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CarComplaints.com Notes: You should probably steer clear of the 2012 Focus. Otherwise, you might not be able to steer at all.

The 2012 is the first Focus to offer Electronic Power Assist Steering (EPAS). It's also the first year with massive power steering failure. These things are not mutually exclusive.

And while you wait for your steering to disappear, you'll be greeted with a transmission that shudders, vibrates or won't shift at all.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,378 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Ford Focus engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 6 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #355

Nov 032019

Focus

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While the contact's granddaughter was driving 55 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but failed to respond. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to watermark Nissan of marion (3209 banterra drive, marion, il 62959) where it was determined that the power train control module needed to be replaced. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (engine), but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Murphysboro, IL, USA

problem #354

Dec 012017

Focus

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine indicator illuminated. In addition, the front driver's side wheel was wobbling. Furthermore, the engine stalled and the vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. The contact had to restart the vehicle and the check engine indicator turned off and on. Thornhill Ford Lincoln (U.S. 119 North 500 Ford fairlane, chapmanville, wv 25508, (304) 855-8300) stated that there was no warranty coverage; therefore, the contact would have to pay for diagnostic testing. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline) and took the vehicle to the same dealer for the recall repair. The failure recurred after approximately one month. The dealer wanted to charge for another diagnostic test. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 53,000.

- Chapmanville., WV, USA

problem #353

Dec 162019

Focus

  • 169,600 miles
Vehicle would lose motive power in long turning off/on ramps when fuel level got down to just above a 1/4 tank at first then as time progressed the same issue would occur in highway traffic. Narrowly avoided accidents on several occasions due to this. Vehicle never threw a code for anything, it would just stop running. I took vehicle in to dealer to perform manufacturer recall 18S32, they just reporgrammed it and gave it back. Problem got better at first but did not go away. Since the recall work another recall has come out and the level of fuel I need went from above 1/4 to above 1/2 a tank of fuel. When the fuel gauge reads 1/2 a tank the vehicle will take between 7 and 8 gallons of gas (the fuel levels on the gauge are wrong) this morning I lost motive power on the highway in traffic at low speeds with a full tank of fuel and it finally threw the code P00C6 twice, which after looking it up I identified this to be something along the lines of insufficient fuel pressure at the fuel rail. I plan on turning the car in to have the second recall for this issue performed in the next few days and, according to the recall from Ford, this should constitute replacement of several components in the fuel system. I want this on record before taking the vehicle in. This issue has been ongoing and has made me late for and miss work on several occasions.

- Deltona, FL, USA

problem #352

Mar 162018

Focus

  • 5,900 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Check engine light on, both on road and highway staling and front end making noise.

- Chapmanville, WV, USA

problem #351

Sep 042019

Focus

  • 82,397 miles
The engine light randomly came on. The car stalled while driving. Came to a stop. Was slow to start back up and was jerking/stuttering the rest of the way. Multiple auto body shops diagnosed my 2012 Ford Focus was transmission failure

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #350

Oct 292019

Focus

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle stalled and shut off without warning. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000(engine, engine cooling). The contact called james hodge Ford Lincoln (1200 N main St, muskogee, ok 74401) and henryetta Ford (821 E main St, henryetta, ok 74437, (918) 652-0990) and was informed that the parts were pending and not available. The manufacturer was contacted and provided the same information as the dealer. The contact requested a loaner vehicle, which was denied. The vehicle was taken to henryetta Ford where it currently remained. The failure mileage was 98,000.

- Fort Gibson, OK, USA

problem #349

Dec 022019

Focus

  • 124,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We have had the clutch replaced 3 times and are ready with our fourth clutch (no longer under warranty! $2200!). the dual-clutch is a known problem and Ford has not fixed it. They continue to replace the part with one that fails at 25,000 miles.you know it's a clutch when the car is shuddering, struggles to switch between gears and does not feel like the engine is running smoothly. Ford refuses to stand behind their car that they knowingly sold even though they were aware of the problems. We first took our car in for shudders at 2,000 miles and were told it was normal. The last repair took almost 1 month.

- Glendale Heights, IL, USA

problem #348

Sep 172019

Focus

  • miles
We took the car in to get fixed because the check engine light was on. When I turn on the car and start driving the car feels like it loses its speed and it feels like the car is being pulled back every time its driven forward. The car feels as if its being forced to drive and it happens every time the car is being driven. We took it in to star Ford Lincoln glendale on 1101 S brand blvd glendale, ca 91204, phone number (818)502-1901 where they told us they fixed the car but the car remained with the same problems with no evidence of fixed difference. When we picked up the car after dropping it of at star Ford Lincoln we had to jump start the car because it no longer turned even though the car would turn on before we dropped it off. The car also started leaking water from the radiator even though that was not one of the reasons we left the car there. After picking up the car fro there it has been remained park because we can not move it.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #347

Nov 192019

Focus

  • 145,000 miles
I was driving about 40 mph on a city street when the warning message "transmission not in park" flashed and the speedometer went to zero. I pulled over and put the car in park and everything shut off. I was able to restart the car. I have had all factory recalls replaced and most recently the catalytic converter replaced as well.the check engine light or any other warning lights were not on when this occurred.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

problem #346

Nov 062019

Focus

  • 279,000 miles
While in columbus, Ohio, caught in heavy traffic, uphill, a red "transmission malfunction!" light went on, and the car immediately started shuddering and lurching forward. I was only going 5 - 10 mph in traffic, but the car was also shaking and when I came to a full stop the rpms would go up and down

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #345

Nov 012019

Focus

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car shutters and stalls. Not much power. Had tcm repaired and the dual clutch multiple times.

- Anderson, SC, USA

problem #344

Oct 012019

Focus

  • 158,000 miles
The car jerks a lot while driving. It is like a stutter or something. I had napleton Ford check it out and they indicated that the clutch needs replacing. They indicated that there was a recall on the clutch and that it had to replaced by 100,000 miles. I bought the car used at 154,000 miles so I didn't have it at the time of the recall. My warranty won't cover the repair.

- Round Lk Bch, IL, USA

problem #343

Sep 272019

Focus

  • 118,834 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline) at star Ford Lincoln (located at 1101 S brand blvd, glendale, ca 91204, (818) 956-0977). After the vehicle was retrieved, it failed to start. The dealer was able to recharge the battery. The contact stated she was able to drive to her residence. Two days later, while driving 25 mph and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine warning indicator was illuminated. The contact replaced the battery. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but and the contact was unaware of the diagnoses. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 118,834.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #342

Oct 172019

Focus

  • miles
Massive stuttering issue. When pressing gas, seems to stutter and fail to get up to speed. Has happened many times and doesn't seem to change if engine is cold or warm.

- Bonney Lake, WA, USA

problem #341

Aug 062019

Focus

  • miles
Vehicle is reading code P0420 indicating hat the catalytic converter is operating under threshold. Light would turn on and off periodically until it finally remained turned on and soon after the vehicle started struggling to drive up hills and the gas milage has decreased.

- Pueblo, CO, USA

problem #340

Oct 092019

Focus

  • 61,500 miles
Recall 18S32. Brought the vehicle in to dealership on 9-8-19 when I received the recall notice. I was told that software needed to be updated. At that point, we had not experienced any of the symptoms of the recall. I was told that there was a check to see if the software needed to be updated and it did not. On 10-9-19 while my daughter was driving the vehicle, the gas gauge went up to full (it was only 1/2 full) check engine light was on (it has consistently been on for weeks) and most importantly and most frightening is the vehicle completely shut off while she was driving 65 mph on a highway. All of these things that occured are directly what the recall is for. Although my daughter was driving on a hightway, thankfully she was not hit or killed by other drivers and did not crash the vehicle. Now because the vehicle was initially brought in before any symptoms and Ford determined no software update was needed, they are denying to replace the canister purge valve which is what we were told by the dealership needed to be done. The vehicle cannot be driven now because of the fear of putting whomever drives it in danger. Not only is this is unacceptable but I am very frustrated and feel that this safety issue should be addressed by Ford immediately. There is also a recall (recall #19S22) stating dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. I have tried to get this addressed not only through Ford's customer service directly but by speaking to the service manager at the dealership where the car was bought and serviced. Seems like this is not an urgent matter for anyone but us. I do have a case number that was assigned by Ford which is: Cas-24503630-J8W6Y7.

- Davie, FL, USA

problem #339

Oct 102019

Focus

  • 680,000 miles
As many others, no, rather thousands of others have reported that the faulty dual clutch transmission offered by Ford failed and almost cause an accident that could of seriously injured me and my 2yr old daughter. Will it take a death for the recall of this faulty transmission that Ford knew about, before anything is actually done" how padded are they making your pockets" do your job and save lives.

- Ashland, OR, USA

problem #338

Jul 182019

Focus

  • 148,347 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving up a hill, the vehicle jerked and then stalled. The vehicle also hesitated to move forward. The contact stated that the vehicle would jerk forward and backwards, and then stall. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The technician referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 18V735000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,347.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA

problem #337

Dec 012018

Focus

  • miles
2012 Ford Focus. Consumer writes in regard to safety recall notice 18S32/ NHTSA recall 18V-735. They inquire when parts will be made available for vehicle. The consumer stated the vehicle would not reverse and drove slow while moving forward.

- Forest Lake, MN, USA

problem #336

Sep 272019

Focus

  • 72,000 miles
After being stopped at a traffic light on the highway, my vehicle began acting as if it did not want to get up to speed and would not go above 35mph without dramatically jolting forward. It did this a couple of times before swerving a bit and finally stalling completely, pressing the gas would do nothing to get the car to speed up. I did manage to get it to a side road before having it towed to the dealer.

- Lynn Haven, FL, USA

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