For the past 6 months, every time I start up the car the steering column is almost locked. I start backing out and it loosens up. This morning I started my car up and it was locked again, but I got the message on the dash steering assist malfunction, and it never loosened up. I was a little nervous driving it ot work, but I had to get there. I have seen a lot of people with the same issue. This needs to get fixed.
2012 Ford Focus steering complaints
Page 13 of 32: complaints 341 to 370 of 927, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Takata recall well I went to turn on my car and I put it in reverse and when I was back in up I notice the screen say steering malfunction service requiere and the steering wheel dindt want to move
Received "steering assist malfunction" error on dashboard at start up. Power steering is not working and very hard to turn car. Took to dealership and they claim electronic steering mechanism and rack need to be replaced at a cost of $2300. Seems like a widespread and dangerous issue that is very common with this model, wonder why there isn't a recall?
My focus when being turned on the steering wheel locks in place and does not want to turn in any direccion. This has happend multiple occasions for about 3 months. The problem used to be resolved by turnig the car off and then back on but is not the case anymore. This last time that it happend I was in motion coming to a stop sign and it seized on me. Luckyly I was already stopping or I could have wrecked. It took multiple attempts of turning the engine on and off to get it to work again. For now we are not driving the vehicle because we feel that it is dangerous. The warining that turned on on the dash read "steering fault". This car is a 2012 with 130 thousand miles.
Power steering has been going "in and out" for about a year. Resolved temporarily typically by restarting engine. However, power steering permanently failed 9/24/18. T called customer care stating ford knew about the issue (2017 dismissed lawsuit). The vehicle was stationary in a parking lot. Mileage @88,000. Ford needs to take responsibility for their issues they have with their vehicles. Cost to replace the rack and pinion was $2,200!
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving at a low speed, the steering column seized without warning. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 67,000.
This car has had problems since purchasing it as a certified used vehicle for my daughter. The stereo went out completely and had to be replaced. The transmission has been having issues but ford says the problem is not bad enough when hooked up to the computer for it to be replaced under their extended warranty which ford has put in place an extended warranty up to 100,000 miles and 7 years. Lastly twice while my daughter was starting to drive the car the steering wheel locked up and brakes stopped working. The second time the car was in reverse and continued to roll forward. Its a good thing she knew to use her emergency brake or she could have been hurt. The car is at the dealership to be diagnosed and repaired. Never buying a ford again.
My 16 year old was driving and the steering assist fault made the steering go out for her. This part is extremely pricey I feel that as many complaints there are about this plus the high cost this should have a recall on this. Very dangerous
The power steering has gone out. Research shows this to be a common problem with this car. The car was stationary at the time, but mid-trip. My son was driving and had difficulty getting home.
Power steering assist stopped working while driving car. Steering became very hard to turn. Took to dealer, required entire steering gear to be replaced.
Power steering has been going "in and out" for about 1-2 years. Resolved temporarily typically by restarting engine. However, power steering permanently failed 9/9/18. Took my car in multiple times prior to this with no resolution. Looking at a $2100 bill to replace whole steering gear. Multiple electrical issues with cars computer. Called customer care stating ford knew about the issue (2017 dismissed lawsuit)-- but warranty was relied to get out of the cost responsibility. Mileage around 94-96,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 5 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the steering service default warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to norris ford (901 merritt blvd, baltimore, md 21222, (410) 285-0200) where the contact was informed that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the power steering assist malfunctioned and caused the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the "steering fault" message displayed on the instrument panel. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer (san tan ford, 1429 e. Motorplex loop, gilbert, az) and the manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 117,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle stuttered and rolled backwards, the steering wheel shook and failed to turn, and the accelerator pedal failed to respond and traveled to the floorboard when it was depressed. In addition, the "transmission ready" indicator illuminated. After the vehicle was restarted, it operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (camelback ford, 1330 e camelback rd, phoenix, az 85014, (602) 635-7551) where it was diagnosed that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failures recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was 77,000. The VIN was not available.
Occassionally when first starting this vehicle an alert will appear on the dash, saying power steering assist has failed, contact ford service dealer and the power steering will not work. If I shut the engine off and restart the power assist will work, so far.
In april of this year I started the car from the garage and the power steering was not working as it was very difficult to turn the wheel,maneuver, and steer the car. I managed to get it to my local automotive repair shop where they assessed the situation. They found failure with the power steering control module. In order to fix it they needed to replace the electronic steering rack and pinion assembly which contains the steering module. This cost $3,377.56. I am filing this complaint in the hopes that it prompts a recall and that I may be eligible for some form of refund for this extraordinary failure and expense for a car that is not that old with low mileage. I kept the repair invoice with all the details but do not wish to post it as it contains my personal information.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. While driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact immediately slammed on the brakes and exited the freeway. The contact stated that the steering wheel never unlocked and the vehicle was not driveable. Paul cerame ford (11400 new halls ferry road, florissant, mo 63033, (314) 838-2400) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 123,550.
Car lost steering assist while driving making the car had to steer to avoid collision. The car was in motion, alarm came on the steering assist failed.
Sudden loss of power steering. Electronic power steering failure while driving.
While driving, steering wheel assist malfunction light came on and made it difficult to control the steering. Look online and there are recalls to other ford models, but not for the focus although there are numerous complaints about this happening and a serious car crash could happen because of it.
The car losses steering assistance on the road occasionally. The light saying "steering assistant fault" also comes on. Then typically after 1day or 2, the system resumes itself. When it happens, wheel becomes really heavy and not possible to turn at 60-79mph on highway. At lower speed, it needs very hard pulling to just make a normal right or left turning. I also have to decrease speed when making the turn and causing vehicles after to decrease speed also. The ford manufacturer mechanic have made full diagnostic of the steering part. They couldn't find a reason and also said there could be no reason. The electricity system of related part could just be out of order some time and then became normal again--told by the mechanic. It's also confirmed such disorder is not caused by car wash or cosmetic damage on car's surface. The part is also not repairable but have to be replaced to solve the issue, which appears to be a fault of design or manufacturing. I searched online and found over hundreds of such issue for ford focus 2012-2014, discussed on forum and also reported by media. Today, before writing this, the fault just happened on my car again. I think it begins to happen more and more frequently ever since the first time. The first time was may 13th, 2018; second was july 19th, then today: aug. 1st. It is terrifying how frequently it may happen on road in future. And what's more, my car's odometer is only 44k miles. Hope the complaint could be valid and measurement done towards ford. Thank you
Steering wheel lock up on me while I was drive and been locked up for some days now and it is hard to turn the wheel and dont have the money fix it had the car for about a year now this just a shame.
While driving through a parking lot and attempting to turn left across an intersection, the power steering went out completely, jerked the wheel out of my hand, and kept the car moving straight forward. I narrowly missed hitting another car as my husband helped me tug on the wheel to get the car out of the intersection and to the side of the road. The power assist light was on. I turned the car off and back on, and the problem went away. This is the second time that this problem has happened, and I am afraid of it happening on the highway or in traffic and causing an accident.
About to drive to work, I turned my car on and shifted from park to reverse after about 5 minutes of waiting. While reversing out of my parking spot, I realized the steering wheel would not turn and I was going straight towards an apartment building that borders the parking lot. I parked the car and noticed a warning on the screen in the car that stated 'power steering assist malfunction.' I turned the car off and the steering was no longer difficult to control when I turned the car on again. The warning was no longer present. Around two weeks later, the same power steering assist malfunction occurred while leaving a gas station; the car was in drive in the parking lot when the issue occurred. My intention was to turn and exit to a street, but I realized that the steering wheel would not turn. Turning the car off and on again seemed to allow the steering to become normal and the warning was no longer present. The power steering assist malfunction makes it near impossible to steer the car, which could result in an accident if the warning is not seen soon enough.
Takata recall - power steering malfunction . Steering wheel locks up while turning on or driving there have been several complaints and would really like for something to be done it's dangerous
Power steering assist failure. Driving around town all day, parked the vehicle then upon restarting the power steering assist no longer works. This car has less than 34,000 miles.
Power steering module had to be replaced. Dtc u3000:49-48 was the code from the dealer. The steering assit light came on after starting the car.
I own a 2012 ford focus se hatchback with a 5-speed manual transmission and the sport package. I purchased the car new from a dealer in southern california in january 2012. Starting with around 80,000 miles on the odometer and occurring periodically ever since, when the car's engine is first turned on, the power steering is not active. When this occurs, if I immediately attempt to turn the steering wheel, a "steering malfunction" warning indicator illuminates in the car. However, if I start the car and don't attempt to turn the steering wheel for 5-10 seconds after the engine is first turned on, the power steering is active with no issues. In those situations where the "steering malfunction" warning indicator has come on, I simply turn off the car, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on again. If I wait the 5-10 seconds before attempting to turn the steering wheel, the problem is gone, and the warning indicator is no longer illuminated. During the 78 months I've owned this car, I have yet to experience a situation where the power steering suddenly deactivates while the car is in motion, although I have heard other owners of similar 2012 ford focus vehicles report such power steering outages and am aware that a number of accidents have occurred with similar circumstances.
Last month check engine came on while driving. Car jerked and acted as if it wanted to cut off and when putting car in reverse the car would not go in reverse. While driving on july 14th after taking the car to ford dealership which they reprogrammed TCM the check engine light came on for the same code as before about shift fork b issues. While driving the car jerked a couple of times and acted as if it wanted to cut off and not accelerate. Ford states they will not fix the issue unless for the current recalls on the clutch and TCM failure.
Randomly since we bought the car is 2014 power assist default would show up on the screen and then I would be left without power steering. I learned to pull over turn the car off and it would work normal again. Several times it happened in bad places that almost caused me to wreck. I have 3 small children and was always worried about it happening. I have ran into a ditch because of it but wasn't hurt. It will happen at any speed and down any road. On july 17, 2018 it did it but now it wont turn fix it when I turn the car off. So I'm guessing it has completely went out. I have called ford and told them about it. They said about 1 year ago there were no recalls. I told them I have read a lot of people have had this same problem with the same car. I called today to the dealership I bought it from and he said to bring it in. 109.00 just to check and see if it needs a computer reset which he said was probably the problem. I doubt it I asked how much that would be and he said we would talk when I got there. I have not went bc its gonna be hard to drive and I do not have the money to get it fixed. This should be a recall. They have recalled many others for the same exact problem why are they leaving the focus owners with a dangerous car? We have always bought fords. But I promise this is the last one we ever get. If they do not care about families safety they will get no more money from us
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