2 trashed crank shaft sensor in 10 months !

[maizyboy]

Hi guys, just got mine back from the garage having had my second crank shaft sensor replacement in 10 months. Including the towing £436. First time it went (July last year) I was told it may be clutch related, clutch could be on the way out. Mine has 76k on it and is an 06 model. The clutch does have a little vibration through it occasionally and can engage really quickly on up/down changes now and again. On collection from the garage the other day they noted that it may be related to a DMF issue as the crank shaft sensor had been snapped right in half. Can anyone give me a steer on this? Am I looking at a new clutch, new DMF, both? What could be causing the DMF sensor to get smashed off in this fashion as I don't seem to have found any posts that are directly similar to this issue. Any help would be much appreciated. Mike

[Surrey Sam]

Did you fit genuine Audi parts?

[maizyboy]

Yes mate, the first time it was a gen audi part, that was my first thought that maybe it was a dodgy part. I had the garage give me the first sensor back and it's gen audi with part numbers etc on. It hasn't failed though, it's actually broken. Was told that if the clutch was on the way out that some debris may have flown off the clutch and smashed the sensor?

[MIDZ]

Sounds plausible, unfortunately you'll never know what's causing it until the gearbox is out and clutch area visually inspected.
Wonder if you could get the sensor back out and use a borescope in the open port for a look before a major strip down? Just a thought

[maizyboy]

75k is around clutch time on these in the main from what I can gather. Guess I'll just need to bite the bullet and get it done.

[MIDZ]

Afraid so, mine's is on 55k so it's only a matter of when not if....I kind of thought the sensor could be installed too far in but I've never seen one and don't imagine it's adjustable, plus it would get snapped straight away upon start-up

[KernowPete]

75k is around clutch time on these in the main from what I can gather. Guess I'll just need to bite the bullet and get it done.

Not necessarily - mine's on 91k on the original clutch with no issues whatsoever.

[MIDZ]

That's good going, I'll keep my fingers crossed...