[Dreamboat]

i have just taken the plunge on a 2003 Grand Vitara. Something I noticed during the test drive was movement in the gear lever when driving, most noticed in third gear. Like a vibration, nothin loose feeling, like the gear lever was being actively moved. I had a v8 Land Rover disco a few years back, and my memory was that there was a similar, but less noticeable feeling with that.
I have asked the dealer to look at it and rectify it before I hand over the cash. Is this likely to be an issue? Or do they all do this?

Dreamboat.

[fordem]

The gear shift is directly attached to the transmission, which is directly attached to the engine, so there is always a certain amount of vibration transmitted whenever the engine is running, and if the vehicle is being driven, there will probably be actual movement of the lever because the entire drivetrain will move as torque loading varies (it's mounted on rubber).

There could be an actual issue with worn or broken powertrain mounts (transfer case, transmission or engine) so asking the dealer to check on it is a good idea, however, if what you normally drive is either a front wheel drive vehicle or something with an automatic transmission, it could be nothing more than the normal or expected movement - the vehicles you would be familiar with will have a lot more linkage between the transmission and the shift, reducing the vibration & movement considerably.

[Dreamboat]

Thanks for that fordem... I had not expected the shift to feel the same as my old front wheel drive toyota, that's for sure.
The GV has done only 95,000 km, so not really expecting anything to be worn at this stage.