If the Focus loses drive in traffic
A gearbox that suddenly drops drive, or won't pull away at an intersection, is a safety problem. Get somewhere safe off the road, hazard lights on, switch off and ring your roadside cover if you have it. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 111. Leave the car parked until a mechanic has looked at it.
Does my Focus have the PowerShift?
PowerShift is Ford's name for a family of dual-clutch automatics (gearboxes that run two clutches, one for the odd gears and one for the even ones). The six-speed DPS6 went into the Fiesta and the Focus. It used dry clutches, which come from manual gearbox design, and they don't shed heat as well as the wet clutches used in heavier-duty versions.
A manual Focus doesn't have it. The automatic to check for is on the third-generation car, built from December 2010 to 2019. Ask the mechanic to confirm the gearbox from the VIN, the 17-character number on the car and on its registration papers.
What makes a PowerShift shudder
Wikipedia's account of this gearbox gives three causes. Leaking seals can let fluid reach a clutch and make it slip, and Ford has issued revised seals and updated clutch kits for that. A clutch pack can overheat. And the control module can disengage the clutches to protect them, which the driver feels as a stumble.
On the road that shows up as a judder pulling away, a hesitation in slow traffic, or a feeling like someone riding a manual clutch. The same symptom can come from more than one cause, which is why diagnosis matters more than reputation here.
Questions to ask before you approve a Focus gearbox repair
- Which gearbox does the VIN show, and has it had seal, clutch or software work before?
- Did you road test it both cold and warm, and which fault codes were stored?
- If it was opened up, was there contamination on the clutch faces, and how worn were the packs and seals?
- Is this an estimate or a fixed quote, and will you ring me before doing anything extra?
- What warranty comes with the parts and the labour?
Ford Focus battery
A Focus battery is usually a quick job once it's been tested. AA New Zealand expects a battery to last 3 to 5 years here, as long as it's kept charged and fitted correctly, and says a battery over three years old that cranks slowly on cold mornings may be on its way out.
If your Focus switches its engine off at the lights, it has start-stop, and AA New Zealand says those cars need an AGM battery. After a flat battery, the AA also recommends finding out why it went flat, since the alternator only keeps a charged battery topped up. See car battery replacement.
Recalls and your rights
Before you agree to a big gearbox job, ask Ford New Zealand or a Ford dealer to run the VIN for any recall or service programme on the car. Whoever does the repair, the Consumer Guarantees Act says it has to be done with reasonable care and skill.
Our take on a juddering Focus
Write down exactly when the judder happens (cold, warm, uphill, pulling away) and dig out every gearbox invoice before you send the job. We'd ask for the diagnosis to be priced on its own first, then decide on the repair once the cause is known. On a high-kilometre Focus, compare the repair with the car's value before saying yes. A local mechanic who specialises in your car.