# Dealership quoted $2500 for clutch and flywheel replacement



## cleverthought (Jul 30, 2012)

Hey everyone, 

I've got a 2009 Manual CC Sport, and I've noticed that there's a squeal/screech occasionally in first gear around 1-2000 RPMs. I took it into the shop (dealership) and they just quoted me $2500 for parts and labor to replace the clutch and flywheel. Does that sound right???


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## Ribz80 (Jan 18, 2004)

I don't see why you would replace the flywheel and not resurface it unless that's not possible. 

I was quoted $600 for parts and labor on a stage 3 Southbend clutch. You can get an upgraded flywheel too for less than what was quoted.


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## ohsixmtee (Jul 1, 2012)

Wow, clutch after only 3 years? That price sounds very high, I would source a VW/Audi specialist shop or two and continue getting quotes.


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## Ribz80 (Jan 18, 2004)

ohsixmtee said:


> Wow, clutch after only 3 years? That price sounds very high, I would source a VW/Audi specialist shop or two and continue getting quotes.


 My clutch began to slip a bit with stage 2 intake and stage 1 tune, more so at stage 2. Taking off the intake, the clutch is nearly fine again. 

That's with 52k.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

Ribz80 said:


> I don't see why you would replace the flywheel and not resurface it unless that's not possible.


 Resurfacing a dual mass flywheel requires specialized equipment to do. Very few shops in the US have this capability in the first place... 

a new flywheel is about $500. The clutch kit is about $500... and then factor in 8 hours of labor


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## cleverthought (Jul 30, 2012)

So the dealership is a VW dealership so the service department definitely understands the car. I'm just not convinced they're being 100% truthful. 

I called them back and here's what they said they thought needed to be replaced: 

1. clutch 
2. release bearing 
3. flywheel 

Has anyone had to replace all 3 of these in one go? If so, how much were you quoted? Again, they're saying all of this is not within warranty.


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## Ribz80 (Jan 18, 2004)

BsickPassat said:


> Resurfacing a dual mass flywheel requires specialized equipment to do. Very few shops in the US have this capability in the first place...
> 
> a new flywheel is about $500. The clutch kit is about $500... and then factor in 8 hours of labor


 I figured as much. But does not mean that NO one resurfaces DM flywheels. 



cleverthought said:


> So the dealership is a VW dealership so the service department definitely understands the car. I'm just not convinced they're being 100% truthful.
> 
> I called them back and here's what they said they thought needed to be replaced:
> 
> ...


 
Release bearing is not much money. It's the clutch and flywheel that are issues, as well as my specialty tuning shop (RSX) knows that the job is done quite a bit faster than the 8 hours quoted.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

Ribz80 said:


> I figured as much. But does not mean that NO one resurfaces DM flywheels.


 Apparently you missed this post (especially since you quoted cleverthough afterwards) 



BsickPassat said:


> Resurfacing a dual mass flywheel requires specialized equipment to do. Very few shops in the US have this capability in the first place...


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## Ribz80 (Jan 18, 2004)

BsickPassat said:


> Apparently you missed this post (especially since you quoted cleverthough afterwards)


 You said "very few". 

Does not mean impossible to do so  

There are options here, $2500 is a lot of money for a clutch job. Plenty of the people on the forum convert to a SM flywheel as well.


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## baye (May 6, 2009)

What kind of squeal/noise is it? I had a similar issue with mine a while back and after some research I basically pinned it to the release/throwout bearing. It's a relatively common issue with 2009-2011 manual 2.0Ts. There is an updated bearing part for it that will resolve this issue. 

My dealership basically went with the full-out option and replaced the entire assembly, clutch plate, flywheel, slave cylinder and release bearing and all with new parts (car only had 20k, mind you). 

But everything was covered under warranty though, so I'm not sure why your dealership is saying otherwise.


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## minster (Nov 26, 2003)

*Same issue here*

I have the same squeal issue. It happened only when I backed up a hill. Now it's squealing even on gradual inclines going forwards and backwards. I mentioned it to a dealership when it first started but they told me that they could not reproduce the problem. 

2010 CC with 28K on it. 

Did you just ask them to replace the bearing or did they come to that conclusion themselves?


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## cleverthought (Jul 30, 2012)

@baye, the squeel is kind of like a howling sound in first gear (sometimes very quick in second). 

I think it may just be the bearing as well. @minster, they were the ones that told me the release bearing needed to be replaced - but only based on sound. They never actually took it apart to look at it. That's why I'm so upset - they were really quick to give me an expensive quote before they bothered to look at the issue. I'm afraid if they open it up, they'll say the clutch needs to be replaced (which according to them isn't under warranty) just to get more money out of me. 

I actually told them not to work on it when they quoted me because I wanted to get a second opinion first. I then called the dealership I bought it at, and after talking with them, the first thing they told me was that they would be very surprised if the car needed a new clutch kit or a flywheel. They even said they would try to fit as much as they could under warranty. Only problem is, that dealership is 7 hours away from where I live now. I'm seriously thinking about riding over there first thing tomorrow morning.


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## baye (May 6, 2009)

If it sounds anything like this, it's the bearing. 




 Again, it's a common defect, and should definitely be covered under warranty. 

For what it's worth, my dealer didn't really listen to me either but decided to replace the whole kit anyway based on some measurement they took of the flywheel.


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## cleverthought (Jul 30, 2012)

EXACTLY the same sound and at the same RPM level. That's uncanny man. Thanks for the post! 

How were you able to find out that it was definitely the bearing? Do you have any links I could bring to the dealer tomorrow?


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## baye (May 6, 2009)

cleverthought said:


> EXACTLY the same sound and at the same RPM level. That's uncanny man. Thanks for the post!
> 
> How were you able to find out that it was definitely the bearing? Do you have any links I could bring to the dealer tomorrow?


 There are a number of threads made about this, you'll find more info there. 
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5140452-Clutch-release-noise-chirp-squeak-hooo 

Basically, the revision of the bearing that were fitted to our cars is an older two-piece design that's separate from the slave cylinder, the defect causes the bearing to wear out prematurely, resulting in leaks from the slave cylinder, which then causes the noise. The new revison (part number ending in -F) is a one-piece design, so this problem is gone. 

As far as I can tell, most of the people who had this problem got it resolved once this part was replaced. Apparently it's a bit of a pain to get to them so some dealers might be reluctant to do the diagnosis unless more expensive parts are involved, that's why many people also ended up with their clutch and flywheel replaced as well.


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## scott508 (May 11, 2011)

Check out this thread: 

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5227133-When-shifting-into-1st-or-reverse... 

I had the same noise and TSB 2028783 solved the issue.


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## cleverthought (Jul 30, 2012)

Thank you guys so much for your help. After I showed this thread to the VW dealership here in Charlotte, NC and told them about the horrible experience I had with the Alexandria, VA dealership, they graciously decided to replace the entire clutch system (minus the flywheel) under warranty, even though it should be covered under the powertrain warranty. 

I'll let everyone know what goes down tomorrow. They're overnighting the parts tonight.


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