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

RANDOMLY ALERTED TO "STEERING ASSIST MALFUNCTION" ON START UP OR WHEN FIRST STARTING ON DRIVE. SEIZING OF STEERING TO EXTREME DIFFICULTY IN TURNING WHEEL MAKING TURN NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. IF CAR TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED(BETWEEN 1-3 TIMES), CODE GOES AWAY AND CAR RETURNS TO NORMAL. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY THOUGH UNABLE TO PREDICT.I OWN 2012 FOCUS. 117,000 MILES.I SEE SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON NHSTA WEBSITE IS THIS RELATED TO THE 2011-2013 FUSION RECALL?

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STEERING HAS BECOME STIFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALERSHIP WHERE TECHNICIANS CONFIRMED ELECTRONIC POWER ASSISTED STEERING (EPAS) CORROSION WAS THE ROOT OF THE STIFFNESS. HOWEVER, FORD CUSTOMER CARE STATED THIS REPAIR WOULD NOT BE COVERED BECAUSE THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED AND THAT THERE ARE NO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAMS COVERING MY VIN.

NHTSA ODI 11277602

ON 10/26/2019 I WAS BACKING THE CAR OUT THE DRIVEWAY, AND AS I WAS ABOUT TO START TURNING I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED ON ME, AND PREVENT ME FROM PROCEEDING ON TO MY ROUTE. I MANAGED TO QUICKLY GET IN BACK ON TO THE DRIVEWAY AND NARROWLY MISSED GETTING HIT BY A CAR COMING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. ONCE I GOT THE CAR BACK ON PARK I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF THINKING IT WOULD RESET ANY PROBLEM, BUT WHEN I TURNED IT BACK ON THE "STEERING ASSIST FAULT " NOTIFICATION CAME BACK ON. I PROCEEDED TO CONTINUE TURNING THE CAR OFF, AND BACK ON, AS WELL AS PLACING IT NEUTRAL, DRIVE, AND REVERSING IT AGAIN BUT THE STEERING WHEEL STAYED LOCKED. AFTER BEING UNABLE TO FIND A SOLUTION I SEARCHED ONLINE TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM, AND FOUND MANY TESTIMONIALS DATING BACK YEARS! OF PEOPLE HAVING THEIR LIVES PUT AT RISK DUE TO THIS PROBLEM.I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND MYSELF IN A SAFE LOCATION WHEN THIS HAPPENED, BUT NOW I FIND MYSELF WITH A TOWING BILL OF 85 DOLLARS, AS WELL AS A BILL OF 2,000 DOLLARS (THAT I DO NOT HAVE) TO FIX THE PROBLEM, AND WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM THAT PUTS LIVES IN DANGER, AS WELL AS ECONOMICALLY DEBILITATING. SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE DOING SOMETHING TO FIX IT!

NHTSA ODI 11277357

LOSS OF POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING, MY SPEED WAS 60MPH, NO WARNING ALL OF SUDDEN I COULDN'T TURN OR MANEUVER THE STEERING WHEEL. VERY DANGEROUS

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FOCUS. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND THE STEERING ASSIST WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.

NHTSA ODI 11271450

POWER STEERING FAILED 10.26.2019. WIFE HAD MENTIONED TO SERVICE ADVISOR THAT SHE HAD A WARNING MSG ABOUT A YEAR AGO DURING A NORMAL SERVICING OF HER VEHICLE AND ASKED FOR SOMEONE TO DO A CHECK ON IT. THE RESULT WAS NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE EPAS AND THERE WAS NO WRITTEN INSTRUCTION ON HER SERVICE INVOICE WHICH IS ODD, BECAUSE SHE SPECIFICALLY ASK THAT THE EPAS BE CHECK WHILE THEY WERE DOING HER OIL CHANGE. OVER THE LAST YEAR THE WARNING MSG CAME BACK USUALLY DURING EXTREME CHANGES OF WEATHER. MY WIFE CALLED THE DEALER WHERE SHE HAS SERVICE WORK DONE TO REPORT ADDITIONAL WARNING MSGS. THE SERVICE REP ASKED MY WIFE TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE MSG WAS AND WHEN IT OCCURRED. THE SERVICE REP ACTED AS IF HE HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM BUT SAID HE WOULD NOTE IT. THIS FAILURE ON 10.26.2019 OCCURRED WHEN I JUST LEFT HOME. I WAS ABLE TO RETURN HOME AND PARK IN THE DRIVEWAY. I CANNOT IMAGINE MY WIFE TRYING TO DRIVE WITH THIS PROBLEM THAT HAPPENS WITH NO WARNING. I'VE GREW UP DRIVING CARS W/O POWER STEERING, BUT THIS EPAS FAILURE IS BEYOND ANYTHING SHE COULD HANDLE. I AM THANKFUL I WAS DRIVING AT THE TIME. IT IS VERY UNNERVING NOT TO MENTION VERY DANGEROUS AT ANY SPEED. REMEMBER THE CORVAIR?

NHTSA ODI 11271462

YESTERDAY I TURNED MY CAR ON AND WAS ALERTED TO A 'STEERING ASSIST MALFUNCTION.' WHEN THIS WARNING HAS COME ON BEFORE, I'VE TURNED THE CAR OFF/ON AGAIN AND THE WHEEL EVENTUALLY UNLOCKS. BUT YESTERDAY THE WHEEL STAYED LOCKED AND I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO FORD DEALERSHIP. DEALERSHIP (VISALIA, CA FORD) SAYS THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY FOR CLOSE TO $2800. THEY WEREN'T AWARE OF ANY RECALL FOR THE ISSUE. I'VE NEVER HAD THE WARNING COME ON WHILE DRIVING ON SURFACE STREETS OR HIGHWAYS, BUT I BELIEVE IT HAS COME ON AS I'VE STARTED MY VEHICLE AND PUT IT IN DRIVE OR REVERSE. MY FOCUS HAS APPROXIMATELY 130,000 MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ODI 11271543

IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2019, MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT 4 SEPARATE TIMES, WITH ABOUT A WEEK BETWEEN EACH INCIDENT. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, I STARTED MY CAR IN THE MORNING AND AN INFORMATION BOX POPPED UP IN THE DASH AND STATED THAT THERE WAS A POWER STEERING FAULT. AS I BACKED OUT OF THE DRIVE WAY THOUGH THE WARNING DISAPPEARED, AND THE POWER STEERING RE-ENGAGED. THE OTHER THREE TIMES IT WENT OUT WERE ALL IN THE MORNING AS WELL, BUT THE POWER STEERING DID NOT COME BACK ON AS I WAS BACKING OUT. I HAD TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND RESTART IT IN ORDER FOR THE POWER STEERING TO COME BACK ON. SO FAR IN OCTOBER 2019, THE INCIDENT HAS REPEATED 3 TIMES. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN THE MORNING, AND THE INCIDENT WAS RESOLVED BY RE-STARTING THE CAR. THE SECOND TIME WAS A NEARLY IDENTICAL INCIDENT, BUT THIS TIME HAPPENED IN THE AFTERNOON AS I WAS PREPARING TO LEAVE WORK. THE THIRD INCIDENT HAPPENED AT 8:35 A.M. ON MONDAY OCTOBER 28. THIS TIME, EVEN RE-STARTING THE CAR WOULD NOT GET THE POWER STEERING TO RE-ENGAGE. I DROVE THE CAR TO WORK WITHOUT POWER STEERING, AND UPON STARTING THE CAR TO RETURN HOME, THE INCIDENT PERSISTED. AT THIS TIME (8:59 P.M. ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 28). THE POWER STEERING HAS NOT RE-ENGAGED.

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THE POWER STEERING RECENTLY STARTED FAILING ON OUR 2012 FORD FOCUS INTERMITTENTLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS THE CAR IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. ONLINE OTHER OWNERS REPORT FAILURES OCCURRING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITHOUT ADVANCE NOTICE. THIS ISSUE WAS ALSO REPORTED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES IN 2015 (HTTPS://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2015/12/25/AUTOMOBILES/FORD-FOCUS-STEERING-PROBLEM-PROMPTS-MANY-COMPLAINTS-BUT-NO-INQUIRY.HTML) OUR ISSUE HAS ONLY PRESENTED ITSELF TO DATE WHEN STARTING THE ENGINE, WITH THE ABILITY TO RESET AFTER TURNING OFF THE CAR AND THEN BACK ON A FEW MOMENTS LATER. THE REPAIRS INCLUDE REMOVING THE STEERING MODULE ELEMENT AT A COST OF ROUGHLY $3,000, MORE THAN HALF OF THE RESALE VALUE OF THE CAR. FORD DOES NOT HAVE A RECALL ON THIS DEVICE AS OF MY INTERACTIONS THIS WEEK.

NHTSA ODI 11270912

I WAS DRIVING ON A TENNESSEE STATE HIGHWAY, GOING ABOUT 66 MILES PER HOUR WHEN THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY WENT OUT. IT WAS VERY VERY HARD TO GET THE CAR OVER TO A SHOULDER AND AVOID A WRECK. IT HAS SINCE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER AND NEEDED A TOW. THERE WAS NO INDICATION ANYTHING WAS WRONG, AND JUST SUDDENLY WENT OUT AND HAS NOT BEEN RIGHT SINCE.

NHTSA ODI 11270506

POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING. DASH HAS A WARNING THAT SAYS POWER ASSIST FAULT CONTACT SERVICE CENTER. CAR IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER. I WAS PULLING THE VEHICLE INTO A PARKING SPOT AND HAND TO SLAM THE BRAKES TO STOP FROM HITTING ANOTHER CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11269379

I OWN A 2012 FORD FOCUS THAT HAS EXPERIENCES A MULTITUDE OF ISSUES. HOWEVER, I AM SPECIFICALLY WRITING TODAY ABOUT THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKING UP. IT HAPPENS WHEN I FIRST START THE CAR UP, OFTEN TIMES REQUIRING ME TO SHUT THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTING. THE CAR WILL ALSO NOTE A 'STEERING WHEEL MALFUNCTION' ERROR MESSAGE. I'VE REACHED OUT TO FORD WHO WILL NOT REPAIR.

NHTSA ODI 11269126

STEERING ASSIST FAULT. THIS ISSUES IS COVERED UNDER SEVERAL OTHER RECALLS. MY CAR HAS 77KMILES AND SHOULD NOT BE HAVING STEETING ISSUES. MY CAR WAS IN MOTION AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED HOME AND NOW HAVE TO REPLACE A 700$ PART DUE TO FORDS PARTS ISSUES. ALTERING THE MEDIA TO THIS ISSUE. FORD SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUES AND REPAIRS AS THIS IS NO FAULT ON THE DRIVERS PARTS. I WILL BE TAKING THIS UP FURTHER IF THIS I NOT HANDLED AND COVERED UNDER A RECALL.

NHTSA ODI 11268887

STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY LOCKED UP WHILE DRIVING 55MPH ON THE HIGHWAY.

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SCRAPING NOISE COMING FROM ELECTRONIC STEERING COMPONENT. SIMILAR ISSUES DESCRIBED ON LINE. SEEMS LIKE A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM.

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POWER STEERING DOES NOT ENGAGE WHEN STARTING THE CAR. IF IT'S SHUT DOWN AND RESTARTED IT USUALLY RESETS. ONLY HAPPENS AT INITIAL STARTUP SO FAR, BUT I'M CONCERNED IT'S GETTING MORE FREQUENT. IT DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY RHYME OR REASON AS TO WHY. OR WHERE IT HAPPENS. THANKFULLY IT'S FIXED WITH RESTARTING SO FAR.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FOCUS. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE POWER STEERING SEIZED INTERMITTENTLY AND THE POWER STEERING FAILURE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MATT BOWERS FORD (3724 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD, METAIRIE, LA 70002, (504) 887-8410) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING CHIP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $3,000. THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V340000 (STEERING). THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE RECALL WAS LINKED TO SEVERAL OTHER FORD VEHICLE'S; HOWEVER, THE FORD FOCUS WAS NOT INCLUDED DESPITE EXPERIENCING THE SAME FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FOCUS. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, "ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST FAULT" AND "SERVICE REQUIRED" APPEARED ON THE MESSAGE BOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO PERRY FORD OF NATIONAL CITY (2050 NATIONAL CITY BLVD, NATIONAL CITY, CA 91950) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 64,000.

NHTSA ODI 11266765

POWER STEERING FAILURE AT STARTUP. INITIALLY, THIS WAS INTERMITTENT AND RESTARTING THE CAR WOULD SOLVE THE ISSUE. EVENTUALLY, THE POWER STEERING FAILED COMPLETELY DESPITE RESTARTING THE CAR. THE POWER STEERING FAILED ONLY ON STARTUP, NOT WHEN DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 11266903

MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING AND HAD FORTUNATELY JUST PULLED OVER AVOIDING AN ACCIDENT WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL ASSIST LIGHT CAME ON LOCKING UP THE STEERING AND MAKING IT EXTREMELY HARD TO STEER THE VEHICLE. WE GOT IT OVER TO QUICK LANE ( A FORD AFFILIATED SERVICE CENTER BY OUR HOME AND AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE DOCUMENTATION ANALYZED THE PROBLEM AND HAD TO REPLACE THE ELECTRONIC STEERING RACK AND REPROGRAM THE MODULE. THIS COST US $2530.24. I HAVE READ ON THE INTERNET AND AS YOU ARE AWARE THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. WE WERE SURPRISED THERE WAS NO RECALL RELATE TO THIS, AND IF THERE IS I WASN'T AWARE OF OR MADE AWARE OF IT.

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INFORMED THAT THE STEERING ASSIST HAS MALFUNCTIONED AND LOOSE ALL POWER STEERING. LUCKILY SO FAR I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TURN CAR OFF AND RESTART AND HAVE THE STEERING FUNCTION PROPERLY.

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WHEN STARTING THE CAR IN THE MORNINGS, A WARNING MESSAGE APPEARS ON THE DASHBOARD: "STEERING ASSIST DISABLED". THE WHEEL BECOMES VERY HARD TO TURN AND IT IS NOT SAFE TO ATTEMPT TO DRIVE. RATHER, I RESTART THE CAR, AND THE MESSAGE GOES AWAY. IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN WHILE I AM DRIVING, ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHWAY TO GET TO SCHOOL, IT COULD RESULT IN A POTENTIAL CRASH. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE, AND NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO.

NHTSA ODI 11265782

I BOUGHT A 2012 FOCUS SEL WITH 43000 MILES ON 1/15/2014. DROVE FROM NC. TO CA. 2 MONTHS LATER AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM THEN 6 MONTHS AFTER HAVING I WOULD GET RANDOM ALERTS SAYING "STEERING ASSIST FAILURE" BUT I COULD TURN OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTED IT AND IT WOULD GO AWAY. WHEN THE MESSAGE CAME UP YOU LOST ALL STEERING ASSIST AND GOES INTO MANUAL. ON THUR. SEPT. 26, 2019, AT 630AM AS I STARTING DRIVING DOING ABOUT 25 MPH IT CAME N AND I LOST ALL STEERING. AS I SLOWED DOWN AND STARTED A TURN THE WHEELS LOCKED UP AND WENT UP THE CURB AND HIT A CINDER BLOCK WALL. NO DAMAGE TO THE WALL OTHER THEN SCRAPPED PAINT. I HAVE LOOKED UP THIS PROBLEM BEFORE AND KNEW MY TIME WAS COMING BUT HOPED FORD WOULD DO THE RIGHT THING AND RECALL THE FOCUS AS WELL AS THE OTHER THEY DID WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. NEXT STEP IS REPORTING IT TO NTSB. I DO NOT HAVE THE $3125.00 TO FIX THIS. YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE CAR INDUSTRY LEARNED FROM THE GM SCREW UP BUT I GUESS NOT.

NHTSA ODI 11258792

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLES POWER STEERING WILL DISENGAGE! PARKED THE VEHICLE AFTER GETTING HOME SAFELY THE CAR NOW SAYS POWER STEERING ASSIST MALFUNCTION AND THE POWER STEERING DOES NOT WORK. I CAN NOT GET ANY ANSWERS FROM FORD!

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BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR OUR GRANDSON TO DRIVE TO WORK. ON SEPT 21 2019 HE WAS LEAVING WORK IN WALMART PARKING LOT WHEN HIS STEERING BECAME TO HARD FOR HIM TO DRIVE. HAD TO GO PICK HIM UP AT 11:00 PM THE ROAD HE DRIVES IS VERY CURVY WOULD HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS FOR HIM TO TRY DRIVING HOME . I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM ITS A SHAME THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO BE INJURED OR KILLED BEFORE FORD MOTOR CO FIXES THIS PROBLEM.

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