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.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled with the "Transmission Malfunction, Service Now" warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he reset the transmission control module; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V523000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
I was traveling in heavy traffic on an interstate through Akron, Ohio when my car, which I had in cruise, suddenly shifted in neutral causing the engine to redline since it was in cruise but also resulted in a sudden drop in speed which about caused the person behind me to run into the rear of my car. I had to coast thru traffic to the side of the road to shut the car off and restart it which allowed me to continue, but at a slow speed as the transmission would not shift gears properly. Isn-??t it time to make Ford fix all these Focus cars once and for all? I-??ve already put a new TCM in and now I-??m looking at a second one in hope that it fixes it enough to trade it in, but it will at a loss because dealers know of the problem and won-??t give you anything for them because they can-??t sell them either.
Error codes with the clutch b sensor and clutch b sensor being stuck. When the check engine light comes on the car will not go in reverse. After driving now shift is sporadic and rpm-€™s go up and down randomly.
The transmission has a problem, the car jumps and jerks and a lot of noise and vibration. When accelerating in first gear most noticeable. My safety is at risk because it is very distracting and the transmission sounds like it could break down at any minute. A lot of people online have same problem with this specific vehicle. No warning lights or nothing.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the clutch failed to perform properly while shifting gear. Additionally, the transmission made grinding sounds while shifting gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the warranty had expired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage) however, the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.
- Petersburg, MI, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was shaking. There was an abnormal humming noise detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed her that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed, the RPM-€™s would raise and the engine would rev however, the vehicle would not respond as needed. The contact had to depress the accelerator pedal excessively and maneuver the gear shifter for the vehicle to move. The transmission failure warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 20V331000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the recalls were not related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not covered under warranty due to the mileage. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000.
Only 67867 miles and the transmision is not working. I only drive short distances. Allwise have a problem. Since I buy the car. I never complain because I am very busy. But. know the car stop complete
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced jerking, transmission slipping, independent deceleration, random downshifting, and unintended acceleration while stationary. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission control module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 92,000.
The car would not move forward when pedal pressed. Slow speed was obtained with excess RRM to move vehicle. Car was at a light and others could have rearended the vehicle. A hazard was created with slow speed across intersection and to auto garage. Problem has NOT been confirmed at this time. It is at the garage and the dealer said there is another issue but REFUSED to go for a ride on 2-13-2023. The manufacturer, Ford Motor Co. KNOWS this vehcile has powertrain issues as eveidenced in Vargas vs. Ford Motor Co. No prior warning of this incident was present and it occurred only weeks after the Ford dealership completed the last "repair".
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and approaching a stop light, the vehicle would not accelerate as needed, with the checking engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home. The vehicle was taken to an impendent mechanic, and the mechanic stated that the powertrain control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the parts not being available. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the warranty on the vehicle was expired. The failure mileage was 79,498.
Clutch failure. Shuttering and caused vehicle to lose acceleration and rpm did not match speed. Yes the problem was confirmed by the dealer. Yes the problem is KNOWN to the manufacture and vehicles are still on the road and sold and used. Check engine light came on with the event and stayed on.
TCM transmission malfunction light came on. We just bought the car two months ago. Have had it in the shop more than it has been driven. We have and extended warranty but they said it would cost us out of pocket and we haven-€™t even driven this a long distance and has two year warranty or 24,000 miles.
Transmission failure again after already having vehicle serviced by Ford dealership in Cedar Rapids Iowa due to fuel issue from what they said was the issue. Still showing same coded and same issues with hard shifting and vibration and loss of power while trying to drive. Nearly cause daughter to be in multiple accidents. Issue started at around 40k miles and still happening and put over $10k in parts in this car now. Including new exhuast manifold and catalytic converter, O2 sensor, new fuel pressure sensors, new throttle body and other parts all done by dealerships. Getting old chasing parts. Now another shop said I was told all wrong and it's been a Transmission issue this entire time and ford just didn't want to fix it.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. Additionally, the contact stated that the transmission was slipping in and out of gear and at times the vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear while driving. The transmission warning light was illuminated. An unknown message indicating a transmission failure was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving on another occasion. The vehicle experienced rough starts. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a second local dealer, Star Ford (1101 S Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
Ford has acknowledged a problem with the Transmission Control Module (2012 Focus SEL) soon after this car was released. "Failure" caused the car to lose power while driving on the highway three seperate times. Warning light came on, but would go off after letting the car cool down. In 2015 and 2019 they sent notice to dealers, and to owners, to pay for replacement of this part if it failed up to 10 years or 150,000 miles. The issue for me is that my module finally required replacement (per dealer) after the "10 year point" at 89,700 miles. Software updates were done by Ford earlier for this issue, mine in 2019. (delivery was May 2012, replacement November 2022) I was also part of a class action lawsuit for this issue which Ford closed at the same "10 year point" leaving many customers now responsible for the replacement out of pocket, for me $1100, (part $967.21 - $300 core return charge, labor $428.99) or you have an undriveable vehicle. The second, even more frustrating, issue is that there are no Ford parts available to the dealer to even do this repair. I contacted Ford Customer Care directly, a case number was issued, was told they would "escalate my part request" but waiting period was minimum 4-6 weeks, unable to help me. Due to the lack of parts, I had to pay myself for a aftermarket module to be installed (thus now no coverage for labor charges per dealer for using an aftermarket part) after one month waiting for a Ford part, car sitting at the dealer, that two dealers told me would not available for months, if at all. As they KNEW this part was defective, replacement should have been done to all affected vehicles before they would fail, not making owners at risk for when the inevitable failures would occur.
Vehicle began to shift hard while driving, making starting, stopping, and accelerating an issue. This continued for a few days with intermittent improvement until one day the vehicle would not even crank.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle shifted out of gear and decelerated unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle several times, the vehicle responded as needed while shifting into drive(D). However, the failure reoccurred the next day while starting the vehicle and shifting into drive(D). The contact was unable to drive the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as an unknown Extended Warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Marina, CA, USA