2012 FORD FOCUS Complaints

CEL came on while I was traveling. When I took my car to get it read, the error code was p1450, unable to bleed up fuel tank vacuum. After filling up my car with gas, it would struggle to turn on. I would have to push down on the accelerator while turning the ignition so that my car would start properly. Even then it still felt like it was stalling and wanted to turn off. I am aware that this issue was part of another recall related to my gas tank becoming deformed. I wound up replacing the vapor canister purge solenoid and that seems to have fixed the problem.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20-25 MPH, the steering wheel was stiff and difficult to be turned. The contact was able to drive to his residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed as power steering failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000. The VIN was unavailable.

I was told I would need over $1,000 in repairs for bad engine and transmission mounts. It shuddered off and on the whole time I owned the car but it seemed to get worse in the last 3 years. Not sure how much of that is caused by a bad fuel and transmission system but it seems like there is one thing after another with the Ford Focus.

I bought the car in 2012. It has not run properly since that year. We took it in for computer flashes and the recalls each time they asked and several times more because the lurching, shuddering, and delayed acceleration would always come back. I had to readjust how I drove the Ford Focus compared to any other car knowing that it sometimes stuck or delayed in acceleration. It also would sometimes jolt forward. It rolls back once at a stop sometimes while the car is running. I would have to adjust how far ahead I pulled from people in lines to make sure they had enough space between parking or in line so I didn't roll back and hit them. My car died in the middle of the road on way to get gas back in 2017. We took it in to get looked at and cost hundreds of dollars to fix a fuel tank that suctioned in on itself. We found out a year later there was a recall for that same issue. It was supposed to fix the fuel gauge reading issues too but even after being "fixed" it still never read right. I could never tell what the actual contents of my fuel levels were which is dangerous especially on long road trips. The struts started to leak and go bad well before they should have. This car is totally unsafe between the constant transmission/computer issues, the fuel tank system, door latch recalls (2 of them). We had to have the radiator replaced because one of the Ford Service Centers screwed something up when they did the clutch recall. It broke down while driving the day after the clutch replacement and was overheating. They admitted their fault and replaced it for free thankfully but why did they have to be in there in the first place? Ford needs to finally recall all of these vehicles and make it right. My family has been lifelong Ford vehicle owners and I'm about at the end of my rope with this car.

My car randomly started stalling out while driving. A check engine light came on, and when I took it in to get read, the mechanics told me they were the codes pertaining to the recall on this car for the purge valve malfunction. The local dealer will not grant me an appointment to look at it and complete the recall for another 5 weeks.....my appointment isn't until October. In the meantime, I dont have a safe vehicle to drive, as the chances of me getting rear ended are high. The vehicle stalls out 6 to 7 times every 40 miles.

I have an automatic transmission. Driving down the road the transmission feels as though it just goes into neutral as if it were a manual. It's like driving a manual & kicking it out of gear while your foot is on the gas pedal. This cause the RPM's rise all the while the car is in neutral. The one thing I found to get it back on track is to tap the brake. This will make it go back into gear. It has been doing this for a couple of years but it seems to be getting worse and more frequent.

My car was always serviced by local Ford dealership. Yesterday my car would not go into reverse. I called the Ford garage here in WIlliamsport Pa and the told me that they could not work on it until 9/1 as the man who dealt with transmissions was backed up. The man in the service department told me to have the car towed to the Ford garage and if they get a cancelation they would work on it sooner. I called onstar and they arranged to toll my vehicle tomorrow. I bought my car new and never had any problems until now. I read all the complaints filed for this make and model and it seems I am not the only one with this drive train problem.

Passangers wiper motor stopped working, then driver side stopped working within 2 weeks of the passanger side failure.

Transmission is dangerous. Vehicle stutters through 1st gear continuously, as if the clutch is constantly slipping. This is most prevalent on hot days. The only way to get around this condition is to floor it from stop. This hesitation and unreliable application of power could cause accidents as the afflicted vehicle tries to turn onto a road where traffic does not stop. I have developed the habit of expecting my vehicle to basically die during the turn, and thus will not turn without a very large (sometimes unreasonable) margin of time to clear the turn. This hesitation may also increase the risk of being rear-ended by another vehicle who expects the afflicted vehicle to accelerate as normal. This transmission issue is part of a class-action settlement with Ford, arbitrated by CAP Motors under Ford PowerShift Transmission.

The vehicle believes a door (Driver's side in this case) is ajar when it is in fact completely latched. This issue is intermittent and repeats several times during a short (10 min) trip. When the issue occurs the vehicle unlocks all doors (central unlocking) and turns on the dome light. When it randomly thinks the door is shut it will lock all the doors and turn the light off. This process repeats at random intervals. Unlocking the doors while driving is dangerous, especially for those of us who have children. I have engaged the child locks as a mitigation step. The dome light coming on randomly at night creates a distraction and degrades driver visibility.