10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 23 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 25 / 5
- Average Mileage:
- 86,290 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Started car and put it in gear to begin driving out of driveway. Got a message in the info system that said "steering assist fault" ( think that is what it said) the car had no power steering. Extremely hard to turn the wheel at all. Shut the car off and restarted. Same thing. Shut the car off and started it later in the day to take it to the dealer and the error was gone and the power steering was fine. Dealer said there were no codes to read. They could not reproduce the problem so nothing was done. Scared to drive an unsafe car.
- Wixom, MI, USA
Received "steering assist fault " and complete loss of power steering. I had just begun to drive out the driveway. Fortunately I did not make it onto the road.
- Wixom, MI, USA
Steering went out at starting the car. This was just hours after dealer repaired some recalls., has never come back. "steering assist fault service req'" read out on dash. One Ford dealer wants $125 to look at it after I mentioned steering. Another has refused to answer calls. I discovered that dealers were warned about problems with steering but did not notify owners.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
In 2015 after I started my car the power steering went out when coming out of the driveway at home. It use to come back on but comes off when car is parked then driven again. Now there is no power steering. On March 28, 2016, my car started honking twice when I push the lock button while the car is running on park and driving on the city street.
- Ardmore, OK, USA
My 17 year old daughter was driving to basketball and all of the sudden she lost all power steering N it all locked up. Thank gosh she was on a straight a way. I looked up to see if there any recalls N there's not. I have called Ford 1800-392-3673 they said thy hv no complaints. I told them all the ones I saw on this sight but thy said they need anyone that has had this problem to call Ford directly 1-800-392-3673 then hopefully thy will put a recall. So please everyone call Ford N complain about the lost of power steering so we can save lives. Thank you
- Boonsboro, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving approximately 35 mph, the steering locked. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and it resumed normal operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 15,922.
- Boonsboro, MD, USA
While driving M power steering goes out. Also when first start car will indicate problem with power steering. Will have to turn off car then start again to resolve issue. I started few months ago and has become progressively worse. I hope they recall this before someone gets hurt.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
Went to start my 2012 Ford Focus SE on 3/3/16 and immediately received a message stating "power steering malfunction". the steering wheel felt like it locked up and was very difficult to turn. Thank goodness I was in my driveway and not on the road with my kids in the car! we were able to get the car to apple Ford in columbia md where they ran diagnostics and said we need to replace the the steering rack, which will cost $1,950!! after reading the forums, complaints and pending lawsuits online, it is clear that this is a common issue where several models are being recalled. My VIN has not been associated with that recall, but I'm desperately hoping that it will soon. This is an electric issue causing the power steering to fail, and it's happening to so many Ford owners. Please take action!
- Odenton, MD, USA
I was driving on a city street going 30mph when my steering started to get hard to steer but not impossible. When I pulled over I got a notification on my dash the "steering loss, stop safely". at that point there was no way what so ever to turn my steering wheel at all. All most seemed like it was locked. Tried restarting the car and still no steering
- South Bend, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 5 mph, the steering malfunctioned. The vehice was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 84,800.
- Mason, OH, USA
On 2/25/16, after a severe rainstorm, I went to turn on my car and tried to turn on the wiper blades, but they would not come on. The next morning they did turn on. That afternoon, when starting my car, the wiper blades turned on without the control being activated. The blades continued to run even when the car was turned off and no keys were in the ignition. The only way to stop the blades was to disconnect the fuse from the box. This has happened twice when I was not aware of this and my car battery was dead when I went to start the car. I cannot use the wiper blades at this time as they will not turn off. According to Ford Motor Co., this is not covered under the recall on the wiper blades since my car is out of warranty. I have had my car in the dealership to repair the defective clutch and it is still not repaired due to Ford Motor Co not sending out the necessary parts in a timely manner. My car is shuddering and jerking when accelerating and changing gears on all types of roads. I have had this issue since I bought the car brand new. The cruise control on my car works intermittently. When the battery is disconnected and then reconnected, the cruise will work for a few days. Ford technicians could not diagnose the problem. This has been a problem for as long as I have had the car.
- Clanton, AL, USA
Transmission shutters and slips and the power steering just shuts down at times, this is very dangerous. My wife was merging onto the interstate and the steering shuts down the engine still running. She has to shut the car off and start it again to get the power steering to work. This has happened around 10 times.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
The electric power steering system regularly fails to start when I turn on the car. This seems to happen especially when the car is cold. When it does not start, it often times comes on when I turn on interior lights, put the car in reverse, or restart the engine. Sometimes it does not come on at all and I am forced to drive without power steering. I have read many complaints online about this problem happening to other Focus owners and have seen that this electric power steering system has caused problems in the Fusion as well.
- Aberdeen, NC, USA
I was driving home with my children and the alert light came on to say there was a steering problem then all of a sudden the car decided it wanted to steer itself into oncoming traffic. I could move the steering wheel so I slammed on the brakes and put car in reverse to get into the median before getting hit. My girls were screaming and crying. After cars passed I had to slam the steering wheel in order to pop it and drive like I was in mario cart to get home. This is ridiculous that this is not a recall when it is clearly a mechanical issue with this piece of crap car.
- Fernandina Beach, FL, USA
Electronic power steering failure occurred again with warning lights. I shut down the car and it came back on. The steering fairly frequently briefly stops working. I experience this typically while parked before getting out on the road.
- Woodbridge, VA, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 10 mph, the steering wheel became inoperable without warning. The failure occurred randomly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
- Soddy Daisy, TN, USA
Electric power assist system - lost power steering. Lost power steering several times when starting then reset it self when shut off. Last time happened while daughter driving car. Now at shop. Being charged $2200 to fix while still paying on vehicle. Irritating. I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle.
- Strasburg, VA, USA
During normal operation the "steering assist failure" light came on and the steering locked up. Mileage at time of failure was 82,500. Ford would not cover under warranty. Very dangerous situation.
- Clayton, IN, USA
Lost power steering. Received "steering assist fault" message. Vehicle can be driven, but complete power steering loss. Happened intermittently over last year, but usually righted itself upon vehicle restart. Last couple of months, the problem is constant... no power steering at all. Reading forums, it's obvious that this is a manufacturer problem, but still no recall issued. Would cost over $1800 to repair. Vehicle has a little over 92,000 miles. Other that this issue, great car.
- Leander, TX, USA
- Ocean Shore, WA, USA