Hi all,

I have an unusual problem with my 2006 Focus 1.6 CDTI. The car starts and runs fine until you select drive or reverse when it will stall the engine. If I accelerate whilst selecting gear it will pull off and run fine at speed then cut out when I attempt to come to a stop. I have heard of these Auto boxes playing up but cannot find any info on this particular problem I have mechanical knowledge but this one has me a bit stumped. has anyone heard of this fault?

regards Steve

Don't want to scare you berrys6, but if your Focus has a CVT transmission....you are in trouble. When you come to a stop there is not enough pressure in the torque converter to dissengage, as a result the engine stalls. Usually that's because inside the transmission many parts have failed and metal particles have blocked the oil filters.

The problem is nobody can really do a proper overhaul on these CVTs, unless they are REALLY qualified. As far as I know, there are only a couple of Ford/ZF workshops in Europe that can do successful overhauls (Germany and Hungary). Try to avoid recommendations like replacing the ATF, since it is really expensive (Ford OEM lifetime quality) and it will definetely not fix the parts that have broken inside the CVT. Once you have the filters cleaned and new ATF the car may run a few more miles, but it will fail very soon.

Your other choice would be to have the entire CVT replaced with a Ford rebuilt (rebuilt in Germany or Hungary) for a considerable cost. That should solve your problem for at least the next 100k miles. Don't try to have a second hand CVT fitted, since it could be worse than the one you already have.

Bottom line, first choice could be better, provided to get rid of the car very soon.

I hope my diagnosis is wrong, but first of all get a proper diagnostics readout.

Unfortunately I think Philip might have hit this on the head, I like you am sat atop of a ticking timebomb!

It costs around £4k to replace. If you have an extended warranty, you will need to use it for the repair! its still cheaper than losing out altogether and having to buy a new / replacement car.

Start off with the basics, check the error codes. Do you get "Transmission Failure" at any point appear on screen?

If you skip Reverse and drop it to Neutral what happens?