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.
When driving the power steering will suddenly go out and the "power steering assist fault" indicator light comes on. I suddenly had no power steering, which is certainly a safety issue! and according to other 2012 Ford Focus owners this is a widespread issue with no recall yet! after 8 years.
I own a 2012 Ford Focus went to pick my kids up from school and killed my car. Then tried to restart my car and my steering wheel was really hard to turn then the steering assist failure popped up on my screen. Tried to restart the battery changed the fuse and it still pops up with the message. And this is my only transportation. It's really hard to steer it. And I'm scared to drive it.
The contact called on behalf of his aunt who owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while his aunt was entering her garage, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated the aunt does not remember the warning light that was illuminated. The contact stated the driver turned off and on the ignition and the steering wheel was functioning normal. The vehicle was taken to local dealer gene butman Ford located at 2105 washtenaw ave, ypsilanti, mi 48197, (734) 482-8581, where it was diagnosed with needing unknown rack to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 34,659.
The power steer fails when started and intermittently while driving. The power steering failure after starting has been happening over a year. Today the check engine line came on after pulling out of the drive way and warned me the power steering had failed. The vehicle has 100,700 miles on it.
While driving at approximately 50mph on a country road the vehicle suddenly became unresponsive and numerous warning lights illuminated. A transmission failure warning appeared and the car immediately stopped accelerating. The electric steering became inoperative and steered the vehicle into oncoming traffic. Avoidance and stopping on the side of the road required an estimated 60-80lbs of force to regain minimal steering and bring the car to a stop. Once stopped numerous electrical systems on the car including lights, wipers, and other electrical components began to activate and deactivate in a seemingly random fashion. This car is absolutely unsafe!
- Longs, SC, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The driver was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was pushed into a nearby gas station to be diagnosed. The driver was informed that the fuel gauge was inoperable. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline). Additionally, on another occasion while moving the vehicle from a parking space, the steering wheel became firm and difficult to maneuver. Metro Ford Chicago located at 6455 S western ave, Chicago, il 60636, (888)667-9088 was contacted by phone. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall or a warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 62,100.
The power steering went out on my car this morning when I started it. It flashed an error message. After turning it off and restarting it about 3 times, it began to work. I have read that this can occur as I am driving. I am terrified this car is going to kill me, and I just bought it used and am paying payments. The vehicle was not in motion...yet.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving on the highway, the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to manually steer the vehicle to the side of the highway. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove slowly to his destination. Joe machens Ford (1911 w worley St, columbia, mo 65203, (573) 445-4411) stated that the rack and pinion system was defective and needed to be replaced at the cost of $2,700. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that nothing could be done since they were cleared by the national transportation board. An investigation was conducted and the steering system was repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000.
Second & third time the power steering has locked out on this vehicle while stationary, thank god. The instrument cluster showed a message reading "steering fault and it was amber in color. Turn off vehicle and restarted vehicle as my spouse told me and steering was ok. Drove to a different location and stopped about one hour later started to restart vehicle to the system warning and status messages cluster was on and amber in color, turn off and restart vehicle and it was ok, drove home and it is as of this date still working..
Starting car and engaged engine& trans started to move when I found that no power steering. Found out that if you stop and restart car it might reset it did. This has happened twice more times. All had amber message all happened while stationary.
My daughter pulled out her parking space and was unable to turn the steering wheel. The steering wheel was beyond hard to turn for an adult male or female, suggesting that the problem was not a lack of power steering fluid but that the car's steering modules failed, while the car was being driven.
Vehicle is a 2012 Ford Focus with only 46,000 miles. While starting to make a left turn from a stopped position the instrumentation panel showed a "steering assist fault" message and all power steering was lost. This nearly resulted in hitting another vehicle as I was not prepared for the steering to become completely manual, it was difficult at such a slow speed to turn the wheel. In speaking with Ford this is a known issue, recall was issued for multiple vehicles and multiple years for the same issue but the Focus was excluded.
Steering assist malfunction warning with loss of power steering. Happened at start up. Turned car off and restarted. The problem went away. The 4th time this happened, the power assist did not resume. Car now has no power steering at all.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 35 mph, the steering wheel seized. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred twice. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to ken grody Ford carlsbad (5555 paseo del norte, carlsbad, ca 92008, (760) 438-9171), but the cause of the failure could not be determined because the power steering was operable once the vehicle was restarted at the dealer. The contact stated that the front driver's side tire was replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000.
I backed out my Focus from the garage and heard a beep or noise to alert me of a problem. The steering wheel was rigid and dash message said something about steering malfunction. In addition was a square box with an "I" in the box. I then moved the car back into the garage and turned off the engine.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle began to steer and swerve in and out of lanes without warning. The contact had to remove his foot from the accelerator pedal in order for the vehicle to resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to jd byrider auto sales (3700 w broad St, columbus, oh 43228, (614) 456-1717) where it was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. Out of consideration, the dealer replaced the front wheel bearing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for another diagnostic test, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Warr Acres, OK, USA