear change. Make sure you find neutral and then push right. It's the same action as going 2-3.

I just dont understand in what universe it would be logical to ask a stranger for advice, rather than your instructor who should not only have expertise in driving, but also in teaching others to drive. And they should also know their car in and out.

On that note, have you also asked your dentist on how to find 5th gear? Perhaps he could help.

Hi all,

Basically I have my driving test tomorrow. I consider myself a good driver and can do all maneuvers very well and can drive around fine.

The only problem I have is going from fourth to fifth on dual carriageways. Almost EVERY time I attempt to go into fifth I go into third instead, obviously the car makes a horrendous noise and I go back into fourth and try again. Then I try to go into fifth again but I go into third again. Eventually I get it right after lots of coaxing from my instructor. Obviously tomorrow I will be expected to make a seamless transition, without any help from the examiner.

Does anyone have any advice on changing into fifth gear that might help me? At the moment I try moving to the right and up, but it seems to lock for some reason? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the car as my examiner teaches 12+ people a week who have no problems with this, so it must be something I'm doing wrong.

I'd love some advice as I've had an examiner in the car before checking my examiners teaching who said I was a great driver, so I would love any advice on how to solve this issue.

Thanks

Ok, I'll try and change gears more slowly. Do you need to push harder though? Maybe I'm just not pushing hard enough so it slips into 3 instead?

No, but went on a 60mph single road. But as long as you get up to 4th gear, you should be marked as an "eco safe" driver (there is a box for that on the results sheet).

Maybe work up on your gears slowly - like go into 3rd when you're on there, then go into 4th and hope you are then near the end of it. They will only expect you to go up to 5th when you are on the dual carriage way for a while (so just hope you get a short section of it )

They won't fail you for it, as long as you keep up with the speed in 4th, they can't do you for slow progress :nod: So yeah, if you do try and go into 5th and it doesn't go well, just fix it I tried to pull away in 3rd by mistake in my test, but realised and fixed it - didn't even get a minor for it

I just dont understand in what universe it would be logical to ask a stranger for advice, rather than your instructor who should not only have expertise in driving, but also in teaching others to drive. And they should also know their car in and out.

On that note, have you also asked your dentist on how to find 5th gear? Perhaps he could help.

What I've found best is to push towards the gear you want to get into as you push it towards neutral. So from third, get your hand around the gear stick and pull it towards you as you push it forward. When it goes forward into neutral, you should feel it shove over into the right position for you to get it into fifth. From there keep pulling it towards you as you push it forward into fifth, just to make sure it doesn't slip into the middle. I had a similar issue with my car when I started driving after I passed my test, because third looks like it should be first, so I kept changing into fifth instead of third and fourth instead of second. Not to mention pulling off in third If you're looking down when you change, try not to - you should be relying on feeling the gears anyway.

Also, pro-tip: Don't pull it towards you too hard or when you go into neutral it'll slip over and you'll probably let go.

Not to sound silly but just make sure that you have pressed the clutch down fully, and then once you have got to neutral, push the gear stick the whole way to the right and up

Um, obviously I've asked my instructor. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for advice on an issue I'm having trouble with, surely that's the point of a lot of posts on this forum. Sure no one here is probably an expert but they may have some helpful advice, as has already been seen.

Oh. Swear? You asked your dentist though?