Car (Ford Focus 2009) Accelerator problem

eaglebhoy

Hi All, hope someone can help me !

I have a 2009 Ford Focus Estate 1.6 TDCi and in the last week the following has happened which has me very baffled and concerned:

Last week for the first time I came onto the M2 from Ashbourne towards Dublin, accelerated in 4th, changed to 5th, kept accelerating and the engine stopped accelerating and the car was gradually slowing while I pressed the accelerator but there was nothing, I pulled into the Hard Shoulder stopped and restarted the car, all was fine and I completed my drive, no lights of any kind came on or were showing at anytime but it freaked me out.

Fast forward to this morning and the above happened again almost the exact same way but on a different road, after last time I actually turned my car key off and then on again on the fly and the car started working fine again but....

Much to my chagrin later down the road I was cruising along at 120kmh in 5th when the problem occured once more, no response from accelerator, car slowly decelerating, I tried changing gears but still nothing, so again I did the key turn trick and the car was fine again and I completed my journey just fine.

Can anyone tell me what this is about and if I should be concerned about a big repair coming my way or what needs to be done to rectify this strange problem ?

Further info: The car was last serviced at 60,000 miles and is at 69,000 at the minute !

Thanks in advance

mb1725

Could be many things, I think that engine has a fly-by-wire throttle which depends on signals from a variety of sources. Could be fuel pump problem?

eaglebhoy

Thanks, sounds like plenty of possible probs so, yay !

Bpmull

When was the fuel filter last changed ? could be as simple as a dirty fuel filter not allowing the car to get enough fuel.

eaglebhoy

Thanks also, yeah I hope it's something simple and inexpensive, I'm gonna have it checked today after work and if and when it's figured out I'll post it here for future reference in case anyone else has this happen !

Renegade Mechanic

I would get it plugged in, OP. Fords of that era have a fly by wire accelerator and the Fiestas and iirc Focuses suffer with water from shoes and the like affecting the accelerator pedal. If it happens again, just press the clutch. If the engine dies down to idle speed but stays at idle speed then its an accelerator/throttle body/wiring proplem. If the engine stalls completely then it is something else which would more than likely show up in a diagnostic check, assuming things like fuel filters and the like were checked first.

Edit: Started writing this post more than 15 minutes ago

eaglebhoy

Ah that's ok, thanks anyway !

No the engine doesn't stall there's literally no reaction from the car to my using the accelerator when this happens but the car and engine are travelling fine yet, strangely to me, when I rebooted the car by quickly turning the key off and on again the accelerator was making the car drive again and I completed my journey each time it happened !

I drove into work again today without it occurring but if it happens later I'll see if using the clutch again will do anything !

timberzz

Hi eaglebhoy, did you find an answer to this issue?

eaglebhoy

Hi Lads,

So latest is I got it plugged in, there are a few potential possibilities according to what came up so I'm due to go back in this week to have it fixed, I hope !

What I can say is, thankfully, I've been able to drive away in all this time and have even been to Galway and back as with my particular issue it appears that as long as I manage my driving so as not to try to accelerate powerfully then the car still goes fine and can still reach high speed but it just has to be done in a gentle manner ! Dunno if that's any help to you

I will be back to let you know what the exact story was once I, hopefully, get it rectified !

Later

barneygumble99

sounds like fuel filter needs to be changed if the speed can be increased gradually without problems but wont take the boot.

Zcott

Did the glow plug light flash at all when this happened?

The OH had a 2000 TDDI Focus that did this at the most annoying of moments. Turning it off and on again actually worked each time.

Fault lay in the pedal, which was an easy fix. Replacement pedal for £30, three bolts and a multiplug and it never came back.

eaglebhoy

Hi everyone, finally got the car fixed !

Sorry for the delay but then I left it this long due to finances and concern as to what the repair might cost, thankfully it turns out it didn't cost a whole lot and was a seemingly rather simple fix.

Now as I said before I'm not very technical with cars but basically all that seemed to be wrong was a loose valve into the turbo that was causing the issue in the exact way I described it. The mechanic literally tightened same and car is back to normal performance, it cost feck all and so I'm quite happy !

Apparently there were no fault codes for this problem either ! Have the car back 3 days and it's like a new car after driving it so gingerly for so long !

Sorry if that doesn't help anyone else with a similar problem ! Thanks for the help everyone !