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.
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.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus equipped with Continental conti pro contact tires, size: 215/55R16 (na). While driving approximately 30 mph, the front passenger tire blew out without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact inspected the other tires on the vehicle and noticed that the front driver side, rear driver side, and rear passenger side tires all had bubbles in the sidewalls. The tires on the vehicle were the original tires and there was a noticeable vibration when driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate vehicle and tire failure mileage was 29,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus equipped with Continental contiprocontact tires, size: 215/50/R17 (na). While parked, there was an explosive noise coming from the vehicle. The contact noticed that the front passenger side tire blew out and deflated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The tire manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle failure mileage was unknown. The tire failure mileage was 300.
2012 Ford Focus 24,000 miles. During routine maintenance performed by the dealer, it was discovered that a pair of tires had severe abnormal wear. Tires have been rotated per car manufacture specifications. Dealer reported this is normal for this car and purchasing a new pair of tires would resolve this issue. Upon my investigation, cupping in a 2012 Ford Focus is directly related to no camber adjustment to the rear suspension. Cupping also reduces traction and braking power. My concern is for safety, and believe the car manufacture has failed to properly design the geometry of the suspension correctly to meet.
Driving a 2012 Ford Focus avis rental at approximately 5 mph in a lowe's parking lot. I turned to park the vehicle and the sidewall of the left front tire, a Continental -conti 215/55/16-conti pro, brushed the concrete curbing and the sidewall blew. The tire could not be repaired, had to be replaced. Avis wants $200+ to replace a tire that seems to have a serious sidewall problem; a tire that should not have been installed on a rental in the first place.
- Henderson, NV, USA
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Driver side front tire lost pressure 2 twice in the week as indicated by tps. Then the tire lost all air overnight. Took tire for repair/ discovered that the tire was not repairable because it had side wall leak. Close inspection revealed some steel wire that had dislodged from its embedded position the surface of the tire. Also notices other areas where the steel wires were still embedded in the tire but also visible in some areas.
I purchased a brand new 2012 Ford Focus on 2/20/2013. On Sunday, April 21, 2013, while it was sitting parked in my drive way, I noticed that the front passenger tire had a rather sizeable "bubble" in the sidewall. Fearing that it could burst, I decided that my best course of action was to slowly drive it to the dealership I purchased it at which is only about 5 miles from my home. Once they looked at it on Monday, they informed me that I must have hit something and the tire needed to be replaced and it would cost me $200. I would have had to hit something pretty good to cause the damage that this tire had. Also the tire was not scraped in any way. Upon looking at some forums on line I noticed a few that indicated the exact problem occur with the tires on their Ford Focus with the Continental 215/55R16 tire. The dealer, beau townsend Ford in vandalia, Ohio refuses to consider the possibility that these tires could be defective. If this is a problem, I am concerned that crashes could occur resulting in serious injury or death. I also contacted Ford Motor Co to express my concern, and they too are unwilling to accept any responsibility. I hope that someone will at least take the time to investigate if this is a safety problem that needs attention.
In June 2012, my daughter was driving and her front passenger tire exploded. This was the 3rd set of new tires we had placed on this vehicle (by 30,000 miles - averaging 10,000 miles per set of tires). Then in July 2012, she was driving home and started to skid. She was not able to recover from the skid and hit a tree head-on. The front of her car was destroyed. The tree centered her car and the front end looked like a Volkswagen bug. The air bags did not deploy. We had this vehicle into the dealership 3 times for problems with the front end. Each time they said they could not find anything wrong with it. However, the driver and passengers could feel the car sway when riding it in. The vehicle was totaled by the insurance company ($17,000 check sent to Ford) and we still owe $1700 that we have agreed to pay to Ford to keep from ruining our credit. Thank god she was wearing a seat belt that actually worked - otherwise we would have had to plan our daughters funeral. We purchased this car because it was advertised as being a very safe car with the interior wrapped in air bags. Wrapping the interior with air bags does not help if they do not work. I have been buying Ford automobiles for 30 years but, right now I am wondering how safe my Ford F-150 is. We are now considering hiring an attorney.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus with Continental road tires, size: 215/ 50 R17. The contact stated that while traveling 40 mph the front passenger side tire exploded, causing the contact to slightly crash into a curb. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the tire was under inflated. The contact also stated that the rear passenger tire exhibited several bubbles on the side wall. The dealer punctured the bubbles in order to deflate the tire and stated that the front passenger side tire was defective because the tire was under inflated. The failure and the current mileages were 2,436....updated 10/11/12 updated 10/15/2012
When making a left turn from a main road onto a side street I encounter massive grinding noises coming from what sounded like my left front tire area. I thought maybe it was my imagination. From then on there is intermittent noises coming from that area (sounds like plastic rubbing on something) I took it to the dealership on sat, 7/14 they did a visual safety exam and found nothing wrong but they did rotate my tires just in case. I am also experiencing a grinding noise when pressing on the gas from about 0-20 mph (going straight) (sounds separate from the grinding issues under the tire, but I am unsure if this is related. I am scheduled to take the car back to the dealership on 7/19 to see if they can find a problem. Very frustrating as this car is just over 6 months old!
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus equipped with Continental contitouring contact tires, dot number: A3D347pb, size 215/55/R16. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph uphill, the front passenger side front and rear tires exploded without warning. The road conditions were dry and there were no injuries. The dealer replaced the tire. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,086 and the current mileage was 3,098.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lafayette, LA, USA