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.
Steering wheel became hard to move and while driving it locked up, I had to use all my force to get wheel to make a slight movement. The car left me stranded due to unable to driving, steering wheel is stuck. It happened in a busy main street.
4/01/2017 - started up the car and get a warning message that "steering assist fault. Service required." Lost power steering, need a lot of effort to steer while drive is park. Turn engine off and turn it back on again, power steering restored, work normally. Then happen again 9/23/2017 (turn off and on engine to resolve). But today (10/16/2017), the same symptom and this time, turn on and off engine does not clear the problem. Ford dealer said need to pay $2600 to replace the steering rack to fix the issue.
The power steering to the vehicle just went out while I was driving. I was able to make it home but have been unable to get it repaired due to wait time. During this time I struck an object in the road that was a dead deer because I could not maneuver to avoid hitting the deer. I was driving the vehicle on the highway at the time. The power steering assist light came on after it went out.
Steering assist malfunction when starting the car, rendering power steering unusable. Happens randomly. Previously went away with restarting of the vehicle, but is now permanent.
Received spurious steering assist failure alarms until it failed completely at start up. Several of these occurred while driving and caused the loss of power steering and almost caused accidents for my daughter. This car only has 32K miles. Took to tallahassee Ford and was quoted $2154 to repair. After negotiation, final price was still $1830.
- Hickroy, NC, USA
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Steering assist failure occurred three times-once in the street, once in our driveway, and once in our garage. In each instance, frestarting the car returned operation to normal.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. Upon starting the vehicle, "steering wheel fault" displayed on the instrument panel and the power steering failed. The contact was unable to turn the steering wheel left or right. The vehicle was taken to randy marion Ford Lincoln (1011 folger dr, statesville, nc 28625 (704) 235-6214) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear module assembly needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 74,000.
Power steering fault vehicle suffers from electronic steering faults at random. This appears to be a common defect with the model year 2012 and is not covered under a recall. When starting the vehicle from a stationary position, the power steering will not engage. Power cycling the car a few times will initialize the steering control for the time being. I haven't experienced the issue at speed as of yet, but am concerned.
I have taken my car to Ford multiple times saying my steering felt "tight" or I would have to jerk it back into turning because it would get "stuck" while turning. My steering also "freezes" in cold weather. My steering wheel won't move at all when temp dropped below 42 degrees. I would have to warm car up to get it to unfreeze. My steering totally stopped working 2 nights ago. No light came on, no codes, it just stopped turning. Luckily I was on my street going 25mph, but trying to get it to turn into my driveway was very hard. When I came to a stop I got a warning there is a steering failure and to stop safely. I now have a car in my driveway that I can't move because steering won't move. I have to go to Ford again and see what they saw, then have it towed there. I have heard it is $1200 to fix. I don't have that kind of money. I am on ssdi, and only can work pt. I can't sell it because of negative equity, and no gap insurance. Ford, please recall this! someone is going to die. I use highway every day, and I could've serioulsy hurt strangers. This is the worst thing that can happen to a car.
My 2012 Ford Focus SE only has 57,000 miles on it and the power steering has gone out multiple times. Luckily so far it's only gone out while putting the car in reverse and at a low rate of speed but I've read hundreds of reports online about power steering suddenly losing power while at high rates of speed. I have a 2 year old son and this is my only vehicle. The 2012 Ford Fusion with the exact same power steering system was recalled. Why wasn't the Focus recalled" what will it take to have someone take care of this? will someone have to die for someone to do a recall? the average fix for this part is $1500. As a single mom please tell me how I'm supposed to afford that and even if I get it fixed who's to say it won't go out in another 50,000 miles" Ford needs to suck it up and recall this part before they have a major lawsuit on their hands.
I own a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving at varying speeds, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn left or right. I have taken it in to a Ford dealership for diagnostics this past week, however, they simply blew me off, stating that there was recall for the problem. I took the vehicle to my private mechanic yesterday and his diagnosis was that the electronic epas module within the power steering system failed. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000 miles. I have had the four tires replaced also yesterday and I got merely some relief from the stiff steering wheel when driving fast, as opposed to when I drive slowly. In fact, the steering stiffens completely when moving the vehicle from a parked position.
I started the engine of my Ford Focus and a warning light came on that said steering assist malfunction. At this time, I noticed that my steering wheel would not turn. My car was in park. I then tried putting my car in reverse and turning the wheel. It also would not turn. I then put my car back in drive and returned to my parking space. I shut the car off. A bit later on, I restarted the engine to see if the problem would reoccur. No warning light came on and I was able to turn the wheel just fine. I had the car towed to a Ford dealership because I was afraid to drive it. The mechanic at the dealership informed me that the same event occurred for him one time, but then never again. He also was unable to find anything wrong with the steering during his investigation of it. I would like this matter looked into because it is a safety issue. Also, there must be a malfunction somewhere in the steering for this to happen.
I was driving to work when my steering assist fault light came on all of a sudden I had no control of my steering in my car luckily I was able to run off the grassy part of the road to stop. I have been reading other complaints about faulty power steering problems in 2012 Ford Focus. I'm thankful I was able to stop my car safely but someone else may not be so lucky. Please recall this problem before more people lose their life's over something can needs to be fixed cause there is a problem here.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the power steering failed. The contact stated that the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn left or right. In addition, when the failure began approximately one year ago, it could be corrected by restarting the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure has become progressively worse and the vehicle exhibited a complete loss of power steering ability while driving various speeds. Phil long Ford in Colorado springs, Colorado diagnosed that the electronic epas module within the power steering failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
On July 13, 2017 my sister and I were on vacation and I pulled in to fill up with gas. Got the gas, started the car and a message came up steering assist malfunction -see technician. Tried to drive the the car and it would not steer. No previous warning at all. Car was steering great until then. Had to have it towed. Was in a small town in pa. Without a Ford dealer. Nearest Ford dealer was half hr away and couldn't look at it for several days. We were 5 1/2 hrs from our home. Had to call my son and brother to come and tow us home. It scares me to death to think what would have happened had I been driving on the highway. Took it to my dealer and they said it was the steering rack and module assembly. Wanted to charge me $2300 but I complained and they finally charged me $1900. Called Ford but got no where with them. Said it was a customer bill. Does someone have to die before Ford recalls this problem.
When I bought the car in September, 2015, within the first week I first saw the "steering assist fault - service required" message when I started my car. Turning the car off, then back on again, removed the message, and power steering worked fine. I would get this message once or twice a month, only when starting the car, and never while driving. Turning the car off then on again always resolved the issue. I mentioned it to the dealer when I brought it in for its first oil change. They said they didn't have the staff available on the weekend to fix it, that I'd need to make an appointment during the week to have it looked at. But the fact that it was only happening occasionally, it was driving ok and the issue was resolved when restarting the car, I was told it wasn't urgent and the next time I brought it in for service they would look at it. So in January, 2016, when I brought it in for service and I mentioned the issue, they looked for the error code but couldn't see it, so there was nothing to fix. I kept getting the steering assist fault message about once or twice a month, only when starting the car, and it would resolve when restarting the car. In August 2017 I brought my car to Firestone for inspection, and I mentioned it then. They looked for the message but could not see the error code, so there was nothing to fix. 2 weeks later, September 2017, I started the car, got the message, turned the car off and on, and got the message again. I tried restarting my car 6-7 times, still no power steering. I drove a little, stopped, turned it off and on again, still no power steering. The dealer says it needs the steering gear replaced, and will cost $1700.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the steering malfunction warning indicator illuminated. The failure occurred more while driving at a lower speed. The contact stated that more force was needed to control the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted (legacy Ford, 27225 southwest fwy, rosenberg, tx, 77471, 281-342-5611) and advised the contact to bring in the vehicle. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V340000 (steering). The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
My power assist steering fault light came on a couple different times and the steering became extremely difficult to control. I had to restart my vehicle to fix the problem. Took the car into the dealer ship and was told the steering gear would need to be replaced for $1850. The car only has 77,000 miles on it. A repair like this should not be necessary. I did some research and realized this is a very common safety hazard many people are having with the Ford Focus. I also found out Ford has recalled several similar makes and models for the same problem but not the Ford Focus. This is a major safety hazard. I was lucky it only happened in my driveway and not while driving on the road. The consumer should not have to pay for a manufacturing defect. Ford needs to own up to the problem and issue a recall for all vehicles before someone gets seriously hurt by this. My car is now out of commission because I cannot afford the steering gear to be replaced and I am to scared to drive it. At this point I have not idea what I am going to do.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Antonio, TX, USA