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.
Started vehicle and pulling out of street parking when the wheel locked suddenly and there was a steering wheel assist warning light that came on dash. Turned car off and back on and it cleared. Another vehicle had to maneuver around me by the time I had turned the car off and on. Luckily it was not too dark or else it may have caused an accident.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer stated that the steering rack would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 56,000.
I started noticing this 3 days after I had my transmission shudder fixed. I got to the point that any time I started my car and tried to turn my wheel while going in both forward and reverse that I had no power steering assisting me in my turn. It would take all I had to turn the wheel, and sometimes it would give the alert for needing to take it in for service. I took it in, and the first time the dealer did a service update. I drove it around for a few more days before I noticed when I slowed down to take turns my wheel would physically stop turning while in mid turn. I took it back in to the dealership, where they did another update to my power steering. 2 days later it's doing the same thing. I've been fortunate for this to not happen while trying to pull a quick avoidance maneuver. It's proving to be too dangerous to drive.
Power steering electrical system failed without notice. Noticed that there is currently a class action suit against Ford for this issue and other issues. Not on recall list at moment, and may have to pay for repair due to faulty design.
- Westbrook, CT, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would abnormally hesitate when shifting. Also, the steering assist error warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer stated that the hesitation was a normal occurrence and the steering gear assembly would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
First time 04/06/2015 started car like normal dashboard read power assist faliure contact service. Turned car off then back on dash cleared. Ran system check no issues. Called local Ford dealer was told glitch in system shouldn't happen again no need to bring in car. 2 days later... was driving on freeway when suddenly steering went out. Car was going almost 65 could bearly move steering wheel felt like it was stuck in wet sand. Almost crashed when approching curve had to slow down to about 10mph. What if 1yr. Old was in car what if I crashed.
I was driving at approximately 30mph on a busy road when the alert sound went off in the car. The message on the dash said that there was a power steering malfunction. It immediately became very difficult to steer. I was able to arrive at my destination just up the road without incident. The steering had returned to normal when I turned the car on again about 30 minutes later. I have not experienced any steering issues since.
1.power steering goes out at any given time, whether its initial crank or driving at any speeds. It appears to occur more so in the warmer months of the year. 2. transmission slips, chatters, rollbacks while in gear, hesitation, delayed response. I have taken vehicle to dealership multiple times, they said they cant get the power steering to re-occur so there was nothing wrong with car! they said the transmission acts within their specs, as this is does come and go but appears 90-95% of the time. However I did receive an extended warranty out of no where for the transmission in which I heard they do nothing but clean oil off the clutch plate which will resolve nothing. My wife is 100lbs soaking wet and cannot control the vehicle in turns when the steering goes out. She has already blown out a tire on a curb due to not being able to correct the path of the vehicle in a turn.
On several instances while entering a turn the power steering shut off and a failure notification was displayed on the dashboard. This resulted in several near accidents, especially while having to quickly adjust to the increased strength required to complete the turn without hitting another car or curb. Turning vehicle off and back on resolves the issue temporarily, but power steering fails seemingly randomly every time.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. The vehicle was coasted to a safe location. After restarting, the vehicle resumed with extreme difficulty in turning the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the power steering assist would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel seized and the steering assist fault warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 4/29/15
On multiple occasions, I have had the power steering fail on my car. I've had it happen while driving at speeds ranging from 25mph-70mph. While driving I will hear the alert chime and I will receive the message power steering fault appear on screen, about 2 seconds later the steering becomes stiff and very difficult to control. I've been blessed to be able to get the car to the side of the ride and or freeway. Generally what happens is I turn the car off, and restart and the fault message disappears. When I took it into the Ford dealer, they charged me $150 to look at it, but "could not replicate" the issue so they sent me on my way. I spoke with a Ford support rep who told me that there was not much they could do if the fault message was unable to duplicate, but their suggestion in the future was to snap a picture of the display when it happens. How dangerous would that be in a car that you can not steer to grab my cellphone and snap a picture" I've looked up this issue online in many Ford Focus forums, and this is not an isolated incident. For a car's steering to not function after 60K miles is ridiculous. And because I bought the car used, I have no warranty. But there have been several reports of customer's experiencing the same issue over and over, and Ford is reluctant to fix it because the power steering module is difficult to replace. I've heard they have to replace the entire steering column. But how is the consumer at fault for this" I feel I am taking my life in my own hands whenever I drive this vehicle, and Ford will be reluctant to do anything until someone is in a serious accident.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while making a right turn, the power steering failed and the message board displayed loss of steering, stop vehicle. As a result, the contact hit a curve and fractured the left strut and rack and pinion. The vehicle was only able to move when in reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 78,000.
On 2/9/2015 approx. 4:00pm, my wife called me on my cell phone in a panic, clearly stressed. She said she almost was in an accident because the steering on her 2012 Ford Focus SE hatchback locked up while she was driving about 50 mph and merging on a busy highway. She told me she got over and off the road with 0 steering. She said a sound came over the car as it happened and a message with steering assist fault service required. Upon arriving on scene, I restarted the car and got the same message and 0 power steering. I called Ford service and was told to bring it in the next day. As I type this the car is still at the dealer. Part to fix with labor $1,652 before tax on a part Ford knows is defective. I did a search on the fault code that was displayed and I was taken aback from what I seen and read about this model year and car and the steering just going out without warning. Ford acts like it is not a problematic or defective part, but how do you explain the same back-ordered parts to fix it. She was lucky she or no body else died yesterday. Do the right thing and issue a recall on this obviously defective part. I have also seen that there is a class action lawsuit that was filed in 2014 in California. Ford do the right thing!
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out a residential driveway, the power steering seized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission shift needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,000.
1. driving on congested interstate highway at 70mph 2. warning message in dash displayed "driver assistance steering failure" 3. manually confirmed loss of power steering 4. drove about 15 miles to a Ford dealer but they were closing for the day 5. started vehicle and had normal power steering.
At first the power steering would go out in reverse when I was trying to back out of a driveway. It then started to act up when I would start the car. I would have to turn off the engine and restart it. Now it doesn't work at all. I have found this to be unsafe to drive when going around curves and corners. Also very hard to maneuver in parking lots around people and other cars.
Was driving with my mom when all of a sudden her power steering gave out and it was incredibility hard for her to steer. I took over and drove home now I drove vehicles with out power steering before but this was by far the toughest steering vehicle I drove. It was completely dangerous and irresponsible of Ford to not address the issue as of yet. Thankfully I was with my mom that day and nothing worse happened but it could have ended alot worse.
Started engine and electronic power steering failed to operate. This usually could be remedied by restarting the car, but not this time. Car is almost impossible to steer in this condition. I have seen several mentions of this condition on the internet.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Denver, CO, USA