Ford Focus Complaints (2012)
3,803 consumer complaints on file.
- #11633582January 2, 2025ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
During some Christmas shopping within the past few weeks, my cars power steering went out completely with no warning or sounds to repair or seek assistance. Not only was my life in danger, but the safety of others in the vehicles surrounding me. I couldn't even turn my wheel if I tried. There have been other instances in other cars where I could strong arm the wheel and be ok, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about turning the wheel whatsoever! When my dad came with power steering fluid, we discovered that these cars don't even have a reservoir for power steering fluid and that this was more than likely a battery or module issue or worse the power steering pump. This is ridiculous that there is no service light or warning that the power steering is going out or losing power. Ford should fix this because it seems like this is an ongoing issue with Fords in general
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 1
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11633590January 2, 2025STEERING
Received Steering Assist Fault message. Vehicle has lost power steering ability without warning causing a safety issue
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11632178December 23, 2024POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the transmission was slipping, shuddering, and jerking when attempting to accelerate at various speeds and during the initial start-up. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact researched online and found it to be a known issue with the transmission control module failing, The vehicle was taken to the dealer, approximately 18 times in total, who were unable to diagnose the failure. The control module had been replaced and adjustments had been completed multiple times however the failure had persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a safety complaint. The failure mileage was 5.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11631818December 20, 2024POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate up an incline, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V523000 (Power Train); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 79,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11629270December 6, 2024ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while opening the front driver's side door, the engine fan inadvertently turned on without starting the vehicle. The engine fan remained running after the vehicle was turned off, causing the battery to become drained. The contact had to purchase a new battery. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11628601December 3, 2024FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS:CANISTER
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While the contact's fiancé was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle sputtered. The contact's fiancé, who is an independent mechanic, diagnosed the vehicle with fuel pump failure. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic and diagnosed with purge valve canister failure. The contact was informed that the purge valve canister needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that after the vehicle was started, the vehicle sputtered and then lost motive power. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was informed that NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) had expired. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11627994November 29, 2024VISIBILITY/WIPER
My wipers worked, then paused mid windshield and went back down. Now they no longer work. Both fuses have been checked and there is nothing wrong with them. Now my wipers are unusable which makes my car unsafe to drive. Brought it to the mechanic and they said it looks like the same issues that affected this model on a recall a few years ago. However, when I look up recalls it shows that there are none that affect my specific vin.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11627241November 25, 2024UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Brought into Ford dealership for recalls to be done and when I picked my car up, no recalls were performed
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11623172November 1, 2024POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CLUTCHES/BANDS
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While the contact's son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred a short distance from the residence. The vehicle was driven back to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission clutch assembly failure. The contact was informed that the transmission clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The contact stated that the transmission clutch assembly had been replaced in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and the repairs were covered under warranty. The contact stated that another Ford dealer had completed the previous repairs. The contact stated that in 2021 after the repair was performed, the contact was provided a discount if the failure reoccurred; however, the discount was not applied during the July 2024 repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 139,164.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11619838October 15, 2024POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled and shuddered; the vehicle made an abnormal sound. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly, lever assembly, along several other unknown parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact did research and was made aware of an unknown NHTSA Campaign Number however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 28,139.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11618636October 8, 2024ENGINE, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start after refueling. The contact had to rev the engine to keep the vehicle running. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who used a code reader and determined that the failure was due to the purge valve and charcoal canister. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11618465October 7, 2024STEERING
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving and exceeding 25 MPH, the steering wheel was seized. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11618561October 7, 2024ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,242.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11615783September 21, 2024STEERING
the car steering wheel first said steering fault and then after parking and less than 10 minutes, car hood was still warm, after car turned back on it said steering loss stop safely. this is after over $1300 in repairs and new tires went into the car, same day with less than 2 hours of servicing. The steering wheel in the car can no longer move at all. Not sure what to do at this point. After a few hours of research learned this was a common issue but there has been no recall. Car no longer worth the money or time. Ford used to be reputable but now it has gone down the drain even Ford mechanics don't know what to think or do.This needs to be addressed and fixed.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11614781September 16, 2024ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While driving at various speeds, the contact had to manually shift the gear shifter to neutral and then to drive even though the vehicle had an automatic transmission. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the transmission had failed and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 78,971.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11611057August 27, 2024POWER TRAIN
the transmission is stuttering/slipping when accelerating. it's dangerous when getting onto the interstate trying to get up to highway speeds of 70mph and your transmission isn't shifting the way a automatic transmission should shift. then when letting off the gas and gradually applying the breaks the transmission will downshift to many gears and increase your rpms dramatically, and then sometimes when you think your car should downshift going down a steep hill the car seems to stay in a high gear which then your car picks up speed and you have to heavily use your breaks to slow down hoping your car will downshift to a lower gear to help slow your car down to the safe speed limit. Ford says they'll have to diagnose the car first to see if it's the transmission control module. if it's not then I gotta pay $200.00 for the test. I find that [XXX] cuz im not getting the warning on my console about my transmission acting up or overheating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11610355August 23, 2024POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On highway with my 18 month old and as a cat merged on ramp I signaled and moved to left lane. I had to move and quickly so that another fast car would not hit me in the rear end where my baby was seated in car seat. In only the 3 seconds I had to make decision which hit would be better for me and my child, my car stuck in the lower gears and I could not speed up to move out of way or pass vehicle parallel my car was losing speed rather than gaining when I pushed in gas to floor
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11609570August 19, 2024ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Yesterday my air conditioner was working fine and today it only blows out hot air I truly believe somebody's tampering with my air conditioner as they were with my 2010 Ford focus also. So my question to you is what do I do and what can I do about the car a/c I truly believe someone's tampering with my cars the air conditioner from a computer program somewhere in yamhill county Oregon.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11609068August 16, 2024POWER TRAIN
Transmission becomes jerky and fails to shift.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11608369August 13, 2024UNKNOWN OR OTHER
UNKNOWN. I am aware of at least 2 recalls on my vehicle and took it to Long McArthur in Salina to have the recalls fixed in late summer 2023. As of this date, Long McArthur has not notified me the parts have come in to fix the recalls properly and I am still driving unsafely with many check engine lights on constantly and my vehicle making odd sounds. In summer 2023, Long McArthur said the parts were hard to come by and on back order and told me to highly consider buying a new vehicle.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0