Hi Jay

Thanks for responding!

Its a 1.6 petrol. Took it on a 180 mile run today, car hesitated 4 times in total on the journey. No hazard lights came on in the dashboard.

Ive taken it to Ford and an Independant, but none of the codes that have come up seem to relate to the problem. The codes that have come up was for a vehicle speed sensor and instrument cluster.

Ford dealer stated on report that they 'needed a fault to be present to find the fault'.

I had the vehicle speed sensor replaced but this hasnt solved the problem. You mentioned the EGR valve sticking..so i looked that up and came across this piece of information:

'Note that complete DPFE sensor failure is a very slow process, and the check engine light won't come on until the DPFE sensor is pretty much done for.

If you're experencing stumble or hesitation while cruising, and think that it might be related to DPFE sensor failure...'

Only thing im not sure about is whether DPFE or EGR valve sticking would show up as a fault codes?

Thanks

Did you ever solve this problem?

I have a Mk 1 Focus GL (1.6 Zetec SE Petrol engine) with identical symptoms and have been unable to get it fixed.

I replaced the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) a few years ago because the car was performing the same 'jolt' type brief speed drop for a fraction of a second plus the speedo needle dropped to zero, before another jolt and the needle worked again, plus eventually the digital odometer would blank and restart too. The ongoing problem feels the same but without the speedo needle & odometer changing, so I wonder if the car needs another VSS.

In the meantime my (good) local garage has run a sensor chec and none have shown as faulty, and I had the fuel filter changed 'just in case'.

DPFE sensor faults seem to cause the same symptoms but only seem to be used in diesels so that seems to rule that out.

So if you, or anyone else has a fix, I'd be very glad to hear of it.

My Focus 1.6 zetec SE had a similar problem which a main Ford dealer couldn't diagnose after charging £75 for a computer fault code test.

A friend recommended an auto electrician who diagnosed the problem by linking it up to a laptop. He said it was one of two things, and we'll try the cheapest option first which was a new throttle positon sensor.Well three years later my car has run trouble free. He charged me £90 parts and labour. Hope this helps,let me know if it does.

Edited by kestrel on 25/01/2012 at 20:23

"Ford dealer stated on report that they 'needed a fault to be present to find the fault'"

what is the mechanic world coming to these days??? why do they suddenly need a fault code on a computer to be able to diagnose mechanical failures? what happened to the good ol' manual investigation, taking it for a test drive etc. more and more nowadays do i see "technicians" instead of mechanics about.