Clutch change at Audi and now Judder, please help! :(

[Melissa]

Hi,

Apologise for being my first post but I have a problem with my car.

I purchased my Audi A4 1.9 TDI Avant on a 06 plate two weeks ago, the last owner had the clutch assembly changed at Audi on 25/3/09 when the mileage was 83000. The car was also fully serviced by Audi at 89000 miles ( 3 weeks ago) and is presently reading 90100 miles. I purchased the car at 89700 miles and have found that the car seems to judder when pulling away at a standstill - sometimes causing me to stall. There is also a slight vibration when the car is in neutral and switched on (idle)? Lastly theres a strong smell of clutch burning (what my neighbour describes) after I got back from a heavy traffic drive yesterday.

All the above work was done by Hull Audi. I called Hull Audi and asked them whether they advised or told the previous owner to change the dual mass flywheel when the clutch was changed some 3 months back and they said they did not advise changing the flywheel and only changed the clutch.

I now live in West London and having rang West London Audi, they say that there isnt much I can do because the clutch was changed for the last owner and also they say that the flywheel can fail anytime(??) I am very upset because it could well have failed due to negligent fitment of the clutch and more so they should have atleast advised to change the flywheel when the clutch was changed?

I have not contacted Hull Audi yet and told them what has happened to avoid being put in a place where I dont want to be.

Can anyone please please help me on what I can do and what options I may have??

Many Thanks,
Meli

[c4a5er]

I sympathise but as I see it you don't have any comeback with Audi at all unless you have a warranty with them.
The flywheel could have been OK (however unlikely) or they could have been asked not to change it if the customer was unwilling to pay for it and the judder has become worse.
Dual mass flywheel failure is common and not caused by "negligent fitment of the clutch"
It may well be one reason why the previous owner sold the car.
You should take it up with whoever you bought the car from. Did you buy it privately or from a dealer with a warranty? Has the clutch juddered ever since you bought the car?

[Melissa]

I purchased the car privately from someone who was emigrating. It makes little sense to me that if the person was going to sell the car then why carry out a complete service including brake fluid change just a week before selling the car. The juddering has been there since day 1 but the smell of clutch has only started yesterday. Surely just because I purchased the car from someone else couldnt mean that audi do not have to honour their workmanship say if my clutch failed tomorrow? Really upset.

[c4a5er]

Well the clutch shouldn't smell under normal operation and wouldn't be anything to do with the flywheel issue. Does it smell now whenever you use the car or was it just on that one occasion?

[Melissa]

Well just an update, the juddering seems to have gone after my neighbour gave the car a good welly yesterday but the clutch burning smell is still evident and strong. Any ideas?

Thanks again

[Cupramax]

All Audi parts have a 24 month warranty from memory, if it was fitted by a dealer and used Audi parts take it back, they should have replaced the flywheel if they had the slightest hint it was on its way out as well. No way should a new clutch be doing that.

[c4a5er]

Originally Posted by Melissa

Well just an update, the juddering seems to have gone after my neighbour gave the car a good welly yesterday but the clutch burning smell is still evident and strong. Any ideas?

Thanks again

It will smell if you neighbour has given it a good welly. The friction material generates a lot of heat if slipped aggressively giving the burning smell. The smell should go after a period of normal use and the surfaces have cleaned up. Unfortunately the judder may then return.

The judder when pulling away and vibration at idle are linked to the failure of the flywheel and I assume you can't prove that it was faulty at the time of the clutch change. It seems the previous owner has accepted that the clutch was OK if there is no record of complaint in the dealer history.
So it's a difficult one to call, there is no way of knowing/proving any wrongdoing and in any case i'm not sure whether any guarantee would be transferable to you.