bmcqueen
21-10-2010, 12:04 PM
Beware of early Dual Mass flywheel failure in VW-Audi group cars!
I have just discovered that the Dual Mass flywheel in my Golf Plus 1.9 TDI (55 plate)flew apart in the clutch bellhousing after only 39K miles. The symptom was a rattling for a few hundred yards and then the engine 'seized' and refused to turn over.
After investigation by a local independent dealer, the fault was traced back to the flywheel. One of the springs in the flywheel had worked its way through the flywheel casing and had embedded itself into the bellhousing wall.
After doing some research on the web it would seem that the dual mass flywheel, used to reduce engine vibration, has had some reliability issues in a few vehicles. In town drivers with frequent stop starts are more likely to suffer from a low mileage flywheel failure as its having to do much more work.
The garage who fixed my vehicle said that the V -Audi-Skoda dual mass flywheel has demonstrated a poor reliability record due to the volume of vehicles they have had to repair. Taxi drivers are apparently already aware of this problem.
I contacted VW about this reliability fault, but as I hadn't taken it to a dealer, they were not interested. I offered the parts, and an opportunity to review the vehicle but they declined.
A replacement Dual mass flywheel from an independent dealer cost 900 pounds to repair. And it would have been more expensive had the spring caused additional damage to the bellhousing and broken the alloy wall seperating the differential from the clutch.
This has been an expensive way to learn about dual mass flywheels and I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has had a dual mass flywheel failure on a VW, Audi or Skoda
I guess I'll be thinking twice about purchasing another Volkswagen. Unseen low milage reliability issues such as this should not be a frequent occurence in todays vehicles.
- Caveat Emptor
I have just discovered that the Dual Mass flywheel in my Golf Plus 1.9 TDI (55 plate)flew apart in the clutch bellhousing after only 39K miles. The symptom was a rattling for a few hundred yards and then the engine 'seized' and refused to turn over.
After investigation by a local independent dealer, the fault was traced back to the flywheel. One of the springs in the flywheel had worked its way through the flywheel casing and had embedded itself into the bellhousing wall.
After doing some research on the web it would seem that the dual mass flywheel, used to reduce engine vibration, has had some reliability issues in a few vehicles. In town drivers with frequent stop starts are more likely to suffer from a low mileage flywheel failure as its having to do much more work.
The garage who fixed my vehicle said that the V -Audi-Skoda dual mass flywheel has demonstrated a poor reliability record due to the volume of vehicles they have had to repair. Taxi drivers are apparently already aware of this problem.
I contacted VW about this reliability fault, but as I hadn't taken it to a dealer, they were not interested. I offered the parts, and an opportunity to review the vehicle but they declined.
A replacement Dual mass flywheel from an independent dealer cost 900 pounds to repair. And it would have been more expensive had the spring caused additional damage to the bellhousing and broken the alloy wall seperating the differential from the clutch.
This has been an expensive way to learn about dual mass flywheels and I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has had a dual mass flywheel failure on a VW, Audi or Skoda
I guess I'll be thinking twice about purchasing another Volkswagen. Unseen low milage reliability issues such as this should not be a frequent occurence in todays vehicles.
- Caveat Emptor