Dual Mass Flywheel - A Cautionary Tale

[Meggy-Cat01]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum but thought I'd share my experienes with the dreaded DMF problem in the hope it may save others from the grief !

Having gone from an Automatic Kia Sportage I opted for a 55 plate 39,000 miles Rav 4 D-4D XT5, manual.FSH.

It came fitted with a tow bar which with hindsight I should have seen would be the problem.

Within days of driving my beautiful new car off the forecourt I noticed a knocking noise coming from the engine when I accelerated, this then died away once I hit around 30-40.

I returned it to the dealer, explained the problem and went on a test drive with the mechanic. The noise was audible and he agreed to investigate. The dealer diagnosed a fault to the air conditioning belt pulley, which, was eventually repaired after Toyota sent the wrong part 3 times ! Car off the road a total of 6 days.

The noise seemed to have gone but a week or so later it was back. The problem was it was intermittent and never there when I was near the dealers. I spoke to them and they said they could only investigate if they could hear the noise, without proof there was no evidence there was a problem.

I read up on everything it could possibly be, 99% of my information was obtained from you great people on here so I thank you kindly !

Prior to buying my Rav I had investigated the known faults/problems associated with these cars and was aware of the DMF issues. It was down to this knowledge that I was able to indentify the problem and when I started to feel the "knock back" from the gear stick and the issues with the noise, the vibration, the difficulty getting it into 1st gear I knew.

Under the terms of the warranty supplied with the car, I contacted the dealer, told them I suspected a DMF problem and they towed the vehicle to their repair shop. The following day they called to confirm the DMF was indeed the problem and would need replacing.

They told me the clutch wasnt an isue and unless I paid for a new one they would put the old one back. I wasnt happy with this but agreed to pay for a new clutch myself. I had thought that a new clutch was a necessity when carrying out a DMF replacment but I desperately need the car back so agreed to it.

It seems from my research that the previous owner towed a caravan. The dealer seems to think this put undue pressure on the flywheel resulting in it failing. I'd be interested to hear from anyone on the forum who agrees/disagrees with this diagnosis ?

Today, a full week later I'm awaiting the delivery of my repaired RAV 4 and I'm really hoping the issue is resolved. I'm hoping for a far smoother ride and the chance to really enjoy my car !

Its left a sour taste in my mouth and will take some months of trouble free motoring to restore my faith in the vehicle.

I guess the moral of the story is do your research, make sure you know as much as you can BEFORE you buy your 2nd hand car and DONT be fobbed off by the dealer who doesnt want to claim on the warranty despite suppying it to you as an aid to selling the car.

So heres hoping - wish me luck !!!

[jolly-friar]

Hi,

Hope it's all sorted for you...

[silly sausage]

Hopefully your Rav will be cured and you can now enjoy some trouble free ownership, 39k miles on a 55 plate should drive like a new one, they're very well put together.

[voyager t180]

We've all been guilty of not doing our research..Well I have anyway.

Tow bars aern't always a bad thing,it all depends on whats been towed and how much use they've had.

I'd avoid buying from anyone that shows horses,nothing against horseowners btw,my daughter tows her horsebox nearly every weekend countrywide,and has had at least two clutches/flywheels replaced in 5 yrs.

Hope you get it sorted out.

[redlew]

Towing did our clutch in at 87k but not the DMF which was replaced at the same time.as a precaution -as others said you don';t want 9 hours of labour and then 9 hours of labour on the DMF a few months later

Hopefully the cost of the clutch wasn't too much.

[Crofty_here]

I too recently had dmf trouble. I had the dmf replaced with a smf and new clutch. What a difference it drives like a new car.

I have been told that if you use your car for towing then it does put extra stress on the flywheel and a smf is a good option.

[Tech01]

Quite right . . . DMF + caravan is not a good combination (on this vintage of car)! Having had two DMFs (both Toyota) fail, I'm now SMF (like Crofty) and the car just drives, well, as good car should.

Steep hill starts were murder with both the DMFs, with very little subtle clutch control available. Glad to see the back of them.

I reckon you're right too about Horsebox use: not only an unweildy lump, but inevitably used on muddy fields as well! Back in 1968 I bought a 1960 Rover 3-litre Mk.1 from a prison officer in Cheshire, whose daughter (this opens the flood-gates for jokes and limericks, I know) was seriously into horses. He'd even managed to wreck the clutch on that, which takes some doing, but it did give me some seriously decent student transport for £45.

Chris

[Meggy-Cat01]

An update -

The car was delivered back to me yesterday and I'm amazed !!! It drives like a totally different car, smooth gear changes, pulls away faster and is so quiet now !

Its made me reaslise quite how bad it was before.......

I'll be carefully monitoring the performance over the next few weeks but I'm hoping the whole nasty issue has now been resolved.

Many thanks to all for their comments and for the information available on this forum - I'd have been lost without it !!!

[jolly-friar]

That's great news... :)