At least 4 times in the last couple of months, upon starting the car there was the message "steering assist fault" and I could not turn the wheel. It went away after I turned the car off and restarted. However, I am concerned: If it happened any time other than when parked this could be fatal.

- Cumming, GA, USA

My power steering shut down without warning while stationary. Thank I was not turning in front of traffic and did not have a customer in my car. My employment is driving. Oh and just two days prior the transmission computer was replaced. It shut down without warning. Stopped for gas came out and car would not start.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

I started my car and began pulling out of my parking space when the car steering became very hard to steer, the car felt like it was going to stall out, and an error message came on that said "steering assist failure service required". I had not fully pulled out of my parking space, so I turned off the car and let it sit for a few minutes. I started the car again, and the message did not appear when I began driving the 2nd time. I am very scared that this could happen while I am driving on a busy road and cause an accident. I have seen several other Ford cars being recalled due to this issue for the same year, but not the Focus. I have also seen numerous complaints online for this same issue. This steering assist failure needs to be investigated and recalled for safety of 2012 Ford Focus drivers, their passengers, and other drivers on the road.

- Newport News, VA, USA

Sync module failed. Costing $1000 to fix. A smog part failure resulted in Ford wanting 2000 to repair and replace the fuel tank. The clutch fails to engage on low speed turns creating a loss of control. Ford fixed with the recall. Steering fault detected making it near impossible to steer the car. Recall is available on other models but not Focus. Another 1000 to fix it. Ford is unsafe!

- Roseville, CA, USA

When I start the car initially I can't turn the wheel of the car. I have to tug on it to get it to turn eventually. I'm afraid that I'll be driving in the power steering will go out. Also have been having troubles with the transmission slipping. They say my car has too many miles to qualify for the clutch recall that Ford has put out. I don't see what this has to do with a malfunction saying I've had troubles with it since I bought this car. Both of these issues are safety issues. I have no money to replace this stuff. So I don't understand why Ford won't work with people on this there needs to be a recall on the steering as I seen many others complaining about it. And they need to suck it up and take the expenditure of replacing all of these crutches that they have a recall on regardless of mileage. Sometimes my seatbelt comes loose after I clicked it. I have to latch it while trying to drive. I'm tired of this car. I'll never buy from Ford again. I've been having problems with this car since I bought it. And have informed the dealership that we bought it from and they clean there is nothing wrong with it period after taking it too but it's going to cost me $3,000.

- Salina, KS, USA

Was beginning to get steering fault warning lights back in little over a year ago. It would correct and wouldn't come on till later in time. Probably had 6-8 occurrences. About two weeks ago I had no steering at all. Took it to my local mechanic and they said the electronic assist has failed and the entire rack & pinion needed replace. The complaints are similar especially with in the last year. Attention needs to be given to this since even other Ford cars are having the same problem and being recalled. I called Ford and they said there is no recall or necessarily the same problems that I have with my car. They said I would have to take it to a Ford dealer to have it 'properly diagnose' to determine if 'my' issue correlates with the common ones out there. That also will cost me money for diagnostic. If they read all the complaints on the NHTSA they will see it is common. My mechanic tells me it is going to coat me $1900 to replace. The part at Ford alone is $1200. We shouldn't wait till someone gets hurt to see the obvious that it is a problem. I noticed 3 more complaints for the same problem since I have checked it at the NHTSA a couple of days ago. Ford, consider the consequences if this isn't properly addressed.

- Wildomar, CA, USA

When I go to turn my car on the dash reads steering malfunction and the wheel won't turn. Once I have restarted my car the steering works again. There is no recall on this and there is no warranty coverage it cost me $197 to get my car reprogrammed so it won't happen again. Seems like a waste of money just to get it reprogrammed so I don't get into an accident.

- Klamath Falls, OR, USA

Steering wheel became hard to move and while driving it locked up, I had to use all my force to get wheel to make a slight movement. The car left me stranded due to unable to driving, steering wheel is stuck. It happened in a busy main street.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

4/01/2017 - started up the car and get a warning message that "steering assist fault. Service required." Lost power steering, need a lot of effort to steer while drive is park. Turn engine off and turn it back on again, power steering restored, work normally. Then happen again 9/23/2017 (turn off and on engine to resolve). But today (10/16/2017), the same symptom and this time, turn on and off engine does not clear the problem. Ford dealer said need to pay $2600 to replace the steering rack to fix the issue.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

The power steering to the vehicle just went out while I was driving. I was able to make it home but have been unable to get it repaired due to wait time. During this time I struck an object in the road that was a dead deer because I could not maneuver to avoid hitting the deer. I was driving the vehicle on the highway at the time. The power steering assist light came on after it went out.

- Bedford, VA, USA

Steering assist malfunction when starting the car, rendering power steering unusable. Happens randomly. Previously went away with restarting of the vehicle, but is now permanent.

- Memphis, TN, USA

Received spurious steering assist failure alarms until it failed completely at start up. Several of these occurred while driving and caused the loss of power steering and almost caused accidents for my daughter. This car only has 32K miles. Took to tallahassee Ford and was quoted $2154 to repair. After negotiation, final price was still $1830.

- Hickroy, NC, USA

Steering assist failure occurred three times-once in the street, once in our driveway, and once in our garage. In each instance, frestarting the car returned operation to normal.

- Florence, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. Upon starting the vehicle, "steering wheel fault" displayed on the instrument panel and the power steering failed. The contact was unable to turn the steering wheel left or right. The vehicle was taken to randy marion Ford Lincoln (1011 folger dr, statesville, nc 28625 (704) 235-6214) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear module assembly needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 74,000.

- Statesville, NC, USA

Power steering fault vehicle suffers from electronic steering faults at random. This appears to be a common defect with the model year 2012 and is not covered under a recall. When starting the vehicle from a stationary position, the power steering will not engage. Power cycling the car a few times will initialize the steering control for the time being. I haven't experienced the issue at speed as of yet, but am concerned.

- La Vista, NE, USA

I have taken my car to Ford multiple times saying my steering felt "tight" or I would have to jerk it back into turning because it would get "stuck" while turning. My steering also "freezes" in cold weather. My steering wheel won't move at all when temp dropped below 42 degrees. I would have to warm car up to get it to unfreeze. My steering totally stopped working 2 nights ago. No light came on, no codes, it just stopped turning. Luckily I was on my street going 25mph, but trying to get it to turn into my driveway was very hard. When I came to a stop I got a warning there is a steering failure and to stop safely. I now have a car in my driveway that I can't move because steering won't move. I have to go to Ford again and see what they saw, then have it towed there. I have heard it is $1200 to fix. I don't have that kind of money. I am on ssdi, and only can work pt. I can't sell it because of negative equity, and no gap insurance. Ford, please recall this! someone is going to die. I use highway every day, and I could've serioulsy hurt strangers. This is the worst thing that can happen to a car.

- Willowick, OH, USA

My 2012 Ford Focus SE only has 57,000 miles on it and the power steering has gone out multiple times. Luckily so far it's only gone out while putting the car in reverse and at a low rate of speed but I've read hundreds of reports online about power steering suddenly losing power while at high rates of speed. I have a 2 year old son and this is my only vehicle. The 2012 Ford Fusion with the exact same power steering system was recalled. Why wasn't the Focus recalled" what will it take to have someone take care of this? will someone have to die for someone to do a recall? the average fix for this part is $1500. As a single mom please tell me how I'm supposed to afford that and even if I get it fixed who's to say it won't go out in another 50,000 miles" Ford needs to suck it up and recall this part before they have a major lawsuit on their hands.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

I own a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving at varying speeds, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn left or right. I have taken it in to a Ford dealership for diagnostics this past week, however, they simply blew me off, stating that there was recall for the problem. I took the vehicle to my private mechanic yesterday and his diagnosis was that the electronic epas module within the power steering system failed. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000 miles. I have had the four tires replaced also yesterday and I got merely some relief from the stiff steering wheel when driving fast, as opposed to when I drive slowly. In fact, the steering stiffens completely when moving the vehicle from a parked position.

- Houston, TX, USA

I started the engine of my Ford Focus and a warning light came on that said steering assist malfunction. At this time, I noticed that my steering wheel would not turn. My car was in park. I then tried putting my car in reverse and turning the wheel. It also would not turn. I then put my car back in drive and returned to my parking space. I shut the car off. A bit later on, I restarted the engine to see if the problem would reoccur. No warning light came on and I was able to turn the wheel just fine. I had the car towed to a Ford dealership because I was afraid to drive it. The mechanic at the dealership informed me that the same event occurred for him one time, but then never again. He also was unable to find anything wrong with the steering during his investigation of it. I would like this matter looked into because it is a safety issue. Also, there must be a malfunction somewhere in the steering for this to happen.

- Lewiston, ME, USA

I was driving to work when my steering assist fault light came on all of a sudden I had no control of my steering in my car luckily I was able to run off the grassy part of the road to stop. I have been reading other complaints about faulty power steering problems in 2012 Ford Focus. I'm thankful I was able to stop my car safely but someone else may not be so lucky. Please recall this problem before more people lose their life's over something can needs to be fixed cause there is a problem here.

- Odenville, AL, USA