New Focus turned me in to an L driver!

[IanJ37]

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

My 2017 Titanium X is great BUT when it comes to moving off from stationary it like I've been transported back to the 1970's and I'm learning to drive again - most of the time I cannot get it to move off without over revving it. My last 2 cars were Focus so I thought this was just a matter of getting used to a new car but we're now at 2,300 miles and things are either no better or getting worse. The car has the Driver's Pack - active city stop, assisted parking etc but turning all these off makes no difference. One thing I did find curious was that even on a gentle incline letting the clutch out with no pressure on the accelerator results in the car increasing the revs and happily moving forward at about 8 mph, but a trawl of the internet tells me that this is to prevent stalling and due to the numerous computers now involved in driving. Interestingly the problem goes away if I let the clutch out fully and then apply the revs. I also found that when they reviewed the 2014 Focus WhatCar said 'the clutch biting point on many models is a bit vague and can cause you to accidentally over-rev the engine when you pull away'

So, I'm  wondering what to do about this. Is it a) a fault, b) just me but, a little arrogantly, I'm inclined to dismiss this as the previous 2 cars were fine and I've passed the IAM advanced driving test - I know how to start off smoothly or c) the way things are - I assume that I'm experiencing what What Car did but wouldn't you expect me to have got used to it? I'm not routinely starting off by letting the clutch out and then applying the revs as I'm assuming that if I get used to this then when I change the car or get a hire car I'll be back stalling all over the place. But perhaps all modern cars are driven this way now?

Anyone experienced this or got any thoughts?

Thanks, Ian

[GaryPL]

There is stall assist which will prevent the engine from cutting out. 

However, on my 1.0 EcoBoost late 2015 Titanium X Fiesta it turned out that the clutch was actually knackered.  At 6,000 miles and after me having the car for a few weeks.  The problem I had was trouble pulling away. Hesitation at any revs.  Pulling away on an incline was tricky.  Things got progressively worse to the point I couldn't reverse off of a gravel driveway without clutch burn.  Or reversing up a slight incline in a car park - even when I kicked all of the passengers out.

So my advice - get it into the garage and sorted ASAP. The longer you leave it, the more likely they are to try and blame clutch problems on you.  It too me 6.5 weeks over 4 visits (the latest of which was 5.5 weeks) and having to reject the vehicle for them to actually acknowledge something was wrong.

Good luck :)

[FourD]

I know exactly what you mean. It's quite embarrassing as I've been driving manual cars for over 20 years. It's like I either over rev, or starve it causing the car to bog forward and nearly cut out. No matter what I try, I can't seem to nail down the exact clutch taking point.
The best solution so far is to practically "launch" from stand still all the time, looks like I want to race everyone. Lol

[tazzman600]

Which engine has your car got Ian?

[chrisroberson99]

It's quite easy to rev a little too much when trying to find the biting point and balancing the accelerator and clutch, I think it's just a sensitive throttle. Can't really comment on any other cars as I've only ever driven one other (been driving 6 months)

[Ryan_Tango]

I often find my self over revving when needing to make a move from a stand still due to sometimes needing to rush out a roundabout, I find if I just let the clutch out slowly and when fully out put my foot down it blasts into hyperdrive lol, getting my car remapped soon so will be able to see if that helps because sometimes I feel like I'm going to die at roundabouts.

[IanJ37]

Sorry should have included the engine spec - it's a 1.5 ecoboost 182bhp.

[TitXlover]

I've got a 1.0 125 TitX and the major problem I have is pulling away in 2nd gear. I have always been able to pull off from a slow speed using 2nd gear, but I find this tricky in this car. It seems you have to rev the engine before applying the clutch, or it bogs down.

I find it difficult as with all other cars I didn't need to do this and keep forgetting. Not sure if it's the turbo or the 6 speed box that causes this or maybe a combination of the 2?

[Ryan_Tango]

1 hour ago, TitXlover said:

I've got a 1.0 125 TitX and the major problem I have is pulling away in 2nd gear. I have always been able to pull off from a slow speed using 2nd gear, but I find this tricky in this car. It seems you have to rev the engine before applying the clutch, or it bogs down.

I find it difficult as with all other cars I didn't need to do this and keep forgetting. Not sure if it's the turbo or the 6 speed box that causes this or maybe a combination of the 2?

Why would you be pulling away in 2nd? Unless you're facing downhill and roll slightly then engage? 

[TitXlover]

At slow speed, going from 1 two 2 it bogs down if not revved, its the 1st car I have ever had to do this with.

Sent from my Wileyfox Swift using Tapatalk

[tazzman600]

So Ian your car is the 1.5 ecoboost. You're encountering problems starting off from standstill. Firstly your car will have an anti stall system. This may have a fault within it. Also from what I've read the 1.5 needs to be revved as below turbo it's not very gutsy.
I'd make my concerns known to the dealer I got the car from.
I'm not going to tell you how to drive coz you know already.
It's report/complain to dealer time about the problem.

[IanJ37]

Thanks for all the help and comments. You are both quite right tazzman and GaryPL- I'm off to the dealer tomorrow and will report back!

[IanJ37]

Well, back from the dealer, who to be fair spent some time with me and was helpful, but the bottom line is there is no fault and I just have to learn to live with it. This 'feature' that's been causing me a problem is caused by the overall trend to make cars easier to drive by including anti-stall etc. So it seems the only way to go back to good 'old fashioned' driving is to buy a car aimed at enthusiasts not the mass market.

Anyway thanks for all your comments and advice. 

[GaryPL]

That's a new one.

[tazzman600]

Maybe worth going to a different Ford dealer and get their take on it.

[richardc1983]

Having the exact same issue on my 1.6 tdci titanium X. Car has had a new clutch kit, flywheel etc and still the same. Whilst the sensation of the mats getting caught under the pedal has gone which was detailed in the TSB. Gear changes are rarely smooth from 1-3 until you get to 4th leaving me feeling like I am not driving properly. The courtesy cars I have had while my car was in (a VW Polo and a Skoda Fabia) had really smooth gear changes. For me its down to this anti stall feature where it puts the engine revs up, whilst this is useful for hill starts as it holds the car in place for normal roads it causes the car to jolt  and passengers think I am not driving properly. Sometimes it doesn't happen though but I cant seem to settle down with the biting point. If I take my foot completely off quickly then apply the accelerator it could be ok, then other times it jolts.

See more about my post here - http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/90313-clutch-pedal-sticking-mk3/

Beautiful car, perhaps I am gonna have to live with it.

[dans34]

i have a 1.6 tdci and I also find my self over reving the car leading to a lurch when setting off

[Ormet]

I had some problem the first weeks but now I have got used to it. It always take some time to learn how the clutch behaves in a new car.

[jmurray01]

Can the anti-stall feature not be disabled?  I think it's stupid to be honest, if you can't drive a car without stalling then you should admit you cannot drive a manual and buy an automatic.  These "features" just make things worse.