2012 Ford Focus Steering Problems
- 791
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 791 stored complaint records:
- 20 indicate a crash
- 21 indicate injury
- 2 indicate fire
- 3 indicate a death
What owners report
- power steering · 103 records
- steering wheel · 44 records
- steering assist · 43 records
- assist fault · 15 records
- steering failed · 13 records
- failure mileage · 12 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 339 |
| 30–60k mi | 165 |
| 100–150k mi | 138 |
| 1–30k mi | 76 |
| 150–400k mi | 19 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
I own a 2012 ford focus went to pick my kids up from school and killed my car. Then tried to restart my car and my steering wheel was really hard to turn then the steering assist failure popped up on my screen. Tried to restart the battery changed the fuse and it still pops up with the message. And this is my only transportation. It's really hard to steer it. And i'm scared to drive it.
ODI 11299620
Steering
I own a 2012 ford focus sel. An error code has come up for about 6 months when starting the car "steering assist fault" it will usually go away but on jan 13th 2020 i was leaving work and it would not go away and i could not move my car. The error remained and i had to have the car towed because i could not steer the car at all. I am active duty military living in germany on orders and my car is now at the ford…
ODI 11307407
Steering
The power steering went out on my car this morning when i started it. It flashed an error message. After turning it off and restarting it about 3 times, it began to work. I have read that this can occur as i am driving. I am terrified this car is going to kill me, and i just bought it used and am paying payments. The vehicle was not in motion...yet.
ODI 11297762
Steering
A message comes on the dash saying steeeing assist malfunction. When this message comes on all power steering is lost.
ODI 11291225
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving on the highway, the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to manually steer the vehicle to the side of the highway. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove slowly to his destination. Joe machens ford (1911 w worley st, columbia, mo 65203, [redacted]) stated that the rack and pinion system was defective and needed to be replaced at the cost of $2,700.…
ODI 11297353
Steering
Second & third time the power steering has locked out on this vehicle while stationary, thank god. The instrument cluster showed a message reading "steering fault and it was amber in color. Turn off vehicle and restarted vehicle as my spouse told me and steering was ok. Drove to a different location and stopped about one hour later started to restart vehicle to the system warning and status messages cluster was on…
ODI 11289882
Steering
Steering assist malfunction warning with loss of power steering. Happened at start up. Turned car off and restarted. The problem went away. The 4th time this happened, the power assist did not resume. Car now has no power steering at all.
ODI 11287415
Steering
My daughter pulled out her parking space and was unable to turn the steering wheel. The steering wheel was beyond hard to turn for an adult male or female, suggesting that the problem was not a lack of power steering fluid but that the car's steering modules failed, while the car was being driven.
ODI 11288783
Steering
I backed out my focus from the garage and heard a beep or noise to alert me of a problem. The steering wheel was rigid and dash message said something about steering malfunction. In addition was a square box with an "i" in the box. I then moved the car back into the garage and turned off the engine.
ODI 11283119
Steering
Vehicle electronic steering control failed and power steering lost
ODI 11283056
Steering
While driving, loss of ability to steer. Also, when starting the car, trouble turning wheel.
ODI 11283054
Steering
Vehicle is a 2012 ford focus with only 46,000 miles. While starting to make a left turn from a stopped position the instrumentation panel showed a "steering assist fault" message and all power steering was lost. This nearly resulted in hitting another vehicle as i was not prepared for the steering to become completely manual, it was difficult at such a slow speed to turn the wheel. In speaking with ford this is a…
ODI 11287446
Steering
When driving the power steering will suddenly go out and the "power steering assist fault" indicator light comes on. I suddenly had no power steering, which is certainly a safety issue! And according to other 2012 ford focus owners this is a widespread issue with no recall yet! After 8 years.
ODI 11299759
Steering
When operating the vehicle a sensor disables making the vehicle difficult to steer. Once i pull over and shut the vehicle off for a period of time it resets and i am able to drive. This has occurred on several different locations, roads and during different weather. The vehicle is difficult to control when this happens and am lucky that it has not happened when the vehicle is at a high rate of speed. It has also…
ODI 11281528
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
While in motion on the interstate my consul gave me a notification that there was a "failure in steering assist" and to pull over safely. At witch time i lost my power steering assist. I pulled off at the next exit which thankfully led to baxter ford south where they ran a service check the next day. After running the check they determined there was a failure in the power steering control module (pscm). The pscm was…
ODI 11279896
Steering
Loss of power steering assist. Intermittent. Happens on start up a warning of a steering problem with no power steering. Lost power steering once when driving.
ODI 11280403
Steering
Starting car and engaged engine& trans started to move when i found that no power steering. Found out that if you stop and restart car it might reset it did. This has happened twice more times. All had amber message all happened while stationary.
ODI 11289872
Steering
We purchased this vehicle used about a year and a half ago for my teenage daughter. Driving to a friend's house, she stopped for gas. She started the car and the notification" steering assist failure - service required" came on. She turned the car off and waited a few minutes and started it again. The steering worked fine.. While driving, the power steering went out. Thankfully, she was on a side street and was able…
ODI 11278082
Steering
While driving on the interstate i-285 my steering wheel locked up almost causing an accident and i have had the vehicle several times at a ford dealership and it is not fix.
ODI 11277947
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 40 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn and the power steering assist warning indicator illuminated. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to future ford lincoln (located at [redacted], roseville, ca 95661, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer…
ODI 11278295
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 35 mph, the steering wheel seized. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred twice. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to ken grody ford carlsbad (5555 paseo del norte, carlsbad, ca 92008, [redacted]),…
Crash reported
ODI 11286970
Steering
Steering has become stiff. The vehicle was taken to a dealership where technicians confirmed electronic power assisted steering (epas) corrosion was the root of the stiffness. However, ford customer care stated this repair would not be covered because the warranty has expired and that there are no customer satisfaction programs covering my vin.
ODI 11277602
Steering
The power steering system totally failed - i started my car and received an error message on the dash and had no power steering. Had to have my car towed to the ford dealer and spent $2,096.20 to have the power steering rack replaced and the new one programmed.
ODI 11278449
Steering
Randomly alerted to "steering assist malfunction" on start up or when first starting on drive. Seizing of steering to extreme difficulty in turning wheel making turn nearly impossible. If car turned off and restarted(between 1-3 times), code goes away and car returns to normal. This has been happening with increasing frequency though unable to predict.i own 2012 focus. 117,000 miles.i see similar complaints on nhsta…
ODI 11278106
Fuel/Propulsion System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving approximately 20 mph, the power steering suddenly failed. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot and park the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle remained in the parking lot. In order to move it, the vehicle would need to be towed. The contact called a certified mechanic who informed the contact that the repair was no longer covered under…
ODI 11278510