CAN YOU DRIVE WITH A BAD DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL? -

can-you-drive-with-bad-dual-mass-flywheel

So the question is, can you drive with a bad dual mass flywheel?

The short answer is NO, you can’t. And why I’ll try to explain in this article.

For more information about the dual mass flywheel problem in general, what are the symptoms of this problem, and more, click here.

Besides this website, you can also watch videos on our YouTube channel, where we have many car-related videos that may help with maintenance, driving, etc.

DISCLAIMER

Before we start, I would like to say as a disclaimer that all of these articles and videos of this type on our website and YouTube channel with the topic “can you drive a car with a certain problem?” are not meant as a solution.

These are meant as first aid measures to get yourself momentarily out of trouble and make a good decision whether you should use the car for a short period of time.

You should not drive until the car totally breaks down, since you can cause even bigger damage, but even worse, it may be a safety risk.

Know that the right thing to do is to solve a car problem as soon as possible and drive without worry.

CAN YOU DRIVE WITH A BAD DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL?

Now, why can’t you drive the car with a bad dual mass flywheel? Well, if you do, you will probably cause major damage to the engine and the transmission.

Regarding the transmission:

The dual mass flywheel is made out of several parts, hence the name dual mass. It has springs, bearings, and other things inside. Overtime a bad dual mass flywheel starts losing structural integrity and starts falling apart. When this happens, these parts can fall into the transmission housing or even break it. Needless to say, what kind of damage this can cause.
A bad DMF can damage the internal parts of the transmission (bearings, drive shafts, and others) due to vibrations and disbalance
It can also cause the rest of the clutch system to prematurely fail (the pressure plate, bearing, friction plate, and others).

Regarding the engine:

Since the dual mass flywheel is bolted to the engine’s crankshaft, when it’s faulty, it will cause vibrations and will affect how the whole engine runs. It will affect the crankshaft seal also.
The vibrations will affect, to some extent, most of the systems on the engine, especially if the problem is not solved on time.
You may experience difficulties when starting the engine. Due to the DMF losing its integrity, when you crank, there will be problems with the torque transmission. Also, when you stop the engine, there will be some seriuos shudder.

These are the most common reasons. There might be more depending on how badly the DMF is damaged, the type of car, and more.

In general, the dual mass flywheel first starts to vibrate because of loose tolerances within it, and then, if you really neglect the problem, it will start falling apart.

CONCLUSION

What’s also worth mentioning is that these problems mostly happen gradually, over a longer period of time. If you’re vigilant, you can notice a bad dual mass flywheel problem on time and solve it.

Yes, it is a big investment. Most DMF-s have a big price tag. The replacement involves some serious work and involves taking off the transmission. But that’s just the way it is, and you must accept it.

If you neglect this and postpone the problem, it only gets worse. As mentioned, you can damage the engine and transmission, making the problem much bigger and more expensive.

In ideal conditions, the right thing to do is when you notice the first signs of a bad dual mass flywheel, don’t drive the car, and replace it as soon as possible.