Hi can anyone tell me whether the gaiter around the gearstick is actually attached the stick , or can you push it downwards away from the knob to reveal the steel gearstick?

I posted elsewhere about my SRS fault , and while the good news is they finally found the problems (driver's seat airbag)after 3 return trips to the workshop, the centre console has been removed at least 2 times. So I only noticed the gaitor 'feature' when trying to resolve something else they broke in the process.

They have somehow 'upset' the speed related gate that stops you being able to pust the stick across into the reverse gate at speed. Without this , getting to 5th & 6th is an art , bit lit stirring a pudding! Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Thks

As far as I knoe the speed related thing that does not allow you to engage reverse instead of the 6 is electronic so they either broke it orforget to plug it back.
If you are now able to engage reverse instead of the 6 maybe you should tell them soon as this can develope into a big problem.
Maybe just tell them that you just noticed and called them as soon as you saw.
Might also be a good ideea to call LR Assist and tell them as they might know more than the dealer and be able to fix it sooner  FREELANDER 2 TD4 SE (XS UK) IZMIR BLUE SIDE STEPS COLD PACK BI-XENON TINTED WINDOWS - AND PROUD OF HER

not your place to fix it, why should you

Call them and also see if LRA will fix it on the ground you could catastrophically damage the gear box with it not working  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

The question about the gaiter moving ?

If on other cars it isn't able to slide down , then my guess is that a piece of plastic has broken away from the retaining ring and dropped down in to "gate" workings.

It's booked in to be looked at in a weeks time , so if someone can give me answer as to whethe their gaiter is fixed or free it would be useful.

When I bought mine I asked the dealer abt reverse and if I have to raise or push the gear box lever and he said that this is done automatically as the gear box bloks the reverse over a certain spead.
Therefore I don't think that the reverse blocking item is a simple plastic thing (broken or not fixed correctly)
In cars that have the reverse coupled by raising/lowering the lever the reverse gear drive is either over or under the normal gears . In this case I would say the reverse drive train is on the same plane as the normal drive and is coupled at low speeds only. The decision of engaging the reverse or of the 6 gear is done probably by a mechanical appliance electronically controlled so I would say don't mess with it yourself as this would certainly invalidate your warranty. As this is an important matter I don't think LR reliedon a bit of plastic.
Did you ask LRA to come and have a look?
What did the dealers/LRA comment? FREELANDER 2 TD4 SE (XS UK) IZMIR BLUE SIDE STEPS COLD PACK BI-XENON TINTED WINDOWS - AND PROUD OF HER

The reverse lock-out is controlled by a solenoid in a plastic housing just below where the gear stick gaiter is. I know because the LR tech showed me. He simply 'yanked' (although I'm sure he knew excatly where to yank) the trim (silver om mine) around the base of the lever upwards. The gaiter came with it to reveal a white insulating blanket (looks like a small duvet), under that is the solenoid housing.
As for the gaiter iteself mine seems to be attached to the base of the knob (oooerr missus) by some kind of O ring.
Hope this helps
Harry

Excellent ham888 , just what I was after

Thks

Thought I'd give an update ... went back to the dealer who checked the solenoid , and said there was no issue with , but would order a replacement. In fact I have not had the trouble since , so my guess is still something hooked out by the tech , or poor connection.
The gaiter is also not floating in the wind anymore , thanks Ham888 for that one so I could state with certainty it was not right!

Now if only they could fix the SRS warning light , so far it's had a new driver seat airbag assy , and an instrument pack, but with their loan car on my drive folks think I'm replacing my car evey year for the latest registration.