Clutch has gone

[jon1982]

hi all,

posted a thread a couple of days ago "titled not happy" and audi told me today the clutch has gone. £710.00 fitted, that was the good news! they then told me if the fly wheel was damaged i would be looking at £1300 altogether!
Do theses figures seem right?

thanks in advance.

 

[Fireyjack]

My clutch went and they also said the flywheel needed replacing - cost was £1,290.44. So your figure is right.

I had an Audi approved warranty - but such items are classed as "wear & tear".

 

[jon1982]

thanks for the reply, my car as only done 43,000 miles what was the mileage on yours when this happened? and do u know is this a common fault?

 

[NHN]

Have you been hammering the ****** & tuned?

If not, then tbh mate if thats gone at 43k I'd be on there case to do something for goodwill as thats no where near the 60k mark huh even if out of warranty, same issue for me, several well known problems have occurred & I intend to write a lengthy email to audi about these issues others & myself have had to pay for to date.

 

[jon1982]

no mate, as i said only had the car four months and totally standard and i drive quite reasonably, i might have an odd blast now and again but not enough to wreck the clutch, been driving over ten years now and never had any clutch problems in any of my cars and my last car was a civic type R which used to get some proper stick and i never had any problems with that.

 

[gaz j]

If your car is not under warranty i'd get a price off an independant garage, probably get it done for about half the price using genuine parts aswell.

 

[steveaudi]

I had my car for 7 weeks when the clutch went at 44,000 miles. Audi assistance recovered the car and took it to the audi dealership from which I bought it. They said the clutch was worn to the rivets and the flywheel needed replaceing and it would not be covered under the extended warrenty they then spoke to the sales department who agreed to cover the full cost including the courtesy car. Quite lucky really.

 

[mike beech]

Jon,

depending on what model it is makes a massive difference, I've got a 2.0T quattro and that cost around £1000 for a new clutch and flywheel which are main dealer only parts on my car (or they were at the time) which was fitted by a garage/clutch specialist who I knew. If its a 2.0 TDI 2wd then the figures sound high. My girlfriends clutch was starting to slip on her 2.0 TDI A3 and that cost around £300 - £350.

Both cars had done around 70,000 when the clutches went and the TDI was already remapped for about 20k of that.

Mike

 

[jon1982]

thanks mike, it is a 2.0 tdi 2006 model i will be having a chat with audi about the quote and if they cant come up with a better price i,ll have to do some serious shopping around.
thanks for the advice.

 

[adamss24]

thanks for the reply, my car as only done 43,000 miles what was the mileage on yours when this happened? and do u know is this a common fault?

You need to re-take your driving test as there is no way a clutch should last 40k ! Are you holding the clutch depressed while on traffic lights ? Are you riding the clutch ? I have 180K+ cars on original clutch and they are not driven gently either ?!! Are you positive the mileage is genuine ? I have seen soo many clocked cars lately, i really dont trust the odometer anymore ...

 

[Fireyjack]

Jon1982 - My clutch & flywheel went with just 32,000 miles. Only had the car 3 months and personally had only done 2,000 miles - so I was destroyed.

I guess the problem is is that you don't really know how the previous owner treated the car.

Bought it from an Audi dealer - so eventually got it towed away with Audi assist, but after stripping the gearbox - they wouldn't cover the clutch nor flywheel under the used approved warranty. So I paid the full amount to get my car back.

I wrote to Audi Customer Service Director (Jeremy Hicks) - but after 4 weeks didn't get a response.

Went though the pre-sale checklist for my car - and noticed that the dealer should have supplied my car (Quattro) with same brand tyres front and back. It actually had Federal's on the front and Conti's on the back.

Sent the local dealer a letter stating the vehicle was "ill-prepared for sale" and claimed via MoneyClaimOnline online for the full repair at £1290.44 + 4 new tyres at £360 + court costs £80. Day before they had to defend a cheque landed on my doormat for the full amount (including the tyres and court costs).

An added bonus was a letter from Audi Customer Service director - stating he'd spoken with the dealer and that it wasn't covered - however offered a gesture of goodwill voucher of £100, which I duly accepted. I guess the local dealer didn't want Audi to know they let a car go out without making sure it was 100%!

I was lucky.

Tim.

 

[Fireyjack]

Oh - by the way mines a 2005 2.0T Quattro & it happened before I got it remapped.

Tim.

 

[NHN]

These dealers man, unreal as hearing more & more stories of this type of nature, disgusting attitudes aswell by them.

 

[Mike B]

Seems a common problem with dual mass flywheels .I hear that its the bush between the two metal rings that fails and this then destroys the clutch I know someone with a BMW 318 lady driver from new 4 years old under 60k went cost over 800 at an indy and a disabled pensioner 3 year old vauxhall under 30k cost him 1350 at the dealers.Neither of them would have abused the clutches It seems to be good advice to change the flywheel if the clutch goes first.

 

[jon1982]

well done tim to recover all costs, thanks for all replys.
i have spoken to loads of garages now and still cant get price down and car is still at audi so think im just gona have to pay the full whack! plus im getting annoyed now, i have been without my car since 18th december!

 

[TorqueTerrorist]

All the best with it mate.
I hate dealers. The sales team treat you like a god when your looking to buy, then as soon as they have your money and their commision you may aswell be a piece of crap on their shoe! Service departments are all about figures too and any warrantly claims are bad news in their eyes.
Dealer wise there are few exceptions, they mostly all behave this way! Ive worked in the motor trade all my working life and am still shocked at how people and their cars are treated at times!

 

[jon1982]

got car back this evening, £662.00 all in for new clutch.

 

[dan_the_v8man]

had my 2.0T quattro from huddersfield audi and so far its being nothing but trouble. 4 new coil packs, power steering pump and now it feels like a CV joint is on the way out too

 

[Dazmo]

Jon1982 - My clutch & flywheel went with just 32,000 miles. Only had the car 3 months and personally had only done 2,000 miles - so I was destroyed.

I guess the problem is is that you don't really know how the previous owner treated the car.

Bought it from an Audi dealer - so eventually got it towed away with Audi assist, but after stripping the gearbox - they wouldn't cover the clutch nor flywheel under the used approved warranty. So I paid the full amount to get my car back.

I wrote to Audi Customer Service Director (Jeremy Hicks) - but after 4 weeks didn't get a response.

Went though the pre-sale checklist for my car - and noticed that the dealer should have supplied my car (Quattro) with same brand tyres front and back. It actually had Federal's on the front and Conti's on the back.

Sent the local dealer a letter stating the vehicle was "ill-prepared for sale" and claimed via MoneyClaimOnline online for the full repair at £1290.44 + 4 new tyres at £360 + court costs £80. Day before they had to defend a cheque landed on my doormat for the full amount (including the tyres and court costs).

An added bonus was a letter from Audi Customer Service director - stating he'd spoken with the dealer and that it wasn't covered - however offered a gesture of goodwill voucher of £100, which I duly accepted. I guess the local dealer didn't want Audi to know they let a car go out without making sure it was 100%!

I was lucky.

Tim.

My quatrro has 3 of one tyre and one of a different brand when i bought it 6 months ago, so does that mean i have a claim?

 

[chrisru]

When you replace the flywheel what are the pros and cons of using a solid flywheel - which wouldn't have the problems that the dual mass has? I see that people recommend this when you chip the car to allow for the increased torque.

Chris

 

[adamss24]

When you replace the flywheel what are the pros and cons of using a solid flywheel - which wouldn't have the problems that the dual mass has? I see that people recommend this when you chip the car to allow for the increased torque.

Chris

Pro: you wont have troubles with the DMF again as there wont be one anymore and you can run higher torque. The contra is that the engine will wibrate much more on tickover (on a 4pot engine) and all that unwanted vibrations will transfer to the cabin via the gearbox and some say it will put unnecessary strain onto the gearbox bearings wich will fail sooner. I have a 2.5 tdi quattro and that has a DMF and a sprung clutch(just like the rs4/s4 engine) and so far its holding really well at 170K + it takes a pounding every day at high speeds. I do not ride the clutch, its either in gear or on neutral...

 

[Fireyjack]

My quatrro has 3 of one tyre and one of a different brand when i bought it 6 months ago, so does that mean i have a claim?

Dasmo
If you purchased your vehicle from a main dealer - check the"Multipoint preparation" checklist when you got your car. In the bottom right corner, it quotes:

"All four wheels must always be fitted with tyres of the same type, make and tread pattern".

If you have this - I'd at least write to the dealer and ask for 4 brand new tyres to be fitted to your car (note all tyres must have a tread within 3mm of each other on a quattro in order for it not kick in the ESP).

If you have experienced other issues with your car since purchase - like in my case - send a seven day letter the dealer threatening legal action (which always prompts a response) - stating that the car was "ill prepared for sale" and details of your claim.

Tim.

 

[captaintricks]

If you buy a car from a dealer you should sue them it's utter rubbish to say it's wear and tear if a clutch is going if a car is sold basically it's deemed
fit for purpose and this extends for a period of 6months the 6 month figure also means your covered under European law the warranty is not worth the paper it's written on when a claim is of low value it falls under small claim so even if you lose the
amount of money you would have to pay Audi solicitors is only a few hundred pounds always worth the risk

 

[dan_the_v8man]

Well, My clutch just died today, the cars done barely 35k and i've had the car 3 weeks so im hoping they get it sorted FOC

The day I picked it up a coil pack failed, day after another and then the power steering died

 

[Fireyjack]

Good luck. I bought from Leeds, repaired Huddersfield.

Same Company "Goodman reatil Ltd" Leicester.

Let me know how you get on....

Tim.

 

[dan_the_v8man]

well i've already played **** up with them on the phone and they've said they'll almost certainly repair it at there cost