Peter Meldrum Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 2018 Journey 2ltr Diesel, first flex plate had to be replaced at 25k miles 2nd plate lasted only 18k miles later 3rd plate has lasted 2years and another30k miles, now waiting on mechanic to replace AGAIN I really like the journey and would prefer to have a fix for the problem and not have to get rid of the vehicle, the parts are always genuine parts that have been used. Can anyone help me with my predicament ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 Obviously there is something else going on. Who's been working on it? I have never heard of a flex plate breaking on these cars, much less 4 of them in that short of a time frame. Perhaps an alignment issue between engine/trans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 Once again the case of fixing the symptom and not fixing the cause. I had a '14 3.6 gas DJ that the torque converter went bad and had to be replaced. Within 6 months I had scraping noises and some power loss in gear issues. Had the trans taken back out and found cracked flex plate. Long story short the cause was a bad replacement torque converter, So a new torque converter AGAIN and new flex plate......NO PROBLEM at all after that. You post of continued FLEX PLATE replacement, has your mechanic ever checked the TORQUE CONVERTER? jkeaton, John/Horace and 2late4u 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Meldrum Posted January 24 Author Report Share Posted January 24 On 1/23/2026 at 1:47 PM, 5rebel9 said: Once again the case of fixing the symptom and not fixing the cause. I had a '14 3.6 gas DJ that the torque converter went bad and had to be replaced. Within 6 months I had scraping noises and some power loss in gear issues. Had the trans taken back out and found cracked flex plate. Long story short the cause was a bad replacement torque converter, So a new torque converter AGAIN and new flex plate......NO PROBLEM at all after that. You post of continued FLEX PLATE replacement, has your mechanic ever checked the TORQUE CONVERTER? I will ask him to check the torque converter again I can tell you that there are no obvious issues no shuddering, slip or missing gears. would you advise that I should renew the torque converter ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 1 hour ago, Peter Meldrum said: I will ask him to check the torque converter again I can tell you that there are no obvious issues no shuddering, slip or missing gears. would you advise that I should renew the torque converter ? I'm a bit at a disadvantage since you have the VW diesel motor that was not offered here in the North American market, so I'm not sure of what trans. is in your vehicle. But after the flex plate breaking 3 times now and if the trans. is operating properly, something is AMISS and the torque converter would be a logical SUSPECT. UNLESS you have some very harsh driving habits over there in the EU. That Diesel motor does have quite a bit of low end torque power and then the turbo for speed........ Just what country are you located????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Meldrum Posted January 24 Author Report Share Posted January 24 Originally from Scotland and now living in Portugal, no bad driving habits I am positive the engine is Fiat 2.0ltr multijet and although mine is a DJ these are badged by Fiat in mainland europe the Fiat Freemont all with this same engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 2 minutes ago, Peter Meldrum said: Originally from Scotland and now living in Portugal, no bad driving habits I am positive the engine is Fiat 2.0ltr multijet and although mine is a DJ these are badged by Fiat in mainland europe the Fiat Freemont all with this same engine WOW ! OK, they may have done the different make Diesel in the later years. The Early ones had the VW diesel, we still did not get any Diesel offering here. The trans has to come out for the flex plate anyway(unless he is pulling the motor), so torque converter is right there. Yes they can be a tad costly to acquire, my 62te torque converter was nearly $600. u.s. for the part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 (edited) Wiki says the diesel with automatic is the Getrag mps6 or 6dct450 automatic. Not a conventional torque converter but a dual clutch transmission. Ford and Volvo often use this unit, with dual wet multi plate clutches. Known for much quicker uninterrupted shifts, improving fuel economy. If not maintained dirty fluid can cause harsh shifts and shuddering. These are direct quotes from Google. The flex plates shown are weaker than a std transmission fly wheel, could be getting twisted/cracked without a huge bang occurring. Diesel torque is much bigger than petrol/gas. DCT transmissions in general don't have a good reputation for reliability, Ford, Kia, VW have all had multiple recalls and problems. Efficiency sometimes has a price. Edited January 25 by John/Horace 5rebel9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Now that would be interesting to see pics of that "set up of hooking the flexplate to "whatever" of the trans. SOMETHING has got to be "out of whack"! John/Horace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen84 Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 Hi everyone. I have a 2014 3.6 journey and recently had a flex plate fail. We are in South Africa and parts are really expensive. My question now is can we get away with just replacing the flex plate or would we have to replace the Torque converter as well? This car has been an absolute dream and I love it to bits. We are on 320 000 kilometers and this is the first "major" issue we have had. Because parts and labour are so expensive here I want to make sure we do this right the first time to avoid having to pull the gearbox twice. Any advise would be very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 4 hours ago, Eileen84 said: Hi everyone. I have a 2014 3.6 journey and recently had a flex plate fail. We are in South Africa and parts are really expensive. My question now is can we get away with just replacing the flex plate or would we have to replace the Torque converter as well? This car has been an absolute dream and I love it to bits. We are on 320 000 kilometers and this is the first "major" issue we have had. Because parts and labour are so expensive here I want to make sure we do this right the first time to avoid having to pull the gearbox twice. Any advise would be very much appreciated. Well, with approximately 160k MILES, that is about the same as when my '14's Torque Converter failed needing replacement. BUT be choosy about the brand and quality of a replacement. Mine failed big time in a different way than the original and cracked the flex plate. YES it is an expensive job to do such work and unless under some kind of warranty VERY EXPENSIVE to do it a second time. Good luck and keep us informed as to how things go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Meldrum Posted February 1 Author Report Share Posted February 1 On 1/25/2026 at 7:11 PM, John/Horace said: Wiki says the diesel with automatic is the Getrag mps6 or 6dct450 automatic. Not a conventional torque converter but a dual clutch transmission. Ford and Volvo often use this unit, with dual wet multi plate clutches. Known for much quicker uninterrupted shifts, improving fuel economy. If not maintained dirty fluid can cause harsh shifts and shuddering. These are direct quotes from Google. The flex plates shown are weaker than a std transmission fly wheel, could be getting twisted/cracked without a huge bang occurring. Diesel torque is much bigger than petrol/gas. DCT transmissions in general don't have a good reputation for reliability, Ford, Kia, VW have all had multiple recalls and problems. Efficiency sometimes has a price. Hi It is not DCT it has 6TE auto transmission You mention that my flex plate is weaker than a standard fly wheel are you suggesting that a more substantial alternative is available ? if so do you have details part number perhaps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 33 minutes ago, Peter Meldrum said: Hi It is not DCT it has 6TE auto transmission You mention that my flex plate is weaker than a standard fly wheel are you suggesting that a more substantial alternative is available ? if so do you have details part number perhaps ? Do you mean to post it being a 62te auto trans.? IF so there is no "heavy duty" flex plate, just O.E/standard replacement. That many times to have cracked , who and what is the repair person doing other than just changing out the flex plate? IF the same person, by this time that person should have had a clue that something is wrong. And since it is apart for replacing, should have suggested a new torque converter at least or diagnostic scan with high end scanner for trans gear pressures and such for SOMETHING that would point to WHY the plate keeps breaking. From my experience through 3 DJ's with the 62te trans, cracked flex plate is not a common/recurring problem unless there is an undiagnosed and repaired torque converter or internal trans issue causing it. To note, the one that happened on my '14 model did not crack nearly as bad as your posted pic's. BECAUSE I could hear an odd noise when idling the engine and under light acceleration. IT was then taken directly to my shop for inspection and repair as I don't have the needed tooling/hoist to remove the trans myself. ANY "flex plate" for an auto trans vehicle is MUCH weaker than a standard trans. FLYWHEEL for the clutch, due to the different metals used in each. The relatively new use of these "dual clutch" components in auto trans cars as has been posted, have shown durability problems as member john/horace has posted of. Add to all this is that you also have an engine option that we North American market member here did not have available . So YOU need to offer as much detailed specifications of what you have for us to be of much more assistance. Looking forward to your response and also to hear how this situation concludes for you, even in a long term...we will still be here on the forum . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 (edited) Unfortunately not an option. You would have to switch to a standard transmission to use a fly wheel. Not a plug and play thing. The flex plate shouldn't be seeing this torque, like 5rebel9 is saying. Great news no DCT tranny. Probably another flex plate with a new torque converter needed. Get other opinions. Edited February 1 by John/Horace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 wonder if they are using aftermarket Parts or OEM flex plate? as we all know there can be a big difference in quality between the different parts..Just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 All the pics of flex plate for 62te transmission show 8 mounting bolts. Yours is showing only 6 bolts. Something to look into. Part on back order on a lot sites. 2late4u and jkeaton 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 5 hours ago, John/Horace said: All the pics of flex plate for 62te transmission show 8 mounting bolts. Yours is showing only 6 bolts. Something to look into. Part on back order on a lot sites. great catch there John I'll bet he or whoever isn't using the OEM part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 Unfortunately it doesn't mean he can just use an 8 bolt unit. The holes won't be there. You would think diesel engine would have a stronger design. Unless the 6 bolts are larger diameter and of a higher grade. Transmission shops might know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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