CarComplaints.com Notes: For the third year in a row, the 3rd generation Focus is experiencing massive transmission problems.
Most notably owners keep complaining about how there's bad hesitation and jerking when starting from a stop. This isn't the result of an old, worn out part. In fact, the average mileage it's reported to us is just over 15k miles.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,425 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.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the steering wheel shook while driving at lower speeds. The contact took the vehicle to the foothill Ford dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering clutch failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the clutch was replaced twice under warranty; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the repair was no longer covered under warranty. The contact was referred to NHTSA to file a complaint and was advised to reference NHTSA campaign number: 14V514000 (steering) as the cause of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000. Updated 08/23/17
Upon startup no power steering, making steering extremely difficult. Dashboard message stating "electronic steering assist fault needs service now" diagnosis came back steering gear is bad. Class action has been filed for 2012-14 Ford Focus as well as 2010-2014 Ford Fusion so it is a known issue but still no assistance by Ford.
Bought a 2014 Ford Focus 1/17/16and 6 months after owning it, the vehicle shuddered when taking off at a green light, had lost power around corners. Got a recall notice June 2016 got a new clutch and transmission power train. January 2017 problem persisted brought it back to the dealer they said its over 60,000 warranty and have to pay cash for the transmission repair. Could not drive the car safely it would not shift. Brought it back without recall notice June 20, 2017, and the dealer said they will file a 360 on repair of the clutch. Waiting for the dealer to call now 6/21/17. I need a reliable car for work and my family and can not drive this car. So scared driving it 3/4 close calls and rear ends. It sits as I pay for it every month.
Electric failure of power steering. I was told that there was a "short" that caused the power steering mechanism to fail. Less than 3 years and 48K miles. Sudden failure with total loss of power steering.
After being stalled in traffic for over an hour I pulled into a gas station and started my vehicle to leave. Immediately I could feel something wrong with my steering and my alert popped on and said peer steering assist warning. Called dealership and they said it's a common for the electric component to fail after idling. They said that's this has happened to people as they are driving. Steering just fails. They said it was a fuse that overheats after idling for so long without warning. If this is a component that fails that affects steering it needs to be fixed and changed.
While driving my car the steering became difficult all of a sudden and immediately after an error read "steering fault service now". fortunately I was on a side road and able to pull over as I was pulling over an error then read "steering loss stop safely". now I have to have my car towed to the dealership. I'm extremely upset at the situation and how unreliable my car has become bc even after diagnosis and repairs I will be nervous. Not to mention how terrible this could've been had I have been on a busy road with my children in the car.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While the contact's spouse was driving at a slow speed and making a right turn, the power steering failed. The power steering assist warning indicator illuminated and the steering became very difficult to operate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was skeptical of having the dealer diagnose the vehicle. The contact was concerned that a previous vehicle failure was mis-diagnosed by the dealer. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V514000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.
I am speaking in behalf of my wife [xxx] who is the regular user of the said car. My name is [xxx] the husband of [xxx]. on Friday, March 10, 2017, my wife called me from her work that she said there's something wrong with the said car. She said that she almost caused an accident when she was making a turn on a signal light crossing that when the steering wheel suddenly became stiff (tough) to maneuver. She panicked what to do and she stopped suddenly in that busy crossing that other driver were confused that they have sudden stop as well, but, fortunately no one was committed accident. My wife said, for a minutes after, she managed to moved the car and drove back to her work parking area as she struggled to steer the car. I went to check the car and it says in the dash board " steering assist fault.. service required. This is the scenario, the car is safety hazard to drive. My wife develop a nervous breakdown what she had experience very badly on that incident. She does not want to drive the car no more for the anxiety that might cause an accident if that things happened again while she is driving in the freeway... of which most of the time she's in the freeway going to work and back home. Indeed, when I test drove the car, I cant believe it myself that almost you can not move the steering wheel. Please investigate this matter and have the car inspected by your department to evaluate the defect of the car that is a safety hazard to drive when that " electric power steering assist " shut down. Appreciated for your concern for public safety. The car is parked right now in front of my residence. Your inspector can come anytime to do the inspection. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering suddenly failed and caused the steering wheel to become extremely difficult to turn. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V514000(steering). The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 47,000.
After driving about 10 minutes, I thought I heard a grinding noise after stopping at a stoplight on a major four lane road in rush hour traffic. When I started turning left onto a windy two lane highway, I initially didn't hear a grinding noise, and then distinctly heard it as I completed the turn. The steering wheel became very loose, then suddenly extremely tight and very difficult to turn left or right on the road placing me in a life threatening situation. I immediately attempted to call the dealership by my house and was unable to reach them. After calling the Ford dealership who last serviced my vehicle, I was advised to bring the car in immediately and be extremely careful while driving. He stated there may be an extended warranty covering repair. I drove the car to the dealership by my house who informed me of the door latch recall as well. After being told the next day the power steering rack/gearbox was defective and it would be $1800 to repair, I called Ford customer service who was of no service. I received a call from a Ford regional manager offering for me to pay a portion of the cost. I declined and requested speaking with their supervisor based on this being a problem Ford is aware of and has yet to reconcile. Furthermore, Ford placed responsibility on the dealership to make an offer for repair when this is a manufacturer issue. The dealership has been the only reasonable and understanding entity to date. I bought this car brand new to get me to and from work, and eventually give to my 17 daughter. I'm active duty military and appalled Ford has the audacity to not repair a life threatening issue. Although I have the strength to steer the vehicle on a two lane, winding road, my daughter would not!
Steering completely failed twice, once in traffic. This posed a significant safety risk to the general public and the vehicle. Failure caused significant contact with curb on roadside. Speed was app. 35 mph. Occurred on highway 100 in milwaukee county, wi. Second failure happened shortly after Ford dealer reprogramed steering system due to intermittent steering failures. During this instance steering failed when car was started (this happened just prior to the most significant issue which was the steering failure in traffic). Car was less than 1,000 miles out of warranty thus causing significant out of pocket repairs costs.
After going through a bump on a residential street at 30 mph the steering became very difficult to control the car. I was less than one mile from home and managed with great difficulty to make it to my home. Complete steering failure, there is no way to drive the car. Very glad it was me driving and not my daughter as this happened in a curve. The car has 43,000 miles on it. Over 600 complaints about this electronic power steering system and since it is out of warranty the repairs are expected to be at least $2,000. What is NHTSA doing about this problem. It is pretty obvious to me there is a problem and an emergency recall needs to be issued. Ford and it's local dealers are unwilling to address the problem. What's going to take NHTSA! to get this problem fixed.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving at slow speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V514000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
Following my low tire pressure indicator coming on, I noticed the power steering issue as I was pulling into a parking spot, and my steering wheel made a squeaking or whining sound. Later, while driving on a city street, as I began to make a turn, my steering wheel started hesitating, and making a gear stripping noise; the steering column locked up and when I tried to turn the wheel it made a loud squeaking sound. Also, my transmission shutters whenever I accelerate and slow down. The transmission issue was initially repaired via a software update before the warranty expired, but it has since started to malfunction again.
The contact owned a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving 70 mph with the cruise control activated, the steering wheel vibrated when the cruise control was deactivated. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed and deemed a total loss at the salvage yard. The police was notified but the contact was unaware if a report was filed. The contact was taken to the hospital by ambulance for observation of chest pains. The air bags did not deploy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 55,000.
Warning light came on stating "steering assist fault".. we lost all power steering while driving the car. We were able to get the car into a rest area off the highway. We had no power steering and it made it very difficult to operate the car. The steering gear needed to be replaced at 36,900 miles at a cost of $2,121.74. Ford customer service was no help at all to me. They were suppose to return calls within 4 hours and it took me 10 days until I was able to get a call back.there currently is no recall but 900 miles past warranty I would not expect this to happen.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving around a curve at 25 mph, the steering wheel seized and there was an abnormal noise coming form the vehicle. The contact reduced speed to 10 mph due to being concerned for their safety. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering gear box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,100.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor reapired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering); however the VIN was not provided. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle began to vibrate severely. The contact pulled the vehicle to the side of the road to switch off and restart the vehicle, but noticed that the steering wheel required more force to maneuver. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V514000 (steering). The failure mileage was 24,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hillsville, VA, USA