Ford Focus Powershift Gearbox Shudder + Loss of Engine Power

[KosCo]

I know there have been some threads along this line but would like to hear from people and their experiences with gearbox shuddering. I would like to hear of any experiences (good or bad) on the gearbox.

Have you had problems with gearbox shuddering?
Has it gotten worse or better over time?
Has the gearbox software been upgraded?
Has the shuddering improved after the gearbox upgraded?
Have you experienced loss of engine power at any time?



My experiences --

I purchased a Ford LW Focus Titanium Mk 2 with the 2.0L GDI petrol engine with 6-speed Powershift automatic transmission in October 2012.

During the year, the gearbox shuddering has become more pronounced.

In October 2013, the car engine completely lost power whilst stopped in morning traffic conditions. The car engine could not be restarted for 3-4 minutes. The car was taken to Ford the next day and they couldn’t find any mechanical problem with the car but they advised me that they updated the software for the gearbox.

The software update seemed to improve the situation as –

• Shuddering in gears was much improved
• Reverse gear was much smoother
• Hill stop assist was markedly improved - really didn't seem to work before the software upgrade.

12 days later the same thing occurred in exactly the same situation. Peak hour traffic, the car engine stopped and could not be restarted for 3-4 minutes.

During the 12 days from the previous occurrence, shuddering in the gearbox was returning particularly in low gears.

Again, the vehicle was taken back to Ford and they had the vehicle for 2 days. When we got the vehicle back, they said that they had cleaned the clutch.

What concerns me is that the car has a Powershift gearbox that has pronounced shuddering and now has had loss of engine power twice and based on Ford’s work on the car, the loss of power is due to the gearbox problems.

This situation seems very similar to what was the problem that caused the recall of Volkswagen vehicles. Twice, the Ford has lost power and could not be immediately restarted. Thankfully, the vehicle was not travelling at speed at the time but the gearbox is causing the problem and therefore it could happen at any time or any speed.


Appreciate any comments from that you care to add.