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.
2012 Ford Focus nothing but trouble with transmission! has been repaired 3 times since we bought this for our daughter to attend college. Extremely dangerous vehicle it loses power suddendly shudders and shakes can barely get pulled over to keep from being involved in an accident. Last repair by Ford dealer was 8-15-2018. Transmission is slipping again!. I could say more but do not feel that anyone is listening to how dangerous this vehicle really is as numerous complaints have been made. Really feel Ford got away with a major screwup and have not been held accountable by anyone! going to have to trade this in and it should never be sold again but they will sell it to some poor soul just las it was sold to me! 1st repair11-2012 by previous owner 2nd repair 7-16-2014 3rd repair8-25-17 4th repair 8-15-2018
The family has taken all three of our Ford vehicles to the same dealership for service since we purchased them and they have not taken recall action. The Focus not only has this recall but the shudder recall, that the dealer advised that it would cost us $1,500 because the recall requires clutch replacement. We received notices for the tcm, shudder/shaft seals, and cpv with no actions taken. The family's record is that our maintenance schedule has been consistent visits with the dealer's assigned return dates and nothing less. The family should not have to pay for a recall for that kind of money. That amount should be doubled and submitted to us as a down payment on a new Ford vehicle. We are not liking what sexton Ford told us though we have been nowhere else for maintenance except them since day one! now, we are being notified of nothing being done iaw what supposed to had been done already.
Power assist failed while driving. Could not turn the wheel properly. Car started shaking and sounded like engine was going to fail. Only 108,000 miles
The car began having troubles shifting around 10-15 mph. It would shake/rattle and would struggle getting into the next gear. Around 20 mph, there would be a grinding sound. This occurred for about a week before I had it checked by a mechanic. They informed me the clutch and transmission are going out and this is a common problem with these cars.
I was driving at a speed of 65mph and my Ford Focus displayed a yellow wrench and a stop safely now triangle, the car lost power and the steering wheel locked up. I was almost rear ended and fought with the car to coast to the side of the road
- Sonoma, CA, USA
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When the vehicle is put in drive and you take off there is a lot of shuddering in as much as the vehicle will hesitate so much that now that the hesitation almost caused a wreck; several times. There is also a loud gurgling sound going on in this process. Supposedly a mechanic looked at it who was once a Ford mechanic where he stated there is nothing wrong with the car or transmission. They were made like this. This is not a safe car to drive!
Vehicle transmission jerky - more noticeable a few weeks after purchase from Ford dealership va beach Ford April/May 2016. Dealer said it had to learn driving style, they also updated some software in 2016 - provided no documentation for update - after update car seemed quieter. Almost 1.5years later the vehicle cut off on a back road with my husband and 5 year old daughter whilst in motion. Took it to a Ford dealer overseas where we are stationed. In October 2017 they switched the tcm box, car worked way better. As of January 2020, the shudder/jerking has returned and we also now have door lock actuator failure, we had one before we found out it was a warranty repair issue and had a local mechanic repair one of the rear ones. Was driving and for some reason the driver's side lock would not hold to car frame. Dealer had to order the locks to replace on two front door positions. Not sure why they are not replacing all the locks. We have also told Ford usa, Ford usa europe representative and Ford italy about the shuddering returning and they all sent us back to one of the other parties. I believe they don't care anymore since they are in the hole. When we asked Ford usa for assistance told us that military autosource would assist in all service related issues. Even military autosource has backed out of trying to lift a finger to assist since this transmission issue is bigger than them. Looks like they have essentially began to cut ties with any car customer owners in the usa market.
I have about 98000 miles on my 2012 Focus and I just has a message warning me of transmission issues. Before the warning there were no problems shifting but as soon as the warning came on it has a hesitation in the gear shifts. After I turned the car off and back on it had no issues so I changed it to manual shift and I had no more issues for the time being but I looked under the car and there is a very light drip around the point that the transmission meats the engine so im guessing it is the common issue of bad seals and a contaminated clutch.
I have had noumorous issues regarding the transmission. The vehicle shut off while driving, losing all power trying to accelerate, shutters really bad when shifting, the transmission light come on randomly and shuts off before I can get in to the dealership to have it checked out, and when they look at it they tell me if the light isn't on they can't diagnose it. Now my warranty is up I am still having problems and refuse to pay thousands of dollars to get it fixed on a car that is worth almost nothing because of the manufacturer issues driving the value down due to there negligence and not wanting to really fix the issues that have plagued this vehicle. These problems have happened on and off for the last 5 years and are continuing to this day.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would not properly accelerate and sputter. The power train clutch had to be replaced. The vehicle was unsafe to drive due to a faulty transmisson. On several occasions the gear could could not be switch and message "service transmission" had displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer heiser automotive group(1700 w. silver spring dr. Glendale wi) who diagnosed that the power train clutch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of failure. The failure mileage was 16.
The issue I have is with communication from the manufacturer. Ford has complied with the law and sent me a hard copy letter in the mail. However, their online communication is not as good and is downright misleading. While logged into their website, you can access a recall portal and see if your vehicle has any open recalls. Currently, the information on this part of their website is false. As you can see from the first photo, the Ford website claims I have no open recalls. This information is not correct and is contradicted by Ford's own hard copy letter they mailed to me. In the second photo you can see that the NHTSA website also contradicts the Ford website. Considering that most people use online and digital services more frequently than physical mail, it is very importation this information is up-to-date. As I said before, Ford did comply with the law by sending me a letter in the mail. However, they failed to keep with the spirit of the law by not updating their website. This may be an attempt to purposefully mislead consumers into thinking there is nothing wrong with their vehicle. This type of incorrect information, whether done intentionally or incompetently, is dangerous to the public. Regulations should be modernized to require manufacturers to keep their digital and online information as up-to-date as their hard copy mailings. Thank you.
Vehicle purchased August 30, 2012. Two recalls for power shift six speed auto trans, clutch shudder. Taken in both times in accordance with warranty and recall instructions. In both instances vehicle was never fixed based on safety codes and instructions. Contacted Ford motor and dealership. In both instances compliance was refused. Last breakdown, Jan. 2020, regarding recall was denied due to claims that vehicle was not properly warranted. Took vehicle to dealer for recall issue again, and was told vehicle was not warranted for clutch and unsafe to operate. I believe the vehicle was never safe to drive! therefore, not only do I not have the funds to fix the original recall, but I do not have any vehicle or access to a vehicle. Recalls are not ever to be the responsibility of the consumer, especially when vehicle was not properly brought up to codes and standards in the first place. All attempts to negotiate a civil outcome have failed, and now Ford has completely locked me out of all access to any reps. And/or uppers authority supervisors, thus forcing me to file this complaint, which I hope resolves this issue and prevents me from obtaining legal representation. As a side note, if Ford or woltz and wind refuses to make this wrong, right - I will also be moving forward to the atty general as well as Consumer Affairs. I thought it was only fair to both parties (including yourself) to let you know all copies from this and any other decisions and/or correspondence will be copied and forwarded to said entities named. If that doesn't guarantee me a total resolve, I will then contact an attorney and file a civil suit-which on the commonwealth clearly states...I am also eligible to become part of the class action suit against Ford. I have until Feb.20, 2020 and I am involved in that also.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving, the transmission was slipping out of gears, shaking and shorter. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to el cajon Ford dealer, (1595 E main St, el cajon, ca 92021, (619) 312-4107) and was diagnosed that the dps 6 automatic transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently shifted out of drive. The engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that the transmission control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later towed to (parrish Ford dealer, (2900 river rd w, goochland, va 23063, (804) 556-4444) and was diagnosed that the diagnostic trouble code represented a failure with the clutch. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that a software updated under customer satisfaction program 15B22-19N07 was completed. The contact stated that the transmission control module was not replaced after continue transmission failure as authorized by Ford dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 239,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving about 5 mph, the vehicle transmission failed to shift into gear. The contact also stated the vehicle also jerked. The vehicle was taken to jorgensen Ford sales (8333 Michigan ave, detroit, mi 48210 ). the dealer indicated the transmission failed. The dealer repaired the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.
When you go to pull out the car wants to jump an stall then U be going down the road some an the engine light will come on an the transmission dont want to go out of gear the way it should I have a 7 month old grand baby an it scares me to drive something thats so defective. Please respond to this. Had it check at fors an they still ant fixed
When first accelerating from 0 mph, the car will struggle to shift out of first gear. It constantly jumps and jerks between 10-20 mph. It feels like someone who is newly learning how to drive a stick shift is shifting the car. As an automatic, it should not be having these problems. This is the second time this has occurred with the car. The first time the computer had to be completely replaced.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, an abnormal grinding sound emitted from the vehicle. Additionally, while driving at 65 mph, the noise returned and a transmission overheating, please pull over warning light illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over and another warning light stated wait 5 minutes to allow the vehicle to cool, the contact was able to resume driving after 5 minutes. The vehicle was taken to anderson Ford of St. Joseph 2207 N belt hwy, St joseph, mo 64506 but was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The failure mileage was 132,000.
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!
I have a field service action for my tcm to be repaired, I've never had problems with it so it was never fixed, my car recently rolled over 151,000 miles and started having problems with the tcm I talked to a dealer and they told me the field service action was only good for 150,000 miles. I think it's very odd timing since I just recently barely went over 150,000 miles, . my car has been stranded in a parking lot for 3 weeks now unable to start
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Barnhart, MO, USA