My complaint involves the power steering gear that needed to be replaced in my 2012 Ford Focus. The power steering would fail while parked and driving which put me into a couple very dangerous situations while driving. I am requesting a recall by Ford of the power steering gear.

- Appleton, WI, USA

I started my car in the driveway and I was alerted to the message "steering assist fault, service required" and I was unable to steer my car out of the driveway, it was very hard to move the steering wheel, totally unsafe to drive. My car is out of warranty now. I'll have to pay a hefty $1000-$2000 for this repair. Ford should definitely recall the steering issue in the Ford Focus as there has been hundreds of complaints. It is so unfair to have customers pay this out of pocket when clearly it is a manufacturing defect and not at all caused by the actions of the driver. My 2012 Ford Focus has given me problem after problem in the 2 years I have had it. So frustrated and unhappy with this car.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

The power steering just quits working and the steering wheel locks up while drive. We had to park the vehicle because it just isn't safe to drive, we are either going to get into a head on collision or drive off the road if we drive it like this. There is no check engine light, and Ford won't fix it since it is past warranty, we only have 45,000 mile on this car, it should be safer than this.

- Janesville, CA, USA

Whilst in motion and on a city street, I could no longer control the steering wheel of my vehicle. It resisted my control like it had a mind of its own, and I had to use extreme force to get it to turn where I wanted it to and pull over. Seemed to drift even when going straight. Warning light then appeared on screen that said something like "steering assist malfunction". this malfunction can occur at any moment, and nothing in particular seemed to trigger it. Upon further research, it seems this is a problem many people have had with power steering and has put many in danger.

- San Dimas, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 40 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The contact turned the vehicle off, waited ten seconds, restarted the vehicle, and it returned to normal. The vehicle was taken to mac heik Ford Lincoln (located at 7201 N interstate hwy 35, georgetown, tx 78628, (512) 930-3673) to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: Cas12222912. The approximate failure mileage was 12,225.

- Austin, TX, USA

Driving down my parking garage at work when power steering went out suddenly causing me to struggle to control the vehicle. Nearly hit 3 different cars attempting to pull into a safe place to stop. Had to get towed to Ford dealership as it was not working. Known issue.

- Cary, NC, USA

Power steering assist fault came on right after starting vehicle. Was unable to move the steering wheel. Kept shutting car down and restarting but to no avail. The previous day while on the freeway in commuter traffic day the ongoing transmission problem that 2 different local Ford service centers worked on 3 separate occasions. The 1st time I was told they replaced the transmission. The following times they replace a competent and re-programed it. As soon as I left the service center I could tell nothing was done. I called the service rep back and he said it was "adaptive" and I needed to allow it time to adapt. I was told I had a cracked motor mount. I told him it had to be caused by the violent jerking of the transmission when accelerating regardless of the circumstances. In stop and go city traffic I have been close several times to being rear ended because of its jerking /hesitation/acceleration. Tow truck driver could not move the wheel. Vehicle finally towed to local dealer. My extended warranty has been covering the transmission repairs but was told the safety problem on the steering was not covered under the warranty. I'm told to fork over 2K + to fix the steering before they would attempt servicing the transmission. Ford knows they have problems with steering and transmission but fail to correct them. The steering has been documented about going out on drivers at high rate of speeds on the freeway. Ford is intentionally risking the lives of Focus owners and passengers. This is a serious safety issue that Ford needs to correct now by immediate recall. It's obvious they gave no idea how to correct the transmission problem.

- Carmichael, CA, USA

Lose power steering suddenly and without warning while in motion, causing increased effort needed for steering.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving various speeds, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. Mike bass Ford (located at 5050 detroit road, village of sheffield, oh) was contacted and diagnosed that the battery was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,289.

- Lorain, OH, USA

While backing out of our garage I noticed a strange noise when I turned the steering wheel. The same noise occurred when I had to turn the steering wheel to enter the garage.( makes the noise every time you drive it now.) I had a local mechanic friend check it and he said to take it to the dealer to run diagnostics and to drive it as little as possible. The nearest dealer is 20+ miles away. I made an appointment and here is the diagnoses: Found that the noise is internal to the epas gear. Steering gear replacement and alignment $1596.49 installed plus tax. I had to pay a $95 diagnostic fee to find this out. The car has 61094 miles on it, so it is out of warranty and the Ford Focus has not had a recall for this problem. Many other Ford models with the same steering mechanism have been recalled, why not this one! so now it is sitting in the garage waiting on the part to come in so I can take it back to the dealer and have it, hopefully fixed to be safe. Hoping for a recall to get my money back.

- Cambridge City, IN, USA

While driving down the freeway at 60 mph the inspection light came on and a message stating the power assist has faulted and requires maintenance. When I attempted to pull off at the next off ramp the car was extremely difficult to maneuver and I almost went of the side of the ramp. I had to struggle to get the car home.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

Power steering failure, upon starting car dash lights warns of power steering failure. At first we could turn car off and restart car and then it would function. This was last year when fall and winter came we had no more problems, as summer came this year with high heat it would not function at all now.

- Visalia, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 10 mph, the steering malfunction warning indicator illuminated and the power steering failed and the vehicle became difficult to turn. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that an unknown local dealer scheduled a diagnostic test in the next 15 days. The contact was concerned that, due to her small stature, it would be unsafe to operate the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact attempted to contact Ford Motor Company, but was unable to do so. The approximate failure mileage was 99,450.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

My steering wheel is locking up while I am driving. I am on the highway almost every day. I had to jerk it back because I was driving into another car in the other lane. I will try and change lanes and it locks, then pops back to able to steer. Someone is going to die from this! this needs to be a recall! it's bad enough I have had my transmission replaced 3 times in one year....

- Willowick, OH, USA

The contact owned a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 30 mph, there was an abnormal noise and the steering seized. The contact crashed into a telephone pole. The driver's side air bag deployed. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to the arms, a broken nose, and black eyes. Medical attention was required. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN and failure mileage were not available. Updated 10/18/17 consumer stated "I'd only had the car 3 weeks when the steering froze and the steering wheel would not move. It was going left when it hit the pole." No VIN available. Updated 10/4/18

- Elkland, PA, USA

Steering locked after starting car - indicator light on dash "I" turned car off and back on several times finally indicator disappeared and normal steering returned - looked on line for similar events and found other reports for same events. Had car towed in to Ford dealership they haven't been able to reproduce event and indicate they have never seen this before - major concern that could happen when vehicle moving

- Clarksville, TN, USA

The power steering is currently not working. It is like driving a car without power steering at all. Have to manually turn and maneuver the car. It is estimated that the whole steering column will have to be replaced which will cost $1,500 which should be covered by the Ford manufacturer. The vehicle was stationary when the problem was detected by the computer system in the car. Checked the steering fluid to make sure that it was not low or leaking and this was not the case.

- Prattville, AL, USA

Power steering assist failure, first indication of issue happened two days ago at approximately 104,000 miles. Cleared its self when car was put into gear, second indication was in drive way and a restart cleared problem. Issue has gotten progressively worse daily. I'm not risking my family driving the car until I talk to the dealer. This is a known serious safety issue and the buyers of this car deserve to be warned and compensated with a fix. Innocent persons will die from this while Ford is apparently silent or waiting on their supplier to step up. NHTSA step it up now!!!

- Tullahoma, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 5 mph and making a left turn into a parking lot, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was later taken to rustyeck Ford located in wichita, ks where it was diagnosed that the control motor of the steering wheel failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was not available.

- Derby, KS, USA

Steering wheel is locking up at slow speeds. Electronic assisted power steering. Recently, had the transmission recall taken care of. Soon after the steering started locking up when I would leave a parking lot and has happened several times since.

- Naples, FL, USA