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.
Power Train · Steering · Vehicle Speed Control
Focus has been under many recalls and at ford for repair multiple times for transmission. Every 6 months issues occur causing me to take back into ford. Last couple weeks i noticed intermittently, when i take foot off accelorator, rpms continue to increase, and car does not slow down, causing me to pump breaks multiple times to be able to stop. Yesterday during a snow storm, i again took foor off accelerator, this…
ODI 10819889
Steering
I had started my car and was backing out of a parking space at heb and i noticed that i did not have power steering, this happened before while i was trying to back out of my driveway, i restarted the car and the steering was back, now i'm afraid to drive my car. Ford needs to address this issue before someone gets hurt or worse dead.
ODI 10817644
Steering
I just started to have and issue with a power steering malfunction on my 2012 car the wheel locked making difficult to move it or make it turn very dangerous issue that can cause a serious issue for the publics safety ford need to be accountable for this manufacture defect
ODI 10816668
Steering
My problem first started with the steering wheel locking up upon start of vehicle at random times. I could put the vehicle in forward or reverse and drive but the wheel wouldn't turn. I would turn the car off and on to get the wheel to finally start turning. After a few days of that, i started noticing problems with the steering at high speeds. While driving down the freeway i was having trouble maintaining a…
ODI 10816935
Steering
Steering wheel locked (even though i had plenty of fluid). Luckily i was pulling out of my driveway. If i had been on the road, this could have been a very serious matter. I was told i needed a gear asy - ste and it was a $1142.15 fix. The car is not that old and i only have $50k miles on it. Plus i needed brakes.
ODI 10816542
Steering
Electronic power steering assist fails intermittently typically upon starting of the vehicle. Sometimes the problem goes away after several minutes of hard steering, other times turning off the ignition and then back on resets the issue. Once it apparently happened to my son while operating the vehicle at highway speeds. Very dangerous situation and ford needs to address it as a covered safety recall issue.
ODI 10810031
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 20 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 04/04/16*lj
ODI 10821758
Steering
The electric power steering system regularly fails to start when i turn on the car. This seems to happen especially when the car is cold. When it does not start, it often times comes on when i turn on interior lights, put the car in reverse, or restart the engine. Sometimes it does not come on at all and i am forced to drive without power steering. I have read many complaints online about this problem happening to…
ODI 10836687
Steering
Lost power steering. Received "steering assist fault" message. Vehicle can be driven, but complete power steering loss. Happened intermittently over last year, but usually righted itself upon vehicle restart. Last couple of months, the problem is constant... No power steering at all. Reading forums, it's obvious that this is a manufacturer problem, but still no recall issued. Would cost over $1800 to repair. Vehicle…
ODI 10823435
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 45 mph, the steering seized. The contact was able to get the vehicle off of the roadway and turn off the vehicle. Once the vehicle was restarted, the steering operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering gear and linkage needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer…
ODI 10807918
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering and the power steering assist failure warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the diagnostic results were not provided.the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact referenced nhtsa campaign number: 14v284000 (steering). The failure mileage was approximately…
ODI 10895934
Steering
Today twice the car steering wheel was hard to drive then when i pulled over, the light came on dashboard and said power steering assist failed service required. What if i was not able to pull over safely.
ODI 10790346
Engine · Power Train · Steering
Owned car for 2 years, in shop 5 times so far for dct issues. Car is completely unpredictable and going to cause me to get in an accident! Sometimes i hit the acceleration and it lurches forward unexpectedly causing me almost to rear end someone. Other times i hit the gas expecting it to go and i get a really sluggish response to the point where i'm scared another vehicle will hit me, so i will floor it trying to…
ODI 10790340
Steering
While leaving home for work during the morning of november, 5th, 2015, the 2012 ford focus would not turn left or right when backing out of the driveway. Later in the day, the car stopped twice in the middle of traffic. The steering goes and it becomes very difficult to turn the wheel left or right. It was taken to the local delearship (supreme ford) and they quoted $1905.51 to replace the electric steering rack.…
ODI 10788813
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while making a turn, the steering malfunction warning light illuminated as the steering wheel became extremely difficult to maneuver. The contact mentioned that after turning off the vehicle and restarting it, the vehicle resumed to normal function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the tcm needed to be reprogrammed. The…
ODI 10876783
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 25 mph, the power steering light illuminated and the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the right. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the steering gear was replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.
ODI 10864842
Steering
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 ford focus. While driving 70 mph, the vehicle independently veered to the left over the double lines without warning. As a result, the driver crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The air bags deployed. The driver sustained fatal injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Crash reported · 1 injury · 1 death
ODI 10956512
Steering
The chrome trim on the steering wheel has begun to peel in multiple places. This was brought to my attention after some of the peeled areas lacerated my fingers while driving, causing me to abruptly pull my hand off of the steering wheel and swerve the vehicle. I attempted to grab the steering wheel again as my fingers were bleeding. Vehicle was in motion on the highway.
1 injury
ODI 10790477
Steering
My 2012 ford focus sel has less than 9,000 miles. On october 20, 2015 i got in my car to drive it and it was completely dead - nothing worked. My husband took the battery out, had it checked, but it was fine. He put the battery back in and the car started. He then drove my car to his local mechanic to have the battery checked again to see if something was draining the power from it to cause the car not to start.…
ODI 10785403
Steering
While taking a right turn on a city street my steering wheel immediately became very hard to maneuver. I had to brake as to keep my self from going forward rather than turning since my steering wheel seemed as though it was locked. I then realized the power steering was completely out, then the display and sound came on, stating that there was a steering malfunction and to refer to my manual. I then carefully and…
ODI 10783098
Steering
Power steering fails while going down the road multiple times. Also sometimes when you start the vehicle the steering wheel is locked up for abou 30 seconds then excises to work.
ODI 10944120
Steering
Complete electrical power assist failure. Steering almost too difficult to operate. Thankfully happened at low speed.
ODI 10781795
Steering
After tcm recall replacement the steering would wander. By this i mean loose wheel at high speeds with tough spots. New tires and alignment have been done with no correction of this problem. Ford will not admit an issue and will only diagnose after i agree to pay them for doing so. Not going to happen.
ODI 10789815
Steering
While backing out of the driveway the steering suddenly and without warning became very difficult to manage. Thinking that this was a temporary issue i attempted to drive the vehicle for a short distance but felt very unsafe to continue my trip and returned home.
ODI 10779982
Steering
I had been having issues with my car losing power when accelerating and shuddering really badly. A month before the recall letter cam out for the tcm (transmission control module) i took it to the dealership where i bought the car from and they told me it was normal for the car. After i got the recall letter i went back for a free diagnostic and informed them of the warning light that was often appearing that said…
ODI 10779739