Corsa Transmission Nightmare: Grinding & Shifting Issues

Hi there! I had a similar issue with my 2017 Vauxhall Astra diesel last year (I have some experience working on cars, but nothing too advanced). The symptoms you're describing sound very familiar, my car had exactly the same problems with irregular shifting and those annoying grinding noises. Turned out it was a faulty wiring harness that was causing all these transmission-related issues. Took it to my regular workshop, and they diagnosed and fixed it in about a day. Cost me around 180 Euro, which wasn't too bad considering all the symptoms it was causing. Before I can share more specific advice, how many miles are on your Corsa? Did these issues start suddenly or gradually? Have you had any recent work done on the transmission? I might be able to give you more targeted suggestions once I know these details. Hope this helps!

Thanks! My Corsa's at 238631 KM and had its last service about 2 months ago. The issues started gradually, like over a couple of weeks. The grinding got worse when the weather turned cold. Haven't had any transmission work done before, just regular maintenance. Your Astra situation sounds pretty similar to what I'm experiencing. £180 doesn't sound too bad at all, I was worried it might be something major with the gearbox itself. Did you notice any warning lights on your dash before getting it fixed? Just wondering if I should take it to the dealer or if a local garage would be able to handle it.

Hey again! Yeah, looking at those details, it's even more similar to what I experienced with my Astra than I initially thought! Mine was around 220,000 KM when these issues started, so pretty close to your mileage. And funny you mention the cold weather, that's exactly when mine started acting up more too! About the warning lights, actually, I only got intermittent check engine lights, nothing specific to the transmission. That's partly why I was so worried at first. But here's something interesting, before taking it to the garage, I tried disconnecting the battery for about 15 minutes (something I read online). It temporarily made the gear display work better, but the grinding and shifting issues came back after a few days. I ended up taking mine to a local garage that specializes in Vauxhalls. They were great and way cheaper than the dealer. The wiring harness issue was actually pretty common in our models, so most decent local garages should be familiar with it. Just make sure they have experience with Vauxhall transmissions. One tip though, get it checked soon. I waited a couple of weeks hoping it would sort itself out, and the grinding just got worse. Better to get it sorted before it potentially causes more damage! Let me know how you get on with it!

Thanks so much for all the detailed info! That's really helpful, especially about the battery disconnect trick, might try that while I'm looking for a garage. It's good to know I'm not the only one who's dealt with this issue. I actually know a local garage that specializes in Vauxhalls just a few miles from me, so I'll give them a call tomorrow. You're right about getting it sorted quickly, especially with this cold weather, I don't want to risk making it worse. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. It's definitely made me feel less worried about the whole situation, knowing it might just be the wiring harness rather than a complete gearbox failure. I'll update here once I get it looked at, in case anyone else runs into the same problem. Thanks again for your help!