Problems with 2012 Ford Focus STEERING

Steering assist malfunction when starting the car, rendering power steering unusable. happens randomly. previously went away with restarting of the vehicle, but is now permanent.

Power steering fault vehicle suffers from electronic steering faults at random. this appears to be a common defect with the model year 2012 and is not covered under a recall. when starting the vehicle from a stationary position, the power steering will not engage. power cycling the car a few times will initialize the steering control for the time being. i haven't experienced the issue at speed as of yet, but am concerned.

The power steering to the vehicle just went out while i was driving. i was able to make it home but have been unable to get it repaired due to wait time. during this time i struck an object in the road that was a dead deer because i could not maneuver to avoid hitting the deer. i was driving the vehicle on the highway at the time. the power steering assist light came on after it went out.

My 2012 ford focus se only has 57,000 miles on it and the power steering has gone out multiple times. luckily so far it's only gone out while putting the car in reverse and at a low rate of speed but i've read hundreds of reports online about power steering suddenly losing power while at high rates of speed. i have a 2 year old son and this is my only vehicle. the 2012 ford fusion with the exact same power steering system was recalled. why wasn't the focus recalled? what will it take to have someone take care of this? will someone have to die for someone to do a recall? the average fix for this part is $1500. as a single mom please tell me how i'm supposed to afford that and even if i get it fixed who's to say it won't go out in another 50,000 miles? ford needs to suck it up and recall this part before they have a major lawsuit on their hands.

I have taken my car to ford multiple times saying my steering felt "tight" or i would have to jerk it back into turning because it would get "stuck" while turning. my steering also "freezes" in cold weather. my steering wheel won't move at all when temp dropped below 42 degrees. i would have to warm car up to get it to unfreeze. my steering totally stopped working 2 nights ago. no light came on, no codes, it just stopped turning. luckily i was on my street going 25mph, but trying to get it to turn into my driveway was very hard. when i came to a stop i got a warning there is a steering failure and to stop safely. i now have a car in my driveway that i can't move because steering won't move. i have to go to ford again and see what they saw, then have it towed there. i have heard it is $1200 to fix. i don't have that kind of money. i am on ssdi, and only can work pt. i can't sell it because of negative equity, and no gap insurance. ford, please recall this! someone is going to die. i use highway every day, and i could've serioulsy hurt strangers. this is the worst thing that can happen to a car.

Was beginning to get steering fault warning lights back in little over a year ago. it would correct and wouldn't come on till later in time. probably had 6-8 occurrences. about two weeks ago i had no steering at all. took it to my local mechanic and they said the electronic assist has failed and the entire rack & pinion needed replace. the complaints are similar especially with in the last year. attention needs to be given to this since even other ford cars are having the same problem and being recalled. i called ford and they said there is no recall or necessarily the same problems that i have with my car. they said i would have to take it to a ford dealer to have it 'properly diagnose' to determine if 'my' issue correlates with the common ones out there. that also will cost me money for diagnostic. if they read all the complaints on the nhtsa they will see it is common. my mechanic tells me it is going to coat me $1900 to replace. the part at ford alone is $1200. we shouldn't wait till someone gets hurt to see the obvious that it is a problem. i noticed 3 more complaints for the same problem since i have checked it at the nhtsa a couple of days ago. ford, consider the consequences if this isn't properly addressed.

I started the engine of my ford focus and a warning light came on that said steering assist malfunction. at this time, i noticed that my steering wheel would not turn. my car was in park. i then tried putting my car in reverse and turning the wheel. it also would not turn. i then put my car back in drive and returned to my parking space. i shut the car off. a bit later on, i restarted the engine to see if the problem would reoccur. no warning light came on and i was able to turn the wheel just fine. i had the car towed to a ford dealership because i was afraid to drive it. the mechanic at the dealership informed me that the same event occurred for him one time, but then never again. he also was unable to find anything wrong with the steering during his investigation of it. i would like this matter looked into because it is a safety issue. also, there must be a malfunction somewhere in the steering for this to happen.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the steering assist warning indicator illuminated. the local dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to nhtsa. the failure mileage was 80,000. the vin was invalid.

I own a 2012 ford focus. while driving at varying speeds, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn left or right. i have taken it in to a ford dealership for diagnostics this past week, however, they simply blew me off, stating that there was recall for the problem. i took the vehicle to my private mechanic yesterday and his diagnosis was that the electronic epas module within the power steering system failed. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 66,000 miles. i have had the four tires replaced also yesterday and i got merely some relief from the stiff steering wheel when driving fast, as opposed to when i drive slowly. in fact, the steering stiffens completely when moving the vehicle from a parked position.

I was driving to work when my steering assist fault light came on all of a sudden i had no control of my steering in my car luckily i was able to run off the grassy part of the road to stop. i have been reading other complaints about faulty power steering problems in 2012 ford focus. i'm thankful i was able to stop my car safely but someone else may not be so lucky. please recall this problem before more people lose their life's over something can needs to be fixed cause there is a problem here.

Received spurious steering assist failure alarms until it failed completely at start up. several of these occurred while driving and caused the loss of power steering and almost caused accidents for my daughter. this car only has 32k miles. took to tallahassee ford and was quoted $2154 to repair. after negotiation, final price was still $1830.

Steering assist malfunction, can't turn the steering wheel.

No power steering. constant "steering assist fault. service required" message

Was driving car and randomly a warning came up ' power steering assist fault service required' then power steering turned off. turn car off turn back on fix the problem. then problem came back and has not gone away. i have no power steering. radio has been acting strange since purchased car

When i bought the car in september, 2015, within the first week i first saw the "steering assist fault - service required" message when i started my car. turning the car off, then back on again, removed the message, and power steering worked fine. i would get this message once or twice a month, only when starting the car, and never while driving. turning the car off then on again always resolved the issue. i mentioned it to the dealer when i brought it in for its first oil change. they said they didn't have the staff available on the weekend to fix it, that i'd need to make an appointment during the week to have it looked at. but the fact that it was only happening occasionally, it was driving ok and the issue was resolved when restarting the car, i was told it wasn't urgent and the next time i brought it in for service they would look at it. so in january, 2016, when i brought it in for service and i mentioned the issue, they looked for the error code but couldn't see it, so there was nothing to fix. i kept getting the steering assist fault message about once or twice a month, only when starting the car, and it would resolve when restarting the car. in august 2017 i brought my car to firestone for inspection, and i mentioned it then. they looked for the message but could not see the error code, so there was nothing to fix. 2 weeks later, september 2017, i started the car, got the message, turned the car off and on, and got the message again. i tried restarting my car 6-7 times, still no power steering. i drove a little, stopped, turned it off and on again, still no power steering. the dealer says it needs the steering gear replaced, and will cost $1700.00.

Steering assist failure occurred three times-once in the street, once in our driveway, and once in our garage. in each instance, frestarting the car returned operation to normal.

My power assist steering fault light came on a couple different times and the steering became extremely difficult to control. i had to restart my vehicle to fix the problem. took the car into the dealer ship and was told the steering gear would need to be replaced for $1850. the car only has 77,000 miles on it. a repair like this should not be necessary. i did some research and realized this is a very common safety hazard many people are having with the ford focus. i also found out ford has recalled several similar makes and models for the same problem but not the ford focus. this is a major safety hazard. i was lucky it only happened in my driveway and not while driving on the road. the consumer should not have to pay for a manufacturing defect. ford needs to own up to the problem and issue a recall for all vehicles before someone gets seriously hurt by this. my car is now out of commission because i cannot afford the steering gear to be replaced and i am to scared to drive it. at this point i have not idea what i am going to do.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. upon starting the vehicle, "steering wheel fault" displayed on the instrument panel and the power steering failed. the contact was unable to turn the steering wheel left or right. the vehicle was taken to randy marion ford lincoln (1011 folger dr, statesville, nc 28625 (704) 235-6214) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear module assembly needed replacement. the vehicle was not repaired due to cost. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. the failure mileage was 74,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while attempting to start the vehicle, a warning message "steering assist malfunction" suddenly displayed and the steering wheel could not be turned. the vehicle was towed to the dealer (auto ford in haverhall, ma) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear and steering rack and pinion were faulty. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. the failure mileage was 60,000.

I started my car in the driveway and i was alerted to the message "steering assist fault, service required" and i was unable to steer my car out of the driveway, it was very hard to move the steering wheel, totally unsafe to drive. my car is out of warranty now. i'll have to pay a hefty $1000-$2000 for this repair. ford should definitely recall the steering issue in the ford focus as there has been hundreds of complaints. it is so unfair to have customers pay this out of pocket when clearly it is a manufacturing defect and not at all caused by the actions of the driver. my 2012 ford focus has given me problem after problem in the 2 years i have had it. so frustrated and unhappy with this car.

While driving on the highway on 9/8/2017, my power steering gave out, no warning and extremely dangerous. my steering wheel became extremely hard and it made it extremely difficult to control the car.

When i go to turn my car on the dash reads steering malfunction and the wheel won't turn. once i have restarted my car the steering works again. there is no recall on this and there is no warranty coverage it cost me $197 to get my car reprogrammed so it won't happen again. seems like a waste of money just to get it reprogrammed so i don't get into an accident.

The power steering just quits working and the steering wheel locks up while drive. we had to park the vehicle because it just isn't safe to drive, we are either going to get into a head on collision or drive off the road if we drive it like this. there is no check engine light, and ford won't fix it since it is past warranty, we only have 45,000 mile on this car, it should be safer than this.

Whilst in motion and on a city street, i could no longer control the steering wheel of my vehicle. it resisted my control like it had a mind of its own, and i had to use extreme force to get it to turn where i wanted it to and pull over. seemed to drift even when going straight. warning light then appeared on screen that said something like "steering assist malfunction". this malfunction can occur at any moment, and nothing in particular seemed to trigger it. upon further research, it seems this is a problem many people have had with power steering and has put many in danger.

Driving down my parking garage at work when power steering went out suddenly causing me to struggle to control the vehicle. nearly hit 3 different cars attempting to pull into a safe place to stop. had to get towed to ford dealership as it was not working. known issue. *tr

Power steering assist fault came on right after starting vehicle. was unable to move the steering wheel. kept shutting car down and restarting but to no avail. the previous day while on the freeway in commuter traffic day the ongoing transmission problem that 2 different local ford service centers worked on 3 separate occasions. the 1st time i was told they replaced the transmission. the following times they replace a competent and re-programed it. as soon as i left the service center i could tell nothing was done. i called the service rep back and he said it was "adaptive" and i needed to allow it time to adapt. i was told i had a cracked motor mount. i told him it had to be caused by the violent jerking of the transmission when accelerating regardless of the circumstances. in stop and go city traffic i have been close several times to being rear ended because of its jerking /hesitation/acceleration. tow truck driver could not move the wheel. vehicle finally towed to local dealer. my extended warranty has been covering the transmission repairs but was told the safety problem on the steering was not covered under the warranty. i'm told to fork over 2k + to fix the steering before they would attempt servicing the transmission. ford knows they have problems with steering and transmission but fail to correct them. the steering has been documented about going out on drivers at high rate of speeds on the freeway. ford is intentionally risking the lives of focus owners and passengers. this is a serious safety issue that ford needs to correct now by immediate recall. it's obvious they gave no idea how to correct the transmission problem.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed without warning. the contact turned the vehicle off, waited ten seconds, restarted the vehicle, and it returned to normal. the vehicle was taken to mac heik ford lincoln (located at 7201 n interstate hwy 35, georgetown, tx 78628, (512) 930-3673) to be diagnosed. the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or retrieve a fault code. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: cas12222912. the approximate failure mileage was 12,225.

Lose power steering suddenly and without warning while in motion, causing increased effort needed for steering.

While driving down the freeway at 60 mph the inspection light came on and a message stating the power assist has faulted and requires maintenance. when i attempted to pull off at the next off ramp the car was extremely difficult to maneuver and i almost went of the side of the ramp. i had to struggle to get the car home.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 10 mph, the steering malfunction warning indicator illuminated and the power steering failed and the vehicle became difficult to turn. the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. the contact stated that an unknown local dealer scheduled a diagnostic test in the next 15 days. the contact was concerned that, due to her small stature, it would be unsafe to operate the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact stated that the failure was intermittent. the contact attempted to contact ford motor company, but was unable to do so. the approximate failure mileage was 99,450.

I have a 2012 ford focus that without warning lost all steering control, i have contacted ford, who basically told me it's my problem. luckily, we were not driving at the time but this is not an isolated incident and seems to be a common issue. my question to you is what if this had happened on the interstate going 70mph? how is this safe for myself or anyone else on the road near me? why is ford not being held accountable for this problem? is it because people haven't been killed yet? there was no warning, no way of knowing that the steering was failing, one day it's fine and the next day it was gone. i do not understand why this has not been subjected to a recall as of yet?

My complaint involves the power steering gear that needed to be replaced in my 2012 ford focus. the power steering would fail while parked and driving which put me into a couple very dangerous situations while driving. i am requesting a recall by ford of the power steering gear.

While backing out of our garage i noticed a strange noise when i turned the steering wheel. the same noise occurred when i had to turn the steering wheel to enter the garage.( makes the noise every time you drive it now.) i had a local mechanic friend check it and he said to take it to the dealer to run diagnostics and to drive it as little as possible. the nearest dealer is 20+ miles away. i made an appointment and here is the diagnoses: found that the noise is internal to the epas gear. steering gear replacement and alignment $1596.49 installed plus tax. i had to pay a $95 diagnostic fee to find this out. the car has 61094 miles on it, so it is out of warranty and the ford focus has not had a recall for this problem. many other ford models with the same steering mechanism have been recalled, why not this one! so now it is sitting in the garage waiting on the part to come in so i can take it back to the dealer and have it, hopefully fixed to be safe. hoping for a recall to get my money back.

Electronic steering failed car went into safety mode. this seems to happen alot why is there no recall for this was driving down the road and steering failed thankfully only going 35 or this could have been catastrophic

My steering wheel is locking up while i am driving. i am on the highway almost every day. i had to jerk it back because i was driving into another car in the other lane. i will try and change lanes and it locks, then pops back to able to steer. someone is going to die from this! this needs to be a recall! it;s bad enough i have had my transmission replaced 3 times in one year....

Steering locked after starting car - indicator light on dash "i" turned car off and back on several times finally indicator disappeared and normal steering returned - looked on line for similar events and found other reports for same events . had car towed in to ford dealership they haven't been able to reproduce event and indicate they have never seen this before - major concern that could happen when vehicle moving

The power steering is currently not working. it is like driving a car without power steering at all. have to manually turn and maneuver the car. it is estimated that the whole steering column will have to be replaced which will cost $1,500 which should be covered by the ford manufacturer. the vehicle was stationary when the problem was detected by the computer system in the car. checked the steering fluid to make sure that it was not low or leaking and this was not the case.

Steering wheel is locking up at slow speeds. electronic assisted power steering. recently, had the transmission recall taken care of. soon after the steering started locking up when i would leave a parking lot and has happened several times since.

Power steering assist failure, first indication of issue happened two days ago at approximately 104,000 miles. cleared its self when car was put into gear, second indication was in drive way and a restart cleared problem. issue has gotten progressively worse daily. i'm not risking my family driving the car until i talk to the dealer. this is a known serious safety issue and the buyers of this car deserve to be warned and compensated with a fix. innocent persons will die from this while ford is apparently silent or waiting on their supplier to step up. nhtsa step it up now!!!

Steering rack failure, vehicle is at 62,000 miles. daughter lost what we thought was power steering control while driving thru a somewhat busy suburban neighborhood road. upon driving to a safe place, it was harder to steer than the traditional old school non-power steering cars. was $1800 to replace.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving approximately 5 mph and making a left turn into a parking lot, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. the vehicle was later taken to rustyeck ford located in wichita, ks where it was diagnosed that the control motor of the steering wheel failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was not included in a recall. the approximate failure mileage was 80,000. the vin was not available.

On way to local store power steering went out. having to steer with much effort. stopped and tried to turn ignition off several times and restart, but did not work. it initially went out while in motion on way to store after accelerating from stop sign. noticed it when i had to make a right turn at next corner. and panel warning light came on.

Power steering gear. my college student had the check steering message. we took car to dealership. they explained that the steering gear needed to be replaced and it would cost $1900. this is the same problem with their new electronic power steering that resulted in recalls on the fusion, taurus, and mlzs but the focus is not recalled. i declined the repair and took it a local shop i use. they told me that they can't get the part because......ford is purchasing every last one. there is a 2-3 month wait for the backorder. they also told that the part comes with a 15% surcharge so any saving that i would get not servicing at the ford dealership would be lost as their price was also $1900. i did call in my complaint to ford customer service and have a case number which i have yet to receive any response, that was 48 hours ago. the repair is approximately 40% of the net value of the car. for a problem that nhtsa dinged them on for the same system in other models. this is wrong. as an owner of an f150, lincoln town car, and the focus and a loyal ford motor company customer, i am questioning my decision making!!!

My daughter was driving our 2012 ford focus on the freeway (with my 2 year old granddaughter in the car) at 65 mph when she had a complete loss of power steering. a message appeared "steering assist fault - service required"... no warning, this messaged just popped up at time of failure. my daughter struggled to get the car off the road and called me - refusing to drive the car for fear of endangering her or her daughter. i had to come get her.... i drove the car home - allthough there has not been a problem with the car in the 2 times i have driven it. my daughter will not drive it again. i have read that there have been several hundred others reporting this same problem - including a report in the ny times. does somebody to die before there is a recall? the car has 75,000 miles on it.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 75 mph, the power assist indicator illuminated and the steering wheel became inoperable. the vehicle was taken to a local dealer (automax ford 3301 e. central texas expy, killeen, tx, 76543) where it was diagnosed; however, the contact was not clear on the diagnosis. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. the failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving 55 mph, the steering failed and the steering assist malfunction warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to spradley ford (located at 2828 u.s. 50 pueblo, co 81088 719-545-0192) where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no further assistance. the failure mileage was 60,258.

On july 13, 2017 my sister and i were on vacation and i pulled in to fill up with gas. got the gas, started the car and a message came up steering assist malfunction -see technician. tried to drive the the car and it would not steer. no previous warning at all. car was steering great until then. had to have it towed. was in a small town in pa. without a ford dealer. nearest ford dealer was half hr away and couldn't look at it for several days. we were 5 1/2 hrs from our home. had to call my son and brother to come and tow us home. it scares me to death to think what would have happened had i been driving on the highway. took it to my dealer and they said it was the steering rack and module assembly. wanted to charge me $2300.00 but i complained and they finally charged me $1900.00. called ford but got no where with them. said it was a customer bill. does someone have to die before ford recalls this problem.

I purchased this car used in 2016 for my 16 yr old daughter. in the month of june 2017 the power steering would intermittently go out and make it extremely difficult to turn. on july 11, the power steering completely failed and i took it to a local ford dealership in chesterfield, mo. the dealership communicated to me that they were not aware of power steering issues with this care which is quite disappointing since there is significant content on the internet for this issue. the diagnosis is faulty power steering assembly and will cost me $2200 to fix. i am disappointed ford is not taking this issue more seriously. i am lucky my daughter was not involved in an accident.

While driving and making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic the power steering went out making it extremely difficult to steer.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while driving, the power steering failed and the steering assist indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering fluid needed to be flushed. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 38,000.