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
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…
ODI 11032714
Steering
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.
Crash reported
ODI 11033465
Steering
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…
ODI 11032290
Steering
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…
ODI 11032324
Steering
Was beginning to get steering fault warning lights back in little over a year ago. It would correct and wouldn't come on till later in time. Probably had 6-8 occurrences. About two weeks ago i had no steering at all. Took it to my local mechanic and they said the electronic assist has failed and the entire rack & pinion needed replace. The complaints are similar especially with in the last year. Attention needs to…
ODI 11034182
Steering
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…
ODI 11031641
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the steering assist warning indicator illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to nhtsa. The failure mileage was 80,000. The vin was invalid.
ODI 11271450
Steering
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…
ODI 11031726
Steering
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…
ODI 11030415
Steering
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.
ODI 11033319
Steering
Steering assist malfunction, can't turn the steering wheel.
ODI 11024780
Steering
No power steering. Constant "steering assist fault. Service required" message
ODI 11024713
Electrical System · Power Train · Steering
Was driving car and randomly a warning came up ' power steering assist fault service required' then power steering turned off. Turn car off turn back on fix the problem. Then problem came back and has not gone away. I have no power steering. Radio has been acting strange since purchased car
ODI 11058581
Steering
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…
ODI 11023980
Steering
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.
ODI 11032977
Steering
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…
ODI 11023827
Steering
Tl* 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 ([redacted], statesville, nc 28625 [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear module assembly needed replacement. The vehicle was not…
ODI 11032836
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While attempting to start the vehicle, a warning message "steering assist malfunction" suddenly displayed and the steering wheel could not be turned. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (auto ford in haverhall, ma) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear and steering rack and pinion were faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure,…
ODI 11022996
Steering
While driving on the highway on 9/8/2017, my power steering gave out, no warning and extremely dangerous. My steering wheel became extremely hard and it made it extremely difficult to control the car.
ODI 11022427
Steering
I started my car in the driveway and i was alerted to the message "steering assist fault, service required" and i was unable to steer my car out of the driveway, it was very hard to move the steering wheel, totally unsafe to drive. My car is out of warranty now. I'll have to pay a hefty $1000-$2000 for this repair. Ford should definitely recall the steering issue in the ford focus as there has been hundreds of…
ODI 11022297
Steering
When i go to turn my car on the dash reads steering malfunction and the wheel won't turn. Once i have restarted my car the steering works again. There is no recall on this and there is no warranty coverage it cost me $197 to get my car reprogrammed so it won't happen again. Seems like a waste of money just to get it reprogrammed so i don't get into an accident.
ODI 11033946
Steering
The power steering just quits working and the steering wheel locks up while drive. We had to park the vehicle because it just isn't safe to drive, we are either going to get into a head on collision or drive off the road if we drive it like this. There is no check engine light, and ford won't fix it since it is past warranty, we only have 45,000 mile on this car, it should be safer than this.
ODI 11022232
Steering
Whilst in motion and on a city street, i could no longer control the steering wheel of my vehicle. It resisted my control like it had a mind of its own, and i had to use extreme force to get it to turn where i wanted it to and pull over. Seemed to drift even when going straight. Warning light then appeared on screen that said something like "steering assist malfunction". This malfunction can occur at any moment, and…
ODI 11021605
Steering
Driving down my parking garage at work when power steering went out suddenly causing me to struggle to control the vehicle. Nearly hit 3 different cars attempting to pull into a safe place to stop. Had to get towed to ford dealership as it was not working. Known issue. *tr
ODI 11020968
Power Train · Steering
Power steering assist fault came on right after starting vehicle. Was unable to move the steering wheel. Kept shutting car down and restarting but to no avail. The previous day while on the freeway in commuter traffic day the ongoing transmission problem that 2 different local ford service centers worked on 3 separate occasions. The 1st time i was told they replaced the transmission. The following times they replace…
ODI 11020708