Problems with 2012 Ford Focus STEERING

I purchased ford focus used- one year old- with 16500 miles. three times it stopped as i was turning left in oncoming traffic. one time i backed up and it would not go into gear. other times it would not shift gears on hills or on ramps two times on my steep driveway it came out of gear. brought to shop numerous times - told nothing was wrong repeatedly. i got rid of car after 13 months and took a financial hit but now i am driving a safe car. the difference is amazing and i am simply driving a chevy cruze so not an expensive car in comparison. focus is dangerous to drive! *tr

This is the second incident where the steering wheel locked up and the error message "power steering assist fault" appeared on the instrument panel. during this incident, i was driving the car through a parking lot at approx 10mph when the steering malfunction occurred. the first incident was approx 2 weeks prior to this but i had just started the vehicle in my driveway when the same symptoms occurred. in both cases, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn and the warning message appeared on the instrument panel. in both cases, the vehicle had to be shut off then restarted to get the steering working again. i took the car to a ford dealer for service and opened a case with ford motor company on this malfunction, but after being at the dealership over a week, they say they cannot find any issue. *tr

The vehicle has had strange steering issues as follows. 60mph light rain, road barely wet - vehicle starts moving around like in a 100mph cross wind, except there is no wind. traction control comes on, vehicle nearly looses control. this was on straight road. next 5 mph dry, in parking lot, steering loss, warning of power assist steering failure. stop car. turned off and back on, all ok.next 30mph, 1 minute after start up, driving on road, steering loss, warning of power assist steering failure. i was getting ready to make a turn. this could have caused an accident.nex 60 mph dry road, no wind, vehicle starts moving all around like its again in a 100mph crosswind. this has happened numerous times.next search of google shows this is a known issue and has been reported by several. this is a serious safety hazard that rivals stuck accelerators *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. while starting the vehicle, the electronic power steering system fault illuminated on the instrument panel and the steering wheel became very difficult to maneuver. the contact stated that the failure occurred on four separate occasions intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. while driving 45 mph, the contact heard a loud bang and the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact was able to stop the vehicle, but it would not restart or shift into gear. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the parking engage control sensor module failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred within 24 hours. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that transmission control module failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. when the vehicle was retrieved from the dealer, it experienced trouble shifting and made an abnormal grinding noise every time it was shifted into another gear. the contact took the vehicle back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch plates failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. the failure mileage was 12,000.

Driving from detroit to pennsylvania, car was turned off for 10 minutes. when started, a message said the power steering was no longer operable and indeed it wasn't. car was towed to dealership and power steering rack was replaced at their expense. *tr

After getting my car back from dealership where they reprogrammed the transmission the car would wonder from left to right at freeway speeds and the steering felt unstable. *tr

New 2012 focus jan. 18-2012. after 9258 miles steering locked while entering busy intersection. great difficultly steering car off road. incident happened twice that day (8-6) and again 8-7, fourth time 8-18. warning light "steering assist fault.". dealer unable to duplicate problem. therefore nothing corrected. dealer offered no recourse. i felt car unsafe to drive. after frustrating conversions with dealer rep, a friend drove the car to nearby chevrolet dealership where i purchased a 2012 sonic. this decision to purchase another car was very costly. my safety on the highway necessitated the decision. very disappointed with ford customer service. at times i felt rep's remarks were demeaning. *tr

I had an earlier complaint on my first focus purchased in march 2012...incident date june 27 2012...i lost power steering on 3 occasions...service was not able to fix it so they exchanged my car for an identical one on july 25, 2012...the second day i drove the new focus, something strange happened with the steering while on the expressway...i was going about 60 mph on a straight road and the car started to wander to the right and it also did it to the left...the steering is very tight and was difficult to get the car going straight...i've been to the dealership and they say that is just how it drives..if this true, i'll never be able to drive the expressway...this wandering was difficult to control and tiring to fight the wheel....2 new cars in 4 months time both with steering problems makes me think there are some kinks with the new electric steering on fords....this will be my first and last experience with fords. *js

Got the car on wednesday july 25th after a week long wait for key....long story.....the first incident happened 2 hours after picking up the car. sitting in a drive thru. "power steering assist fault, maintenance required". turned car off and on problem went away. next day sitting in traffic, the problem returned called for service and taking the car in for service. wish i would have looked this up prior to purchase! *tr

In june 2012, my daughter was driving and her front passenger tire exploded. this was the 3rd set of new tires we had placed on this vehicle (by 30,000 miles - averaging 10,000 miles per set of tires). then in july 2012, she was driving home and started to skid. she was not able to recover from the skid and hit a tree head-on. the front of her car was destroyed. the tree centered her car and the front end looked like a volkswagen bug. the air bags did not deploy. we had this vehicle into the dealership 3 times for problems with the front end. each time they said they could not find anything wrong with it. however, the driver and passengers could feel the car sway when riding it in. the vehicle was totaled by the insurance company ($17,000 check sent to ford) and we still owe $1700 that we have agreed to pay to ford to keep from ruining our credit. thank god she was wearing a seat belt that actually worked - otherwise we would have had to plan our daughters funeral. we purchased this car because it was advertised as being a very safe car with the interior wrapped in air bags. wrapping the interior with air bags does not help if they do not work. i have been buying ford automobiles for 30 years but, right now i am wondering how safe my ford f-150 is. we are now considering hiring an attorney. *tr

While slowing to a stop, driving in a straight line, the power steering suddenly failed. the car was extremely difficult to steer. the dashboard displayed "power steering assist fault: service required." the car had been running for approximately 2 minutes. after turning the car off and starting it again, the power steering returned. i took the car to the ford dealership, and they did not find any problems with the power steering system. two weeks later on july 14, at 1717 miles, as i was accelerating from a stop, driving in a straight line at approximately 10 miles per hour, the power steering failed again and the same error message was displayed. the car was extremely difficult to steer. after turning the car off and starting it again, the power steering returned. again, the car had been running for approximately 2 minutes. *tr

The vehicle was parked. i started it up and backed out of the parking space. i shifted into drive and began moving forward. after going approximately 20 feet the "i" sign illuminated on the instrument panel and the message "steering malfunction, needs service" came on, along with the alarm jingle. i tried to steer the car out of the middle of the drive lane and managed to get it over to the side, but the steering was practically frozen. i turned off the ignition and looked for any obvious signs of trouble, but could find none. after reading through the owner's manual and checking the engine compartment, i restarted the car (about 20 minutes after i shut it off) and no warning sign came on. i test drove it in the parking lot for a minute to see if the steering would function properly and then drove home and experienced no further problems. i took it to the ford autoway dealership for inspection and they diagnosed the problem as stemming from an abs "corrupted" program. they told me the epas gets it power through the abs. they rebooted the abs program and i've had no further problems. *tr

As i was turning out of a store into traffic, the power steering went out....power assist fault came up on computer screen....steering became very difficult turn....once i got off the road i turned the car off and then on again and the steering returned....i took the car to a dealership and they said they fixed it per ssm 21987 code. one week later it happened again, twice within 6 miles....first time i was backing up and the second time i was driving around 40 miles per hour....it appears this can happen at anytime and in any gear....i called dealership and immediately had it towed to their shop...present mileage 2076 miles....i'll see what they have to say this time....i fear this could be a very dangerous situation if it continues. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while parked he noticed the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. the contact stated the power steering failed. the steering default warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 300.

The rolling back problem came first. when you are stopped on any incline, between taking your foot off of the brake and placing it on the accelerator, the car rolls back quite quickly, and i have almost hit the car behind me. the steering problems came a little later. the steering requires both hands at all times, and even then it is quite shaky. i feel car sick when i am the passenger because there is so much side to side movement. during turns, the engine feels like it is cutting out, it loses so much power, and i have to push the accelerator extremely hard just to get enough power to finish the turn. the scariest of all of the problems happens at higher speeds. it has happened to me three times. when i am driving on the freeway (60-70mph) and i begin to slow down, the steering gets out of control and goes back and forth so rapidly, i hold on for dear life trying to keep it in the lane, and the braking is not as efficient as it should be when this happens, and i have nearly escaped hitting the car in front of me. when i have been in this situation, i have started to brake right when i see the brake lights ahead, and i have had ample space to stop gradually and safely if i were driving a normal car, but in this car, it is out of control and the brakes won't work well when this is happening. this has happened on dry roads. this car terrifies me and the rain and ice haven't even hit yet. after i experienced these problems, i looked on the internet and was surprised to see how many others are having them too. the shop had my car for 13 days and they called me and said that it is "perfect" and they didn't fix anything and to come pick it up. i bought this car in june, it is now september, it had 1074 miles when i took it to the shop. i left it there for now, i am terrified of this car and unfortunately i own it. *tr ..updated 09-26-12 *bf updated 10/01/2012 *js

I don't know if my ford focus 2012 is included in the tamara airbag recall or not. my clutch has been replaced several times due to sudden acceleration when stopped or slowing down.: it's the powershift transmission. my door latches were replaced per ford recall. new rear engine main seal replaced 7/12/17. vehicle has only 32,746 miles on it. tires already had to be replaced.

To whom it may concern: there is currently a recall for the electric power assist unit which is responsible for certain ford products power steering. the recall includes several ford/mariner suv. i'm not sure if that includes ford's focus( i've read some internet articles that said it had and others it had not) but the affected vehicles include model years 2012 thru 2014. i had reported it to both ford & my dealership roughly a month ago as it started roughly a month ago but to date nothing has been resolved but i was however made aware the cost to repair/replace was some $1,500.00 as of yesterday i now no longer have power steering now not only putting myself @ risk but others as well. i would hope ford would repair this vehicle @ no cost to me...updated 08/24/15 *bf

Having problems with steering assist.it locks up staring will.and turn off vehicle sensor warning goes away dry for a while sensor warning comes back locks up staring will. i have not droving on the highway . it will lock up still can't find a recall one this problem it comes up when i drive

Whenever i drive the car around 60 miles speed, the steering wheel becomes stiff and starts to wander. it becomes really hard to balance the wheels. i noticed this on my brand new ford focus se for the first time on may 25th 2012, when i was driving on a tollway at 60 to 70 miles speed per hour. i bought this car on may 24th 2012. this car is not good for driving on highways especially for driving around the speed 60 miles per hour. now i am really scared to drive my car on highways. so far, there were no accidents. going forward if something happens, i would blame ford and sue the company. ford must fix this issue or recall this model. *tr

Car is shuddering, vibrating, rolling backwards on inclines, stuttering bad gas mileage at low speeds between 0 and 20 miles per hour. the car has been in 4 times to the dealer beginning on 5/3/12 through 11/14/13 it has been reprogrammed 3 times and a new transmission replaced it which has solved the problem temporarily but starts happening again. when driving in or pulling out into traffic because the car either hesitates so bad or just wont move for a few seconds. needless to say there have been many close calls. the dealer has been proactive in working with me however this is not a dealer issue this is a manufacturers issues. *tr

The power steering assist fails while driving at speed. it just cuts off and steering becomes extremely difficult. restarting the car seems to reset the psa and i can drive again. but this has happened 7-8 times over the past year. i've gone to the ford dealership 3 times, and each time they acknowledge the error, but cannot replicate it and they do not make any corrective repairs or action. they just expect me to drive off with the car with the underlying problem still in existence - and they're aware of the problem! and they do not appear to be researching it. this is my family car, and this is just irresponsible of ford. psa is not an optional feature that we can live without. we've been fortunate that these failures have occurred under 45mph and on mostly straight residential roads. what about highway speeds or at a sharp bend? will it take lives lost before they even begin to fix the problem? and google searches show that this is not an isolated problem and many others are given the shrug off. ford knows this is a problem, but are not addressing it properly. please help. *tr

At highway speeds the steering appears to lock when making a lane change or when following a curve in the road. additional effort will free the steering but this causes the vehicle to dart in the direction of the turn. it takes several steering adjustments to bring the vehicle under control. the steering gear has been replaced but the problem persists. *tr

Since day one of the purchase of my (march ) 2012 ford focus the steering "feels" like it is constantly wandering, after an hour drive time, your arm is give out from the stress. my car also seems to have a flutter in the transmission or engine during take off. the car will also roll back while stopped on an incline. the dealer checked steering the 4th day after purchase and assured me the steering was fine, that it was new & tight. i did recieve a recall on the transmission to upgrade or modify some type of chip. i cannot tell any improvment since the upgrade. my wife & son hate to drive my car because they are afraid of the steering and rolling back....by the way it is an automatic transmission---i have never experienced this on any vehicle that i have owned in the past. *tr

While driving this 2012 ford focus sel, the steering has intermittent issues. at highway speeds at 65 mph the car wanders to both sides of your lane, sometimes almost sideswiping other vehicles. the steering wheel becomes stiff as though the power steering is gone. other times it feels like it's going through a windstorm and feels out of control. dealer hasn't been able to "replicate" therefore, no corrections made from ford. this is a dangerous and very scary vehicle. i'm afraid to drive it at highway speeds.please investigate. lives could be lost because of this. *tr

Power steering failed while driving new ford focus se, making it difficult to steer the car. failure of steering was accompanied by "steering assist fault - service required" message in dash and warning chime. on restart of car, steering returns to normal operation and fault message no longer displays. this has occurred once after purchase of car. i see there are many complaints about this but no solutions. will there be a recall issued before this happens to someone at speed and causes a wreck resulting in injury or death? *tr

The ford focus 2012 has problem starting at 556 miles - the engine would not even turn over. the warning light "steering assist fault service require" come on, and the front power windows do not work too. hope the dealer would fix this soon. *tr

After making right turn out of driveway, traveled straight for approximately 300-400 yards and power steering failed. warning light came on. had to stop at stop sign...could not steer car - very difficult to steer without assist. i managed to turn it around, got back to my driveway. power steering did not return. called ford roadside assistance - tow truck driver had difficulty steering the car to get it on truck...power assist returned. dealer was not able to duplicate, researched with ford technical assistance and found "no cause." they called it a fluke and returned car to me. second incident occurred in same fashion on feb. 14, 2012. after returning to my driveway the second time, the power assist returned to function. dealer is not sure that bringing the car in will help them find or fix the problem. ford customer service agent stated in email that "it could very well be a fluke" and is not offering any further solutions. i need help in getting this fixed. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact was driving 20 mph when the power steering function failed and the steering wheel seized abnormally. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who reprogrammed the computer. the contact stated that she no longer felt safe driving the vehicle. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 4,106 and the current mileage 4,160.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that the vehicle was not shifting into gears properly, would stall sporadically and would jerk intermittently. additionally, the steering wheel would often seize. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer several times who had not been able to replicate nor diagnose the failure. the failure recurred and the dealer replaced the transmission and transmission sensor but the failure recurred. the contact also mentioned that the lights intermittently illuminated and the radio was making a loud noise when it was powered off. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who then diagnosed that the computer chip in the fuel pump failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

Ive had issues with the steering wheel since i 1st got the car. in the beginning it would like a couple minutes and then be fine. i noticed it when it was super cold or even just kind of cold. there have been a couple of times when the weather was fine and the steering was still very hard to turn. id have issues in the morning by the time i left the parking lot it was fine and when i got in my car after work the same thing (with in a few minutes was fine). i've taken my car in many times but they could never figure out an issue. now its 2020 and its been "out" since thursday today is monday and i just had it towed to the car dealer ship. every time this issues occurred my car was in part i never got a warning message until today. ive always been at home or at work where my car has sat for a few hours

While driving steering fault service immediately and an exclamation mark appeared on the dashborad. at the same time the car would barely steer and i had a very hard time getting it off the road. i called for roadside assistance and they took it to the dealership. *kb

While backing out of a driveway the steering system failed, i rolled down a hill and into a wooded area. the system gave an indicator light of steering system failure and also the braking system did not engage. i lost complete control of the vehicle. *tr

Power steering failed while driving new ford focus se, making it difficult to steer the car. failure of steering was accompanied by "steering assist fault - service required" message in dash and warning chime. on restart of car, steering returns to normal operation and fault message no longer displays. this has occurred twice at random two weeks after purchase of car. *tr

Power steering failed, with dashboard warning messages. *tr

Inadequate clearance between steering wheel mounted controls for cruise control and sync and stalk mounted controls for signals and wipers result in fingers getting caught between wheel and stalks. during a test drive, this caused accidental flashing of bright lights and wiper activation. in a worst case scenario, this could prevent turning the steering wheel at a critical moment and cause a crash with injuries or fatalities. i believe this is a serious safety issue. please investigate this design problem and consider mandatory recall and redesign of all vehicles so equipped. *tr

I just bought my brand new 2012 ford focus less than 2 weeks ago. the first time i drove it on hwy in speeds excess of 60mph, i noticed it was very difficult to keep the car driving straight without constant adjustment to the steering wheel. since it was storming that night, i assumed it was the wind knocking my little car around. i was very wrong. it happened every time after that...even on clear, sunny days. several times i almost side-swiped cars in other lanes trying to maintain control of my car. this is extremely unsafe and i'm hoping a recall has been made on the steering issue. i'm taking the car in to the dealership today with printouts of numerous complaints for this exact issue. *tr

The power steering failed as i made a turn at low speed. the warning lights came on indicating a power steering failure. i was able, with great difficulty, to steer the vehicle to the side of the road. the vehicle is brand new. *tr

Wile driving at 60 mph the steering went to manual, warning display read "steering malfunction stop safely" contact authorized dealer. this has only happen once and still not sure what fixes it. still at dealer. *tr

In my brand new 2012 ford focus while driving at speeds above 50mph it is incredibly hard to keep the car in it's lane without constant adjustment of the steering wheel. it feels like you're being buffeted by strong winds on both sides of the vehicle. i'm afraid to drive faster than 60mph due to the fact the vehicle acts like a snake going back and forth so much. i'm not alone in this, the online ford focus community "focusfanatics.com" has reported many cases of this occurring. the thread of complaints is here http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=261200 the solution appears to be having the entire power steering rack replaced. i'm worried a problem such as this could cause a severe accident if someone isn't expecting to fight with their steering wheel. i almost hit a car adjacent to me because of this. if he hadn't been paying attention things could have been bad. i realize you are very busy but i sincerely hope you take the time to review this issue and the thread i posted in order to prevent possible injury's or deaths in the future. it would be to the benefit of many if ford were to recall and fix affected models. *tr

I purchased a 2012 ford focus hatch. as soon as we drove the car we noticed the difference in the transmission. the sales man said he didn't feel it and that the car had to learn our driving habits. don't think a car learns 2 different driving habits as there are 2 of us driving it. but at low speeds either accelerating or decelerating the car shutters and shimmies way too much for our comfort. it seems this is an electronic problem but we thought we'd bring it in to have a trained tech look at it. the first attempt was a new module and that should fix it.... it didn't... so in a second time for a remapping of the computer...didn't help. ....in for a third time and the tech says ford is not allowing any fixes on this car... we have to wait! really? wait? i bought a brand new $21,000 car...... an automatic car! i been told it has to learn how i drive... i've been told it needs broke in...it has 5000 miles on it now how long does it take to break in? i'm told that it's as if i am driving a manual and this is normal.........hello!!!!! not a manual. i'm told this is just how this transmission reacts... and along with the shuttering is the hesitation upon accelerating that could cost me my life on a busy highway............... the remote key lock has confusion issues. it doesn't always recognize the signal and it has to be opened or locked manually. all i want is a fix and if there is no fix i want to be able to implement the lemon law on this car........ i expected more from ford for my 30 plus years of loyalty. after all isn't that what has kept ford going? all of us loyal customers that stayed with them thru the hard times? my family has bought over $100,000 in new ford cars and trucks and plenty of used ones as well. i really am sad that ford hasn't stepped up on this one and i am so sure i am not alone. listen ford execs..... we are paying attention!!! thank you! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle would pull to the right and she would have to use excessive force to continue steering straight. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle was operating as intended, and there was no remedy available. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 75.