2012 Ford Focus Complaint Log

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the contact continued driving to work with no further issues. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who connected to the vehicle to diagnostic machine which diagnosed the failure as a malfunction of the canister purge valve. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 126,300.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the clutch failed to perform properly while shifting gear. Additionally, the transmission made grinding sounds while shifting gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the warranty had expired. The contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 14M02 (Transmission Control Module Extended Warranty Coverage) however, the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

The transmission is not shifting properly and looked online. Ford has had this issue with lots of the 2012 Ford Focus SEL’s and there is lots of opinions on how to fix it. But the issue is the same. There need to be a recall. I just bought this on 8/23/3021 and it has 53000 miles. Please get Ford to fix this issue. It is dangerous what if I was on the highway! I hope it’s not to late for Ford to fix this. I notice it when I first bought it. I would start accelerating from a light and 1st 2nd or 3rd great as I was accelerating it was having difficulty shifting and was stuttering. I first thought I wasn’t driving it right like I was accelerating to slow maybe not enough throttle. Then I left this morning and once I turned of my block the car started shuttering and had huge problems shifting in to 2nd and 3rd. I couldn’t even accelerate turned it around. Drove back to my house and called the dealership. There towing it to the dealership and are going to look into the problem. This is unfair I just bought it. And if Ford had done the right thing and made a recall for it I wouldn’t be having this problem in 2021 with a Ford Focus SEL with 53000 miles on it. Thank you for listening. [XXX], Colorado INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 - 40 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the fuel gauge was not working properly, moving from full to empty. The vehicle lost motive power. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the failure with code P1450, and the fuel pump and canister valve were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN that was related to the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.

I took my car to the dealership to repair the recall associated with the purge control valve (Buckeye Ford) the said it was fine. I have had my car towed twice due to it stalling on the road the mechanic at Meyers garage in ft Loramie Ohio has reset the low fuel code twice even thought I have had a full tank of gas.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20-25 MPH, the steering wheel was stiff and difficult to be turned. The contact was able to drive to his residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed as power steering failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Car has 122k miles. At the end of August 2021, the electronic power steering failed while my son was driving home from work, making the car difficult to steer while driving. The car displayed a notification of power steering failure. The dealer has had the car for two weeks, they confirmed a complete failure in the electronic power steering module. The dealer said they have to replace the entire steering rack at a cost up to $2500. I see this similar failure has led to a recall on the same year Ford Fusion, but not on the Ford Focus. Clearly this has to be a manufacturer defect. 900 complaints in NHTSA for this issue and no recall issued.

Shift fork calibration not learner #P287B . .Shift Fork A Position Circuit Range #P2832.. Shift Fork A Position Circuit #P2831

Power steering assist fault code pops up everytime I turn on my car, my steering wheel is completely locked, only have had car for 6 months dont have the money to replace rack and pinion which costs so much there should be a recall on this considering so many people have complained about this exact steering issue. My car was parked and running when I lost my power steering

CEL came on while I was traveling. When I took my car to get it read, the error code was p1450, unable to bleed up fuel tank vacuum. After filling up my car with gas, it would struggle to turn on. I would have to push down on the accelerator while turning the ignition so that my car would start properly. Even then it still felt like it was stalling and wanted to turn off. I am aware that this issue was part of another recall related to my gas tank becoming deformed. I wound up replacing the vapor canister purge solenoid and that seems to have fixed the problem.

My car was always serviced by local Ford dealership. Yesterday my car would not go into reverse. I called the Ford garage here in WIlliamsport Pa and the told me that they could not work on it until 9/1 as the man who dealt with transmissions was backed up. The man in the service department told me to have the car towed to the Ford garage and if they get a cancelation they would work on it sooner. I called onstar and they arranged to toll my vehicle tomorrow. I bought my car new and never had any problems until now. I read all the complaints filed for this make and model and it seems I am not the only one with this drive train problem.

I have an automatic transmission. Driving down the road the transmission feels as though it just goes into neutral as if it were a manual. It's like driving a manual & kicking it out of gear while your foot is on the gas pedal. This cause the RPM's rise all the while the car is in neutral. The one thing I found to get it back on track is to tap the brake. This will make it go back into gear. It has been doing this for a couple of years but it seems to be getting worse and more frequent.

I was told I would need over $1,000 in repairs for bad engine and transmission mounts. It shuddered off and on the whole time I owned the car but it seemed to get worse in the last 3 years. Not sure how much of that is caused by a bad fuel and transmission system but it seems like there is one thing after another with the Ford Focus.

My car is sitting in the garage because I was told not to drive. Parts from Ford transmission issue are on back order. I'm a 66 year old and I need my car to go to work. I called Ford to see if they would do the Lemon Law and after review they said no. I have had numerous issue with my car. My car has only 45000. I took it to a couple of other places and they said they are back up 3 to 6 months on the same issue with Ford transmission. I read an article about the Ford issues in your web page and it's identical with the issue I'm having. Clutch locks and I am unable to reverse and the car is not accelerating when I hit the gas pedal. It jumps. I need help with this. Thank you

The vehicle believes a door (Driver's side in this case) is ajar when it is in fact completely latched. This issue is intermittent and repeats several times during a short (10 min) trip. When the issue occurs the vehicle unlocks all doors (central unlocking) and turns on the dome light. When it randomly thinks the door is shut it will lock all the doors and turn the light off. This process repeats at random intervals. Unlocking the doors while driving is dangerous, especially for those of us who have children. I have engaged the child locks as a mitigation step. The dome light coming on randomly at night creates a distraction and degrades driver visibility.

My car randomly started stalling out while driving. A check engine light came on, and when I took it in to get read, the mechanics told me they were the codes pertaining to the recall on this car for the purge valve malfunction. The local dealer will not grant me an appointment to look at it and complete the recall for another 5 weeks.....my appointment isn't until October. In the meantime, I dont have a safe vehicle to drive, as the chances of me getting rear ended are high. The vehicle stalls out 6 to 7 times every 40 miles.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus BEV. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed that an unknown warning light was illuminated and remained illuminated for several days. The failure recurred several times. On one occasion, the contact was unable to start the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed failure with an electrical wiring harness kit and that the battery was drained. The dealer was able to replace the wiring harness however, the battery was not replaced due to the cost of a new battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

My car is experiencing identical problems to recall # 19v515000. The gas tank has collapsed and purge valve has failed causing the car to stall. But, my vin does not match the recall. Clearly, this recall has to be expanded to include other vehicles if I am experiencing identical failures. Ford has refused to do anything because the vin does not match.

Electronic power steering failed. My daughter almost lost control of the vehicle. If she had been driving on the highway, an accident would have killed her! The loss of power steering is a reoccurring problem with this vehicle. A simple internet search reveals the problem is common. Issue a recall before more people are hurt.

The transmission clutch had a recall. It was repaired . 14,000 miles, 2.5 years later the same problem arose. Ford denied anything being wrong with it. Took it into dealership for a different recall and the slipping occurred again which wasn’t there when previously taken in. When bought car, salesman stated that was the normal way the car ran.

I need to change my transmission control module

This has happened 5 times and good thing it hasn’t happened while driving or that could cause a bad accident. The steering assist light has come on when I’m sitting in my driveway and start my car and when I turn the wheel it won’t move it’s locked. so I’ve shut off my car and restart it and then the wheel will turn. I see this is a problem for many people this is definitely not safe and should be recalled.

Car stumblinhg, shuttering and hesitates. Woodhouse Ford replaced or worked on my transmission in 2017 but apparently the parts were either faulty or they did not repair properly. I do not feel as if I should have to spend the money to have a faulty part replaced again after just four years and considering this has been an issue in 2012 Ford Focuse's and Ford is completely aware of the transmission problems I feel as if I a being ripped off. My car needs to be fixed for free along with the door latches that are currently on recall and the dealership refusing to replace them.

I went to Ramsey Ford Dealer in Rising Sun, Maryland for tire rotation on 7/22/21 with 125,803 mileage. They told me that I needed new lug nuts because the old lug nuts were swollen. I bought 20 lug nuts @ $6.38 each totalling $127.60. I am going for 4 new tires to Walmart Auto tomorrow 9/19/23 and the mileage is 143,619 and I told them that all my lug nuts were swollen because I rotated the tires myself last year and I had to hammer a 19mm socket on each lug nut to remove them. Walmart told me that the lug nuts were going to cost over $5.50 each. The 20 lug nuts are going to cost me over $110. That's if the mechanic does not charge more for hammering them or drilling them off. It is what it is! I figured I would reporr it. I do have a hammer and sockets in my trunck if I get a flat tire. But I have seen on tge internet hundreds of people getting stranded on the highway.

Our Ford Focus BEV had a recall in 2014 (Ford# 15N03) It is a high voltage wire harness issue. The car will completely cut power to the drivetrain and shut down leaving a message on the dash saying "Stop Safely Now". We took it in for the fix in 2014 however the issue still continued after about a year and continues still. My wife just had this happen to her with the kids in the car. This issue puts the driver and passengers in very serious danger when the car just stops responding while moving in traffic. Ford said they would not recall the issue since the issue was "fixed" and that wire harness was only good for a 1 year warranty which expired in 2015. I am hoping Ford will do the right thing and fix this issue for good. Thanks for your help in this matter. -Dave

Electric Steering Assist light came on and off a few times over the past 2 weeks. As of this writing it is on permanently and steering the vehicle is now done without power assist. As a man I am able to drive but the rest of my family and wife are no longer able to operate the vehicle as to the difficulty in turning the wheel.

Passangers wiper motor stopped working, then driver side stopped working within 2 weeks of the passanger side failure.

First the dashboard panel went out , came back on several times , then it refused to start on the first and second tries , nothing just dead . Then the transmission was acting like it was slipping for no reason just when you stopped suddenly , then reverse went out with no warning . Check engine light came on . Now it won't crank and codes says it's a electrial problem . Low milage on this car . Why has it not been recalled ?

I was driving down the freeway in the middle lane and all of a sudden my car went into neutral and I could not get rpm's to go past 1500 and I was stuck with rush hour traffic blowing horns at me and I coasted to a stop could not get over to the breakdown lane so I sat in the lane till a man in a pickup pushed me over to the side of the road. I had no money for a tow so I called a friend to come and help me get it home we pulled the car to my house and I started trying to figure out what is wrong, internet said the other Ford Focus problem is in the clutch actuators and to replace both top and bottom and that would fix the problem well none of the parts houses had a listing for clutch actuators so I went on Ebay and found several for all different prices I checked with the Ford dealership and they had them for $160.00 per actuator, too much for my budget so I purchased two actuators from Ebay after waiting a week for them to be delivered I installed them and it did not work same problem check engine light stayed on and my hand held checker even after clearing the trouble code P0805 came back and here I set no car I called the ford dealership and they said it would be a month or longer before I could even get an appointment and it would cost several hundred dollars to fix my car. I am very upset over this whole ordeal. I have been looking on the internet and it appears that the 2012 Ford Focus is one of the worst vehicles and it has many problems and what I went through it is a very dangerous vehicle to be on the road!

While driving the transmission light turned on, the car lost power, and began to sputter. I pulled over stopped the car, turned off the car, restarted the car, drove the car, and while driving it started to sputter again. After I arrived at my destination, let it sit for 8 hours, the car drove without issue but the transmission light continued to display. It seems dangerous to drive since loss of power could result in an accident.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel ceased, and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the steering wheel was locked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed as power steering motor failure. The dealer replaced the power steering rack. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was 66,103.

I started having a lot of issues with balance and the vehicle bouncing while driving. I replaced the inner and outer tie rods. Suddenly, on the way to get an alignment, I got a warning on my screen that stated “STEERING LOSS STOP SAFELY”. I was told by a mechanic that the electronic rack and pinion needed replaced. Doing research on this problem, I find that this is actually an extremely common issue with this year make and model. The vehicle had to be towed back to my residence costing me $125! If I had not been an experienced driver, this could have been a very deadly situation as I was traveling at 65mph at the time that I lost steering.

Transmission Control Module failed. Check engine warning light came on, vehicle began to lose power, so I pulled over. When I attempted to put the car in reverse, it would not respond. Car had to be put in neutral, pushed onto the street before it would go into ‘Drive’. Car was sluggish and would only go a maximum speed of 20mph. Dealer has confirmed that the TCM is faulty. There were no prior warning lights or incidents to indicate that there was a problem - the check engine light came on and there was an immediate loss of power and no reverse. Ford Motor Company customer service has been contacted, but they refuse to do a warranty repair because the warranty was exceeded by 1 month by the time I was able to get a diagnosis by the dealership. The car is well below the covered 150,000 warranty on the TCM. There are 126,672 actual miles on the car as of 7/29/2021. There currently is a class action lawsuit because of these TCM issues with Ford Focus vehicles. The TCM replacement part is currently back ordered and has been for weeks, according to the parts manager at the dealership. Since that is the case, I am unable to get this vehicle repaired, or even get a good estimate when a part may become available, therefore, I don’t yet have any repair receipts to provide at this time.

Somethings going on with the Fuel injectors when I’m at a red light it seems like the car is ready to turn off. When the light turned green and I try to accelerate it jerks.. I went to for dealership (Ford) they stated it was the transmission brackets m, so I got that fix. but that’s wasn’t it so I decided To look up the recall information it shows that these cars have issues with the fuel injectors and the vacuum So ect. I keep putting it in the shop and they keep telling me different things and at this point I’m getting tired of paying money for something that isn’t the issue I Call Myself buying a car for my son to head off to college (upper state NY) 2nd year but I have to make sure it’s safe for him to travel I have been broken down thank god for Triple A and at this point I’m out of options attach is a recall sheet that came with the warranty I’m looking to purchase

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started to shudder and the transmission independently shifted to neutral(N). The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the input control to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

The power steering electric assist failed when pulling into cross-traffic, narrowing avoiding broadside high-speed collusion. Have intermittantly expereinced power steering failure at vehicle start in the past, but never during vehicle operation in traffic. It is a known issue with several Ford vehicles in the 2011-2013 range, but Focus has been excluded from recalls addressing this issue.

Was in frontal/near frontal collision at 20-25mph. No airbags deployed.

Loss of power on major highway. Could have been hit in the back because car just stopped moving. Dash board had lights flashing, no up hill movement, transmission check immediately, no shift, check engine it was lite up like a Christmas tree. I was scared I was going to get killed. transmission- yes, towed to Steet-Ponte Ford dealer, nothing wrong, no reps called, lights first appeared at that moment, took car home worked for one day and repeated the same problem. Took it back to the dealer and they replaced a part in the clutch and said if that didn't work a fork would have to be replaced for $1,500 also I had to pay for the first repair $300. Took it home worked for 3 days and is still sitting in drive way

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the steering wheel ceased. The contact was unaware if there was a warning light illuminated. The contact cruised slowly in reverse out of the parking space but continued experiencing the failure while she drove to the used car dealer. The contact stated that the used car dealer took the vehicle to the local dealer and the local dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

I had bought this car a little over a week ago and it has shown zero issues until yesterday June 17 2021, I was driving home when the car forced its self into neutral and the screen said transmission malfunction service now. I’ve called Ford and talked to them about the 14M02 recall/ campaign that was posted for this car and they said they’re unable to do anything because it’s out of the required parameters. I spent all my savings on this vehicle and now am out of a ride for work and I can’t even have a problem I didn’t create fixed? When they knew it was an issue.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road and was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the transmission software was updated; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the transmission fault message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module (TCM) had failed and needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on back order. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts were not available. The manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

Several times, now, I have started the car and the none of the readouts were working (odometer, fuel level, etc.); the cruise control would not engage. After driving a few minutes they all came on. Today (6-14-2021) I backed out of the driveway and put it in drive. The transmission wouldn't engage. I shut it off and let it sit a couple of minutes and started it and it engage, this time, still no dash readouts. Two miles down the road the readouts came on. I went into town to do my business and when I went to come home, it did the same thing.

Started the vehicle, it reported a transmission error and repair immediately message - the first indication of a problem. Drove home and made appointment to have transmission looked at. The car drove ok most of the way, then the transmission just slipped and died on the road in the middle of a construction site blocking traffic. After several minutes (after on site police called for a tow), the car restarted and was able to limp the last 1/4 mile or so to the shop. The transmission specialist referred me to Ford as they can't get the tools, suspected electrical. Towed to Ford. After waiting nearly 2 weeks for a diagnosis that only took several minutes, it was determined to be the transmission control module. It's a known issue and the warranty for this part is extended, however (1) if it had died on a major highway instead of a town road could have been a huge safety issue and (2) it's a known problem but Ford won't replace until it occurs, yet they have zero national stock and no idea when parts will be available.

My Ford Focus Hatchback doesn't have much power. Driving down the interstate it lost power and then the transmission failed warning came on. I had to drive along the side of the interstate to limp the car home. This car sputters and jerks when driving. After I bought it I took it back to the dealer and he told me that its normal for this car to act in in that way. Now I know that is not the case that was the transmission starting to go out and they should not have told me it was ok. I see two other complaints like mine. I don't see a recall but I would sure like one to help pay for the repairs. I will have to have the car towed to the service center when they have an opening My phone number is: [XXX] Email is: [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

The contact owns a 2012 FORD Focus. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, accelerating from an intersection, there was brake loss without warning intermittently. As a result, the contact crashed into the vehicle in front. No airbags deployed. The contact sustained a fractured right ankle. A police report was filed. Medical attention was required where the contact was taken to the hospital for treatment. The vehicle was towed by the police to a lot where it was awaiting an investigation from the contacts insurance company. The dealer informed the contact that no recalls were under the VIN. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 112,000

No warning lights intermittent brake loss called Ford told them what was going on and immediately told me hydraulic control unit the valves may stick open for short period of times then return to normal.but would have to take a look. had brakes replaced and bled ford has had this exact issue with other ford models having the hydraulic control unit a recall was issued for the others. But not all of their cars it lead to a crash by not being able to get stopped doing 40mph in a 40 mph zone issue happened year and half ago went had brakes checked out and re-bled the brakes almost lead to another crash then brakes are normal then no pedal at all

I have a 2012 Ford Focus SE that has a severe audio issue which impacts my ability to safely operate the vehicle. I understand radio issues are not technically defined as a safety-related defect. However this issue is so impairing and physically harming to me, I fear for my life and others while driving this car. The issue is a faulty car stereo electronics which create high-decibel thumping, popping, static, and more at random intervals and lengths while the audio system is on or off, with the volume turned all the way down either way. It is like a never-ending audio jump scare. Nothing is plugged into the car like a phone charger or speaker. I have found hundreds of people online with this same issue with their 2012 Ford Focus. In order to safely operate their Focus, many reported completely disconnecting the audio system or replacing their entire car radio/audio transmitter for $800+. This issue has been escalating every drive, short or long distances. On my 40 min commute this morning, with my audio completely off, I was approaching a roundabout to enter when a HUGE audio thump and pop occurred and almost ran into a car in the roundabout. Thankfully they saw me and we avoided a crash. I am terrified of this happening again. I cannot commute to my job without extreme stress and crying. I do not have hundreds of dollars to replace my audio system. This is extremely dangerous. I was able to find a solution to the exact issue on focusfanatics.com, a Ford Focus forum. An electric technician with 40+ years of experience took a look at his son's Ford Focus 2012 PCB and realized the capacitors/electrolytic caps were made of aluminum which is apparently, "notorious for going bad in the electronic repair world." He replaced these and the son has not had an issue since. Another person on the forum reported this electrician's solution worked for them as well. All 2012 Ford Focuses should have this issue repaired in order to have a safe operating vehicle.

Driving 40 MPH around a curvy mountainous road the Power Steering suddenly stopped working making steering almost impossible thankfully there was a pull off spot straight ahead or I would have been in a major accident.

This cars braking system is inconsistent enough to cause major damage or death. The ABS module sticks the same as in Fords previous recall "fsa 19s54" for 2006-2010 models Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ. They recalled a part causing ABS braking issues on those models and the EXACT same issue is happening in my 2012 Focus and will cost upwards of $2000 to fix, essentially making the car a lemon and not worth fixing. When the ABS fires as you brake over rough surfaces or bumps or rain, the brake pedal goes very deep and almost loses all braking ability. I had to swerve into another lane to avoid someone and was lucky enough that no oncoming traffic was there. Thankfully I'm a good enough driver not to have crashed. They can't stop making a car in an effort to avoid past carelessness. They must issue a recall or reimburse people for the part itself "ABS module" which is now 1.5 months backordered. Thank you.

The first incident occurred at a gas station. I filled my tank, turned my car on and put my car in drive as usual. As I took my foot off the brake, my car started to roll backwards. There was no dashboard lights on at this time. As I was driving home, the check engine light came on. I went home to research places to take my car to be checked. I left back out and when I started my car, the check engine light was no longer on. I restarted my car several times and drove back and forth to see if the light would come back on and it did not. The light did not come back on for about 2 weeks and when it did, my car stopped while I was driving. I was able to restart it but it was scary having my car stop while driving. I filled up my tank this morning and when I tried to start it, it did not start. It did start after a second try.