[sridhar-v]

My mom's Fusion, a 1.6L petrol model, is now 4 years old and has run almost 50,000 kms. For the last 1 year we have been facing occasional judder & shaking of the complete car when starting from a stop. Initially we had the hydraulic system bled (as per ford advisories on this problem), and later replaced the master cylinder. The problem is not solved and does reappear off & on. I have observed that it mostly happens when the car has been driven in stop & start traffic for some time.

Ford people are clueless about likely cause. I tend to suspect the clutch release bearing, worn out clutch plate or an small chance of the pressure plate being warped slightly & getting warped more when the clutch heats up.

Has anybody faced similar problems in the Fusion or Fiesta.

[libranof1987]

50k kms is a good time to change the clutch.

The clutch plate would be worn out and hence the jerking. It would be a good idea to change the clutch cable too.

[ampere]

I changed mine at 75K.
Even till then, no clutch related issues.

[carwatcher]

My fusion's clutch plate and pressure plate worn out after 67k kms and I was driving with it for 2 months or so. The car used to shake when put into 1 gear and pulled with great difficulty. Sometimes it missed the gears completely and only revving noise can be heard without actual acceleration while running in 3 or 4th gear. I would request you to change the Clutch plate, pressure plate and clutch cable as also suggested by libranof1987 also due to single reason of compromised fuel efficiency.
As regards solution to my Fusion(not +) (68K kms done) clutch problems, I simply changed the car as I got another (FF+ non ABS) (34k kms done) of same age by paying 30k difference around eight months ago.

[sridhar-v]

Thanks guys. Will change the clutch plate & related items & report back.

[GTO]

Do keep in mind that a bad flywheel or a misaligned transmission can also cause judder.

[SirAlec]

Do a complete clutch overhaul. Also change the clutch release bearing.

As GTO suggested also do check the flywheel.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

For the last 1 year we have been facing occasional judder & shaking...
Ford people are clueless about likely cause.

Were they clueless because your car was under warranty / extended warranty at the time?

The juddering is commonly caused by a burnt/glazed/overheated friction plate which tends to grip unevenly, resulting in uneven wear of the pressure plate &/or flywheel. Replace the friction plate & pressure plate, have the flywheel faced on a lathe, change the release bearing too while you are about it, and you are good to run another 50k-60k km at least.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Were they clueless because your car was under warranty / extended warranty at the time?

The juddering is commonly caused by a burnt/glazed/overheated friction plate which tends to grip unevenly, resulting in uneven wear of the pressure plate &/or flywheel. Replace the friction plate & pressure plate, have the flywheel faced on a lathe, change the release bearing too while you are about it, and you are good to run another 50k-60k km at least.

The problems surfaced much after the warranty expired. Will do the needful as suggested by all of you. The car does only 100 kms per month so the problem surfaces very occasionaly. we have decided to hold on to the car for another 6 months before replacing it so it is now necessary to rectify the clutch. Many thanks to all.

[GoSlow]

Hi

My Fusion has done 45K kms and I have faced the same issue, although very rarely.

What was the resolution?

Cheers

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GoSlow

Hi

My Fusion has done 45K kms and I have faced the same issue, although very rarely.

What was the resolution?

Cheers

Sorry for not updating immediately. About 45 days ago I insisted that Planet Ford replace the clutch plate, pressure plate & release bearing. Actually they were very reluctant to do the change as their test drives were not revealing any problems - I literally had to blow my top to get the work done. Turned out the clutch plate had started delaminating & there were large patches in which the material had been scored out. Also the pressure plate had some scoring marks.

Now the vehicle is a dream to drive & I did give it the full throttle on many an occasion & caused heads to turn.

I also insisted on them greasing the front caliper guide pins. The rubbing noise problem in the front left wheel has now disappeared.

Many thanks guys for your suggestions.