CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford changed a lot of things for its 3rd generation, just none of them were a good idea.
The transmission tends to hesitate and jerk when accelerating. The new electronically-driven power steering can fail suddenly and without warning. Even Ford's SYNC can be a headache. Actually, scratch that last one — it's always been a headache.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,746 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.
Driving from home, made two turns with the steering somewhat "grabbing" both times, but after getting to maintain speed at about 50 mph it seems to be fine, until I went to make a small adjustment in direction, started getting a steering failure and the steering just stuck, so I turned hard to over correct (like you would in a car w/ no power steering) and suddenly it let loose, shooting to the other side of the lane and grabbed again and repeated again. By now im starting to get concerned and slow down, but the next time it grabbed completely stuck in that direction and the error changed to "steering loss", I slammed on the brakes before veering off the road, and thankfully not far from home. However, I was terrified, and thankfully my wife and children were not in the car, or we were in the middle of our hour commute! now after talking to the dealer we are up for $1300 in repairs and only 8000 miles out of factory warranty. No car until this is fixed! completely need to replace the epas, this is unacceptable Ford!
I filled up my car with gas and then turned it back on to get a failure message that my eps power steering had failed. When I tried to turn the vehicle, it was very hard to turn corners or turn it at all. I tried driving it to the dealership and once there, I was notified that I would need to pay $1,500 to pay for an entire new eps system since they cannot replace just the steering module. I don't get how I pay for a like-new car in 2014 and immediately incur a $1,500 bill.
Wife was driving the car from work and on the way home suddenly the car lost the power steering, warning light came on and a warning to service the vehicle display on the screen stating there was a problem with the steering assist system. She almost hit another car trying to get to the side of the road because it was very difficult to steer the vehicle, since she was close to the dealer where the vehicle was bought she carefully made her way into the dealer and left it there for service. Later I was told by the dealer that it was a problem with the rack and pinion and they did not have the part available and it will take 3 weeks for the part to arrive. After a google search I found this vehicles are having problems with a epas system, tomorrow I will be talking to the service manager and see what they say about this...
While parked, steering locked, making any steering impossible. After returning to normal operation, car while being driven at any speed, became difficult to steer. Steering felt as if there was a gear clash, wheel had to be held with force to drive straight. Without effort, vehicle wanted to veer either right or left.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed without warning. The contact had to apply force to turn the steering wheel which had become extremely difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for further inspection, diagnosis and repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.
- Miami, FL, USA
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The contact rented a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, all the lights on the instrument panel illuminated along with the transmission and you are not in park warning lights. In addition, the brakes and power steering failed. The vehicle was towed to the rental company. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
When driving at highway speeds of about 65+ mph the steering wheel will have a notchy feel when you try and turn it from the center to correct direction, which results in a jolt* that over corrects causing you to have to correct again, where the issue comes into play once again. Doing so make it feel as if you have to constantly turn the wheel between the notch points in order to go in a straight line, which makes the car handle in a very unsafe manner, when you take into account that when the wheel goes into the notch the car heads straight for the car next to you or the barrier/ditch on the side of the road. I have to take 500 mile trips every month, and this becomes a serious problem at the speeds and distances that I have to drive. * this jolt is like you have to turn over a bump, there is a point that requires more force to turn than normal, but the moment it breaks that barrier, it goes back to normal causing the wheel to turn and stick into another position/notch. There is a notch both left and right about 10-15 degrees of center, meaning once you break the initial force to move from the center, it will "clunk" into the notch at 10-15 degrees from center.
My car has had the steering fixed, the alternator replaced and the clutch fixed 5-6 times in 6 months. My transmission/clutch is still not repaired. Someone is going to die in this car and I can't afford to get rid of it so I am forced to put my life in danger every day. I have a lemon law attorney and Ford will still do nothing. I paid $1095 for an automatic transmission and I do not have an automatic transmission. Ford committed fraud with this sale.
Warning light came on. "steering assist fault. Service required." Complete loss of power steering. Very difficult to turn wheel to get off the road. Same problem occurred again 2 weeks later.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph after the accelerator pedal depressed, there was a loud noise that emitted from the driver side of the vehicle. The vehicle veered to the left and the steering wheel became difficult maneuver. The manufacturer was contacted and did not offer a remedy. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 18,722.
The steering problems started nearly two months ago. At first it was a faint pull in the wheel... I incorrectly assumed it was a tire balance issue. Then three weeks ago, I noticed the "pull" was getting stronger, and seemed to coincide with the A/C fan or random light failing. Two weeks ago was the worst - I was on my way to the dealership and slowed down to stop at a light. My wheel was slightly to the right; and about 5 seconds before coming to a stop, the wheel all of a sudden yanked an extra forty degrees and pulled me into the turning lane. After getting back into my own lane, I noticed that the A/C fan also quit working. The car has also had random electrical problems/failures. The car has been in the dealership for 2 weeks now, and they are unable to reproduce/resolve the problem.
2013 Ford Focus St has stalled on the highway going 65+ mph multiple times, in addition to on -ramps and while coming to a stop, resulting in loss of power brakes and power steering. Multiple times has stalled without giving a check engine light, meaning the dealer wouldn't look at it despite being under warranty. Engine's idling speed is wildly erratic before and after stalling events. Have been incredibly lucky so far because this is extremely dangerous and a huge safety risk. Terrified of losing power again while turning left ahead of oncoming traffic or while merging onto the freeway. Ford has issued tsb 13-9-7 for those lucky enough to have the ECU store a code, notice the issue and get it to a dealer while still under warranty, but this absolutely needs to be a recall before someone gets hurt or killed.
The vehicle will stall upon pressing the clutch in while in gear or neutral regardless of speed at random intervals. I'll notice that coming to a stop with the clutch in the car has a hard time finding an idle then ultimately dies. This mostly happens while the car has been running for awhile and the ac is on however it has happened with the ac off. This has happened multiple times including while down shifting into a lower gear while turning. The dealership was unable to reproduce this despite showing video proof of the issue. This is an overall safety concern when the car could shut off at any given moment while driving.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while he drove 65 mph the steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel became hard to turn. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage were 350.
I was driving on the highway at midnight 2/8/2014 at about 75mph when my car started to become stiff in the steering and lost speed rapidly. I down shifted from 5th gear to 4th gear the car would not accelerate even with my foot pressed all the way down on the accelerator, I shifted down to 3rd because of the sudden loss of speed and still nothing the cars rpms would go higher but the speed would not change. This nearly caused me to have an accident so I exited the highway and shut the vehicle off. Once the vehicle was shut off and turned back on the problem went away, I contacted Ford brought it in to their service center and they could not replicate this problem and suggested I continue to drive the vehicle until it happens again.
Steering and computer aided systems along with tires that were not disclosed to be used under 40 degrees caused loss of steering input and control which lead to hitting a curb and damaging suspension components as well as the drive-ability of the vehicle is worse that before. There are known issues with the steering on the 2013 Focus St and after 6 months of going back and forth, Ford cannot remedy the situation and the care is unsafe to drive at any speed as the lack of steering control cause unnecessary movement of the vehicle, requiring nerves of steel to drive at even 20 mph. Clunking noises and grinding also coming from suspension and transmission gears.
I owned my brand new car for approximately 7 days, when the problems began! it had 4 miles on it when I purchased it new! I was driving on a local highway at approximately 45-55 mph, when the steering started to feel sticky, I felt like I was losing control of the vehicle, it felt as though I was in a major wind storm and was being blown back and forth across the highway! I was scared to death! I pulled the car to the side of the road and had my husband come drive us the rest of the way home. Also, when turning to a hard right or left, I can feel something under my feet like there's something about to rocket through the floor boards! also, when I'm stopped anywhere with the engine running and the transmission engaged, and I'm holding the brake of course, the car wants to lunge forward and it does it too, when I'm pulling into or backing out of a parking space. Its dangerous and very scary!! please Ford, please look into these issues before someone dies or is seriously injured.
Steering intermittently gets 'sticky' in center position at freeway speeds. The vehicle tracks reasonably well but as it drifts slightly in the lane it is normal to make small corrections. In every vehicle I have ever owned before this requires no effort or thought. In this one it takes concentration to avoid looking like I'm driving under the influence. In other words, it resists normal micro-corrections and tends to twitch and over-correct when it finally responds to the steering adjustment. That results in my vehicle moving a foot instead of an inch which is not a lot of fun at freeway speeds and is potentially dangerous. My research suggests that this is a programming issue with the electrically assisted steering. NHTSA: Please address this with a recall before someone gets hurt or killed.
I was on my way back home from Chicago to Ohio. About an hour into the trip my steering started getting stiff and hard to control. I had to hold on with both hand tightly. It felt like the steering was locking up. Like a click. If I moved it ever so slightly it stuck and I had to move it back quickly. What should have taken 6 1/2 hours took me 10 1/2. my young son and I were scared. It was Sunday and I was in another state. Nothing open and on a toll road. It still gets hard to steer but my dealership said there is nothing wrong. Someone please help. I travel back and forth from Ohio to Chicago a lot.
Vehicle wonders or drifts at highway speeds, seems like your always over correcting the steering wheel. Vehicle makes a zig zag motion on certain road surfaces like your caught in the wind behind a semi.vehicle alignment as of this date has been changed 4 times.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ravenna , MI, USA