A friend of mine recently took his towcar to a garage with a clutch judder, the car was 2 years old and under manufacturers 3 year warranty, the technician soon located the problem, a replacement DMF was required, BUT... as soon as the workshops spotted the towbar and CC flag sticker on the back window blame was instantly pointed towards the caravan as the cause and the warranty claim called into question. After a long conversation in the managers office the cars powerplant was removed and was fitted with a new DMF under warranty, he was told however that they would not be replacing it again under warranty as the caravan was putting extra strain on the transmission train and stressing the DMF I have noticed recently that car warranty companies and other 3rd parties are reporting huge numbers of DMF failures, Toyota had a big prob with their Rav 4s up till 2004 and now I've found out through the trade that the Citroen Crosser (which has a Mitsubishi sistership) has a big problem with it as the 1st and 2nd gears are not low geared enough to pull a caravan from standing without having to excessively slip the clutch, a problem recently highlighted by the Daily Telegraph car website (Honest John). A host of other manufacturers are all reporting DMF failures. and the car manufacturers and other 3rd parties seem to be laying the blame at off-roading and the towing of caravans as a major contributor to this problem, towing heavy or wind resisting caravans and/or heavy use of the clutch damages these flywheels and the problem is'nt restricted to 2 wheel drives so...should we be buying towcars with DMF's?, should we steer clear of them?,Would it not be better to tow with Automatic gearboxes with an additional trans oil cooler. As most cars are now fitted with DMFs, whats your opinion folks ?
Dual Mass Flywheel Failures
- Thread starter Barkas
- Start date
- Mar 14, 2005
- 10,030
- 859
- 40,935
In order to be able to establish and specify the respective towload limits, car manufacturers have to carry out lengthy tests during the course of vehicle development. Any problems in principle with dual mass flywheels should therefore have been uncovered at this stage, before the car was ever put on to the market. The problem must therefore be deeper. Either the manufacturer did not do his homework properly first or the vehicle was actually subjected to conditions to which it was never intended.
Whilst there do appear to be issues with DMF's becomming a weak point in the transmission, they are there for the purpose of smoothing out the clutch engagement. As Lutz says, either a manufacturer hasn't done his homework (doubtful) or there could be a faulty batch, but I suspect far more is due to the manner of driving, and what the vehicle has been subject to in its life.
Towing a caravan will put a strain on a vehicle's transmission, but if the driver is one whop has to make a quick getaway at every junction/traffic light, rides the clutch, slips the clutch regularly, or is rough with gear changes, then something will give. Now I know that no-one will ever admit to doing any of the above, but the truth is that they do.
When I bought my current car, (second hand) the clutch failed after 1,000 miles of my ownership. Fortunately it was sorted under warranty, but I saw the parts, and yes, there was a lot of wear on the DMF. As the car is a large 4X4, and had only covered 45,000 miles, I suspect that the previous owner had been abusing it somewhat. I just hope that the clutch is all that was damaged.
My previous car was a Rover 75 diesel. It was superb as a towcar, but starting off on a hill was always a challenge because of the gearing. Despite this, The clutch was as good on the day that I sold it as it was on the day I bought it.
Towing a caravan will put a strain on a vehicle's transmission, but if the driver is one whop has to make a quick getaway at every junction/traffic light, rides the clutch, slips the clutch regularly, or is rough with gear changes, then something will give. Now I know that no-one will ever admit to doing any of the above, but the truth is that they do.
When I bought my current car, (second hand) the clutch failed after 1,000 miles of my ownership. Fortunately it was sorted under warranty, but I saw the parts, and yes, there was a lot of wear on the DMF. As the car is a large 4X4, and had only covered 45,000 miles, I suspect that the previous owner had been abusing it somewhat. I just hope that the clutch is all that was damaged.
My previous car was a Rover 75 diesel. It was superb as a towcar, but starting off on a hill was always a challenge because of the gearing. Despite this, The clutch was as good on the day that I sold it as it was on the day I bought it.
Barkas. It would be extremely difficult to stay clear of a modern car for towing that did not have a DMF.
Unlike the old flywheel/clutch arrangement, the DMF is a wearable part that should last above 100k, but like anything thats wearable in this context they can fail earlier, or be damaged and need replacement due to other parts failing.
Slipping the clutch on highish revs is not a good idea, it burns the arc springs grease off which again leads to premature wear.
Unlike the old flywheel/clutch arrangement, the DMF is a wearable part that should last above 100k, but like anything thats wearable in this context they can fail earlier, or be damaged and need replacement due to other parts failing.
Slipping the clutch on highish revs is not a good idea, it burns the arc springs grease off which again leads to premature wear.
My car - a VW Tiguan TDi, had a new flywheel and clutch,at 4000 miles, after developing a 'clicking' noise when taking up a load (e.g. caravan uphill) and slipping the clutch - not normally done.
It was changed under warranty, and was a different make according to the dealer.
But as the VW agent supplied and fitted a VW towbar, and the car is stated to have a 2500kg towing limit there was no problem with the warranty.
It was changed under warranty, and was a different make according to the dealer.
But as the VW agent supplied and fitted a VW towbar, and the car is stated to have a 2500kg towing limit there was no problem with the warranty.
Its heat that kills a DMF & heat is only generated when the clutch is slipped. Trouble is most modern diesels are geared tall so its hard not to slip the clutch when putting a van on a pitch. A new clutch & dmf for my car would be about
- Mar 10, 2006
- 3,274
- 47
- 20,685
clutches have always suffered with towing, its nothing new, anyone who has towed will at sometime or other smelt the burning clutch!
Its nothing to do with higher first gears, i believe, certainly my xtrail has a much lower first gear than even my mk 1 cortina of old.
The reason we get more failures to day in my opinion is more to do with the huge TORQUE that we put through the transmission.
correct me if i'm wrong, but don't so cars have 1st and second gears Torque limited? to protect the transmission.
Obviously some manufactures will run the DMF to its limits, hence some cars will be more prone to failure?
Its nothing to do with higher first gears, i believe, certainly my xtrail has a much lower first gear than even my mk 1 cortina of old.
The reason we get more failures to day in my opinion is more to do with the huge TORQUE that we put through the transmission.
correct me if i'm wrong, but don't so cars have 1st and second gears Torque limited? to protect the transmission.
Obviously some manufactures will run the DMF to its limits, hence some cars will be more prone to failure?
Facebook
Twitter