What 3,788 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Focus

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start after refueling. The contact had to rev the engine to keep the vehicle running. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who used a code reader and determined that the failure was due to the purge valve and charcoal canister. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

NHTSA ODI 11618636

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving and exceeding 25 MPH, the steering wheel was seized. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11618465

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,242.

NHTSA ODI 11618561

the car steering wheel first said steering fault and then after parking and less than 10 minutes, car hood was still warm, after car turned back on it said steering loss stop safely. this is after over $1300 in repairs and new tires went into the car, same day with less than 2 hours of servicing. The steering wheel in the car can no longer move at all. Not sure what to do at this point. After a few hours of research learned this was a common issue but there has been no recall. Car no longer worth the money or time. Ford used to be reputable but now it has gone down the drain even Ford mechanics don't know what to think or do.This needs to be addressed and fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11615783

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While driving at various speeds, the contact had to manually shift the gear shifter to neutral and then to drive even though the vehicle had an automatic transmission. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that the transmission had failed and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 78,971.

NHTSA ODI 11614781

the transmission is stuttering/slipping when accelerating. it's dangerous when getting onto the interstate trying to get up to highway speeds of 70mph and your transmission isn't shifting the way a automatic transmission should shift. then when letting off the gas and gradually applying the breaks the transmission will downshift to many gears and increase your rpms dramatically, and then sometimes when you think your car should downshift going down a steep hill the car seems to stay in a high gear which then your car picks up speed and you have to heavily use your breaks to slow down hoping your car will downshift to a lower gear to help slow your car down to the safe speed limit. Ford says they'll have to diagnose the car first to see if it's the transmission control module. if it's not then I gotta pay $200.00 for the test. I find that [XXX] cuz im not getting the warning on my console about my transmission acting up or overheating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11611057

On highway with my 18 month old and as a cat merged on ramp I signaled and moved to left lane. I had to move and quickly so that another fast car would not hit me in the rear end where my baby was seated in car seat. In only the 3 seconds I had to make decision which hit would be better for me and my child, my car stuck in the lower gears and I could not speed up to move out of way or pass vehicle parallel my car was losing speed rather than gaining when I pushed in gas to floor

NHTSA ODI 11610355

Yesterday my air conditioner was working fine and today it only blows out hot air I truly believe somebody's tampering with my air conditioner as they were with my 2010 Ford focus also. So my question to you is what do I do and what can I do about the car a/c I truly believe someone's tampering with my cars the air conditioner from a computer program somewhere in yamhill county Oregon.

NHTSA ODI 11609570

Transmission becomes jerky and fails to shift.

NHTSA ODI 11609068

UNKNOWN. I am aware of at least 2 recalls on my vehicle and took it to Long McArthur in Salina to have the recalls fixed in late summer 2023. As of this date, Long McArthur has not notified me the parts have come in to fix the recalls properly and I am still driving unsafely with many check engine lights on constantly and my vehicle making odd sounds. In summer 2023, Long McArthur said the parts were hard to come by and on back order and told me to highly consider buying a new vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11608369

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission clutch bearing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown class action lawsuit. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

NHTSA ODI 11607368

BCM failure due to corrosion. Windscreen wash pump faulty. Fluid leaks into electrical components, travels through wiring, and into the BCM (body control module)

NHTSA ODI 11606837

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced under the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), and after picking up the vehicle, the vehicle shifted into park and inadvertently stalled, almost causing a rear-end collision. The contact also stated that the navigation system and the lights were not working as needed. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 11605111

The vehicle shudders Jerks and feels like it shifts hard I’ve been doing my research I just bought a car with a defective transmission year 2012-2018 I would like it repaired it’s not fair that I’ve spent all my money on this car and it’s a lemon by ford

NHTSA ODI 11604952

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle and attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to immediately start. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the canister purge valve. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The VIN was included, but the vehicle had already been repaired. The failure mileage was 81,000.

NHTSA ODI 11603838

There’s a recall for my transmission but my clutch which is also the cause of my transmission failing and overheating and also stopping in its own in the middle of traffic is a major safety issue that Ford says they don’t have a program for and stated that they can’t fix my transmission due to in the recall it doesn’t mention clutch being repaired. I have the paperwork stating that I need my transmission rebuilt but Ford couldn’t do it due to the clutch not being in the recall but of course I was out of $200 just to get a diagnosis and risk the chance of driving to the Ford company and back home to get my car diagnosed which my car stopped on me once going to the Ford dealership and had to pull to the side due to transmission overheating safety popping up on my dash and saying wait 5 minutes. Today 7/12/24 after picking my car up from Ford I had to manually reset my transmission in order to drive back home which is what I’ve been previously doing every since having this problem my car dash alerted me that my transmission was overheating within driving it for only 2 minutes and just automatically shut down on me in the middle of the intersection. There’s no way for me to put my hazard lights on due to car shutting I had to hurry up and jump out of my car to direct traffic to go around me. Had to wait at least 10 minutes then reset my transmission and tried driving back home but again my car shut off without warning me this time. I feel like Ford isn’t any help when it comes to an issue like this cause this really is a safety issue what if the car behind he wasn’t paying any attention and crashed my rear end even though they’ll be at fault. What if this situation would’ve happened on the highway when traffic is really busy going 70 miles per hour? This is something that needs to be added in the Ford recall program as well with the transmission. Now I’m stuck w/out a car with no job due to not having a reliable person to take me to and from work while my car won’t run

NHTSA ODI 11601600

Driver seatbelt is stuck and doesn't budge. I think I saw an old recall regarding this possibly... Since I've owned the car it hasn't came u jammed not at all a single time.not even moved an inch. I sprayed WD-40 down to it and nothing...

NHTSA ODI 11599984

1) each and every time I pop it fuel into my car, even if I'm just topping it off, when I start it it like starts to bog down like it's clogged or something, then just like that clears up. 2) while car is off, and no keys in ignition at all, my cars dashboard makes this almost clicking sound and I notice the fuel tank and gauge both shot b up to the top then drop back downs, it's strange, 3) sometimes when accelerating from hear the car almost stalks... That's v the only way I'd be by able to describe it

NHTSA ODI 11599985

Car will stall and then completely shut down. And takes awhile to restart. This last time I was on the highway and cars were going so fast. Almost had a panic attack!!

NHTSA ODI 11599857

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated the while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. Additionally, while attempting to drive uphill, the vehicle rolled backwards. During the failure, the message "Transmission Overheated" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the clutch was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 199,152.

NHTSA ODI 11598346

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the transmission hesitated and then jerked into the intended gear. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed clutch failure. The contact was informed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11597028

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted but the vehicle was unable to be shifted into gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11596586

Vehicle won’t start on multiple occasions. Vehicle struggles to turn on and lag to turn off. Vehicle struggles to change gears to speed up

NHTSA ODI 11594231

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the "Transmission Overheating," message was displayed, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch packs. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 165,000.

NHTSA ODI 11593962

I was traveling on a Highway on my way home and as I was turning in a curve at around 40 mph all of a sudden a message came up on my dash that steering assist fault which I didn’t know at the time I was to busy trying not to wreck my steering wheel locked In place coming out of the curve which put me in to the other lane of travel and eventually into a ditch and and thank god not into another vehicle, if there is not some kind of safety recall or major issue that should be a recall the governor or someone should address this immediately I was lucky I did not die. 1. So the system that failed is steering assist fault & yes it is available for inspection. 2 my safety and anyone else that was traveling in oncoming lanes life was in serious risk. 3 the problem is still there can’t get the steering to move to take it anywhere safely. 4 No it has not been inspected by anyone other than my brother to tow it home for me. 5 There was no warning lamps or malfunctions or symptoms at all until the incident happened the steering locked up I heard a tone and when I finally came to a stop these words where on the center dash display. Steering Assist Fault Service required.

NHTSA ODI 11593347