The contact owns a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50-55 MPH, the steering wheel locked inadvertently. The message "Transmission Failure" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned on the hazard lights. The contact stated that the vehicle continuously lost and regained electrical power independently. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the transmission was malfunctioning, and the contact was referred to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the TCM was replaced. Additionally, the dealer informed the contact that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under Ford Campaign Number: 19N08. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 97,069.
2016 Ford Focus: steering wheel locks up
7 of the 1,185 complaints about the 2016 Ford Focus describe steering wheel locks up.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 43,720
- recalls
- 0
Steering wheel locks up by model year
What owners say
Driving down the windy mountain road and all power steering fails and the steering locks up and cause it to jerk hard. Can’t control vehicle at any speed. Not inspected but put on computer and it says steering module failure. 06/20/2023.
I was exiting Parking lot into busy intersection when vehicle suddenly hesitated and stalled completely. Was hard to restart and kept stalling after that. Very dangerous when traveling on busy streets when it stalls and steering wheel locks up. As I accelerate the car violently jerks and has hard time shifting and getting up to speed maybe a “slipping” feeling and engine is constantly misfiring and stalling. Idles very rough when stopped RPM jumps all over the place. No warning lights on dash whatsoever. Had this problem and took to ford about 2 years ago they said they fixed it but the problem still persists. I can see there are various recalls for this vehicle for the exact things that are happening to me. Huge safety concern. Seems to me it’s something to do with fuel tank and transmission.
The contact owned a 2016 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 mph, she made a left turn and the steering wheel seized. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle crashed into the side of a house. There were people inside the house, however, they were not injured and medical attention was not received. The contact did not have her seat belt on and her face hit the dashboard upon impact. The air bags deployed. The contact did not receive medical attention on the scene but later went to the hospital for injuries sustained to her face. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 43,720.
29,000 miles - catastrophic failure of steering system vehicle was parked when steering assist fault light came on. Steering wheel locked. Vehicle was towed to ford dealership. Steering gear/rack & pinion assy replaced by ford dealership. Ford case #[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I bought 2016 ford focus, total 55,000 miles on it now 2018 and nothing but trouble in the first 6 months and there after , always in the garage for drive train 2 years now, straps on roof fell off twice , trunk out of line,new tires bought at 26,000 miles . Wire harness totally shut down car in 2017 while doing 65 on the highway , could not steer the car or stop it , brakes went to the floor car total shut down and this year 2018 the steering froze up at 55,000 miles, could not steer the car,, car runs like crap has power then no power, don't dare to pull out in traffic unless I have a long free space to get in, cause it hesitates, back up camera wont shut off till I have gone 100 feet forward , 2018 phone system keeps failing, new brakes, twice I almost got killed, cause I could not stop or steer the car on the highway I am so done with ford and this car.. Performance is the worst I have ever seen in a car,, I could go to the garage every week cause the performance is so bad, done done done, if I had gotten killed in this car the two worst times it failed, my family would have sued ford and as far as I am concerned they should have taken the car back, would have been alot less head aches than a death law suit
I drove the car the morning of the incident, no problems occurred . I went to a gas station later in the day. When I came back out and started the vehicle it said steering assist fault service required. Steering wheel locked up.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2016 Ford Focus steering lock-up
Is steering wheel locks up a common problem on the 2016 Ford Focus?
7 of 1,185 owner complaints about the 2016 Ford Focus (1%) mention steering wheel locks up. The model year with the most reports is 2012.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2016 Ford Focus?
There are 0 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2016 Ford Focus
Stalling 242Check engine light 234Shudder 161Jerking 129Hesitation 120Slipping 90Overheating 58Transmission failure 55Engine failure 43Loss of power 41Won't shift 41Won't start 34Grinding brakes 29Fuel pump 20Fuel gauge 19Sudden acceleration 19Misfire 16Power steering loss 16Harsh shifting 14Wipers 13Backup camera 9Headlights 9No deployment 8Knocking 8Adaptive cruise 6Brake failure 6Fire or smoke 5
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