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.
2012 Ford Focus steering problems
927 complaints (25% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 78,000. 23 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 927
- of this car's complaints
- 25%
- typical mileage
- 78,000
- crashes
- 23
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Electric power assist system3
- Hydraulic power assist system1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Focus steering problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Ford Focus steering
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2012 Ford Focus owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Electric power steering failed at 65,000 miles. No power assist in the steering. Trying to steer the car with no power assist is very difficult and not safe.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn while driving. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 128,604.
Steering system failure light came on and the Rack and pinion failed with no warning while I was driving on the highway at 75mph and the steering wheel locked up almost causing a potential fatal accident.
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..
I was driving to drop my fiancé off at work when the "Steering fault, Service now" warning came on. Went home, parked the car. Start it up to go pick him up later, the wheel locked and "Steering loss, stop safely" warning came on. I just recently had my car inspected and had two new lower ball joints replaced. The one employee said my cars steering was working fine, and it was driving okay with no issues until today. Same thing just happened. You can't turn the wheel.
Experienced abrupt electrical steering motor failure. Power steering remains inoperable and available for inspection. Occurred during normal driving without warning, and effort required to manually steer was too much for my wife necessitating an emergency stop to avoid collision with oncoming traffic while trying to execute a routine turn putting us and the other vehicle in danger of an offset collision. This appears to be a known issue in FORD steering units but has only been addressed in Fusion models as a recall. The component has yet to be inspected as Ford will not pay for the repair despite the obvious ongoing safety issue, the vehicle will remain off the road for now in the hopes a recall is issued.
The Power Steering shut down suddenly while I was driving it. I am [XXX], and certainly did NOT have the power to turn the wheel like it needed. If there had been fast moving traffic at that time, I could have been hit and severely injured, Why hasn't this been recalled yet? The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. I had to go there when my power steering intermittently came back on because it was only 6 blocks away from my house and I didn't dare try to drive it to a ford dealer which was 12 miles away. I'm not positive about the light coming on, but I believe I saw a circle with an "i" inside of it I was too stressed to notice completely, when I was trying to control my car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Power steering light intermittently comes on and vehicles looses power steering. Upon turning vehicle off then back on power steering will come back on. Can't get it to act up long enough for mechanic to diagnose. Only a matter of time before an accident happens. There are hundreds of complaints online about this same issue. Ford has issued some recalls but not on my particular VIN...
Since I have had this vehicle, the message " steering assist fault" for my electronic steering has been popping up in the dash screen since as far back as 2016 when there were recalls on the Ford fusion. However, a simple fix would be to turn off the engine and restart the vehicle, and it was go away, only to return a few weeks, or a month later. I repeated the same steps. Now, it has gone out completely, a few months ago. Back then, they told me it would cost about $800, now they are saying $2500. It has occurred various times going back to 2016 until currently, which it is out. Keep in mind, this message has appeared since 2016 and I believe I have contacted you all, who told me that only the Ford Fusion, which has the same exact electrical steering system, went out and that the recall only covered the Ford Fusions models.
Questions about the 2012 Ford Focus steering
Does the 2012 Ford Focus have steering problems?
Owners have filed 927 complaints about the steering of the 2012 Ford Focus, 25% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 Ford Focus steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 78,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Ford Focus steering?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford Focus have bad steering?
The Ford Focus model years with the most steering complaints are 2012 (927 complaints), 2013 (273 complaints) and 2014 (223 complaints).
Other 2012 Ford Focus problems
Transmission 1,448Engine 501Electrical 352Fuel system 342Body 332Acceleration 166Locks 134Visibility 70Brakes 61Airbags 55Driver assistance 53Seat belts 43Wheels 32Suspension 28Lights 26Tires 12Seats 9
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2012 Ford Focus?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history