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 2012 Ford Focus sel has an issue where a yellow icon will come up on the dash then display another icon saying that there is a steering assist malfunction and that service is needed. The steering wheel will not move and literally takes all of your power to get it to move. After several times of turning the car on and off it will work but always comes up with that icon again. This has even happened while I was driving! this is a major safety issue! I am not trying to die while I drive my car down the road. Ford also replaced the transmission on my car about a year ago for a transmission recall after the car would shutter when going into first gear. Now, a year later the problem is happening again and just as bad. When my husband and I went to Ford they said that the warranty was up and that they couldn't help me. It was either hit the road or pay $1,500 to replace it again! you're telling me that you put in a faulty replacement part and now expect me to pay out of my pocket to replace your mistake? that's hilarious!! when I turn left into my neighborhood while going across oncoming traffic, it's scary when my car shutters into first gear to the point where I stall in the middle of the road and almost get hit. Come on Ford, get your stuff together! if you truly care about the safety of your customers like you say that you do, then protect us. Fix your mess and don't put dangerous cars on the road. Also, when people come back and say they are having problems that have even led to death again I say, fix the issue.
My 2012 Ford Focus is unsafe to drive because of the faulty dps6 transmission. The clutches in it have been replaced 3 times and it's slipping badly, again. Also, the transmission control module failed, and when it did, I was stuck in the middle of the freeway without the ability to move my vehicle. I no longer have warranty coverage for the expensive repairs and I'm stuck with an unsafe lemon. The transmission continues to fail, even after the clutches are replaced, because it is a flawed design that won't work properly. I've only been able to drive the car approx. 50K miles, each time the clutches have been replaced, until it starts slipping badly, again. Even when the clutches aren't slipping badly, the car does not operate as it should. I've almost been involved in traffic collisions multiple times because of it, and Ford still refuses to accept responsibility for their flawed product. There was a recall for the tcm, but not for the transmission. It's unacceptable for Ford to not take complete ownership of this serious safety issue, and I appeal to you for assistance.
Ford transmission dps6 clutch shudder. I've taken my car to the Ford dealership for regular oil changes since I purchased the vehicle. Numerous times I've complained to them that the clutch shudders and the extended warranty of the input shaft seals needed to be replaced. Each time they told me it was fine. Now that the 100K mile warranty is up (I now have 125K miles), they want to charge me $2.5K to replace the clutch. All because these seals have been bad and wasn't replaced when the warranty was valid. When accelerating from a stop, I have loss of power and is dangerous when voiding to oncoming traffic. I've called Ford and they will not perform the repair themselves stating too many miles and out of warranty. The shudder is intermittent and makes me scared to drive my vehicle now. Ford knows this is a failed part and simply will not cover the work. This should have been replaced under warranty when I first brought up this issue, thus saving this more costly repair shortly after. I even notified the dealership during the July 11-19 window when dealers were "secretly" told to fix these issues. The dealer had my vehicle in their shop from 7/21-7-29 just to confirm the suspicion I've had for 3+ years. I had to pay for the "diagnostic" as well to confirm this. I am now scared of this company and this vehicle. I still have 15mo of payments left.
This Focus has a transmission problem. The car stutters and does not reliably shift. Ford has attempted to send letters to trade the car in for penny's but I cannot afford a new or used vehicle.
Since owning my 2012 Ford Focus, I have had multiple transmission problems.on three separate times the car had transmission malfunctions that caused near miss situations of being rear ended cause of my abrupt change of speed.one time the car would not go faster than 10 mph, another time it was 20mph max, and one time it didn't move at all.my children were in the back seat on two of those occasions.luckily no injuries resulted from this but nearly did cause accidents.one time the dealership covered the cost of repair, second time the dealership covered part of the cost, the third time I was told that I had to pay for the whole $7000 myself.after the replacement a few months later the transmission still acts up by slipping stuttering and jerking.this current problem is very frustrating.Ford knowing that the problem was there continued to manufacture and sell these Ford Focus and fiesta models without concern for the safety of people.
- Hopkins, MN, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission slipped into neutral without warning while driving various speeds. The failure also occurred when placing the vehicle into park. In addition, the vehicle continued to roll while in park and jerked when applying pressure to the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to crest Ford (22675 gibraltar rd, flat rock, mi 48134, (734) 782-2400) where it was diagnosed that the clutch and seals needed replacement. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failures would not be covered under warranty. The contact found a letter online stating that Ford would cover all transmission defects for the vehicle; however, Ford refused to honor the letter due to the contact not honoring the July 19, 2019 deadline. The contact disputed that claim, stating that she called Ford to make an appointment two weeks prior to the deadline. The contact had an open case with the Ford manufacturer (case number: Cas-22244671-K7C0K9) regarding this issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 20,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift out of first gear and failed to start. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The contact called mac haik Ford (R0333 katy fwy, houston, tx 77024, (713) 932-5000). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: Cas-2244251-N1M5D1. The contact was informed about the extended warranty. No further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 123,000.
My wife purchased her Focus new in 2012. We have raised concerns about transmission issues ever since, always being told there was nothing wrong. Finally, the transmission went out. We had it towed to the dealership and have been told that our car doesn't qualify for the extended warranty because something broke before the covered piece. While thinking over our options, an article came out in the detroit free press related to this very issue. The dealership has asked their local rep to get ahold of me. He has not and is now ignoring voicemail and email messages from the dealership. I have called Ford directly and was told I would get a call back. I have not heard from them after 2 attempts.
Ford will not repair the transmission clutch for no charge. Drops out of gear, shudders, stalls in motion, city streets, turning and highways. Have asked several times in the past to repair. Needs a recall on vehicles.
The vehicle shudders from a compete stop or accelerating this has happened since purchase of the vehicle. Most recently the car will accelerate when driving or in worst cases while braking. The vehicle has ramped up to 6000rpm while braking going down hill. Upon contacting local Ford dealership about the unintended acceleration, they stated they had not heard of this issue before. Advised me to stop driving the vehicle and have it towed to their facility.
We began experiencing transmission "slipping" about 2 years ago, around 120,000 miles. The car shudders at lower speeds and when you go to accelerate from a standstill, it shakes like the car is going in and out of neutral. We looked up the issue and it appears to be a big problem for Ford everywhere but we were told we were out of warranty. The dealer offered to do a transmission fluid flush to see if that would help, but unfortunately it didn't. our next step would need to be a new transmission. We recently took the car back in to the dealer because we had seen a memo from Ford that they were fixing cars like ours if they showed up to a dealer between 7/12-7/19. We took the car in on 7/19. We called Ford customer care (as directed by the dealer) to open a case # so the dealer could perform the special repair and still get paid. They denied the dealers request to fix the car and I had to call Ford customer care back to ask about the memo that said they were fixing cars that showed up between 7/12-7/19. I told them it had been dropped off and the repair order opened on 7/19 to which they said I was out of warranty. I continued to ask about the memo the dealer had shown us, but instead they continued to simply say I was out of warranty. Now, after several calls to the Ford customer care team, they say they don't have an answer yet but the supervisor will call me back in 2-3 business days. The car is still at the dealer and I haven't had a car for almost a week, as they have not been instructed to fix it yet by Ford. The dealer has been very nice and helpful throughout the whole process, but Ford has been incredibly frustrating and won't follow through on the original promise they showed the dealer in the memo. Every time I call they act like they never sent that memo.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle jerked, lunged forward, and lost power without warning. The contact exited the vehicle and pushed it over to the shoulder of the road. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle and it turned on, but was towed by aaa to butler county Ford (400 S main St, butler, pa 16001, (724) 287-2766). The dealer diagnosed that the control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: Cas22179536. The manufacturer also extended the warranties until 150,000 miles. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.
Vehicle shudders and makes noise at low speeds on braking. Occasionally shudders on acceleration from stop. Previously replaced clutch and tcm for similar issues, now advised that transmission needs replacement also. Handles steady interstate speeds fine, but speed changing results in vehicle losing responsiveness. City driving/turning affected as well.
Ford Focus transmission jerks and shudders while moving and while accelerating. Have had multiple repairs with no fix. Have had car stall in the past while trying to accelerate on a city street while traveling at ~35 mph. It felt like transmission went to 6th gear instead of 2nd and stalled the engine. Problems started immediately after purchase, ~February 2012 still have car now and still doing the shuddering and jerking while driving. Problems started new ~100 miles currently at ~85000miles
I purchased the Ford Focus on 05/18/2011. I returned the car to jim snead Ford, waynesboro, va on 07/06/2011 as the transmission was slipping, the car was bucking, hesitating on acceleration at full stops then jumping into intersections. The mechanic agreed the Focus was shifting hard, attempted to fix it, could not after following the Ford hotline. It still shifted harder than expected. The mechanic decided to drive another new Focus off the lot and wrote on my service invoice that the new car off the lot drove as rough as my car. The Focus continued to be a dangerous vehicle jumping, bucking, hestitating then jumping out into traffic and I continued to take it back to Mr. Snead who stated it was my driving, not the Focus. I took that Focus in almost every other month w/ the same complaints about the transmission for 2 years 2 months only to hear it was my driving, not the car. Finally, the car was scaring me to death and I feared for my life and my two children that also drove the Focus. I finally took it back to jim snead on 08/09/2013 after owning the new car for 2Y & 2mo to trade it in for something safer. I paid $24,652.25 for that brand new Focus and jim snead gave me a trade in value of $961 for a much safer car he said. I bought a brand new 2014 fiesta (yes, another nightmare from hell). I thought Mr. Snead was a friend, a reputable business man. I bought 2 used focuses from him since the early 2000S & they were fine. Mr. Snead knew my husband was ill in 2003 & I became a widow w/ two kids to raise. Mr. Snead and Ford knew about those dangerous vehicles and furthermore, in 814 days of ownership I lost $685.55 per month in depreciation and payments! I was a teacher for heaven's sake w/ his wife, Mrs. Snead. He knew I did not have money to burn. Next up--the Focus I bought after trading in the Focus.
2012 Ford Focus titanium dps6 equipped clutch shudder instances and tcm failure -- 2018 acceleration is unpredictable. Before warranty repair, the car would have noticeable lag when accelerating from a stop. This has led to several dangerous situations where the car is expected to accelerate, but instead slowly crawls and shudders. One instance included turning left onto a highway from a stop. The car bogged along for roughly 3 seconds and almost caused a collision with an oncoming semi. When the accelerator is pressed, the car should accelerate as expected; it should not shudder or rev as if in neutral. When attempting to turn right onto a frontage road from a stop, the car slammed into gear mid-turn causing a tremendous amount of wheel hop, jerking the car towards the curb. Another instance was in a residential area. Accelerating from a stop sign at a T-intersection (cross-traffic does not stop), the car crawled forward and revved as if in neutral; no acceleration occured for several seconds. This almost caused a collision with another vehicle; there was plenty of time for a functioning vehicle to pull out onto the road safely. The latest occurence was in a parking lot. Turning left out of a parking lot lane, the tcm failed and the car lost power in the middle of an intersection.
The car vibrated vigorously when accelerates from a complete stop, followed by sudden accelerations when switching gears. The car had only 28K miles on it when this happened.
The car jutters upon acceleration with the changing of gears. When attempting to pass cars, the transmission slips and takes a second to get into gear and begin accelerating. Problems gaining speed to merge with highway traffic. Getting much worse by the day.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Draper, UT, USA