Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 2 Sep 2012 10:19
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - pvurgest

I purchased an 09 1.8tdci focus last week from evans Halshaw with 33k on the clock. I have noticed that under light acceleration (more noticable at low revs) I get a slight bucking/juddering from the engine. This disappears if I change gear or accelerate heavily. It can happen in any gear but seems to be more noticable uphill. I am not getting any feedback through clutch so hoping it wont be the DMF and as there doesnt seem to be any lag or loss of power when accelerating I am hoping its not fuel injector or EGR. I just thought it wanted to get going but am now starting to think its not normal

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 2 Sep 2012 21:32
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - car67

Hi, I have a 1.8tdci in my mondeo, and I had the same issue, but at 2500revs, I would get a loss of power and juddering- panicked me in case valves, or dirt in the fuel line? BUT, I got a new air filter fitted and this seems to have sorted out the problem. Good luck

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 3 Sep 2012 00:43
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - Avant

Moved to Technical.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 4 Sep 2012 17:45
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - BenG

You could take a look on the Ford Focus Owners Club forums for any similar issues. I used it when I had my TDCI.

I seem to recall that a failing DMF gives rise to clanking/banging noises and clutch pedal movements when starting the car with the engine warm, so you might be able to rule that out.

Could be worth checking the operation of the EGR valve and cleaning it out as well to eliminate that issue as I understand a blocked or sticky valve can give rise to jerky running and lack of power. It's quite easy to access.

Also maybe run some decent injector cleaner through in case the issue is a partly-blocked or dirty injector? BG244 fuel system cleaner seems to get good reviews.

If the problem gets worse and the glow plug light starts flashing, it means a fault code has been written and can be read to maybe throw some light on the issue (might be worth getting the codes read anyway, then cleared and see if any re-occur, indicating a current problem).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 12 Sep 2012 10:10
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - pvurgest

thanks for the advice. no fault codes showing yet. air filter replaced but if anything, the problem seems worse. think fuel cleaner and egr check are the next steps.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 27 Sep 2012 17:13
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - pvurgest

think it may now be sorted.i took it to A Ford dealership who discovered the engine management system required updating. once they had done that and recalibrated the injectors (at a cost of £80-paid by evans halshaw) everything is now running smoothly. the average mpg has improved by 10mpg too!!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 18 Feb 2013 22:17
Ford Focus 1.8tdci - Juddering at low revs light acceleration - k eaton

i have this exact same problem and would appreciate it very much if the owner of this post who has now sorted his problem, would please give me an email as i would be extremely greatful for his/her advice. my addy is kevinandreweaton@gmail.com thankyou.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide