Hi there,

Yesterday my Fiesta started having problems. The car wouldn't go into some gears, especially when I was down shifting. when pulling away the car was juddering also while stationary and in 1st gear with the clutch down the car was shaking alot more than it should.

I checked my cars oil last week and it was halfway between empty and full. I checked it again just now and its now 1 millimetre above the empty sign. I have now topped this up by the way.

Why is it doing this? Is it safe to drive?

Does the clutch improve if you pump the pedal? I found the biting point on mine was getting lower and lower; a few pumps sorted it out temporarily. The problem was the clutch master cylinder - a relatively cheap, if awkward repair.

However, yours does sound a little more serious than that. Is it leaking oil? To check, put cardboard under the engine area overnight, and see if any has appeared. Is it smoking a lot?

If you are not mechanically minded, I would seek professional advice on both of those issues. As regards to the "safe to drive" - I'd be reluctant to drive it far until I knew what was going on.

I forgot to add - clutch judder in first when pulling away is sometimes due to worn engine mountings; however, as you are experiencing problems with all gears it's probably not that.

Hi there,

Still doesn't help when pumping the clutch :(.

Possibly need new clutch? If thats the case change the flywheel aswell

I thought it would be a new clutch. However I've never had a clutch go so I don't know what it feels like.

I'd take it into the garage. Sounds similar to whats just happened to my 206 which was the head gasket going (Hence why I now have a fiesta haha).

if there is oil around the gearbox it could be that oil has leaked from the engine onto the clutch and contaminated it i had this on a mk3 golf which caused the clutch to slip and judder

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would update all of you. I have taken the car back to where I bought it from.

The onsite engineer said he has never driven one like it. The clutch and the fly wheel needs replacing. Luckily when buying the car I purchased a premium guarantee. Which means both of these are covered. How much do you think both of these parts + labour would be without the guarantee?

Just thought I would let you all know incase anyone else is having this problem.

Is your car a diesel?

The last clutch I had done was on our previous Rover 200 - cost around £270 with Mr. Clutch - that was without the flywheel.

Does anyone know if any of the modern diesel Fiestas have DMFs? if your one is a diesel with a Dual Mass Flywheel, that could be big bucks.

No its a Petrol.

In that case I doubt it would have dual mass flywheel. As said the clutch disc may have oil contamination from either the rear main seal or a leaking clutch cylinder or a damaged clutch friction plate.

Ah right. I presume if it wasn't covered by the warranty the labour would be more than the part lol .