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
On 10/26/2019 i was backing the car out the driveway, and as i was about to start turning i noticed the steering wheel locked on me, and prevent me from proceeding on to my route. I managed to quickly get in back on to the driveway and narrowly missed getting hit by a car coming the opposite direction. Once i got the car back on park i turned the engine off thinking it would reset any problem, but when i turned it…
ODI 11277357
Steering
Power steering failed 10.26.2019. Wife had mentioned to service advisor that she had a warning msg about a year ago during a normal servicing of her vehicle and asked for someone to do a check on it. The result was nothing is wrong with the epas and there was no written instruction on her service invoice which is odd, because she specifically ask that the epas be check while they were doing her oil change. Over the…
ODI 11271462
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While operating the vehicle, the message "electric power assist" illuminated and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to holeman ford (3641 rt 42 south, turnersville, nj) where it was diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The steering rack was replaced, but the failure recurred…
ODI 11278234
Steering
I was driving on a tennessee state highway, going about 66 miles per hour when the power steering suddenly went out. It was very very hard to get the car over to a shoulder and avoid a wreck. It has since been impossible to steer and needed a tow. There was no indication anything was wrong, and just suddenly went out and has not been right since.
ODI 11270506
Steering
The power steering recently started failing on our 2012 ford focus intermittently. When this occurs the car is nearly impossible to move the steering wheel. Online other owners report failures occurring at highway speeds without advance notice. This issue was also reported in the new york times in 2015…
ODI 11270912
Steering
I own a 2012 ford focus that has experiences a multitude of issues. However, i am specifically writing today about the steering wheel locking up. It happens when i first start the car up, often times requiring me to shut the car off and restarting. The car will also note a 'steering wheel malfunction' error message. I've reached out to ford who will not repair.
ODI 11269126
Steering
Power steering stopped working. Dash has a warning that says power assist fault contact service center. Car is almost impossible to steer. I was pulling the vehicle into a parking spot and hand to slam the brakes to stop from hitting another car.
ODI 11269379
Steering
Just like the other hundreds of ford owners that are not on the recall list my focus steering wheel locked up. Due to a manufacturing defect that ford doesn't want to fix. Thank you very much ford i almost died! I will never buy another ford vehicle again.
ODI 11279766
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While the contact's husband was driving 30 mph, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. Also, "service steering now" and "advancetrac" were displayed. The vehicle was taken to larry h. Miller ford draper (11442 lone peak pkwy, draper, ut 84020, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the steering needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer…
ODI 11278851
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle began to steer and swerve in and out of lanes without warning. The contact had to remove his foot from the accelerator pedal in order for the vehicle to resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to jd byrider auto sales (3700 w broad st, columbus, oh 43228, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be…
ODI 11282847
Steering
Power steering does not engage when starting the car. If it's shut down and restarted it usually resets. Only happens at initial startup so far, but i'm concerned it's getting more frequent. It doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason as to why. Or where it happens. Thankfully it's fixed with restarting so far.
ODI 11268181
Steering
Power steering failure at startup. Initially, this was intermittent and restarting the car would solve the issue. Eventually, the power steering failed completely despite restarting the car. The power steering failed only on startup, not when driving.
ODI 11266903
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. When the vehicle was started, "electric power assist fault" and "service required" appeared on the message board. The vehicle was towed to perry ford of national city ([redacted], national city, ca 91950) where it was diagnosed that the electric power steering assist failed and needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was…
ODI 11266765
Steering
When starting the car in the mornings, a warning message appears on the dashboard: "steering assist disabled". The wheel becomes very hard to turn and it is not safe to attempt to drive. Rather, i restart the car, and the message goes away. If this were to happen while i am driving, especially on the highway to get to school, it could result in a potential crash. This is very unsafe, and needs to be looked into.
ODI 11265782
Steering
Steering assist fault. This issues is covered under several other recalls. My car has 77kmiles and should not be having steeting issues. My car was in motion and the power steering went out. I had to have it towed home and now have to replace a 700$ part due to fords parts issues. Altering the media to this issue. Ford should be responsible for issues and repairs as this is no fault on the drivers parts. I will be…
ODI 11268887
Steering
Steering gear assembly locked up while driving 55mph on the highway.
ODI 11268275
Steering
Informed that the steering assist has malfunctioned and loose all power steering. Luckily so far i have been able to turn car off and restart and have the steering function properly.
ODI 11265927
Steering
While driving the vehicles power steering will disengage! Parked the vehicle after getting home safely the car now says power steering assist malfunction and the power steering does not work. I can not get any answers from ford!
ODI 11258831
Steering
I bought a 2012 focus sel with 43000 miles on 1/15/2014. Drove from nc. To ca. 2 months later and never had a problem then 6 months after having i would get random alerts saying "steering assist failure" but i could turn off the car and restarted it and it would go away. When the message came up you lost all steering assist and goes into manual. On thur. Sept. 26, 2019, at 630am as i starting driving doing about 25…
Crash reported
ODI 11258792
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. After attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the steering wheel locked error message illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 96,300. The vin was not provided.
ODI 11258412
Steering
Bought this car for our grandson to drive to work. On sept 21 2019 he was leaving work in walmart parking lot when his steering became to hard for him to drive. Had to go pick him up at 11:[redacted] he drives is very curvy would have been dangerous for him to try driving home . I know other people have had this problem its a shame that people have to be injured or killed before ford motor co fixes this problem.
ODI 11258521
Steering
My 2012 ford focus is displaying on the dash "steering assist fault, req'd service". Bottom line, the power steering is gone. Can barely make any turns or park. This display has come up several different times in about a year and a half, maybe two years but then i turned the car off and the display disappeared and everything was ok. I asked ford mechanics about this but they said unless the problem is present when i…
ODI 11257844
Steering
When i went to leave my parking spot, i had zero power steering and a warning light on the dash. No warning, it was fine when i parked it 4 hours earlier. Now, the dealer says i need an entire new rack and pinion totaling $1,560 with labor. Why is this not a recall with all of these complaints? Could this also cause the terrible vibration in this car i've felt since we bought in april? I've had it back to the dealer…
ODI 11256578
Steering
One day i went to start my car up, and tried to turn my wheel and it wouldn't turn. Somebody was able to loosen it up for me that time. Two days after that i attempted the same thing and it wouldn't not loosen up at all. The wheel is extremely hard to turn. I've done a little research and seen that they have had this problem with a number of these models.
ODI 11281818
Steering
While driving car at approximately 45 mph while in a curve the steering assist quit working. It was very hard to steer.
ODI 11256729