New to this group and already clutch problem.

I hope i am posting to the right discussion area this time..

Good morning everyone. Greetings from Florida....I recently inherited a 2014 VW jetta TDI m/t and it ran without much problem for about a week at all until a couple days ago. Then, *bam* clutch went crazy and a couple of blocks from home the clutch would only engage when it was a few inches off the floor.... was able to get it home. Now the clutch hits the floor and does not engage and stays on the floor. Spent the last few days lurking around the group and the consensus seems to be the clutch slave cylinder. What i seem to find is the part searching is assembly with the throwout bearung (part number 0A5141671). I am not much of a mechanic and transmissions are beyond my skill set. Have an appointment with the local dealership today.... any advice would be really appreciated.

Update** just got back from the dealership, keeping my fingers crossed that it's not terrible news**

the dealership called back and said the slave cylinder is leaking into the transmission and is making the fluid "tacky"...and is recommending a total clutch kit and flywheel all and all totaled almost 3,000....they said there is a small chance that the flywheel might be reusable but a 95% of it not...UGH!!!

If the slave/throw out bearing was leaking, it would be into the bellhousing, not the gearbox. Has the fluid level in the master cylinder been dropping?

I went through something similar two weeks ago. Slave cylinder failed and clutch was stuck on the floor. Dealer said that in order to remove the slave cylinder the whole tranny would have to come out so might as well replace the clutch and flywheel. My car was a 76k mile 2011. They quoted me $3100 to do the job and then when they saw I was not going along they offered to lower it by a few hundred. I ended up replacing the clutch with a single mass flywheel clutch setup which was the cheapest and got the job done at a Euro specialty shop with lots of VW experience and they charged me $1900. The SMF has some pros and cons but I am pleased to this whole deal it behind me. I am not sure why VW made a plastic vulnerable cheap part part of a complete tranny R&R. In my case the seal failed on the slave cylinder. Diagnosis was pretty simple as there was no loss of hydraulic fluid and no leaks in the lines outside of the tranny so it had to be a slave cylinder failure and it was!

I wouldn't recommend a smf swap for the '09+ tdi's. A complete OEM Luk clutch kit & dmf is about $500 on partsgeek and Rockauto. I had my clutch/flywheel replaced at a great shop down in Austin for $1500- parts and labor.

I have to go back down to the dealership today to talk to the guy... and a new clutch kit I can live with but a new flywheel??--- it's a '14 jetta with only 25K miles... it is the classic "granny nanny" car and very well taken care of... flywheels are designed to handle stress on torque and with only that few miles.. I can't see spending the extra 1,000.... there is plenty of fluid in the master cylinder... checked that the other day...

A new flywheel is about $270 and very little extra labor- unless the old dmf is totally wrecked and has to be chiseled off. I'd try bleeding the clutch line before replacing any clutch components.

got back from the dealer ship after doing the dance with the service manager.... still trying to sell me on the flywheel---which he is quoting me a price of 1,000 just for the part... met with him and the tech who gave me a song and dance about the chemicals damage the flywheel because it's porous surface and the heat...yada yada yada... I ran across some info that said the stock flywheels for VW are made out of chromium vanadium steel...very tough.is that true?.and this is simple brake fluid and not some kind of industrial acid or solvent...so I really think these guys are trying to take me for a ride...-- I think I'll take my chances on just the clutch kit and pass on the flywheel...

Your first mistake was bringing the car to the dealer and not an independent shop. $1000 for just the dmf is robbery. A Luk dmf 123 can be bought for a quarter that amount. A Luk Repset clutch kit 02057 is $200. My comments regarding flywheels were mostly for the benefit of afeinstein. Hear me now, and believe me later- you don't want a smf on a commonrail tdi.


Not the very best prices, but good and easy to link to:

https://www.amazon.com/LuK-DMF123-Dual-Mass-Flywheel/dp/B00C7RZZV8

Luk clutch kit 02057

thank you for the links-- where I live doesn't have a lot of VW shops to choose from unless I go all the way to Tampa and i don't have a lot of experience with transmissions so I thought I would bite the bullet so I can get the clutch done and have the dealership warranty in my pocket..Appreciate you help...

This may be a moot point, but I still wanted to ask - is the 5 year / 60,000 mile warranty VW provides for the drivetrain expired by now? Your vehicle is a 2014 model year, so there is a sliver of hope you may still be covered.

I double checked it... warranty expired in October... If this had happened to 3 weeks ago this would have be covered...just my luck this year... trying to take a big picture attitude.. car is already paid for and if I can get a new clutch hopefully will last me for the next 5 years.. I can still come out even...

florida_steve said:

I double checked it... warranty expired in October...

Click to expand...

That really sucks. For you, that is. As for VW, they did an outstanding job manufacturing a part that failed only 3 weeks after warranty on that part expired. I am still scratching my head how a part like that can go after only 25k miles, but I suspect it has to do with the country of origin - the more exotic it sounds, the lower the quality. Even China is now becoming too expensive for companies like VW to make parts in, so they move production to even crappier parts of the world where the local language doesn't even have an expression for quality, and then one cannot be surprised over the results.

the service manager texted me pics of the tranny and says a new flywheel is needed...I am planning on going down there tomorrow.... trouble is i am not exactly sure what to look for to see if he is pulling a fast one.. am i looking for scoring or grooves? like you would see on a brake rotor?... evidence of over heating?-- there does seem to be some blue discoloration in one picture, but then again, not sure what that means... I treid to attach the files as pictures using the FAQ but didn't have any success even when I tried to start a new thread-- my posting rules say I cannot send attachments? --- any advice would be appreciated...

End result and a big **thank you**

went to the dealership and inspected the fly wheel...tranny was very clean in side.. so that nonsense about the brake fluid leaking was over sold... clutch plate still looks useable but would probably need a new one in a few years anyway... flywheel was a little rusty but i rub it down with some brake cleaner and didn't find any grooves or blue burn marks... service manager looked at me funny when I pulled a magnifying glass out of my pocket to check for cracks...turned it back and forth to check the springs, only moved about an inch either way..so i told the service guy to use the old one... of course the tech who is doing the work said <<That new clutch is going to tear that flywheel up in no time>> as we were walking out of the bay... also wanted to shout out a big **thank you** to everyone who replied..nice to have an army of expertise to help me understand and good advice....

Well as I said earlier..the clutch is most likely fine as is the pressure plate..you should have at least 100,000 miles left on this..So how are they saying the clutch is bad or why?? if the housing is NOT fully/covered with fluid?..BUT this is your decision..if it was me ?....Oh well..Did they tell you how much to just replace the slave cylinder??.. Just curious..