When I started my car, the steering felt like it locked up, and the steering assist fault light came on. I had to turn off my car, and turn it back on before it worked properly. It has done this two times now in the past three days
2012 Ford Focus steering complaints
Page 12 of 32: complaints 311 to 340 of 927, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2012 ford focus se power steering failure light comes on. Fixed power steering hard top steer. So replaced steering gear, steering wheel sensor and reprogramming steering wheel. Also alignment steering wheel sensor assembly. Told hard to get sensor and reprogram after repairs. Sop additional cost to fix.
I was turning my car (in motion) on a local street and my power steering assist stopped working completely, with my three year old in the back seat. I was unable to to make the turn adequately, and even pulled a muscle in my shoulder trying to force the steering wheel in the correct direction.
Over the course of a year, an indicator warning message kept coming on about the power steering manual assist, which turns out to be a defect in the steering column. Turning the car on and off solved the issue at the beginning. But then while I was on the road in september of 2018, the light came on again and wouldn't go off. I had to have the car towed to a dealership and have the entire steering column replaced for $2,200. The cost was negligible to the risk'we who own these cars were risking our lives and the lives of people on the road. This is a safety issue and ford ought to address the issue by fixing the problem for free.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the contact experienced difficulty steering the vehicle and the service power steering warning message illuminated. The contact stated that the failure began two years ago, but went away after awhile. However, the failure became worse over the past two weeks. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.
Steering assist fault - three times since the purchase of this vehicle it has displayed this message. It always went away after turning the car off and back on. The third time it has not gone away. The vehicle has no power steering. 6 years old/ bought new off the lot/ 92000 miles.
When I start my car and get ready to drive off my steering wheel gets stuck and won't move. It is starting to do it alot.
In early 2017 I started experiencing issues with the electronic power steering. I would turn my car on some days and it would say power steering malfunction and there was no power steering making it impossible to turn the wheel and drive. Turning it off and back on (sometimes several times) would get rid of the error code and I would be able to drive it like normal. A month ago at 129,000 miles the power steering went out again, but this time it is out for good. No matter how many times I restart the car, the error code will not go away. The cost to repair is outrageous for a car that is not worth much due to the horrible reviews and unending problems that everyone is experiencing. On top of that, I have been dealing with the car shuddering constantly when I drive it. My transmission went completely out a year ago and the ford dealership replaced it under warranty. I was driving and the car wouldn't shift. I pulled over and I could not get it into reverse or any gear. A few months after it was fixed the shuddering began again while I was driving the car (same symptoms as last time before it completely went out), but ford says that the car is no longer under the mileage it needs for the recall replacement, so if it goes out again and I know it will in a matter of time, that will be another $2,500 to fix. With the numerous complaints on just the power steering issue and the consistency between reports, I do not understand why there has not been a recall. It is a safety issue.
When I start the car a message comes on the dash that says steering assist malfunction and the car will not steer. I have to turn it off and wait a minute and try to start the car again.
Vehicle was in motion with my son driving. Turning left at a protected green arrow, the power steering stopped working and the wheel effort skyrocketed. Car was jerked right, my son slammed on the brakes and he was able to pull over. Stopped, looked under the hood. Nothing seen. Restarted the car and a "power steering assist model fault" was illuminated. Turned the car off. Turned car back on and the fault was gone. Drove car 1 mile home at low speed with hazards. Error comes back unpredictably and dangerously.
Steering assist failure when wife was driving home almost lost control of the car leaving her work she had a horrible time controlling the vertical to make it home would not turn easy what so ever
Steering assist fault service required warning signal showing on dash board. Steer is very heavy, cannot turn. Cannot make right or left turn. If you are strong enough, and want to turn, you need always occupied reverse road. That's very dangerous. I'd like to say, it lost turn function, out of control. Dangerous for myself, and other vehicle. If you google this problem. A lot of focus 2012 have same issues. Below link for your reference. All of this can show it's design defect. This problem can happen at any time. Https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/automobiles/ford-focus-steering-problem-prompts-many-complaints-but-no-inquiry.html my car have happened several time, but normally when I shut down, restart, it's gone. This time happened on last friday night, mile 48209, with heavy rain, frozen day. I cannot drive it to home. It's very sad and frustrated. And I brought it to dealer, they advise" fs27 rack and pinion-replace" . Cost 2200 usd. It's not fair to ask customer pay for their design defect. Highly appreciate if your excellency can look into this case, help all customer solve this potential risk.
I started engine today and got notification that "steering assist" needs attention. I just recently took my car to dealer for recalls on door latches, windshield wiper motor, and transmission. They kept it 2 weeks and I had to pay $393.00 for repair of broken motor mount and wiring diagnostic because linkage to computer failed due to short. I have attached the dealer invoice for these services. On seeing problem with power steering assist I looked on internet and see that ford has issued recalls for motor mounts,steering assist problems, and faulty wiring issues on other ford models but not for the focus. I have not received recall info for the motor mount, steering assist problem, or wiring issues for my focus. Should they not be required to do so if they have issued recalls for other ford products with the same issues?
Power steering assist fault has happened at least 4 times where the steering freezes and the vehicle has to stop, be restarted for the problem to be rectified. The vehicle was in motion reversing or just started. It is now going into a ford dealer for inspection and repair. This is unacceptable.
Stearing fault is displayed and electronic power assistance stopped working. It happened in the parking lot driving very slow.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized and a steering wheel assist warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed her to contact the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. *tt consumer stated vehicle is undrivable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the steering assist warning light illuminated and the vehicle became difficult to steer. Blake ford located (1011 armory dr, franklin, va 23851, (888) 338-4988) was contacted and an appointment was made to have the vehicle diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 57,496.
I have had this vehicle for three days (10-28-18) when the steering assist stopped working when it was started. The car was stationary and the message on the display said steering assist fault. When the car was turned off and restarted it was ok. This car has 71100 miles on it and was purchased as a first car for my son who is 17.
:steering assist malfunction" error on dashboard at start up. Power steering is not working -- steering wheel is locked up. This happened 3 times at startup. Car has 79,399 miles. Took to dealership and they informed me that electronic steering gear mechanism and rack need to be replaced at a cost of $1,800 and alignment for $99.95. I agreed to have dealership do the work as I was too scared to drive the car. This seems like a widespread and dangerous issue that is very common with this model, why isn't there a recall?
On 9/25/18, after driving two hours and then making a brief stop, when I turned the car on I received the following warning: "steering assist fault. Service required." when I started backing out of the parking space, I discovered the car had lost power steering. I turned the car off and then back on but received the same warning and still had no power steering. I was able to drive the two hours home very carefully but obviously this posed a safety risk, especially if it had gone out while I was driving or if there was a need for me to make a turn quickly. Here are the facts we learned from doing some online research and contacting our local ford dealership: several other ford family models with similar years have been recalled for steering assist issues and the only way to fix the problem was to replace the entire steering system which costs over $2100. In conclusion, why am I now $2100 poorer after replacing power steering in a vehicle with less than 60,000 miles when clearly there is an issue with ford's power steering that should warrant a recall on the focus as well? Thank you for your consideration of this complaint.
Power steering fault has been coming on and off for several months. An engine restart normally resets light. On october 23, 2018, the power steering light came on while in motion and completely disable my ability to control the car. The vehicle is now park and cannot be driven.
When starting the car, before driving, "steering assist malfunction" comes on the screen and the steering wheel will not turn. This happens a couple of times a day and I fear this will impair the ability to turn during driving or when starting my commute. I found restarting the car a few times eliminated this error.
Power steering would fail unexpectedly. At times while driving. Only remedy was to replace.
Power assist steering fault comes and goes, as well as steering. This is extremely dangerous, needs to be addressed.
Steering assist malfunction on ford focus 2012 model. This error would come up periodically over the last 6 months, but would go away when restarting the vehicle. Now the error comes on every time the vehicle is started. The power steering is completely out. Driven about 2000 miles since error first noticed. Mileage now 116,895.
Upon ignition a message 'steering assist fault svc required' sometimes appears and the steering wheel is extremely difficult to turn. Problem is usually remedied by turning off the engine and restarting but can sometimes take three tries. Problem was intermittent but is becoming more frequent. So far it only happens when the vehicle is parked on level ground and slightly inclined driveways. Online research suggests bad placement of the steering module is causing internal electronics to overheat and develop faults.
On 3 occasions while driving down a side street with a speed limit of 35mph, a power steering assist fault notification appeared. On one occasion it prevented my brake pedal from engaging the brakes. The parking brake still worked. The vehicle has a 3rd party warranty through the dealer I bought it from, when taken to their mechanics it was stated that they could find no trace or cause of the issue and could not replicate.
Steering assist malfunction-service required keeps coming on. When is a recall coming. Scared this is going to cause an accident. I have to turm the car off and on then wait til it decides it wants to move. Afraid the steering will lock while driving. So far it has only happened while stationary but has caused problems when driving in reverse to get out of a parking space.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. After starting the engine, the message "steering assist malfunction" displayed on the instrument panel and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 101,000.
Power steering is disabled upon starting vehicle. I thought this was just a random error because I would turn vehicle off then on and then it was fine. Now the error will not turn off and I do not have power steering at all.
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