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

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 20 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 04/04/16

- Longmont, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. There was an unknown warning message that illuminated. The vehicle was restarted and the steering wheel function as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000....updated 03-10-16 the consumer stated that the epas system went offline. And the steering became difficult. The vehicle was restarted and the epas system returned. The failure occured while driving and attempting to climb a snow covered road. Updated 11/2/2017

- California, KY, USA

Focus has been under many recalls and at Ford for repair multiple times for transmission. Every 6 months issues occur causing me to take back into Ford. Last couple weeks I noticed intermittently, when I take foot off accelorator, rpms continue to increase, and car does not slow down, causing me to pump breaks multiple times to be able to stop. Yesterday during a snow storm, I again took foor off accelerator, this time the car again would still continue to drive without my control, causing me to spin out, not once but three times. I did not get hit by other cars as everyone was going slow, but I did have to call into work as my car was not safe to drive. This is now a safety concern for my Focus, and myself, and my paycheck. Something has to give as Ford, has offered nothing but to keep bringing it back when issues occur. This is not appropriate customer service, and I feel there is a huge safety concern for my vehicle.

- Howell, MI, USA

I had started my car and was backing out of a parking space at heb and I noticed that I did not have power steering, this happened before while I was trying to back out of my driveway, I restarted the car and the steering was back, now I'm afraid to drive my car. Ford needs to address this issue before someone gets hurt or worse dead.

- Conroe, TX, USA

My problem first started with the steering wheel locking up upon start of vehicle at random times. I could put the vehicle in forward or reverse and drive but the wheel wouldn't turn. I would turn the car off and on to get the wheel to finally start turning. After a few days of that, I started noticing problems with the steering at high speeds. While driving down the freeway I was having trouble maintaining a straight path. I would have to constantly make micro adjustments to correct my path. Then I started noticing that at certain points while driving 65+ mph that my wheel would have spots that were difficult to turn. For example to merge from left lane to right lane would require excessive force and then would get easy again. This is not safe, it was snowing out and the jolt of the vehicle that results in my corrections caused me to slide and almost loose control at times. If a weaker person was driving the vehicle they might not be able to overcome the steering issues. I cant take the car on 55+ mph roads anymore because the steering is so bad I am constantly correcting and fighting the power steering. My car is currently in the Ford shop and they said its a $1700 fix with no recall/warranty from Ford. Seems like there is an awful lot of issues with this steering system that all sound the similar.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

I just started to have and issue with a power steering malfunction on my 2012 car the wheel locked making difficult to move it or make it turn very dangerous issue that can cause a serious issue for the publics safety Ford need to be accountable for this manufacture defect

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Steering wheel locked (even though I had plenty of fluid). Luckily I was pulling out of my driveway. If I had been on the road, this could have been a very serious matter. I was told I needed a gear asy - ste and it was a $1142.15 fix. The car is not that old and I only have $50K miles on it. Plus I needed brakes.

- Plymouth, MA, USA

Electronic power steering assist fails intermittently typically upon starting of the vehicle. Sometimes the problem goes away after several minutes of hard steering, other times turning off the ignition and then back on resets the issue. Once it apparently happened to my son while operating the vehicle at highway speeds. Very dangerous situation and Ford needs to address it as a covered safety recall issue.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

The first time, the power steering failed on my daughter's 2012 Focus while traveling 70 mph down the interstate. I had to have the steering rack replaced at my expense since it was out of warranty and Ford claimed there was no known issue with this. Less than 10,000 miles later it has failed again, luckily this time the car was moving slowly on city streets, still Ford claims there is not a problem with this. Even after all the complaints and information flooding the internet about it and a class action law suit being filed, they still claim there is not a problem. Sadly, it appears that since dead men tell no tales, the death quota has not been documented enough to require a recall. I have no doubt that if this failure happened on a rural road with sharp curves, an accident would be almost unavoidable. I have spoken with Ford on multiple occasions regarding this and they continue to deny any problems with the Focus, all the while recalling multiple other cars with the same steering assembly.

- Leitchfield, KY, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. While driving 45 mph, the steering seized. The contact was able to get the vehicle off of the roadway and turn off the vehicle. Once the vehicle was restarted, the steering operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering gear and linkage needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 57,514.

- Blue Springs, MO, USA

I was driving on the freeway when the power steering system failed. The dash light came on with power steering assist fault. The car is very difficult to steer and created a safety issue failing on the freeway.

- Woodbury, MN, USA

The chrome trim on the steering wheel has begun to peel in multiple places. This was brought to my attention after some of the peeled areas lacerated my fingers while driving, causing me to abruptly pull my hand off of the steering wheel and swerve the vehicle. I attempted to grab the steering wheel again as my fingers were bleeding. Vehicle was in motion on the highway.

- West Sacramento, CA, USA

Today twice the car steering wheel was hard to drive then when I pulled over, the light came on dashboard and said power steering assist failed service required. What if I was not able to pull over safely.

- Glendale, CA, USA