Clutch judder

[Megamix]

Hi all . I’ve got a 2013 a6 c7 2.0tdi Manual. It’s done 50,000 miles. For the past year I’ve noticed the car judders when pulling off in 1st gear. It’s really annoying. I believe it’s the flywheel . Local garage wants £850 to replace it . But I’ve heard on others forums that this faults can reoccurr after being replaced. So I’m asking is it worth getting it done ? 

[Magnet]

Hello Daniel,

Of course, it’s always difficult/impossible to diagnose these issues without examining the car, but I wonder what leads you to suspect the flywheel is at fault. 

If this were mine, I would be first carefully examining the engine mountings, and if these were found to be serviceable then it is possible that the clutch release bearing may be the culprit. Flywheel at fault at 50k miles ?? Of course, the release bearing  shouldn’t be giving problems either, but plastic doesn’t last for ever!

May I suggest that if you do have to have any clutch parts replaced then the only make I would use would be LUK. This recommendation is a bit of a departure from my normal recommendation of using VAG parts only, but they charge a considerable sum (plus a surcharge) for clutch parts. Tales of reoccurring problems may be born of using some aftermarket parts, which are generally substandard to LUK. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[SirTT]

It's a known issue with the manual box.

I had 3 clutches and 2 DMFs replaced under warranty on my last A6, one failed within 3000 miles of being replaced.

Mine was particularly bad in damp weather first thing in the morning but got progressively better as the day went on.

In the end, the 3rd replacement was showing signs of juddering again so I got rid and bought at multitronic car. That's not a great box but better than the manual.

Sorry to give you that news, but if your car has FASH I'd be trying for a goodwill allowance from Audi UK

 

[Magnet]

Could well be helpful advice Nigel, but a shame the original poster apparently hasn’t revisited the forum since he first registered and asked for help and quidance. Good isn’t it? 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Megamix]

I’ve got it booked in next week for replacement. Reckon I’m gonna keep it for a couple of years and swap for bmw 5 series 335 auto . 

[Zohaib]

I have done 135k miles on manual A6 c7 2014. I have the same problem but its not too bad, first release clutch a little bit (biting point) and then gas, once you get to the biting point you can even floor it without any shaking/vibration. Its common prob with manual gear box. 

[Megamix]

I’ve had it changed now . Loads better . Paid £830 from my local garage . 

[Magnet]

Hello Daniel,

Great. What make parts did they use after? Did they replace the flywheel? 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Megamix]

Yes mate fly wheel the job lot . Part was LUK. He showed me the old part and the was play in the springs . He said it’s not the worse he’s seen because the car wasn’t making any noises. I’m glad I had it done anyway . Loads better . I tow a caravan by the way . But only do about 1000 miles a year towing . 

[envance]

I have this exact same problem on a 2014 TDi 2.0 A6.

I'm happy to pay for the clutch and flywheel to be replaced but I do worry about it coming back, my one is normally fine from cold but gets worse as the engine warms up.

Odd thing is you can do 50 miles down the motorway in 6th gear so that clutch has not done any work, and it's aweful at the end of a journey like that.

 

[Orlando]

hi guys, 

I know this post is a bit old now but i have been experiencing this same issue as off lately.

I bought my car (Audi A6 C7, 63 Reg.no) 2 years ago and a few months after the purchase was made I started feeling a shake/vibration when moving off. Took it to the mechanic and was charged £1400 for a new clutch. The clutch was replaced November 2018 and I'm now starting to get the same vibration/shaking when moving off. 

The clutch was replaced with a LUK which is apparently the make of the original clutch on the car when it came out of the manufacturer.
My question is, is there any other clutches that could be used instead? I mean maybe a performance clutch or something that would last longer than 2 years? 

I really like this car but can change the clutch for one I know will eventually fail down the line as that would be silly.

Thanks,

Orlando

[Magnet]

Hello Orlando, 

Sorry to hear of your issues. As you say, you should not experience such issues within less than 2 years of clutch life, but apologies, but the question must be asked as to how ‘heavy’ are you on clutch systems, since the car was OK when you bought it, yet had significant clutch issues a few months later? Only you will know whether your driving style is or isn’t biased towards being clutch-unfriendly. 

LUK clutches are normally the best alternative to the non-competitively priced Audi components. Judging by the price you paid, it would suggest you had the dual mass flywheel replaced at the same time, so all should still be well at this length of service. Could you confirm from your invoice? Incidentally, what mileage have you covered in this time, and what is your normal journey type in the London area? 

Anything better than LUK? I would say, they are more than good enough for normal driving, but there would be alternatives towards ‘competition’ clutches if your driving style warrants that. 

Perhaps you could let us know on the question points.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

 

[Orlando]

Hello Gareth,

Thanks for your reply and for the point you have made. I can guaranty you that my driving style is not clutch-unfriendly, however reading online there seems to be issues with the clutch on the A6 C7. Reading online there are loads of people reporting issues with juddering, some even just after 3000 miles. My previous Audi (a 61 reg. A6 Avant) had 100000 on it when I bought it, I sold it with 130000 and never had any issues with the clutch.
 

Looking at the invoice it states clutch + dual mass flywheel were replaced. I have covered around 18k miles since. Most of my driving consists on a lot of start/stop driving around London (not central London, Slough and around) with occasional motorway driving.

I don't really need a competition clutch the only reason I mentioned it is because reading on a few forums about how unreliable the clutches on this specific car can be I don't want to be spending a lot of money on it again knowing that it will most certainly break again sometime soon therefore I wouldn't mind trying something different. Perhaps a Sachs clutch as apparently they are also good and built a bit stronger as they are built for tuned cars (I could be wrong on this).

Once again thanks so much for your reply.

Regards

Orlando

[Magnet]

Hello Orlando,

Many thanks for the additional information. 

Just a couple of things to consider:- 

How severe is the judder? Not really smooth, but tolerable, or worse than that? 

Does the invoice also confirm that the dual mass flywheel was also from the LUK brand? 

Have you contacted the garage who fitted this to gain their reaction? 

No offence meant re. the question of clutch-unfriendly driving style. As a bit of a downside, your journey pattern (just commuting?) does point to a higher than average number of stop, starts, and clutch operation, but having said that, the clutch should still sustain a good operation over your period of service. 

Re. A6 s having a bad reputation in respect of this issue- as we all appreciate, bad news travels faster than good, and although there are posts regarding similar issues, it would probably be unfair to conclude ‘they are all the same’.

Sach clutches? Sorry Orlando, I cant offer experience of these being better or worse than LUK, since I’ve always used LUK to good effect, and not needed to try any other brand. 

My final stab at this would be to question the brand of DMF used, and to raise the issue which the garage, so that they can road test it and comment. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[SirTT]

I had 3 clutches and DMFs replaced on my 2014 A6. Audi changed one under warranty then another after just 6k miles.

I regularly took manual cars over 100k miles and have never had to replace a clutch before so I know it's not my driving style. It's a design fault IMHO.

[Orlando]

23 hours ago, SirTT said:

I had 3 clutches and DMFs replaced on my 2014 A6. Audi changed one under warranty then another after just 6k miles.

I regularly took manual cars over 100k miles and have never had to replace a clutch before so I know it's not my driving style. It's a design fault IMHO.

Thanks for your answer on this topic, really helpful to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this issues as i was starting to think that i could no longer drive....:)