Ford Focus shuddering

[Jofocus]

I recently purchased a 2015 Ford Focus automatic estate with 20K miles and with full main Ford dealer service history from a main (non Ford) dealer. After driving the car I noticed that there was a shuddering (clutch?) when accelerating at slow speeds in 1st / 2nd years when the engine is hot and the car was revving highly at these low gears (as if in permanent Sports mode).  I immediately took the car back to the dealer and a technician advised me that it needed to go to a Ford dealership due to an issue with the Powershift transmission / clutch as he immediately experienced the above issues on test driving it.

I took the car to a (franchise) Ford main dealership and after their technician drove it and immediately experienced the above faults put it on a diagnostic computer (£106) and this apparently came up without any faults. They then updated it with a Ford Transmission Control Module fix software & drove it for the transmission to 'learn' how to drive again ? I was then advised to drive the car for  a further 50 miles for the transmission to learn how to drive again and if I still experienced the shuddering I would need to have it looked at further.  They advised me (when I pressed them) that it was still shuddering after the software update ? They refused to test it any further until I drove it for a further 50 miles.

After losing faith in this dealership I took it to another (franchise) Ford main dealership and explained the issue with the car shuddering that continued after the software update although the gears were no longer revving highly as much. This dealership advised me that the car needed to go back on the diagnostic computer (£106) as they could not use the results from the other dealership diagnostic as they have to do their own and start from scratch. After again finding no faults this dealership advised me that I needed to book the car in again and leave it with them for a further 2 days so that they can re-program the car transmission to learn again (even though I told them this had already been done) as they need to test drive it and re-do this from scratch. They advised me that there is a marker on my vehicle that there is an extended warranty on the Transmission Control Module however if it turns out to be the clutch I will need to speak to Ford UK customer service as this is not covered.  

I have telephoned Ford UK customer service (a South African call centre) who advise me that they are not technicians and cannot advise me on what warranties I have on my vehicle as this information is not available to them and that I should ask the dealer to call the Ford UK warranty dept. to discuss.  I have read with shock on the internet the issues with the Powershift gearboxes and Ford's recent fine in Australia with regards to these and the lack of customer support to which dealerships say they are 'unaware' ?!  

Can anyone please help with any advice on where I should go from here ? 

[iantt]

sell the car.  but seriously , is the car still juddering after being driven for 50+ miles? how recently has it been since you bought it? when did warranty expire? 

[The Dark Knight]

When you say recently purchased, when exactly are we talking about please? 

In terms of legal rights, they lie against the garage that sold you the car rather than these Ford dealers you have visited. This does not stop you from seeking other remedies but you’d be better sticking with who sold it to you. 

What is the dealer that sold it you?

[The Dark Knight]

Legally, if the garage that sold you the car advised it needs to be worked on by Ford, they should wear the costs not you. 

[Jofocus]

Yes still juddering after 50 miles. Car bought 1 month ago with a 12 month warranty. Non ford dealer who I purchased car from are paying the costs (so far).

[The Dark Knight]

Good that they are paying then. There’s no limit on that legally. 

Your short term right to reject the car is 30 days from you taking delivery of the car. 

Any repairs, irrespective of warranty, are at the sellers expense. 

[iantt]

if its juddering after a software update , clutch learn biting points and a learn on the road , then it will need to go back to ford dealer for there diagnostics to record the the clutch raw a and raw b rpm values while accelerating from rest. this will provide ford with the values. over a certain value and it will be deemed necessary to remove transmission and clutch for inspection . inspection will involve looking for transmission oil leaks from the  input shaft seals contaminating the clutch plates.

[Jofocus]

Thanks for the replies guys. After reading on the internet about Ford's reported recent hefty fine in Australia ($10 million) in relation to the Powershift problems I am amazed that Ford UK's dealerships are apparently 'unaware' of this ?! I have only recently changed to Ford, is this problem well known over here and should the Ford dealership not just change my Transmission Control Module and/or clutch to the new latest versions as these are Ford known defects under Ford extended warranties ?