What 3,789 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Focus Bev

The vehicle believes a door (Driver's side in this case) is ajar when it is in fact completely latched. This issue is intermittent and repeats several times during a short (10 min) trip. When the issue occurs the vehicle unlocks all doors (central unlocking) and turns on the dome light. When it randomly thinks the door is shut it will lock all the doors and turn the light off. This process repeats at random intervals. Unlocking the doors while driving is dangerous, especially for those of us who have children. I have engaged the child locks as a mitigation step. The dome light coming on randomly at night creates a distraction and degrades driver visibility.

NHTSA ODI 11429542

Power steering was intermittent starting in 2014, usually on hot days or when driving for an extended period of time. By intermittent, I mean it would have power assist, then none, while driving with only a dash indicator "i". Finally, in 2016 the power steering utterly failed. Ford was unable to diagnose the issue if the car was not currently in the failed state. Ford wants the entire electronic power steering module replaced. Forums have indicated this is a known deficiency in heat-shielding the electronics within the module and failures while driving could lead to accidents and death.

NHTSA ODI 11429541

Transmission is dangerous. Vehicle stutters through 1st gear continuously, as if the clutch is constantly slipping. This is most prevalent on hot days. The only way to get around this condition is to floor it from stop. This hesitation and unreliable application of power could cause accidents as the afflicted vehicle tries to turn onto a road where traffic does not stop. I have developed the habit of expecting my vehicle to basically die during the turn, and thus will not turn without a very large (sometimes unreasonable) margin of time to clear the turn. This hesitation may also increase the risk of being rear-ended by another vehicle who expects the afflicted vehicle to accelerate as normal. This transmission issue is part of a class-action settlement with Ford, arbitrated by CAP Motors under Ford PowerShift Transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11429543

I was driving down the freeway in the middle lane and all of a sudden my car went into neutral and I could not get rpm's to go past 1500 and I was stuck with rush hour traffic blowing horns at me and I coasted to a stop could not get over to the breakdown lane so I sat in the lane till a man in a pickup pushed me over to the side of the road. I had no money for a tow so I called a friend to come and help me get it home we pulled the car to my house and I started trying to figure out what is wrong, internet said the other Ford Focus problem is in the clutch actuators and to replace both top and bottom and that would fix the problem well none of the parts houses had a listing for clutch actuators so I went on Ebay and found several for all different prices I checked with the Ford dealership and they had them for $160.00 per actuator, too much for my budget so I purchased two actuators from Ebay after waiting a week for them to be delivered I installed them and it did not work same problem check engine light stayed on and my hand held checker even after clearing the trouble code P0805 came back and here I set no car I called the ford dealership and they said it would be a month or longer before I could even get an appointment and it would cost several hundred dollars to fix my car. I am very upset over this whole ordeal. I have been looking on the internet and it appears that the 2012 Ford Focus is one of the worst vehicles and it has many problems and what I went through it is a very dangerous vehicle to be on the road!

NHTSA ODI 11428163

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to operate properly. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and the steering wheel resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that a diagnostic test was needed to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred twenty times. The contact felt it was unsafe to drive the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the contact with a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000

NHTSA ODI 11428054

The transmission clutch had a recall. It was repaired . 14,000 miles, 2.5 years later the same problem arose. Ford denied anything being wrong with it. Took it into dealership for a different recall and the slipping occurred again which wasn’t there when previously taken in. When bought car, salesman stated that was the normal way the car ran.

NHTSA ODI 11427494

Transmission Control Module failed. Check engine warning light came on, vehicle began to lose power, so I pulled over. When I attempted to put the car in reverse, it would not respond. Car had to be put in neutral, pushed onto the street before it would go into ‘Drive’. Car was sluggish and would only go a maximum speed of 20mph. Dealer has confirmed that the TCM is faulty. There were no prior warning lights or incidents to indicate that there was a problem - the check engine light came on and there was an immediate loss of power and no reverse. Ford Motor Company customer service has been contacted, but they refuse to do a warranty repair because the warranty was exceeded by 1 month by the time I was able to get a diagnosis by the dealership. The car is well below the covered 150,000 warranty on the TCM. There are 126,672 actual miles on the car as of 7/29/2021. There currently is a class action lawsuit because of these TCM issues with Ford Focus vehicles. The TCM replacement part is currently back ordered and has been for weeks, according to the parts manager at the dealership. Since that is the case, I am unable to get this vehicle repaired, or even get a good estimate when a part may become available, therefore, I don’t yet have any repair receipts to provide at this time.

NHTSA ODI 11427189

This has happened 5 times and good thing it hasn’t happened while driving or that could cause a bad accident. The steering assist light has come on when I’m sitting in my driveway and start my car and when I turn the wheel it won’t move it’s locked. so I’ve shut off my car and restart it and then the wheel will turn. I see this is a problem for many people this is definitely not safe and should be recalled.

NHTSA ODI 11426934

Car stumblinhg, shuttering and hesitates. Woodhouse Ford replaced or worked on my transmission in 2017 but apparently the parts were either faulty or they did not repair properly. I do not feel as if I should have to spend the money to have a faulty part replaced again after just four years and considering this has been an issue in 2012 Ford Focuse's and Ford is completely aware of the transmission problems I feel as if I a being ripped off. My car needs to be fixed for free along with the door latches that are currently on recall and the dealership refusing to replace them.

NHTSA ODI 11427044

Our Ford Focus BEV had a recall in 2014 (Ford# 15N03) It is a high voltage wire harness issue. The car will completely cut power to the drivetrain and shut down leaving a message on the dash saying "Stop Safely Now". We took it in for the fix in 2014 however the issue still continued after about a year and continues still. My wife just had this happen to her with the kids in the car. This issue puts the driver and passengers in very serious danger when the car just stops responding while moving in traffic. Ford said they would not recall the issue since the issue was "fixed" and that wire harness was only good for a 1 year warranty which expired in 2015. I am hoping Ford will do the right thing and fix this issue for good. Thanks for your help in this matter. -Dave

NHTSA ODI 11426370

I started having a lot of issues with balance and the vehicle bouncing while driving. I replaced the inner and outer tie rods. Suddenly, on the way to get an alignment, I got a warning on my screen that stated “STEERING LOSS STOP SAFELY”. I was told by a mechanic that the electronic rack and pinion needed replaced. Doing research on this problem, I find that this is actually an extremely common issue with this year make and model. The vehicle had to be towed back to my residence costing me $125! If I had not been an experienced driver, this could have been a very deadly situation as I was traveling at 65mph at the time that I lost steering.

NHTSA ODI 11426057

Electric Steering Assist light came on and off a few times over the past 2 weeks. As of this writing it is on permanently and steering the vehicle is now done without power assist. As a man I am able to drive but the rest of my family and wife are no longer able to operate the vehicle as to the difficulty in turning the wheel.

NHTSA ODI 11425654

This cars braking system is inconsistent enough to cause major damage or death. The ABS module sticks the same as in Fords previous recall "fsa 19s54" for 2006-2010 models Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ. They recalled a part causing ABS braking issues on those models and the EXACT same issue is happening in my 2012 Focus and will cost upwards of $2000 to fix, essentially making the car a lemon and not worth fixing. When the ABS fires as you brake over rough surfaces or bumps or rain, the brake pedal goes very deep and almost loses all braking ability. I had to swerve into another lane to avoid someone and was lucky enough that no oncoming traffic was there. Thankfully I'm a good enough driver not to have crashed. They can't stop making a car in an effort to avoid past carelessness. They must issue a recall or reimburse people for the part itself "ABS module" which is now 1.5 months backordered. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11425693

The transmission shuddering and slipping. The car has 160,000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11425387

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel ceased, and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the steering wheel was locked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed as power steering motor failure. The dealer replaced the power steering rack. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was 66,103.

NHTSA ODI 11425521

Upon accelerating the car vibrates and hesitates. I was almost hit entering an interstate due to this hesitation. It "feels" like it is slipping. I did return it to the place of purchase and they sent it to a Ford dealership. The used car lot indicated that Ford did a computer reset. It seemed better for a short bit, long enough for the computer to "relearn" driving habits and it began again, only worse this time.

NHTSA ODI 11424922

First the dashboard panel went out , came back on several times , then it refused to start on the first and second tries , nothing just dead . Then the transmission was acting like it was slipping for no reason just when you stopped suddenly , then reverse went out with no warning . Check engine light came on . Now it won't crank and codes says it's a electrial problem . Low milage on this car . Why has it not been recalled ?

NHTSA ODI 11424545

Somethings going on with the Fuel injectors when I’m at a red light it seems like the car is ready to turn off. When the light turned green and I try to accelerate it jerks.. I went to for dealership (Ford) they stated it was the transmission brackets m, so I got that fix. but that’s wasn’t it so I decided To look up the recall information it shows that these cars have issues with the fuel injectors and the vacuum So ect. I keep putting it in the shop and they keep telling me different things and at this point I’m getting tired of paying money for something that isn’t the issue I Call Myself buying a car for my son to head off to college (upper state NY) 2nd year but I have to make sure it’s safe for him to travel I have been broken down thank god for Triple A and at this point I’m out of options attach is a recall sheet that came with the warranty I’m looking to purchase

NHTSA ODI 11424668

While driving the transmission light turned on, the car lost power, and began to sputter. I pulled over stopped the car, turned off the car, restarted the car, drove the car, and while driving it started to sputter again. After I arrived at my destination, let it sit for 8 hours, the car drove without issue but the transmission light continued to display. It seems dangerous to drive since loss of power could result in an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11423995

My car was sitting ,in the driveway of my,home it was t-boned after which it spun around 90 degrees,it was damaged severely.The air bags did not deploy,I think they should've deployed. The car went to the shop and it has not been properly repaired,the body is structurally distorted ,and some of the mechanisms related to suspension and the trailing axle aren't properly installed or repaired.

NHTSA ODI 11423843

Was in frontal/near frontal collision at 20-25mph. No airbags deployed.

NHTSA ODI 11423361

Started the vehicle, it reported a transmission error and repair immediately message - the first indication of a problem. Drove home and made appointment to have transmission looked at. The car drove ok most of the way, then the transmission just slipped and died on the road in the middle of a construction site blocking traffic. After several minutes (after on site police called for a tow), the car restarted and was able to limp the last 1/4 mile or so to the shop. The transmission specialist referred me to Ford as they can't get the tools, suspected electrical. Towed to Ford. After waiting nearly 2 weeks for a diagnosis that only took several minutes, it was determined to be the transmission control module. It's a known issue and the warranty for this part is extended, however (1) if it had died on a major highway instead of a town road could have been a huge safety issue and (2) it's a known problem but Ford won't replace until it occurs, yet they have zero national stock and no idea when parts will be available.

NHTSA ODI 11422898

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the steering wheel ceased. The contact was unaware if there was a warning light illuminated. The contact cruised slowly in reverse out of the parking space but continued experiencing the failure while she drove to the used car dealer. The contact stated that the used car dealer took the vehicle to the local dealer and the local dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11422979

The power steering electric assist failed when pulling into cross-traffic, narrowing avoiding broadside high-speed collusion. Have intermittantly expereinced power steering failure at vehicle start in the past, but never during vehicle operation in traffic. It is a known issue with several Ford vehicles in the 2011-2013 range, but Focus has been excluded from recalls addressing this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11422772

Just got transmission recall fixed and having problems again

NHTSA ODI 11422384