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 placing pressure on the brakes to slow down or stop you hear/feel a crunching sound. It never did that before now it does it every time you use the brakes. I have taken it to 3 different garages to be checked and got back that my brakes was fine. One garage said it could be the ABS system making the noise. No power to climb a hill or if you get up the hill the engine/motor does not shift like it suppose to. This all took place in August of 2018.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While reversing at 4 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the pedal traveled to the floorboard, failing to slow the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to fraser Ford sales ltd (815 king St w, oshawa, on L1J 8N5, Canada), but the dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The dealer flushed the brake lines; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to fraser Ford sales ltd, but the failure could not be diagnosed again. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact replaced the master cylinder, brake lines, and calipers, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
I have 2012 Ford Focus with about 85,000 miles. Since 2014, I've had my tcm reprogrammed several times and then replaced in Dec 2015 under the extended warranty after it completely stopped working. I brought my car to Ford again in July 2017 because my steering locked up while I was attempting to back up in a parking lot. I was told it was the epas system, and it would cost about $1,800 to replace since it's not covered under warranty. At their insistence, I paid for the replacement. I also made a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at that time. Since July, I've have been back to three Ford dealerships - first two times because of a grinding noise (they couldn't diagnose it then but have since said it is my clutch) and a second time this past Tuesday (9/12) after my car basically short circuited in a parking lot on Monday and it started lurching forward while trying to reverse...simultaneously my breaks locked up and my steering locked up again (my sound/radio display/front buttons were also intermittently not working). Jc Ford did some "reprogramming" but said they couldn't duplicate the issues and told me my clutch would need replaced eventually but Ford would not cover it until it got worse. They told me these problems were unrelated despite me insisting they all felt similar while driving the vehicle. Yesterday (weds, 9/13), while attempting to turn onto a highway, my car again "stalled"/short-circuited (not sure what exactly happened - but the same thing as the previous times) and my breaks locked up and I couldn't move the vehicle from the middle of the road. Fortunately, I was able to get it out of the road after turning it off and on several times. I immediately took it to a Ford nearby and am waiting to hear if they find anything else. I am now scared to drive my vehicle despite Ford looking at it and "fixing" it several times.
"driver assist fault" again. This is the 4th instance that is happened in 3 weeks - where my car suddenly powers off while I am behind the wheel. The last three times it happened while my car was in reverse motion. Today, it happened while I was in drive but stopped at a red light in downtown charlotte, nc. Someone had to help me push my car out of the middle of the road. Occurred on my way to work around 3:30 pm est.
I got in my car, but it in reverse and began backing out of my parking space when my suddenly car lost power. The car was in motion but the steering wheel and brake pedal locked up and I could not steer or stop my car from going backwards and I hit a parked car in the parking deck at school as a result. The code on my dash was (I) steering assist fail. I turned the car off and on several times before the steering wheel and break released and I was able to gain control of the car again. This is the 3rd time in 2 weeks it has done this (Jan 28, Feb 2 and Feb 8). All three times the car has been in motion and in reverse gear. I contacted Ford corporate offices and the Ford dealership where I purchased the car from and they said there is nothing they can do unless the car duplicates the problem in their presence.
- Concord, NC, USA
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I started my car this morning, put it in reverse and began to back out of my driveway when the car locked up and lost power. I could not steer or brake and the car continued rolling backwards until it hit my garage and stopped. The lights came on my dash read "(I) steering assist fault". I turned the car off and on several times before the lights went out, the steering wheel unlocked and I was able to depress the brake and gain full control of my car again. I took the car to my Ford dealer in kannapolis, nc (where I purchased the car) and they said the car would need to "duplicate the error" before they could diagnose it. I explained the car would have to be in motion for that to happen and I cannot stop the car if that happens again. I drive on the interstate and I am petrified this will happen while I am on the road and have no control over the car. The tech said there have been hundreds of complaints about the loss of steering power on these Ford, but that until Ford issues an official recall there is nothing they can do to fix it. It could be as simple as a software update.
Driving at night on county road approx 25-30 mph dry pavement went to turn the wheel of the car to follow the road and there was no response from the steering wheel or the brakes. Car went off the road headed for a tree. Went into ditch before steering became available again. In investigating this issue on my own prior to taking to dealer. I have found this to be an issue and even a noted investigation listed or awareness of the highway safety administration. I can tell you there was absolutely zero control of this car at that time. These cars are very dangerous on many levels as they have multiple defective parts. Just call jim O'neal in sellersburg Indiana as they have all the records of showing they have almost rebuilt my entire car since I bought new in 2012. Upon being evaluated and driven, with this occurring to the technician as well at jim O'neal Ford, it was found that the entire steering component had failed and needed to be replaced. Ford is aware of this concern as there have been 2 bulletins sent to their dealership service departments. Documented in research if you look and also told to me verbally by [xxx] the service manager at jim O'neal Ford. At no time in the many visits to the repair shop at Ford has anyone mentioned the fact that this could possibly occur or has there been any preventive checks of the system. I really would like this investigated as I do see I am not the only one that has had this issue and was just lucky enough to have not had a serious accident with my children in the car during this latest failure in this car. Ford should be held accountable for producing and not upholding their end of this car as people are being seriously injured. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Recalled vehicle for computer system. Defect causes breaks to wear early, shuddering in transmission, and eventual transmission failure while the car is running. Is a known problem as I see from many other internet complaints.
Tcm problems wife pulled out to a residential intersection and the car stalled, luckily no cars we're coming at the time she called me and was scared she didn't know what to do it took me I'm out 30 minutes to get to her meanwhile cars were backing up and going around her we pulled it into my mother-in-law's driveway which was near and ask my brother-in-law that is a mechanic to check it out and he indicated that it was the tcm that was out I have had problems with my transmission about six months after I bought it new it finally went out. I use this car to go to work I am a state circuit rider and put a lot of mileage on my car ilearn to deal with the sluggish transmission because of the dealers indicated they couldn't do anything about it just to reprogram the transmission that was done and that was the only thing that for done for my vehicle. After Ford indicated recall I had too many mileage on my vehicle to qualify it was just barely over 50,000 miles the first time. Second letter indicated for me to take the vehicle in to be checked but the dealer mechanic said that they had to physically hear or feel the shuddering of the transmission before they could program it again this went on until I had no warranty on my vehicle. The vehicle with sometimes do the shuttering or skipping of the transmission not all the time that's why the dealer said that he could not do it until it was doing it for him. So I learned to ignore the shuddering and skipping of the transmission and adapted to driving with it butt when my wife drove the car and it finally died on her that is too much to deal with.
The transmission on my vehicle has failed multiple times while driving the vehicle. While driving at idle speeds, the car shakes. The transmission failed while I was turning in an intersection and stalled. It then lurched forward and continued to function in a lurching and jerky manner. Just yesterday, I could not slow the car while traveling at 50 mph, despite pressing the brakes, due to the erratic behavior of the transmission. This lurching, jerking, erratic behavior is extremely dangerous and could potentially be deadly. I have had the transmission worked on a total of three times. Each time, the dealership told me that the problem would be fixed. This is highly irresponsible for Ford to ignore this issue and continue to put customers in harms way. This is an inappropriate way to handle a life-threatening issue.
Transmission is erratic, you do not know what it might do. It has a shuttering sound coming from underneath the vehicle when going 20-40 miles per hour. Drivers side window does not open and have 'information' light is on for low pressure on tires and aren't currently low. Brakes are making a growling noise when coming to a stop.
I purchased my car in June 2012. I have had to replace the clutch three times due to issues. I have had to have the roof liner reinstalled as it had come loose. Now, only a month after the $700 repair for the roof, I am now told to pay $950 to repair my brake booster which as broken and messed up the primary shaft. My car has less than 30,000 miles on it and is only 3.5 years old, yet seems to be falling apart now that it is out of warranty. I asked if I had done anything to cause the brake booster to fail, and was told "no, it is just a mechanical failure, " that I have to pay for because it is out of warranty. I was also told that there was no way that the mechanics could have seen the issue, even though it mysteriously started less than 2 weeks after I had it in the shop for over a week. After getting the roof liner and clutch reinstalled I was told that they had also updated all of the software in my car. A little over a week later the check engine light came on as I was stopped at a red light. I thought it was a software glitch as the light turned off when I started driving again. It happened once more about a week or so later, but it was at the same stoplight, so I thought it may be the particular angle of the car at that light or something, but resolved to take it in if it happened again. I was gone for 2 weeks for christmas break, then when I came back the low brake fluid light came on every time I was stopped for more than 30 seconds. I stopped driving my car until I could get it into the shop. So, with less than a month of driving my car since it was last in the shop, apparently $950 in damage was done that, while not my fault "could not have been avoided" and is something I have to pay for if I want my car to be safe to drive.
I was driving in stop and go traffic in a construction zone. We were stopped, then it looked like the traffic was moving so I started moving, I was only in first gear then the Jeep in front of me stopped suddenly, so I hit the brakes, but I didn't stop I just kept moving and ran into the tire of the Jeep. I couldn't understand why I didn't stop because I wasn't even going that fast.. the hood folded into the engine, so I was not able to start the car. I put the car into neutral and men from the fire department pushed it over onto the side of the road. I pushed the brakes again and nothing happened, so I pulled up the parking brake to make the car stop rolling.
The vehicle doesn't automatically shift properly. It doesn't shift up when it should and revs up badly. The same thing happens when I go down large hills. It shifts down and it shouldn't, so the engine revs and I have to put it in neutral when going down hills. Further, when I am parked on a hill, it rolls back a bit before stopping. Lastly, the bluetooth microphone is dying and sounds terrible on the other end.
I was driving a nearly brand new 2012 Ford Focus at approximately 45-50 mph when collided with another car traveling at least equivalent if not higher speed. I saw the other car attempting pulling in front of me after failing to stop at a stop sign and I tried to stop the car by braking, but the car was not able to slow down or stop in time. I T-boned the other car and my car was dragged by the other car and rested on the side of the road. As a result, my car was totaled. On the police report, the police indicated the crash was moderate. The water pump, bumper and other stuff came off the car, but the airbags were never deployed. I sustained head and cervical spinal injuries.
The steering wheel would not move, there is an error message, steering assist fault. It happened before, but I turned the car off and back on again and it would turn. Before this incident there would be times when the A/C fan would adjust itself, by going higher or lower and the radio volume would increase or decreases without any help from me. This particular time it would not move and I was forced to leave it in a parking garage overnight. While attempting to get it to work by turning the off and on the brakes went all the way to the floor, suggesting the would not work properly if I were driving the car. Well, the car shut completely down and started to try to turn itself on without the key being in the ignition. After which it would not start at all. I had it towed in and of course it is no longer under warranty.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 30 mph, the brakes failed when the contact attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle continued to accelerate when the brake pedal was depressed. The failure occurred for more than two months. The vehicle was not taken to a mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.
This is the second accident caused by car suddenly surging forward. There was only 3384 miles between first and second accident. While turning into a parking space at low speed the car lurched forward slamming into a brick wall approximately 2 to 3 feet beyond curb. Major front end damage totaling $6,127 in repairs and over $16,000 in hospital costs to myself. Ford dealership reprogrammed instrument cluster lamps and gave the car back to me. I was afraid to drive the car again and purchased a new vehicle. At this time the dealership has the defective 2012 Ford Focus for sale on their lot, which worries me that someone else might get hurt driving that car.. I contacted Ford Motor Company on 3/26/2014 regarding the issues that I had and am awaiting a reply from their general counsel.
This is the first of 2 accidents, both caused by vehicle surging forward as I was pulling into a parking space. This form would not allow me to put but 1 accident date. Second more serious accident, date 02/08/2014, will be listed separately. As I was turning into a parking space with foot on brake the car suddenly lurched forward mounting the concrete parking stop and ended up against a tree in the median. Floored the brake pedal but engine continued to rev. Damage to under side of car totaled $3494. Ford dealership checked the computer and found engine overspeed code PO219. Could not duplicate incident and gave car back to me. 3384 miles later the 2012 Ford Focus repeated the lurching with more damage and personal injury.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Frankfort, KY, USA