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
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel locked and the vehicle drifted to the left without warning. The issue recurred multiple times. The vehicle was driven to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The vin was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 95,595.
ODI 10940201
Steering
I have twice received an error when starting the car: "steering assist fault - service required" and i had no power steering whatsoever. The error was resolved both times by restarting the car, but i am very nervous that the fault will occur while the vehicle is in motion and will cause a crash. I've been seeing that this is a relatively common error in a range of ford vehicles around this model year and hope that a…
ODI 10938429
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While the vehicle was in reverse, the steering assist fault warning indicator illuminated. As a result, greater effort was needed to operate the steering wheel. The vehicle was not restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.
ODI 10936769
Power Train · Steering
Lost power steering to vehicle, unable to drive due to safety concerns. Transmission hesitates when driven or when gasing from a stop.
ODI 10938590
Steering
Started my car this morning and immediately my "steering requires assist" alert came on and i found i had no power steering. My car showed no signs of any issue when i parked it last night 12/14/16 around 7pm but when i went to leave for work at 12/15/16 at 5:30am the alert came on. I had my car towed to the dealer and dealer has informed me that 1) a car with less than 70k needs the entire steering column replaced…
ODI 10935566
Steering
Electronic power steering failure, out of warranty, ford wants 1800 dollars to try to fix. Car has sat in garage for over a year undrivable.
ODI 11079660
Seat Belts · Steering · Unknown Or Other
I could handle the studder and handle the being held hostage by my seat belt, but now i have to pay $1,800 to get my steering fix after almost hitting a tree with my family in the car. I was just about to upgrade to a escape, i will never buy ford again after this because i have 89000 on my car they will help with nothing. Nor do they care about the safety of me and my family or the other people around me ! I have…
ODI 10935498
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving various speeds, the power steering seized without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing, where it was determined that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
ODI 10936458
Electrical System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While backing out of a parking space, the steering wheel stiffened and failed. Also, the instrument panel lighting remained illuminated. The issue recurred multiple times. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The vin was unknown. The…
ODI 10936550
Steering
Power steering failed when backing out on the first incident along with an error message display. On second occasion, when starting the car, the same error message regarding the steering was displayed. Turning the engine off and then back on seemed to get the car operational.
ODI 10936170
Steering
Started car and steering wheel froze - power steering completely incapacitated. Error notification displayed "steering assist fault." i turned the car off and when i restarted it was gone. This also happened a year ago and now again intermittently. This is a safety hazard that has been reported by many others. Ford needs to recall these models before a serious event happens.
ODI 10934011
Steering
On friday, 12/2/16, when pulling out of on-street parking space, warning "steering assist fault service required" came on, and i completely lost steering control. Turned off car, then turned on again, with same warning. Called ford dealer, was told they couldn't do anything till monday. Had to call tow. After 20 minutes, i tried car again, and everything was fine. I am afraid to drive, especially if my steering goes…
ODI 10929925
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 2 mph, the power steering seized without warning. The vehicle was taken to be repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
ODI 10929946
Steering
I started getting this on screen error "steering assist malfunction" a couple of months ago, but it would disappear after a few minutes. Today when i went to start the car the message appeared only this time it stayed. I turned the car off and back on and still had the issue. I had to drive my children to school with no power steering. I'm filing the complaint because after searching the entire day it turns out this…
ODI 10928879
Steering
Electronic rack and pinion failure after 91,000 miles. Making steering nearly impossible and nearly causing accident. Why was this not included in the other electronic power steering recalls from ford? Everything i have seen is the rack is being exposed to too much heat and failing prematurely
ODI 10948042
Steering
At 49000 miles got " service power steering now " light and steering was locked up at start of car. Has happened 4 times in 8 days at start up of car. Restarting fixes steering but afraid problem will escalate and cause accident or worse...please investigate before someone is hurt or killed from loss of control of steering.
ODI 10933665
Service Brakes · Steering
Driving at night on county road approx 25-30 mph dry pavement went to turn the wheel of the car to follow the road and there was no response from the steering wheel or the brakes. Car went off the road headed for a tree. Went into ditch before steering became available again. In investigating this issue on my own prior to taking to dealer. I have found this to be an issue and even a noted investigation listed or…
ODI 10930226
Steering
Power steering completely went out. Error notification on dash says "steering assist fault." this was an intermittent problem for the last couple months that was fixed my turning the car off and restarting it. But it has completely gone off and it will not reset with turning the car off and on. Replaced 80amp megafuse that others online said may be the issue, this did not correct the problem. My only other idea is…
ODI 10928541
Steering
Randomly, when starting the car, i receive a steering assist fault error causing the steering wheel to freeze. The only remedy is to turn the car off, wait a few minutes, and restart. The error should go away and the steering wheel can easily move.
ODI 10928572
Steering
Power steering assist fault when driving. No power steering at all. Difficult to drive the car.
ODI 10927472
Steering
I was turning into my apt complex powe sterling went out light said malfunctions powe steering. I was trying to control hit a pole. Seat belt tighten around my neck. I had just had a procedure did two weeks pryor injection in my neck went to doctor he told me i was so informed he could not tell gave me five different mess i go c him on 8th dec should been back sooner i have no car in shop no money get it out.
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10933741
Power Train · Steering
2012 ford focus. Consumer writes in regards to steering control module recall repair issues, transmission problems and windshield motor malfunction. *smd the consumer stated on the night of november 12, 2016, a safety warning light appeared on the dash. When he tried driving about 12 miles home, he had no power steering. The problem did not occur again. On monday november 14, 2016 the consumer stopped by a non-ford…
ODI 10938149
Steering
When the car is turned on and stationary, it will display "steering assist fault," and the power steering will not turn on, greatly reducing the capacity to steer. Upon turning the car off and back on, the power steering re-engages. It has been doing this for about one year now.
ODI 10925473
Steering
Power steering assist failed while pulling out of driveway. Ford is aware of this issue and has failed to issue a recall on this model, but has on other models with same issue. There are many other complaints of this problem you can find online, even news articles about this happening with this model. Even the service technicians at the ford dealer knew of the problem.
ODI 10925584
Steering
I would like to report my steering malfunction on my focus has gone out...i have seen many complaints on the exact same model and year on this and it's a problem that needs to be recalled. My recent experience with this problem occurred while i was on the freeway with my children and it was very scary the steering wheel locked up and was so hard to steer it. This is an urgent matter that need to be recalled.
ODI 10924788