Hi. This fault really bugs me:

 

2010 Focus Mk2 LV 2L petrol with 4-speed auto

I start the engine and in Park I can press on the accelerator and the engine responds instantly and revs fairly linearly.

 

When I put it in Drive and press on the accelerator there is no response in engine RPM or drive until after about half a second. If I push a bit harder on the pedal before the engine responds I get a much larger response, like I am trying to do a fast start. After driving a bit down the road and slowing down to turn in to another road (from 1st gear) it does the same but not as bad. The accelerator response is normal once the car has been driven a few kilometres. The accelerator seems perfectly normal after I have driven a while, or on the motorway.

 

The problem is even worse in a car park. I put it in reverse and there is a hesitation. I put it in drive and there is a hesitation. If I am impatient and use more throttle, there is an abrupt start and the impression that I am a car park racer. Very embarrassing and frustrating!

I have sought advice from numerous car techs and everyone seems to imagine the problem differently.

I doubt it is the drive-by-wire accelerator pedal as it responds normally on the road after the initial hesitance.

My thoughts led to a potentially “sticky” throttle body, but once again it responds normally on the road after the initial hesitance. Could it be something as weird as a firmware issue in the PCM?

I will be grateful if anyone can offer some help with this as I have about read numerous fault conditions, watched many YouTube videos, and no-one seems to have exactly the same issue despite the fact that I have driven about 4 or 5 other cars of the same model (auto) in Australia, and they all seem to have the same problem in varying degree.

 Help

Torque converter problem???  Not in play when in Park, and behaves better once it's warmed up.

Thank you for you reply.

No increase in RPM when I press the accelerator but when I press slightly harder the RPM jumps and the car takes off.

I've had the transmission assessed by an auto transmission specialist and he discounts any problem with it.

The fact that it happens when in D could be something to do with the PCM as it does control the transmission and engine. What is weird is that I've not come across this exact same symptom after extensive Google Advanced searches, yet several cars that I have drive all have the issue.

When I say it improves after warm up, it can still happen if I go to the local shopping centre and go from P to Rev to D. It's just that I don't notice it during normal or even aggressive driving.