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2012 Ford Focus acceleration problems

166 complaints (4% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 46,000. 13 crashes reported.

owner complaints
166
of this car's complaints
4%
typical mileage
46,000
crashes
13
recalls
0

Which part fails

  • Accelerator pedal
    2

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Ford Focus acceleration problems in other years

20002005201020152018

Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Ford Focus acceleration

Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.

Sudden acceleration 37

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

What 2012 Ford Focus owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Jul 25, 2026 · Acceleration, Steering · AR

The TCU/TCM has been going in and out of control. Sometimes it will work then others it will shut off. Speedometer won’t work, power steering won’t work, cruise control won’t work, etc. and when you do the transmission reset for it, it won’t work at all.

Filed Dec 29, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · PA

the car runs without power when shifted to drive gear. It is sluggish trying to speed up. Took to Ford Dealers on a recall with that is suppose to take care of it..nothing seems to have changed. I am not sure anything was done. trans makes a rough sound starting..

Filed Aug 23, 2024 · Acceleration, Transmission · MO

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

Filed Jun 13, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · AK

Vehicle won’t start on multiple occasions. Vehicle struggles to turn on and lag to turn off. Vehicle struggles to change gears to speed up

Filed Apr 4, 2024 · Acceleration, Fuel system · VI

My 2012 Ford SE stalls out between First, second and third gear whenever I am accelerating to 40mph. The Transmission error continues to pop up after driving for a long period of time. Whenever driving 50 mph to 70 mph as soon as I release the gas pedal, the car goes into neutral stall out & whenever I press down on the gas pedal nothing happens and I have to pull over & Turn the car off and turn it back on to reset the transmission computer. If I don’t do that and I press the gas pedal again, the car would jerk and I have to pull over immediately and the car off. I cannot press full on the gas pedal because the car would not accelerate at full speed. Whenever I put gas in the car, it won’t start right away. It would jerk and choke just to start up. It takes me a couple attempts to start the car after putting gas in order for it to start and go. Whenever I’m finished driving and turn the car off, it makes it clicking noise in the engine area for about 2 to 5 minutes and it won’t stop and it only happens when you open the front doors or when the car is completely turned the car off. Whenever I put a full tank of gas or a half tank , the car would not dry properly install out on the highway or street I can’t drive at normal speed because I don’t know when the car is gonna stall out before it hits 1,2 or 3rd gear, which makes it very dangerous to drive on the highway.

Filed Jan 25, 2024 · Acceleration, Fuel system · MI

The transmission module, and Transmission. While on freeway with my family car shut off while driving. Yes , Yes , No there were no warning signs until after the jerking and shaking started after 39 days then the engine light came on. After that a that the sign said transmission over heating pull over and let car cool down. what was most scary is that it shut off while driving.

Filed Sep 5, 2023 · Acceleration, Transmission · 146,000 miles · UT

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The message that the transmission had overheated was displayed. The contact was able to push the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the part was on backorder. The parts arrived and the transmission control module was replaced, but the failure recurred. The dealer informed the contact that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact about an Extended Warranty coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 146,000.

Filed Feb 22, 2023 · Acceleration, Transmission · MA

Only 67867 miles and the transmision is not working . I only drive short distances. Allwise have a problem. Since I buy the car. I never complain because I am very busy. But. know the car stop complete

Filed Sep 19, 2022 · Acceleration, Engine · TN

Transmission over heating stop safely light comes on transmission hot stop wait 5 second I do the restart of the transmission and it keeps doing it

Filed Aug 29, 2022 · Acceleration, Transmission · OH

TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE I called for and they now claim my vechile cant be covered because it's out of this stated warranty by a few months. We hThe car has been in for service regarding the transmission on this car multiple times. We have broguht in for service as well as call for many years, over and over again, we've been told there is nothing wrong with the car. even though it has a warning for tranmission malfunction service now. ave been trying to get this resolved since my dad bought the car in 2012! weve been turned away. I need to have this fixed.

Questions about the 2012 Ford Focus acceleration

Does the 2012 Ford Focus have acceleration problems?

Owners have filed 166 complaints about the acceleration of the 2012 Ford Focus, 4% of all its complaints.

At what mileage do 2012 Ford Focus acceleration problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 46,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2012 Ford Focus acceleration?

There is no recall for this problem on this model year.

What year does the Ford Focus have the most acceleration problems?

The Ford Focus model years with the most acceleration complaints are 2000 (170 complaints), 2012 (166 complaints) and 2014 (164 complaints).

Other 2012 Ford Focus problems

Transmission 1,448Steering 927Engine 501Electrical 352Fuel system 342Body 332Locks 134Visibility 70Brakes 61Airbags 55Driver assistance 53Seat belts 43Wheels 32Suspension 28Lights 26Tires 12Seats 9

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