1.4 TFSI COD manual clutch

[Wibbly]

Car is 12000 miles old, still under warranty. I'm second owner. Noticed clutch is getting juddery when released. It doesn't slip. Problem has improved for now since getting it hot by slipping it with reasonable power with handbrake on for a few seconds... Generally, I consider myself very light on the clutch - they last for ever in my cars (though I only had this car from 4500 miles)

Is this symptomatic of anything in particular or could it be 'any number of issues, including just a worn out/abused clutch that'll not be covered by warranty"?

Not keen on Audi doing an "investigation", as if it's not done under warranty in the end it will be MUCH more expensive than going to an independent, where warranty claim will likely be a problem anyway. Audi dealer said £600 just to split engine and gearbox to have a look if they need to... :-(

 

[Wibbly]

Anyone? Now at 14000 miles. Problem persists and when it judders it does it with the car cold or hot, but can be corrected for a while just by one or two clutch-slipping starts up a hill... Seems to get worse after many start/stops in traffic - i.e. using the clutch a lot but not aggressively.

 

[audiblue]

Sadly it could be any number of things which are at fault. It could well be the clutch failing, it could be the leak in the hydraulic slave cylinder etc etc.

If you are getting alot of juddering - without much actual clutch slip - then I wonder if it could be the dual mass flywheel (DMF) which is at fault.

As I understand it the VW-Group warranty on clutches only lasts for six months (since you could trash a clutch pretty quickly if you put your mind to it).

So I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but it sounds like this could be expensive and not covered by warranty.

If it is something more involved like a DMF - then I would expect some come-back from Audi at this mileage - but you need to get a proper diagnosis first.

Good luck.

 

[SDB]

I have the same car and similar issue, although not as severe as yours. I bought the car new so I know it's not been abused.
Often, when pulling away, the clutch seems quite 'grabby' and judders. It started at about 5k miles and I'm on 33k miles now and it hasn't got any worse (or better).
I can live with it as it s not too bad. I probably unkowingly modified my style of driving to minimise it.
I'm surprised not more people have commented, maybe it's not an issue that occurs often.

 

[Wibbly]

It definitely improves if the clutch gets 'used' a bit...

 

[BillyGiann]

Reviving this thread, as the second clutch kit is starting to complain at 40K (km) - the first one was replaced under warranty at 14K.

I am starting to accept that manual clutches of 8V are not the most durable parts (gently saying it) but the problem is that I cannot find any aftermarket alternative.

Does anyone know if sachs offers something for our model - 1.4 CoD 150 (CZEA , 180 with MTM) ?

Thanks

 

[BillyGiann]

No 1.4 fans here?

 

[Kayobong]

No 1.4 fans here?

Not too sure if diesel clutches are much different since they need to deal with more torque but I've done about 6k in the last two months and my car is on 80k now, not had a single issue with the clutch, maybe it's more of an issue in petrols?

 

[Mikeso51]

My recently acquired 2 year old 1.4 tfsi 150 has covered almost 16k miles, and I’m pleased to say the clutch is fine with no signs of judder (yet). I was under the impression that the 1.4 tfsi is a very popular model, so if clutch judder was a common issue wouldn’t there have been a lot more noise about it by now? Incidentally, aren’t dual-mass flywheels only fitted to diesel engined cars?

 

[cuke2u]

No, my 1.4 also had a dmf. They are fitted to petrol engines these days as they have higher compression. Even the stronic versions have them...

 

[Mikeso51]

Interesting. Thanks for that cuke2u. As has already been suggested, I wonder if a fault with the dmf could be related to the judder.

I was thinking just now about my experience of about 20 cars over the years. I can only recall 1 car which had this problem, a Lotus Elan. Like Wibbly, I found that a bit of deliberate clutch burning fixed the problem for a short while, but it always came back. Inevitably the clutch eventually started to slip, and when I took everything apart I found that the crankshaft oil seal was weeping slightly, allowing oil onto the clutch plate. The occasional clutch abuse apparently burned the oil residue off, restoring normal action, but of course the problem recurred. Has anyone who has had a clutch replaced due to judder been told explicitly what the cause of the problem was?

 

[cuke2u]

A sign of dmf failure is usually a rattle or a chattering noise, sometimes a vibration can be detected on the floor of the car near the footwell. However a failing clutch symptom could also be dmf related..