CarComplaints.com Notes: You should probably steer clear of the 2012 Focus. Otherwise, you might not be able to steer at all.
The 2012 is the first Focus to offer Electronic Power Assist Steering (EPAS). It's also the first year with massive power steering failure. These things are not mutually exclusive.
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My door latch stopped working on my front driver's side door, seemingly out of nowhere. I noticed the issue when I had parked at work and the door was not staying shut after locking it.
My drivers side latch failed on me one day, while I was driving and an alarm went off saying the door was open. I made a right hand turn, when my door began to swing open. Luckily, I was at a complete stop before turning. My car had about 70,000 miles on it, when the incident ocurred. I took it to a mechanic and they said the latch rod was broken and had to be replaced. They told me to go to Ford and see if there was a recall on it. Went to the Ford dealership and they said there wasn't a safety issue recall and it would cost $500 to repair it. I don't understand how that's not a safety issue, when now I have to tie a bungee cord to keep it somewhat closed.
Door latch recall my vehicle's driver side door swung open while making a right hand turn on a busy highway street and would not latch back when attempted to close. I took the car into the dealership to be repaired. The same day I researched and found a recall that went into affect on 8/4/16 that describes exactly what happened to me and covers the exact criteria of the recall to include, make, model, year of manufacture and location it was manufactured. The dealership advised there was no active recall for my vehicle so I escalated to the manufacture. After speaking with multiple Ford customer case associates they opened a case advising me that it appears my car is eligible for the recall but because the recall was so new that none of the consumers VIN numbers have been tied to the recall, therefore, they could not assist me. The dealership is advising me that I need to pay for this recall work and when they eventually add my VIN tot he recall that they would reimburse me for the repair. I do not feel as though I should pay for this repair out of pocket due to the known recall that exists. Ford was unable to assist me with the recall repair and the vehicle is still sitting at the Ford dealership awaiting repair.
My drivers side door opened while being operated and would not latch shut. I tried several times to shut it and it would not stay shut. I had to finish my drive to work holding the door shut. Im glad it was a door that I could hold shut because had it been any of the other doors, there could have been a collision. I had to have the door repaired myself since it is not under warrantee. I understand that other models were recalled and mine wasn't because a different company made the spring which is apparently what failed. Im sure that both companies made the spring to the same specifications and that the fault is in the design not the company that makes the springs.
Driver door latch failed while driving on highway, slightly turning right to change lanes. Diver door opened, and latch would not re-engage. Door had to be held shut until it could be safely parked, then tied shut from inside to travel to dealership.
- Watauga, TX, USA
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The driver side door latch would not latch. I have read that this is a common failure not only in the Focus but in many other Ford models many of which have already been recalled. The car was luckily stationary when the failure occurred.
Today I was going home from work and my door opened and closed way too fast but I thought nothing of it so I just kept driving. As I drove off the door swings open on me. Well I stopped to take a look at all of my doors and then the back drivers door jammed on me and wouldn't close. So I tied a rope to the door to hold it tight and I held the font drivers door as I drove home for 1 hour! I managed to unjam the back door but my car is unable to close in the front so now I have to worry about a dead battery in the morning. When I called Ford they told me I have to pay out of pocket because there is no recall for my car when I have seen this complaint for over 400,000 Ford Focus cars! I live in Florida how am I suppose to get to work in this heat? how am I to trust Ford if they wont even help me. I need answers my car in unsafe right now
Making a right handed turn into a parking lot and the driver side door came open. After getting stopped and trying to close the door I noticed that it would not stay shut. The door has to be held shut when driving, only was to get it to stay closed is to drive down the road so the auto locking turns on and open and close it several times for the door lock to catch it. Talked to the dealership in ennis, tx on 08/09/2016 (9days ago as of this writing) and they refused to fix it unless I paid "around $600" for it. Tom, the guy I talked to said that there was a recall on these cars but my VIN fell out of the range and ever though it was the exact same car with the exact same problems the recall was issued for since my VIN had not been listed they were not going to take a proactive approach. Last thing he stated was that since I had a extended warranty that they may fix it under that. How ever after dealing with Ford on a horn issue I know that anything not exactly listed under the warranty does not fall under its protection. Before we got off the phone he said that he (tom) would looking into it and get back to me. Over a week ago and counting.
The door latch assembly failed on the driver door, where the latch pawl and spring have broken, identical to the issue with the Ford fiesta & Ford Fusion recalls. Having worked at Ford, I know the fiesta & Fusion are near identical platforms that in the mindset of commonality of similar parts or the global world car strategy espoused by Ford for nearly a decade now, such a device would in all likelihood use the exact same latch pall and spring in all three platforms/vehicle make. The incident luckily occurred while stationary, but while shopping on 8/17/2016 and the door will not latch or lock. My wife proceeded to hold the door closed for the 7 mile return trip home through afternoon rush hour traffic, she is less than thrilled. Being this is a direct safety issue, need guidance in how to force Ford to correct their obvious responsibility on the issue as frankly no car oem should be held guiltless for such a safety device failure within 5 years of manufacture. Supposedly there is a recall potentially expanded to include the Ford Focus coming soon, but I need to do so now as the cost of the assembly and labor will likely approach $600 or more as the assembly oem cost to retail is over $300 alone.
The door latch on my rear passenger door failed and the door flew open while the car was in motion. When I turned right out of my complex was when it opened. Ford issued a recall on vehicles including 2012 Ford focuses regarding this issue but did not include vehicles bought and registered in the state of Tennessee, where I live. I believe that because my car has demonstrated the problem that the recall addresses, they should be fixing it for free as part of the recall. I just had to pay $226 for the part to fix my door, and the part was on back order for a month.
Our VIN number is not covered under the current recall. While driving our rear passenger door popped open and will not stay closed. We had to bungee cord closed it for a month and a half until the back ordered part came in. Now we are paint $800 to have it fixed.
The driver's side rear door will not latch. The latch looks broken compared to the other rear door latch, but unknown specifically what part is broken. The door latch broke when parked in our driveway. My husband opened the door to get something out of the back and when he closed it, it bounced back slightly and would not close. No injuries as a result of the latch breaking. Ford says (in a call on 8/16/16) our VIN is not a part of the recall and will not tell us if the latch on our car is the same part installed on vehicles that are a part of the recall. Our Ford service dealer is backordered on the part and will not have it available until Aug 31st, and Ford will not pay for the fix, which is estimated at $500-$600.
On August 2nd, 2016, the back door latch on the driver side failed, and it will no longer hold the door closed. I had opened my back door to put my backpack in the backseat, and when I closed the door, it closed completely, but would not latch and hold the door shut. I now have a ratchet strap going from back door to back door, holding my door closed.it was stationary at the time. I didn't think too much about it beyond I needed to get it fixed, until I went to the Ford dealer to order a replacement part. I was told by the parts associate that the latch I needed was on back order. After a little research I found that Ford has recalls on the same model year Fusion and fiesta for this same failure, and there are some complaints surfacing about the Focus. Side note: 2 weeks later, I am still waiting on the replacement door latch mechanism. It really makes me think that Ford used the same part in the fiesta, Focus and Fusion models.
My car's steering wheel got stuck with a notice saying "power steering assist fault". the first time the problem occurred the car was backing up, and the problem went away when I parked and restarted the car. The second time the problem stayed... the cost to fix the problem was estimated at about $2000 (parts and labor) at the dealership. The mileage was around 60,000 at the time. Last week (08/12/2016, at about 72,000 miles), a warning came on about a door being open while I was parking. It was the one at the back on the driver's side. The door would not lock, so I tied it with a seatbelt to keep driving. Since then the car goes into panic mode now and then when I leave it locked, probably because the door moves and it feels like someone mechanically forced the latch open. I somehow feel lucky that none of the problems occurred while driving in traffic, but I am now concerned about something else failing (like a door flying open) in worse conditions.
My wife was backing out of our driveway and beginning to pull off and the driver door just flew open. The latch will not secure the door. She could have been seriously injured. My local Ford dealer is hub city Ford in crestview fl. And they said I have to pay for the repair.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- The Colony, TX, USA