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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.

And while you wait for your steering to disappear, you'll be greeted with a transmission that shudders, vibrates or won't shift at all.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
60,060 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Ford Focus electrical problems

electrical problem

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2012 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 2 of 17)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #313

Jul 112021

Focus

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

First the dashboard panel went out, came back on several times, then it refused to start on the first and second tries, nothing just dead. Then the transmission was acting like it was slipping for no reason just when you stopped suddenly, then reverse went out with no warning. Check engine light came on. Now it won't crank and codes says it's a electrial problem. Low milage on this car. Why has it not been recalled ?

- Cordesville, SC, USA

problem #312

May 172021

Focus

  • miles
I have a 2012 Ford Focus SE that has a severe audio issue which impacts my ability to safely operate the vehicle. I understand radio issues are not technically defined as a safety-related defect. However this issue is so impairing and physically harming to me, I fear for my life and others while driving this car. The issue is a faulty car stereo electronics which create high-decibel thumping, popping, static, and more at random intervals and lengths while the audio system is on or off, with the volume turned all the way down either way. It is like a never-ending audio jump scare. Nothing is plugged into the car like a phone charger or speaker. I have found hundreds of people online with this same issue with their 2012 Ford Focus. In order to safely operate their Focus, many reported completely disconnecting the audio system or replacing their entire car radio/audio transmitter for $800+. This issue has been escalating every drive, short or long distances. On my 40 min commute this morning, with my audio completely off, I was approaching a roundabout to enter when a HUGE audio thump and pop occurred and almost ran into a car in the roundabout. Thankfully they saw me and we avoided a crash. I am terrified of this happening again. I cannot commute to my job without extreme stress and crying. I do not have hundreds of dollars to replace my audio system. This is extremely dangerous. I was able to find a solution to the exact issue on focusfanatics.com, a Ford Focus forum. An electric technician with 40+ years of experience took a look at his son's Ford Focus 2012 PCB and realized the capacitors/electrolytic caps were made of aluminum which is apparently, "notorious for going bad in the electronic repair world." He replaced these and the son has not had an issue since. Another person on the forum reported this electrician's solution worked for them as well. All 2012 Ford Focuses should have this issue repaired in order to have a safe operating vehicle.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #311

May 052021

Focus

  • 143,000 miles
I had just purchased Ford Focus used. The dealership told me, that my cause recall does not stand. Because it exceeded over 100,000 miles. They said it out of warranty. They told me to pay $3,400 estimation to fix the car. I told them recall don't expire. Also that Ford manufactures tell me up to 2012-2017 have recalls on transmissions issues. I'm just upset they don't hold up to there standards with Ford and I love Ford motors. They car stalls and won't go into gear. It has difficulty responding to gears. I bought it used ABS notice the problems. So I hauled it in to the Ford dealership.

- Winslow, AZ, USA

problem #310

Apr 292021

Focus

  • 7 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

As I go driving on the highway, the instrument cluster shows a "stop safely now" message. The problem is that happens when the vehicle is in motion and losses all power, the power train goes death. This is a very dangerous situation specially when youre traveling on a pretty loaded highway at 78mph. The only good thing is that steering wheel is still alive and brakes too. I had 90% of battery life and it was a hot day out there at 94F degrees. I did not take a picture of the instrument cluster but I have the message I received in my cell phone.

- Lake Elsinore, CA, USA

problem #309

Jan 082020

Focus 4-cyl

  • 130,563 miles
Whenever it rains and I'm using my wipers they will just shut off randomly or they do a very inconvenient delay at the worst of times especially when it's raining hard. It's dangerous and you can't see. Oddly enough my horn don't work either. I got the car January 1st,2020 of course it was previously owned I got it from a used car dealer the horn worked until I think March, 2020. I hit a bump and it's like it just quit after that then a couple week later I got a bump again and it started workin for a little bit. Then a couple days went by and it just stopped never to work again. Checked all the fuses they all looked good none looked blown. It's scary because so many times people will either pull out in front of me like they don't see me or almost hit me and I have no way to alert them that they almost him me and need to pay attention. Then there's the whole having to take off slowly if not and you take off fast it the car will jerk and stall and it does it really when sometimes when turning and now the RPM drop so low when idling it almost dies. I just replace the motor a couple months ago and it was doing this before the ne motor got out in just not as bad. And it's like you can press the gas pedal and push it but the car. Aren't beg jl and goes... it's scary to me and I usually always have my kid with me. It freaks me out because not only does it stall or whatever it's doing I have no horn to let people know to go around I know a girl I work with her daughter has the same car as me and stalking has gotta.

- Sikeston, MO, USA

problem #308

Sep 132020

Focus

  • 134,000 miles
Steering and hill assist light came on when warming up the car. Went to leave the parking spot and the car was extremely hard to turn in both directions. Shutting the car off and re starting temporarily resolved the issue for a few days at first! but it came back and did the same thing. This occurred again while driving on highway 200 @80mph causing me to almost leave my lane and hit a mini van! the car has been parked for about 4 months now and only used for very short trips in town (1 mile or less!) this is a well known and documented issue that Ford is refusing to issue a recall for! just another corporation not caring about their consumers! issue a recall already!

- Seeley Lake, MT, USA

problem #307

Mar 292021

Focus

  • 66,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

For years my car has randomly shut down while driving and has been needed to be towed twice. It and has had 10 recalls performed, including the transmission. My car shut down again on Monday night coasting along a flat road at 45 mph so I decided to call Ford today and ask what new recalls have come out and they stated my car has a field service issue for the transmission that is common but they have not recalled it. Why? they also mentioned that they have to look into whether or not I would have to pay to fix this commonly reported problem.

- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

problem #306

Mar 242019

Focus

  • miles
Horn was only working intermittently, now it doesn't work at all.

- Muskogee, OK, USA

problem #305

Jan 262021

Focus

  • 80,000 miles
Major electronic component issue. Dealing with the Ford stereo system. Had the car for roughly 3 years now, and about a year ago, I could be listening to music, or having the radio turned off. And at random times, if I was listening to music, the music would cut off and then all I hear is a bunch of popping and crackling coming from the speakers. This happens even when I have the radio off! it has recently gotten so bad, that I was so close to get into a accident when the radio decided to terrorize me with the obnoxious crackling and popping, I ended up jerking the wheel because it scared the living daylights out of me. It recently has been doing it non stop, and now it has gotten to the point that it will be doing this, when the key is not even in the ignition. I ended up pulling the fuse for the radio because it is a major safety issue. There should be no reason a radio should cut out, and start popping and crackling at the loudest volume possible. It happens even with the radio off. It is a serious safety hazard. I have almost been in a few accidents because of this radio/electrical iusse. I have done research. And it is a very very common problem. This radio, car, or electrical that is causing this needs to be remedied, recalled, fixed. It is a life threatening issue. When this issue first started, I had roughly 78,000 miles on the car. I am now at 100,200 and it is gotten so bad. It needs to be recalled, fixed, remedied. There have been so many people complaining about the Ford radio systems.

- Stafford, NY, USA

problem #304

Feb 112021

Focus 4-cyl

  • 170,000 miles
I was involved in a car accident and my car slide across a highway, hit a median, and came to a stop hitting a tree head on. It demolished the drivers side and no air bags deployed. I unhooked my seat belt and merely leaned against the door. To my surprise, it opened by itself and I fell out. Consequently I was laying in the snow and mud for 5 minutes before a good samaritan pulled me out of the mud. I submitted my car to a Ford dealer/bodyshop to correct any recalls last year, and I have proof that this wasn't done properly. Now I have I hurt disk in my back as well as little mobility in my left leg.

- Felton, DE, USA

problem #303

Oct 012020

Focus

  • 120,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving home and it started to shift incorrectly and luckily I was closer to home. By the time I had to turn into my driveway it quit shifting all together. My door locks do not lock, I've had to bungee the rear doors together. My mirrors do not work. Also the fuel gauge doesn't read correctly.

- Quinton, AL, USA

problem #302

Nov 282020

Focus

  • 151,000 miles
I purchased my vehicle October 14,2020 from day one every time, I put gas in it, it stalled to crank and you could smell a rotten egg smell. I would have to sit and wait and press the gas numerous of times before the car started. My driver side back door came flying open the same day and would not latch back to close. Here it is November 28, 2020 my car starts smoking really bad and now won't even crank up to drive. I paid 4,056 cash for a car I can't even enjoy.

- Meherrin, VA, USA

problem #301

Feb 172020

Focus

  • 78,500 miles
Ford Focus famous steering assist fault, light on no steering and U3000 codes well im ase certified retired and Ford is yanking customers and dealerships lie.for a brief moment you may aslo have a hidden code U140, running scan shows malfuntion light deactivated not sure if this is tied to reflashing ECM or some cover up I will find what was done. The code U3000 Ford says differant after investigating the entire car grounds, grounds to aluminum, some shield to protect the pscm what, ,,,that will be fixed my way it all comes to heat and voltage also many hours of searching and calling module builders mine was a U3300:53 deactivated period dead no good, all the same and the units are on the Fusion as well. I dealt with dealership just wipe my nose is all on and off the assist fail happened many times and as close as the pscm is to the hot, hot pipe I can see heat and the pump poorly built. Sitting in a parking lot for doctorand come out and assist stayed on no cycle would fix. Anyone with mechanic skills download forscan run test but save your profile trust me also look up as built calibrations and may want look at etis.Ford.... recalls that dealership failed to fix good luck

- Fort Smith, AR, USA

problem #300

Aug 012018

Focus

  • 80,000 miles
Back up camera malfunction. Will work every now and then. Will flash with black screen and green line. At times the picture will be upside down. At times it won't work at all. Car sensors will go off with rain and or snow. The media screen at times will not show data ie radio stations, blue tooth connection. All the above occurs when car is in motion.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #299

May 292020

Focus

  • 176,000 miles
I began to notice my vehicle having lighting issues, including dimmer inside dome lights, flickering license plate lights, and it was pointed out to me that my back up lights weren't functional at all. I was parked parallel with other vehicles in a parking lot. Then after starting my vehicle, I shifted my automatic transmission into reverse going only about 2 mph when the vehicle began to beep, along with a warning that my luggage compartment door was open. In the situation, the beeping was very distracting and could have increased the risk of crashing. I immediately re-parked my vehicle so that I could investigate. I opened, then firmly closed all 4 of my doors, then tired to open the trunk, only to find that my trunk wouldn't open. The beeping persisted until I pressed the ok button on my steering wheel. I was able to drive my vehicle home safely, although the warning remained on my display the entire drive home. My trunk wouldn't open when pressing on the trunk release button on my smart-key either. I drove the vehicle in that condition for approximately 3 months before I was able to located the source of the problem. After doing ample research on other 2012 Ford Focus drivers that complained of the same symptoms. So I accessed my trunk by folding my back seats down, then pulling the emergency trunk release lever. I then located the faulty wires that were causing all of my symptoms. I had the wires repaired by a professional. That solution worked for about 3 months before reoccurring.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

problem #298

Sep 282020

Focus

  • 186,000 miles
My car is shutting off when I stop the car

- Reading, PA, USA

problem #297

Sep 262020

Focus

  • 161,000 miles
Received a message of power steering assistt failure then wheel would not turn and got very hard I was almost in an accident. It was in motion on the highway

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #296

Aug 082020

Focus

  • 102,797 miles
Intermittent, now constant epas (electronic power assisted steering) failure. My 20 year old daughter went to eat with friends after work and when she tried to leave to come home (after midnight), she found that the epas had failed. She did manage to drive the vehicle home since traffic was light, and luckily, the epas did not fail while she was driving or in heavy traffic. Without the epas working, the steering wheel is very hard to turn when the vehicle is in motion and nearly impossible to turn while stationary.

- Madison, AL, USA

problem #295

Jul 252020

Focus

  • 116,000 miles
I had just put the car into reverse and the steering assist came up as a malfunction and the car would not move and the steering wheel would not move. Through an internet search I have found this a major safety issue with very high repair costs that needs to be addressed by the Ford Motor Company.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

problem #294

May 042020

Focus

  • 174,000 miles
Wires in the trunk completely broken. Symptoms: Trunk won't unlatch, renders the trunk useless. My license plate light flickers. Also, I have to manually turn off my parking lights. They should turn off once locking my doors with my key fob, but they remain on, so I turn them off manually otherwise they'll stay on this draining my battery. Each time I turn on the car, as soon as I shift into drive/reverse, the car begins to beep at me and the dash lights up saying 'luggage compartment lid open' which is very distracting. This happens every time I turn the engine on after shifting into gear. After researching my problem, I've found that many other drivers with similar years of Ford Focus have had the same issue. After I fixed the wires myself, all of these symptoms went away. I'm surprised how many issues those broken wires have caused.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

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