I booked my 3 month old 08 Fabia 1.9 Tdi into a Skoda garage recently as I was unhappy about the vibrations that could be felt transmitted via the clutch pedal. After the techies had tried and inspected the car they said the vibrations could be caused by a faulty dual mass flywheel and advised I should have the car booked in for a thorough investigation. My instant reaction was "Oh no, not another dreaded dmf problem, and after only 4000 miles!".

Eventually , when they had removed the gearbox they were surprised to find that my Fabia was fitted with a single mass (solid) flywheel.:confused: Although they were surprised at their discovery they did add that they had found a single mass flywheel in a Roomster 1.9 Tdi earlier in the year.

My understanding is that all fabias (and perhaps Roomsters) 1.9 Tdi engines are fitted with dual mass flywheels. Can anyone confirm if single mass ones are fitted as standard in the New fabia and Roomster 1.9 Tdi ranges?

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the garage say they have replaced the flywheel and clutch assembly for a replacement single mass assembly because they say they found distortion in the clutch cover. The net result is that now I have the car back I cannot perceive any difference in performance...... the vibrations are exactly as before

I would certainly like to know what your views are on this single mass flywheel discovery though.

I don't know if this is of any help, but Octavias fitted with the 1.9 77kw Tdi pd engine and the 0A4 gearbox can have vibration problem with the drive shafts. A modified part is available.

thanks for your reply ..... I find I get the vibrations in the clutch pedal even when I rev the engine with the car stationary. Thanks anyway ...it was a good idea of yours and certainly worth bearing in mind if I notice the vibrations get worse when the car is in gear.

I have replaced the clutch and flywheel on my car because of bad vibrations when releasing the clutch pedal with a "semi" cold engine. The replacement cured the vibrations.

I was a bit surprised when I found out that my car had a single mass flywheel as well.

All the new Fabias with the 1,9 TDI I have driven including mine have the same light vibration through the clutch pedal you describe. Would not worry about this at all..

Thank you for your reply JonA. It is very reassuring to hear that I am not alone with this vibration problem. Possibly its the fact that the 1.9Tdi engine now has a single mass flywheel that the engine vibrations feel so prevalent.

My 2006 fabia Vrs had a very smooth engine and no vibrations came through the clutch pedal. This is also true for other folk I know with fabia Vrs's, however these older Fabia's do have dual mass flywheels to help smooth out such vibrations from being transmitted through the transmission and vehicle body.

Is there any reason other than expense that this couldn't be upgraded to use the DMF & clutch set-up out of a vRS-Fabia?!?

No problems here

Hi, sorry for my ignorance! Are fabia 1.4 tdi's fitted with a dual or single mass flywheel?

Also what is the difference between the different set-ups??? i.e benefits and drawbacks!

Is there any reason other than expense that this couldn't be upgraded to use the DMF & clutch set-up out of a vRS-Fabia?!?

I tried to fit a DMF flywheel and clutch when I had the gearbox out on my car, but there is not enough room in the gearbox. The engine will not rotate because the clutch/flywheel touches the inner walls of the gearbox..

I am quite comfortable knowing my car has a solid flywheel instead of the self destructive DMF set-up

Hi, sorry for my ignorance! Are fabia 1.4 tdi's fitted with a dual or single mass flywheel?

Also what is the difference between the different set-ups??? i.e benefits and drawbacks!

Sorry, I couldnt tell yopu if the 1.4Tdi diesel is fitted with a dual mass flywheel; perhaps some of our more knowledgable members could answer this question for you. As for the pro's and cons of the dual mass flywheel as compared to solid flywheels; this has been discussed many times befor in these forums but basically the dual mass flywheel (dmf) was developed to reduce the torque vibrations which are produuced by todays high torque diesel engines. Besides reducing the vibrations felt throughout the car, these vibrations have been known to impart damage to the gears.

Unfortunately it had taken quite a while to design out many of the faults noted in early dmf's. Many well known car manufacturers were having massive warranty claims made against them for failed dmf's in service over the past 3 or 4 years. Even today I understand it is still unwise to allow an engine with a dmf to strain under load at low rpm's (1800 rpm and lower ) or to wheel spin during fast acceleration.

The main reason I started this thread was to see just to get a feeling for how many of you were aware that the new Fabia 1.9Tdi and Roomster 1.9Tdi are fitted with a single mass (solid) flywheel as standard. It seems to be a move away from the dmf by Skoda and perhaps by the rest of the VW group - probably because of past warranty claims and the bad press that dmf's have had in the past...................or is it that my Skoda garage is just telling me what they think I want to hear ???

I'd take vibration and reliability over smooth but rubbish any day. Fingers crossed my tdi 80 has a single then. It's a 58 reg so hope springs eternal!!!