I discovered 4 chipped teeth on a star ratchet from a DT540 4 or 5 years after we bought our 2005 Trek T2000. It still worked fine, I didn’t find the damage until I took the hub apart for routine maintenance. The other ratchet was fine. After researching it, I concluded that I should stick with the 18 ratchet version for replacement. I’ve never had another problem with broken pawls. I have two wheels built on DT540s. The only other issue I’ve ever had was excess drag freewheeling in the big ring and small cog. After talking with a DT engineer, I switched to a less viscous lube: https://www.lubriplate.com/PDFs/PDS/3_9-Low-Temp.aspx