Clutch judder

[tom smith]

55 saloon. B6 60000 miles.
Developed clutch judder symptoms a month or two ago ( say Oct 07) primarily if trying to move off at low throttle sometimes on flat , agravated by an incline.
This kind of thing doesn't improve with age !

any news / history / sure solution... on this one please ?.

[mluton]

Have a search on the site for DMF and Dual Mass Flywheel. This could be the cause of the judder.


Welcome to the site

[imc]

My 2.0 TDi Sport (54,000 miles) has the same problem. On my car it is more apparent on cold damp mornings, on dry days its fine. The problem persits for the first couple 'pull aways' and then seems fine. Is yours the same ? I have taken mine into the dealer however they have not been able to see the problem and it only seems to happen in certain weather conditions.

Regards

imc

[JontraK]

I can confirm this. 1.9 TDI Sport 68K. I;ve had this 'problem' since 32k... Usualy in cold weather and only for the first 2-3 pull aways, then its fine... Doesnt bother me but I'd love to know what causes this :S

[domestos]

I havent had thos symptons on my 55 plate saloon 2.0 TDI... done 65k -

Could be related to your general car usage- Inner City / Motorway / Country - mine is mostly Motorway so rarely use the clutch.

[WAB]

Tom

I have a Feb. 07 Passat Estate 2.0Tdi with 13,000miles and am having a new clutch fitted 3rd Jan. under warranty. Symptoms in my car are exactly as yours. If I have to sit in a slow moving traffic jam it gets really embarassing as the car starts to visibly shudder.

According to my honest service manager at the VW dealer, the dual mass flywheel system has been a disaster for VW - it is responsible for the judder on take up of the clutch. The only remedy is a complete replacement - of which VW have had to do many on Passats and Sharans.

Just keep pestering the dealer - he is responsible to put it right. If you want to PM or Email me I'll tell you the result of my replacement in a couple of weeks time

[tom smith]

In answer to several responses ( thanks for those ) general usage,,,say 60% motor way rest 50 / 50 country roads and of course town. Must be the roughly the same for large no. of coy. vehicles on todays UK roads.
However since the initial posting...I am advised VW have very kindly contributed to replacing the flywheel & clutch ( m/c was OOW ). However the symptoms can still occur mildly, with care it can be more or less eliminated, but you have to work at it. If you let it happen and put up with it, it will surely be detrimental to the drive-line over time. I believe general clutch engagement TLC is reqd. to become instinctive with it. The rest of the car justifies it. We'll see how she is in a few '000 mls.
WAB...plse advise your results when available. Tnks. T.

[JontraK]

However since the initial posting...I am advised VW have very kindly contributed to replacing the flywheel & clutch ( m/c was OOW ).

Hi Tom,

How much did the job cost and how much did VW contribute... if its not a secret? I am thinking into paying them a visit about my judder problem.

Rob

[Pauloz]

A worn DMF doesnt normally cause judder to be honest - more vibrations and noise. Ford have had more DMF issues than VW, especially transit, but i dont think that there is a fundamental problem. Its just another point of failure, something else to go wrong in a complicated system. VAG's main issue was with the 2.0 TDI engines when all the flywheels had to be recalled - but that wasnt because they failed, it was a material problem.

Agressive use of the clutch pedal (or accelerator) doesnt harm a DMF, it driving in too high a gear and therefore too much torque in the system does (common with taxis - its not the stop/starting) and also any excessive heat build up. Definately dont hold the car stationary on a hill using the clutch - really really bad for the DMF and clutch.

[BenR]

Can you explain why and show us a picture of a dual-mass flywheel?