My 2006 VW Jetta with tdi diesel engine has clutch slipping after only 48,000 miles. The problem is a defective dual mass flywheel leads to premature clutch failure. This has been addressed by Volkswagen technical service bulletin, and is documented by many cases. My Volkswagen service dealer is not agreeing to cover the repair under warranty. He says the technical service bulletin does not apply to my vehicle. In many cases this defect has led to sudden complete clutch failure. I'm concerned the car may fail at any moment.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

2006 Volkswagen Jetta tdi 5 speed manual with 42K miles. While driving on an exit ramp and attempting to downshift, the clutch failed and the pedal went to the floor. The car would not move and was impossible to engage any gear. The car was not showing any signs of failure before this. It had to be towed to the local VW dealership.

- Old Bridge, NJ, USA

A 2006 volkwagen Jetta 1.9 tdi model which I currently own is now disabled due to an oversight in torque management in the clutch/ dual mass flywheel design originally intended for a less powerful powerplants. In my particular instance the flywheel has disintegrated shattering the transmission housing/casing. This alone is a serious danger due to the high rate of speed of these flying cast aluminum fragments let alone the complete loss of vehicle movement on possible busy routes. Currently I've been told that the warranty will not cover the repair due to owner abuse! my Jetta has never been modified as long as I have owned it or been driven irresponsibly. This vehicle has less than thirtyone thousand miles logged and has suffered catastrophic drive line failure due to poor engineering, no I've been told VW's mis engineering is my"the consumers" responsibility!

- Waterloo, IL, USA

Dual mass flywheel (dmf) failure at 28,000 miles. Symptom: Very rough vibration when letting clutch out and when shifting. Clutch does not show any abnormal slippage. Wife is scared to drive the car with our kids after reading about related failures and possible loss of vehicle control. Dealer won't cover cost. Private repair facility diagnosed this and said minimum $1,800 to do the repair, and that VW has known about the issue for a while. Fortunately, the vehicle still drives well when clutch is engaged, so I guess I'll continue to take my chances for a while longer until something more catastrophic happens and we're forced to make the repair.

- Barrington, NH, USA

My 2006 tdi, VW Jetta: About 6 months ago I began hearing clunking noise related to transmission/clutch. On Friday October 17 on interstate highway 35E clutch failed completely. The vehicle has 67,000 miles on it.

- Stacy, MN, USA

I had a 2006 VW Jetta tdi. My wife was on her way to work when she went to take off from a stop sign and the clutch stuck to the floor as the car sat in the middle of the intersection. As all the rest of the complaints go with this car the dealer paid for the parts and I had to pay $1000 dollars of labor. Within the 2 weeks our car was in this dealer 3 other 2006 Jetta tdi came in with the same problem. It wasn't a walk in the park to have VW pay for at least half. Also it took the dealer 2 weeks to get this job done. This is a problem that Volkswagen needs to take care of. Another thing I was told by VW of America was that this is a wear and tear item and not part of the drive train warranty. If a part has any movement on a car it goes through wear and tear. So if a piston ring breaks and locks the motor up is that covered or is that wear and tear. We have learned our lesson and will never buy Volkswagen ever again. By the way only 50,000 miles on car.

- Dana, IL, USA

My car began leaking oil after last change at bert smith Volkswagen in St. Petersburg Florida. Checked underneath car and found transmission casing and flywheel housing cracked. Took pictures but according to bert smith Volkswagen this is just dirt and grease stains, they cannot show me another car with the same "stains".

- St. Petersburg, FL, USA

Clutch failure on 2006 Jetta tdi clutch failed while driving repair of clutch by owner, dealer refused to repair.

- Dunkirk , MD, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving between 1-30 mph, shifting from 3rd to 2nd gear, the vehicle shut off. The failure only occurs when the air conditioning is turned on high. The contact stated that the failure has been occurring for the last three years. She feels it is a safety issue because it puts her at risk of crashing the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a shop on four occasions. The first three times the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. After the most recent failure, the mechanic determined a possible cause of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 24,000.

- Clarksville, MD, USA

Noticed very rough idle. Dealer diagnosed manual transmission flywheel malfunctioning without visual inspection. The fault was placed with me. Wear and tear. Dealer claimed must fix, not safe to drive, quoted $2100. If this problem is allowed to worsen, the failure mode is a complete clutch failure and on a busy freeway is a serious safety issue. I went to a third party garage and paid $1200 for a more reliable single mass flywheel. The damaged sachs dmf is available for inspection.

- Rochester Hills, MI, USA

Engine failure on my 2006 Volkswagen diesel Jetta. The electronic control fuel injector over fueled the cylinders and caused the pull rods to bend and damaged the engine, costs are $7,500 to repair the engine. Car is only 2 and half years old with 85,0000 miles.

- Abingdon, VA, USA

Volkswagen Jetta tdi - VW refused to honor the warranty of a defective clutch/flywheel issue. This is a very common occurance apparently. I learned of this when I went online to do some research about the problem. Volkswagen is honoring the warranties in europe with the same issue but ignoring its quality / safety issue here in the us. The defective clutch / flywheel issue can cause serious injury and or death when the flywheel disentigrates.

- Greenville, CA, USA

I have a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta tdi. Initially I was slowing down on the interstate, as soon as I was getting ready to stop due to construction, when the shifter hit first, the car bucked, died and I lost power steering and brakes. I also noticed that none of the gears in the transmission would sync and allow me into them. I pulled off to the side of the road, when I realesed my foot from the clutch, the pedal did not come back up. I shut down the car, crawled out the passenger side, I looked under the car for leaks and anything that may indicate a major failure. When I pulled the clutch back up manually, the pedal would not go back down but half way. I pushed hard enough to get the clutch interlock switch to disengage, and tried to start the car. When the starter engaged, the engine dragged with something else. I abandoned the car to get to a phone. When I called the dealer, they gave me a phone number to roadside assistance, they wanted to charge me to tow the car to the nearest VW certfied repair shop. Eventually I convinced them to tow the car, and when I met him at the car, I noticed a leak of either hydraulic, gear, or diesel fluid. When I got on the internet I found that this is a very common problem due to a poor desing in the flywheel. VW tends to refuse to replace the clutch claiming that it was premature wear due to poor driving habits. The flywheel tends to crack or even shatter causing not only clutch issues but also transmission and engine issues. This issue can lead to wrecks fires and also even stranded people that may have no way of getting help. Volkswagen has recalled the flywheel in europe but refuses to do so in America. Information on the issue can be found here forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?T=137014&page=1 this is a 60 page forum that equals about 500 pages printed out this is specifically to this issue. The recall info can be found here uk-mkivs.net/forums/2/562166/showthread.aspx

- Jackson, MO, USA

Our 2006 Volkswagen tdi was towed to the dealer again yesterday for clutch problems. At 2 months with 5,000 miles the clutch would intermittently not engage. Was able to drive it to dealer, and dealer replaced master cylinder, bleed system and reassembled. At 6 months, with 15,000 miles the clutch failed, stranding us along the highway. Had it towed to the dealer, who removed the transmission, and inspected dual mass flywheel. Slipped throw out, bearing came apart, the fork for bearing slid into pressure plate. Replaced flywheel, clutch plate, pressure throw out bearing fork and spring. - at 9 months with 20,000 miles transmission whined in third gear and had a harsh shift in all gears. While driving to dealer the car popped out of gear. Dealer found transmission leaking fluid from bell housing. Called Volkswagen, and was told to check for cracks in case. Removed case, and inspected for cracks. Had hairline cracks. Removed and replaced transmission, and reassembled and added fluid." This repair took the longest as the dealer has to wait for parts. The car was at the dealer this time for over three weeks. 4- 10 months with 22,000 miles three weeks after last repair we were again stranded at the side of the road. At a stop sign depressed clutch, put car in first, started to move and car made a loud noise and clutch was dead again. Towed to dealer, and we are waiting to hear again from them. Both my husband and I have been driving stick shift for over 20 years each. Our dealer has never suggested that we don't know how to drive a stick shift although I have seen online this was often said as soon as the clutch went out. Everything so far has been replaced at no cost to us. The manual transmission was very unreliable, and in heavy traffic it could easily lead to an accident. Luckily, while we drive many miles it was mostly country highways.

- Mazon, IL, USA

In January something broke off from the transmission and killed the entire engine. It got a new engine and a new transmission. That has led to a slew of other different problems from minor rattles to dangerous exhaust leaks and oil leaks. Corporate VW was only able to give me two months credit on my loan which from reading everywhere is just their way of getting us to shut up. Now my rear brakes are metal to metal and I have a bearing problem. I have read that this is a common problem but my service department states that I caused it by hitting a curb which in turn ruined the bearing. I think the bearing was ruined when they put in the new engine and screwed with the torque.

- Austin, TX, USA

: the contact stated while driving 50mph and approaching a yield, the clutch was depressed. The clutch stuck to the floor of the vehicle causing the vehicle to loose all transmission function. The vehicle coasted to the side of the road and was towed to the dealer. The dealer determined the transmission failure was due to driver error. The vehicle was then towed to an independent repair shop for further inspection. The repair shop personnel determined the flywheel had broken causing the clutch pressure plate to break. The manufacturer was alerted and no repairs were made.

- Sewell, NJ, USA