Juddering in higher gears

[Curtino]

Ford Focus 1.5 Diesel is juddering a lot when accelerating in higher gears (6th, 5th and sometimes 4th). Starts fine and drives ok in the lower gears. It’s never failed to start and hot weather seems to make it worse. I’ve changed the fuel filter thinking it could be that but still the same result. Any ideas?

[nicam49]

Could it be a worn clutch... What's it like pulling away on a hillstart? 

[Kevin#95]

Unfortunately this does look like a problem with the slave cylinder or clutch. Change both.

Does the pressure on the pedal feel different?

Clutch plate problems can sometimes show up in higher gears first, because there is more  energy being used by the car.

[Curtino]

4 hours ago, nicam49 said:

Could it be a worn clutch... What's it like pulling away on a hillstart? 

It’s fine when pulling away, even hill starts there is no problem. Only when the car is actually in motion in them higher gears it’s shaking like mad.

1 hour ago, Kevin#95 said:

Unfortunately this does look like a problem with the slave cylinder or clutch. Change both.

Does the pressure on the pedal feel different?

Clutch plate problems can sometimes show up in higher gears first, because there is more  energy being used by the car.

I can definitely feel the vibrations coming through the gas pedal when it happens. If I take my foot off for a second while the speed drops a little and then put it back onto the gas, the juddering will ease slightly.

[Kevin#95]

Do you have a manual or automatic?

Check you clutch / brake fluid level as it might be low.

[Meyrick752]

Something very similar to this was happening on my 19 plate Ford Kuga titanium X which was a 1.5tdci. 

Nice economic, smooth, quiet engine but under powered for the size of the car especially when it came to hills. 

If I had a good run up to a hill the car was asking for 6th gear which I would select, then about half way up a hill when you command more power and press the accelerator nothing would happen. 

The car would then slightly lose power and start shaking and juddering until I would change down to 4th and would then recover. 

When I explained this to my Ford dealership they just said "it's probably water in the fuel".

If that was the case it would be juddering and shaking a lot more, also the engine would of sounded rough, which it didn't. I would only fill it will Shell or BP fuel so can't get much better quality of fuel. 

What I found best to do when I climbed hills was keep my revs up to around 2-2500 rpm in 4th gear and the car would then breeze up any hill, no juddering or shaking.  

I never had any issues on flats roads just hills, are you experiencing issues on flat roads? 

I have since changed the vehicle as I didn't fully trust it and with Ford "unaware" of any issues with the 1.5tdci engines it was probably the right decision which is a shame because the car was amazing, it was just the engine that let it down.

I previously had a 2.0tdci in a kuga titanium, that engine was outstanding, power available in any gear and on any type of road. God knows what Ford were thinking when they decided to put the 1.5tdci into the kuga's. 

There is obviously a fault somewhere with these 1.5tdci engines but it'll probably be a while until Ford acknowledge it. 

 

 

 

[mucker33]

Had the exact same issue in a 1.8 diesel focus I had before, turned out to be the fly wheel in the end, What it might also be is a small blockage in the fuel filter and when the pressure increases for more fuel to be drawn into the engine it might be struggling to meet the required pressure, might be worth changing it could be a quick fix with that. 

[SamRick]

Another possibilty (unconfirmed) ...

My 04 plate (then) Focus C-Max 2.0L TDCi developed a judder under load in any gear, sometimes quite alarming, at a moderate mileage - 50-60K miles.

I went on to give the C-Max in part exchange for a new Fiesta in 2008 (1st of new model), but a mechanic at the Ford franchise did suggest that the juddering may - repeat may - have been due to a weakening engine mount. I never did get to find out if that was true, but the prediction did make some sense, to me at least.

Might be worth checking that out.