Audi Q5 S Tronic Dual Mass Flywheel Failure: Why DSG and S Tronic Aren't Immune
S tronic and DSG cars still have a clutch. It’s just doing the driver’s job for them, which is exactly why people don’t think to check it.
A 2016 Q5 2.0 TDI came in with a vibration the customer couldn’t place. No lights, no fault codes, just a feeling something was off. We picked it up on the road test straight away and confirmed it: dual mass flywheel.
Most owners have never heard of a DMF, and a lot of them assume S troni
c and DSG cars don’t have this kind of wear part because there’s no clutch pedal to warn them. There is a clutch pack behind that gearbox, and it’s attached to a flywheel that absorbs the twisting load from the engine. Ignore it and it fails the way this one did, casing twisted and cracked away from the seam. You can see it in the photos.
This one’s a quattro, so it wasn’t a case of dropping the box and swapping the flywheel. The four wheel drive system had to come out first to get to it, which is why pricing on this job varies so much between models. It’s not a flat fee.
Which cars this affects
Not just Q5s. Any S tronic Audi (A3, A4, A5, A6, Q3, Q5, Q7, TT) and any DSG VW, SEAT, Skoda or CUPRA (Golf, Passat, Tiguan, Leon, Octavia, Superb, Kodiaq and the CUPRA range) runs a dual mass flywheel. Quattro and 4Motion models add the extra labour of removing the drivetrain to reach it, that’s Q5, Q7, A4 allroad, A6 allroad, and 4Motion Golf R and Tiguan.
If you’re diesel or a higher powered petrol past 80,000 miles, it’s worth having checked even if the car feels fine.
What happens if you don’t
Leave it and you’re not just replacing a flywheel. You’re looking at a damaged clutch pack, metal in the gearbox, or the car stopping altogether. Catching it on a road test is a planned job. Catching it on the roadside isn’t.
The fix
Full strip down of the quattro drivetrain, gearbox out, dual mass flywheel and clutch replaced as an assembly.
Pricing depends entirely on the model, quattro and 4Motion cars cost more in labour than two wheel drive equivalents. Get in touch with your registration and we’ll give you a proper number.
Does an S tronic or DSG Audi have a clutch?
Yes. There’s a clutch pack and dual mass flywheel doing the job you’d otherwise do with a pedal. It wears like any clutch does.
How do I know if my flywheel is failing?
Vibration through the cabin or pedals, worse at idle or low speed. Sometimes a rattle that changes as the gearbox takes up drive.
How much does DMF replacement cost?
Depends on the model. Quattro and 4Motion cars cost more in labour because the four wheel drive system has to come out first. Send us your registration and we’ll give you a proper number.
