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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 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,004 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2012 Ford Focus Owner Comments (Page 1 of 18)

problem #346

Nov 252024

Focus

  • miles

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

Brought into Ford dealership for recalls to be done and when I picked my car up, no recalls were performed

- Port Richey, FL, USA

problem #345

Dec 242023

Focus

  • miles
On highway with my 18 month old and as a cat merged on ramp I signaled and moved to left lane. I had to move and quickly so that another fast car would not hit me in the rear end where my baby was seated in car seat. In only the 3 seconds I had to make decision which hit would be better for me and my child, my car stuck in the lower gears and I could not speed up to move out of way or pass vehicle parallel my car was losing speed rather than gaining when I pushed in gas to floor

- St. Joseph, MO, USA

problem #344

Aug 082023

Focus

  • miles
UNKNOWN. I am aware of at least 2 recalls on my vehicle and took it to Long McArthur in Salina to have the recalls fixed in late summer 2023. As of this date, Long McArthur has not notified me the parts have come in to fix the recalls properly and I am still driving unsafely with many check engine lights on constantly and my vehicle making odd sounds. In summer 2023, Long McArthur said the parts were hard to come by and on back order and told me to highly consider buying a new vehicle.

- Salina, KS, USA

problem #343

Jul 052024

Focus

  • miles

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

There-??s a recall for my transmission but my clutch which is also the cause of my transmission failing and overheating and also stopping in its own in the middle of traffic is a major safety issue that Ford says they don-??t have a program for and stated that they can-??t fix my transmission due to in the recall it doesn-??t mention clutch being repaired. I have the paperwork stating that I need my transmission rebuilt but Ford couldn-??t do it due to the clutch not being in the recall but of course I was out of $200 just to get a diagnosis and risk the chance of driving to the Ford company and back home to get my car diagnosed which my car stopped on me once going to the Ford dealership and had to pull to the side due to transmission overheating safety popping up on my dash and saying wait 5 minutes. Today 7/12/24 after picking my car up from Ford I had to manually reset my transmission in order to drive back home which is what I-??ve been previously doing every since having this problem my car dash alerted me that my transmission was overheating within driving it for only 2 minutes and just automatically shut down on me in the middle of the intersection. There-??s no way for me to put my hazard lights on due to car shutting I had to hurry up and jump out of my car to direct traffic to go around me. Had to wait at least 10 minutes then reset my transmission and tried driving back home but again my car shut off without warning me this time. I feel like Ford isn-??t any help when it comes to an issue like this cause this really is a safety issue what if the car behind he wasn-??t paying any attention and crashed my rear end even though they-??ll be at fault. What if this situation would-??ve happened on the highway when traffic is really busy going 70 miles per hour? This is something that needs to be added in the Ford recall program as well with the transmission. Now I-??m stuck w/out a car with no job due to not having a reliable person to take me to and from work while my car won-??t run

- Cape Girardeau, MO, USA

problem #342

Mar 182024

Focus

  • miles
While driving car trying to stall in middle of traffic.

- Elgin, SC, USA

problem #341

Oct 022023

Focus

  • miles
The door ajar light illuminates on the dash even though the door is shut, the door ajar shows it is the driver side back door. With that warning I'm unable to lock the doors while inside the vehicle and the doors do not lock when putting the vehicle in drive from park or unlock when putting the vehicle in park from drive. I'm also unable to use the door handle lock and unlock sensor on the outside of the driver door.

- Kennett, MO, USA

problem #340

Dec 102021

Focus

  • miles

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

we had a recall and Ford Motor frauded us three times. we brought our car in for ford focus transmission module in 2021 to get it fixed wihtin greico Ford the ten year and they made us pay 176 to hold the part put us off for two years telling us no part on back order and then they called us said they had it and gave it away in a day as we were five hours away after making us wait two years and taking money from us they refuse to give us back our money and then we took to anohter ford dealer sarasota ford and they frauded us and just reset the old defective part and now they saying sorry to late now i demand something done we shjpuld have it markled as not fixed the recall it is outstanding they lied and we never got it fixed and they l;ying saying it was fixed and they just reset the old defective part they frauded

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #339

Oct 262023

Focus

  • miles
Sometimes when I start the car it shifts into next gear slowly. It may begin with a vibrating or jerky motion.

- Olivehurst, CA, USA

problem #338

Sep 082023

Focus

  • miles
Transmition control module on my 2012 ford focus sel Broke on a road trip leaving me with 1,3,5 gear only, and online it says this is a common issue considering you NEED a transmission to drive I feel this should be something that gets a recall

- Kalamazoo , MI, USA

problem #337

Aug 252023

Focus

  • miles
Not even a month ago my car started jerking when taking off like hard enough to practically put you through the windshield. It almost stalled on me at a stop sign. I have the customer satisfaction program 14mo2 letter from Ford about my TCM replacement. But I believe it is the power shift dual clutch in transmission that-??s having the issue.. I called Ford today because the dealership I want to take my car to wants to charge me $4000 if it-??s not the TCM. Apparently there have been issues with the powershift clutch transmission and that the coverage that they had to fix that issue has expired years ago. I cannot drive it out of my small town for fear of it breaking down on me. I found out the TCM had been replaced in 2016 and I-??ve only had this car six months to seven months tops and it only has 75,000 miles on it. It revs up real high and does not shift gears properly. I am afraid to take it out on a highway or anything afraid it might cause an accident and Ford told me they will not fix it unless I pay for it if it-??s the powershift dual clutch. I thought ford was supposed to fix any transmission issues whether under warranty or not. These safety issues could get someone killed!

- Oran, MO, USA

problem #336

Jul 152022

Focus

  • miles

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

sudden loss of power. would not stay in gear. took it to the ford dealer and they had to replace the TCM.

- White Hall, AR, USA

problem #335

Jun 082023

Focus

  • miles
It wont go in reverse and comes out of gear transmission?

- North Augusta, SC, USA

problem #334

May 242023

Focus 4-cyl

  • miles
The problem is with the transmission and dual clutch and electrical. My car shakes when still, doesn't want to go when I put on the gas, doesn't want to change gears. The electrical keeps going on and off and the fan goes on and stays on after I shut car off and get out and stays on. I took it to schicker ford on south kingshighway to get programmed and I got my car back it was worse.

- Stlouis, MO, USA

problem #333

Jun 102022

Focus

  • miles
The component is unknown and below is description. The car is stalling while accelerating and rushing forward when it does accelerate. At stop lights and when the car stops in traffic the vehicle is stalling. When the gas pedal is pushed to accelerate the stalling can cause a vehicle behind me to crash. After stalling, the acceleration causes the car to rush forward and it could cause my vehicle to run into someone in front of me. The vehicle was inspected at a dealership however I strongly believe their recommendations were not correct and that there is an easy fix for the issue above. They also claimed that it had nothing to do with the recall and did not provide information on the assessment about the recall. This particular recall does cause stalling so it is baffling to see that the dealership did not provide a written assessment on the report like they did for the door handles. I paid $150 for an assessment and around $200 for tow to bring the vehicle home after the assessment. The check engine light did come on and I took the vehicle to the dealership due to how unsafe the car was driving. I feared driving the vehicle and had it towed to the dealership for this poor assessment. I have not driven this vehicle in a year due to the unsafe driving conditions. I would like for the recall to be fixed and determine if that is causing the issue or not.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #332

Jun 052023

Focus

  • miles
The truck opens by itself while I-??m driving.

- Pittsburg, CA, USA

problem #331

May 042023

Focus

  • miles
The automatic dual clutch is shaking my steering wheel and whole car.

- Stlouis, MO, USA

problem #330

Jun 062022

Focus

  • miles
transmission control model in the car needs a new one

- Houtzdale, PA, USA

problem #329

Apr 222023

Focus

  • miles
While stopped and preparing to turn left at yield light, my check engine light suddenly came on followed by several alerts and dings. Not understanding what was occurring in that exact moment, I had an opportunity to safely make the left turn, and intended to address the issue once off the main road. Within moments of releasing the brake my car began violently revving and jolted forward into the intersection, in response I quickly threw on my hazard lights while trying to maintain control of the situation. Following this moment, my car suddenly had zero acceleration or vehicle control- just loud revving and bells and whistles. This left me briefly stranded in the middle of the intersection with oncoming traffic approaching quickly. I threw the car into park, and then back into drive- it never stopped revving, but it finally gave me enough control to lurch the vehicle out of intersection and barely into the entrance of a subdivision. It was utterly terrifying, and as result caused me to have a massive panic attack. Mind you, This car is barely over 100k in miles, and I just purchased it last summer from a used car dealership- so I took to the internet to search the issue while waiting for AAA to arrive. To my unknowing amazement, this car was slated with 2 major safety recalls- one being related to the transmission. I do not understand how this vehicle was allowed to be sold to me with such issues, or without disclosure about the possible recalls. With that aside, I was utterly distraught when my research concluded that Ford KNEW about these issues before they hit the market- they-??re also allowed to keep them on the road with sorry assed -??band-aid-?? repairs for the faulty equipment- still knowing full and well that this issue is Guaranteed to happen again! So now, I knowingly have to continue payments on a death trap- that I currently cannot drive. I am losing income I couldn-??t afford to lose, and I-??m terrified of my car. This is not ok-??I-??m not ok.

- Saint Charles, MO, USA

problem #328

Apr 132022

Focus

  • miles
The horn has never worked for me since I had the car. I-??ve had so many close calls where people almost backed into me and there is nothing I can do but pray! And also the stereo system I-??ve had to go in and disconnect due to the fact that I-??d come outside with my car off haven-??t even started it that day yet the speakers would be blaring a horrible cracking and popping sounds also happens randomly while driving it-??s very scary

- Homer , AK, USA

problem #327

Sep 012020

Focus

  • miles
In September 2020 I was on the expressway when my engine failed, I was able to get into the emergency lane after almost causing an accident, after inspecting the car it was concluded that the engine was no longer viable with no explanation of why the engine failed. So I replaced the engine and the car was still not drivable. In March 2022 I was able to get it started when I tried to drive the car the transmission was slipping, the -?? transmission malfunction service now-?? warning came on, and the RPM gauge on the dash was not reading properly. I ran a code after the transmission warning came on, and the code said P0001, I called the Ford dealership to get it serviced when I was told that there was an unknown recall but the part was on back order for a year, so my car wouldn-??t be fixed until the order came in, I searched my Vin number and had a recall for a fuel tank deformation, I also learned that there was a lawsuit against Ford for their 2012 Ford focus transmissions, which could explain the engine failure and the transmission problems.

- Akron, OH, USA

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