We have exactly the same problem!!

Started just before Christmas and got told it was the DMF so we had that changed, 3 weeks later it has come back and i am at the end of my tether now!

Got told today it was an inside CV joint, but after looking taking it off and having a look there is nothing wrong with the CV joint.

Everything you have said about your Alhambra is how i would explain my Alhambra is doing .......

Let me know if you get this sorted and vice versa please.

If this problem is engine related you would be better taking it to a diesel specialist as they usually know what they are doing and are cheaper.

IIt sounds like it's a fuelling issue when the boost comes in where it's not getting the correct amount of fuel or perhaps it's over boosting, It could also be a fault with the egr system, Your best bet is to get the pump and injector calibration checked and injector leakoff values measured. Make sure your car has not been chipped or ecu software upgraded for performance and try using a premium Diesel fuel initially and see if that has a effect, if it improves it will give you a indication that it is fuel related, It could be a vibration from the flywheel thats transmitting but if there is a fault with the fuelling it will do that anyway and will probably be fine when the fuelling fault is rectified. so in brief try a premium diesel, if it improves get a diesel specialists to investigate furthur.

Thanks for the suggestions and support.

I assume that you have not got any further with your Alhambra frogtamer?

Our problem is getting worse, but still intermittent. Fortunately my wife just drives the car on local journey, but is now playing up on almost every hill now.

The car does not seem to slow down when the fault occurs (which I assume means that all cylinders are still firing) but is sluggish and unresponsive on the accelerator. The vibration is only on the floor of the car not on the steering wheel so I am sure its source is the engine rather than transmission.

It also completely disappears as soon as clutch is depressed.

I think it is possibly a fuel supply problem.

Hopefully I can give it a run at the weekend and then talk it through with our mechanic again. Or may be head for a diesel specialist as mentioned.

History

The problem started off last summer when we were driving in the Alps on some steep hills, a minor vibration which would disappear when you got more speed up or the road flattened out. Not conscious of the problem for rest of holiday but then it came back on the long motorway drive back home, and was quite severe.

Took it to our mechanic a couple of days later but absolutely no sign of a problem, so we forgot about it.

My wife took it loaded on a long journey and the problem came back in a severe way, so she called our roadside recovery. They thought it was the dual mass flywheel, but our mechanic said that this would not be an intermittent fault. Our mechanic replaced a worn drive shaft and roll bars, and had no more problems for months, but then again did not do many long journeys or fully loaded trips.

Edited by andy-seat on 07/02/2011 at 14:05