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
Electronic power steering assist failed several times at start up or low speed july 2016. Diagnosed as internal system failure of the steering rack program. The steering rack was replaced at $1900. Fortunately, i did not have highway speed failures before the error could be diagnosed and fixed. Steering is exceedingly more difficult than old "manual" steering without the power assist.
ODI 10884439
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While attempting to reverse the vehicle, the power steering failed without warning and the steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was not…
ODI 10884974
Steering
Turned my car on to take my son to school and immediately the "steering assist failure" alert came on. Tried turning the car off and back on but still the same alert. Took it to the dealer mins after and they informed me the rack and pinion would need to be replaced costing me over $2000!
ODI 10883076
Steering
Drove car to store on way to work . Parked car came out to start vehicle. Panel lit up stated" steering assist fault. Turned car off remained the same message appeared. Called ford motor company was told covered on the powertrain dealer says it will cost over 2000.00 that monies i don't have to spare,
ODI 10883416
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 35 mph, the power steering seized without warning and caused the contact to veer slightly off the road. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 118,000.
ODI 10882894
Air Bags · Steering
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 15v340000 (steering) and 17v024000 (air bags). The part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the…
ODI 11004324
Steering
Power steering failure, causing the car to loose power steering while the car was in motion on a highway. The problem was intermittent and was initially resolved by restarting the car. However, a week after the problem first started (and less than 50 driving miles later), the car completely lost all power steering. This all started about a month after an update for a transmission recall. According the ford…
ODI 10884484
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. When the vehicle was started, the steering wheel was difficult to operate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
ODI 10881488
Steering
Power steering has intermittently gone out on car. On june 21, 2016 the steering fault light came on while backing out of a parking place. The steering locked up, the fault light appeared and stated service was required. Dealership says computer recorded default message but ford motor company will not authorize repairs unless the steering locks up, light and default message appears while in the dealership's…
ODI 10875992
Steering
Steering wheels locks up and i get a message stating "steering assist fault". This is the second time in 2 weeks that the vehicle has done this when i started the car. The only way i have found to clear it is to stop the car and restart.
ODI 10875501
Steering
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 74,000 miles on it and of course its not covered.
ODI 10892653
Steering
The steering wheel became very hard to turn while driving. After the car was turned off, it was still the same. $2000 for repair. Came back from the shop with a dead battery. Another $180. Money i don't have. 76,000 miles at failure.
ODI 10883800
Steering
While driving the electric steering assistance fault code showed up. I lost the power steering on the vehicle. The wheel was extremely hard to steer. I was able to limp it home. If this my wife or daughter driving when this happened, i'm not sure if they could have been able to control the car. Doing a search on this issue i found multiple complaints file on this issue. This is a extreme safety issue that needs to…
ODI 10875686
Steering
The electrical steering system stopped working in this car. The steering wheel became very heavy feeling, and was very difficult to steer. The vehicle was in motion on a city street when this first started.
ODI 10876258
Electrical System · Steering
For three years from 2013 to current i reported my car having intermittent electrical issues where my power steering would just fail and my speedometer would cease to function this could happen while driving or stationary.... I reported this to ford and over the course of three years had the issue inspected but they could not resolve the issue.. Now the car is out of warranty but say it is due to faulty censors.
ODI 10874941
Steering
On the 6/9/2016 and on the 6/12/2016 i went out to start my car, an indicator light comes on that say stirring assistant or system, it does it very fast, failure. Then the stirring wheel becomes impossible to turn. I couldn't leave my drive way.
ODI 10873774
Steering
On 6/82016 i was driving to work in the early morning , as i accelerated forward while turning the corner at a elementary school zone, a steering assist fault error message appeared on my instrument cluster. Then i lost all steering and i could not turn the wheel to avoid the small children and parents that were at the corner waiting for me to pass.i slammed on the brakes and avoided a life changing tragedy. I towed…
ODI 10873497
Steering
POWER STEERING FAULT SERVICE ASSISTANT
ODI 10872878
Steering
Cannot hardly turn the steering wheel at stop and when driving. Very dangerous when driving in busy highways. The error message came on says that the steering assist failure. I took it to honolulu ford where i purchased the vehicle they said since my vehicle is out of warranty i have to pay for a rack and pinion system for 2500.00 dollars to fix it. Unacceptable from a major company.
ODI 10885257
Electrical System · Power Train · Steering
In 2012 i purchased the vehicle from future ford in sacramento california. Over the past four years, the car has problems with the transmission, pcm module, transmission control module, clutch, starter, steering wheel, electrical system. I took the car to two ford dealerships for repairs. The service technicians cannot repair the car. I contacted ford motor company many times and they refuse to refund my money and…
ODI 10872641
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 70 mph, the steering wheel became uncontrollable when making turns. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to gordie boucher ford of kenosha (8301 75th st, kenosha, wi 53142, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the steering computer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was…
ODI 11196646
Steering
Takata recall // for several months i have experienced the power steering going out on my car. Most of the time it happened as i started the car. I was able to turn off the car and start again and it was fine. Few times i was driving and the power steering went out. I looked online and see other ford cars are under recall for rhis problem but not for my focus. Ford obviously is aware of this problem and is ignoring…
ODI 10871351
Steering
Electric steering gear out. $1650 dollars to replace at the dealership. This is an ongoing issue with ford's bad design of electronic steering. 150 plus complaints with crashes and deaths. This is my 20yo daughters car and thank god she wasn't driving it when it went out. Basically a yard ornament now until we can afford to fix it. Still making the payments but no chance of driving the hazard to the road car.
ODI 10870763
Steering
Upon engine start, electric power steering does not work. After 10 seconds, it works fine. This happens every time the car is started, except sometimes when it is cold outside, it requires a few start/restart cycles for the power steering to start working. This has been going on for the past 15,000 miles, about 10 months. No fault light has ever come on. Steering has never failed while driving. Once the power…
ODI 10967035
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 25 mph, the steering failed and a "steering assist failed" message displayed. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. When the vehicle was restarted, the steering returned to normal. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
ODI 10863685