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
Backing up, vehicle assist warning and loss of power steering occured.
ODI 10903687
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering. The contact stated that the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power rack assembly and power steering motor were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the…
ODI 10915279
Steering
Steering error code comes on more and more frequently. Today it froze up on my girl while she was driving and she could have been seriously injured. Ford and / or nhtsa needs to do something to get these death traps recalled. What's it going to take??
ODI 10903575
Electrical System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving approximately 35 mph, the steering assist module warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The contact had to turn the ignition switch off and on to be able to resume driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. In addition, while exiting the driveway, the vehicle jerked and lost power. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures.…
ODI 10903379
Steering
The power steering assist fault illuminated when i started my vehicle, along with no power steering when i would turn the wheel. Restarted the vehicle multiple times with the same result.
ODI 10903225
Electrical System · Steering
Recently i've had an issue with the starter. The dash stated the car battery was low, i have the car taken to a local mechanic where the battery is testing that it is good. The car will start in the mornings after resting and i don't drive as much as just to be safe while i try to figure out what's going on with this car. I've had this car fixed three times in the past year, once for the customer survey satisfaction…
ODI 10904423
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Power steering failure- started with everyonce in a while id get the error notice of power steering failure so i would turn off the car start it back up and fine, it started to happen more frequently to the imbarrassing point of having to turn on and off the car 5-10 times just to have power steering, then i got a letter to update my car's software to help fix the power steering issue, i got the software update and…
Crash reported
ODI 10903177
Steering
As of september 2, 2016, 3 times within past 2 weeks after starting vehicle get error message "steering assist fault" and there is no power steering. After turning off vehicle and restarting the error has been cleared. Concerned of total failure which looks to be ~$2000 to repair or failure while driving, on nhtsa webiste there are 254 steering complaints for 2012 focus, around 50 for 2013 focus and 50 for 2014…
ODI 10903214
Steering
Power steering failure. Happened 4-5 times when i start the car. Power steering will not work and i get a message that "steering assist service" needed. Turning the car off, restarting usually fixes the problem but i worry what might happen if it fails at 70 mph in traffic. I see many complaints of the same issue on the web. I am surprised ford has not addressed this very common problem.
ODI 10897377
Steering
When i am in park starting the car,. The steering wont work. A message comes up saying the power steering asst system is out. Does not steer at all. I turned the car off and on about 3 times then it went away there is an electric motor no pump. .i called to complain and ford says there is not recall. They do however recall other models with the same problem. If..this is not a safety issue i don't know what is? The…
ODI 10896901
Steering
On august 17, 2016, i was driving my focus and while turning a corner, my steering seemed to lock up. I couldn't turn the wheel. I braked hard because i was headed into parked cars. I was able to reverse and park good enough until tow truck arrived. I had it towed to ford dealer in santa monica, ca. The service agent told me that my battery was low and caused my steering issue. I informed him the battery was only…
ODI 10899783
Steering
At approximately 70,000 miles, i had turned off my car to get gas. When i restarted the car, i received a power steering assist fault message. The power steering no longer operated. I could still steer the car, but it was extremely difficult. Multiple restarts did not resolve the problem. I took my car to the dealer, and they verified the issue. The dealer offered to replace the entire steering rack containing the…
ODI 10908899
Body · Steering
My car's steering wheel got stuck with a notice saying "power steering assist fault". The first time the problem occurred the car was backing up, and the problem went away when i parked and restarted the car. The second time the problem stayed... The cost to fix the problem was estimated at about $2000 (parts and labor) at the dealership. The mileage was around 60,000 at the time. Last week (08/12/2016, at about…
ODI 10896188
Steering
Power steering doesn't immediately come one when car starts, the yellow information light appears, have to restart the car to get it on. This was the first week it started. It went out on a nasty curve going 55 mph and almost caused a major wreck and also on the interstate a few hours after that. I had to leave it set a while and restart it before i had power steering. This is very very dangerous!
ODI 10895881
Steering
My daughter was leaving a friends house and when she tried to back out the electric power steering light came on. The steering wheel was very hard to turn. She restarted the car and it was fine. She was leaving the ice arena and the same thing had happened again..i have an appointment with the dealer but he wasn't aware of any recalls.. Very dangerous id the steering fails while driving.120,000 miles
ODI 10895248
Steering
When the car is put into drive or reverse the steering locks and you cannot control the steering. I almost hit car next to me at a grocery store parking lot and my garage wall while backing out. It happens in my driveway, store parking lots, where ever i go and the mechanic experienced it at the dealer. The dealer found it to be the electronic power steering system has failed and it needs a new one costing $2,141.34.
ODI 10914428
Steering
While driving on the highway 65mph the auto steering went out. Very hard to turn the wheel. Pulled car over to the side of the road, turned car off and then restarted it steering fine. Started back on the highway went a little distance and the same thing happened.
ODI 10895004
Power Train · Steering
Lurching and uncontrolled shifting occurs with the transmission. It has left me stuck in the middle of a left turn because it doesn't shift correctly. Now i ran off the road while exiting a freeway because the power steering turned off in the middle of the turn. This has now happened 6 times randomly. It gives me a power steering fault. I have come close to being the cause of 3 accidents because of these two issues.
Crash reported · 1 injury
ODI 10907220
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that the power steering failed when the engine started. The power steering would not perform correctly until the engine was restarted. The failure occurred often and the contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 117,000. Updated…
ODI 10895378
Power Train · Steering
I purchased a used 2012 ford focus hatchback in october 2012 that had 29,000 mile on it at the time. I drove the vehicle up to 39,000 and the power steering failed as i was initiating a left turn across traffic. I looked down to see the power steering assist fault error message. The car was out of warranty at that point, and i was out 2,000$ in repairs. I have seen that ford has recalled other vehicles for the same…
ODI 10892962
Steering
The power steering on my 2012 ford focus goes out intermittently, once when i was driving, but then it came back on before i had a chance to stop. Usually it goes out as i begin to move my car away from its parking place. I have to shut the car off, restart it and hope the problem goes away. One time the problem didn't go away in spite of my stopping and restarting the car, and i had to drive it the rest of the way…
ODI 10913825
Power Train · Steering
2 major issues: transmission would sudden drop out of gear while driving. Several times i was on the highway and it would drop into neutral, leaving me no way to control my vehicle. This was fixed with a ford warranty extension and replacement of the transmission control module (tcm). Now, at 74000 miles, i am having a malfunction of the electronic power steering (eps). Usually right when i start the vehicle and am…
ODI 10887974
Steering
The power steering ('epas' - electric power-assisted steering) system failed in my 2012 ford focus on 7/15/2016. The power loss was intermittent and unexpected at first, randomly shutting off upon vehicle start-up, or shortly thereafter. The power steering eventually experienced full failure on july 15th, 2016 and remains inoperable to this day, leaving me to deal with complete manual steering only. As a result of…
1 injury
ODI 11011111
Steering
Driving at highway speeds the steering wont respond wants to drift into other lanes of traffic.the steering gets loose and tight and when you try to correct for lane drift it takes a second for the steering to respond, this is very dangerous and i called ford and of course they wont do nothing or help in anyway. Car only has 42,000 miles on it and of course its not covered but they can fix it for $2000.00. First…
ODI 10885622
Steering
Vehicle was parked and when started displayed the epas warning/service required message. No injuries since the vehicle was parked, but had the system gone out at speed it might have been a different story. Vehicle is driven by my 24 y/o son, and his generation have no experience driving w/o power steering. Internet research has highlighted that this is a known issue, as well as a class action lawsuit filed against…
ODI 10885004