My mk4 has done nearly 60k miles. Just today it’s started shuddering when accelerating on a fairly steep hill on the motorway. It only happens at that stretch on the motorway at similar speeds , between 40 and 60 mph   

it'll be fixed as part of the lease but what should I expect? Any other mk4 Auto owners had this issue? 

Google seems to say it’s the torque converter gear box. Is it likely to break down? 

Yes, 8 speed torque converter on 1.5 EcoBoost.  They can suffer from harsh changes or losing reverse but not usually shuddering in gear.

I wonder if the engine was misfiring instead...

I take it there weren't any warning lights?

No warning lights. 
Misfiring is possible. Almost a rhythm to the shuddering , talking a few seconds then accelerating has not only got me up the hill but no more symptoms elsewhere on my route. 🤔 

Some of these cars, especially the Automatic ones did have a problem with shuddering caused by the Cylinder Deactivation. If it does not do it when Sport Mode is on then it could be that.

If it is only on the same bit of road, could it be that the road surface is faulty.

Good call Tizer, I’ll try sports mode tomorrow. Any knowledge on cylinder deactivation repairs, anyone? 

The road was just recently resurfaced 

4 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

Any knowledge on cylinder deactivation repairs, anyone? 

If it is a Cylinder Deactivation thing then there is no fix.

The shuddering problem was almost exclusively with the 1.0 Engines, although there were a very few posts on here from people with the 1.5 Engine who had slight shuddering problems.

I still would not rule out the road surface even though it has been resurfaced. 

Just went up the hill in sports mode without any shuddering. It’s a trip to the dealership I think. 🤔 

11 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

Just went up the hill in sports mode without any shuddering. It’s a trip to the dealership I think. 🤔 

That does sound like Cylinder Deactivation related.

It can be a bit more confusing in an Automatic though because it may have selected a different gear in Sports Mode rather than the most economical one that Normal Mode may have selected.

Since it happens when accelerating uphill it surely can't be cylinder deactivation as I thought that only kicks in at light load.

1 hour ago, mjt said:

Since it happens when accelerating uphill it surely can't be cylinder deactivation as I thought that only kicks in at light load.

It’s steady Accelerator openings, not necessarily light load. 

When monitoring Live Data I've seen it happen at 70 mph on a long steady uphill incline in 6th gear. 

2 hours ago, Alex.S said:

Just went up the hill in sports mode without any shuddering. It’s a trip to the dealership I think. 🤔 

Likely to be a waste of time if there are no warnings and you can't replicate the fault. 

Ok, it’s shuddering worse today. Doesn’t happen while accelerating gently. And it’s mainly on an uphill. About cylinder deactivation, I don’t think that’s it because it’s at its worst accelerating uphill on motorway from 40mph to 60ish. Not flooring it but accelerating normally. 
I’m just back from the dealership, can’t book me in until 2 weeks time so I’m getting a hire car and leaving the focus at the dealership. 

14 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Likely to be a waste of time if there are no warnings and you can't replicate the fault. 

The dealership is about one mile away from the motorway, it’s happening every time on that section of the motorway. 

37 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

I don’t think that’s it because it’s at its worst accelerating uphill on motorway from 40mph to 60ish. Not flooring it but accelerating normally. 

That doesn't sound like a Cylinder Deactivation problem because Deactivation generally doesn't happen when gaining speed.

As Tom said earlier it could be a Misfire, but I would expect a warning light to be on by now. The PCM is good at detecting these things but it will nit trigger a warning until a set amount have been detected. 

If it’s misfiring would that not happen all the time?  

12 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

If it’s misfiring would that not happen all the time?  

Generally yes unless something is shaking itself loose under certain conditions. 

It had a full service just a week or two ago. 🧐 

7 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

It had a full service just a week or two ago. 🧐 

Sounds like they applied the 'break just outside of warranty' update. 😮 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Sounds like they applied the 'break just outside of warranty' update. 😮 

Haha if they have they know how to fix it! 

2 hours ago, Alex.S said:

It had a full service just a week or two ago. 🧐 

If that was the 4th year one then the Spark Plugs would have been changed and maybe they have not put everything back together correctly.

4 hours ago, Tizer said:

That doesn't sound like a Cylinder Deactivation problem because Deactivation generally doesn't happen when gaining speed

Well, there you go - you're agreeing with me now .

4 hours ago, Tizer said:

If that was the 4th year one then the Spark Plugs would have been changed and maybe they have not put everything back together correctly.

Yes new spark plugs. 
They've given me a 21 plate Skoda. Doesn’t drive as good as the focus but it’s got all the VAG tech. 😀

25 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

but it’s got all the VAG tech.

does that include the emissions cheating device ? 🤣

15 hours ago, unofix said:

does that include the emissions cheating device ? 🤣

S/s ? 
the auto box in general is better than the 8 speed torque converter     Apart from parking or crawling out a tight spot. I’ve not tried sync 4 but I’d imagine it’ll be similar. A lot of unnecessary information. It’s got wireless CarPlay, maps , phone and music is all I really need. 
start stop I’ve not figured out how to switch it off yet!! 
it’s a 1L hybrid 108bhp. Pretty lame really. Especially off the mark.