2012 Ford Focus other reported problems

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

My complaint is for serious safety concerns on my 2012 Ford Focus and the handling of recall 18S32 and 26S40 by Ford Motor Company. My fuel tank is visibly deformed in the exact strap area described in the recall, and I have physical proof and photographs confirming this. On XXX, a Ford technician found deformation during dispatch by local dealer to complete Recall 26S40. When I brought the vehicle to Viva Ford in [XXX], service manager and his master tech confirmed problem. They began avoiding the repair of course. Called Ford and they gave the same horrible customer service. Insistent that there were no recalls. Escalated to BBB and Ford had the audacity to simply reply that because there were no open recalls they would not be moving forward with a repair. Ford issued recall because many Focus vehicles were incorrectly marked as “repaired” by recall 18S32 years ago and they were actually never even repaired at all. Ford has publicly acknowledged these “phantom fixes.” While 26S40 is only a software patch, it does not eliminate eligibility for a tank replacement. In fact, in the service manager at the dealership even sent me official Ford literature which I will attach that states a claim can be made for related repairs needed that stemmed from these original recalls. Because the original software fix was never properly applied, my canister purge valve likely stuck open for years, causing the tank deformation that falls directly under recall 18S32 and the subsequent 26S40 where the Service Manager and Master Technician have confirmed my problem. I have never received a fuel‑tank recall repair, yet my tank is deformed and unsafe because it can fall off from my vehicle while in motion and cause me to stall abruptly. This is the safety issue at hand. Both Ford and Viva Ford dealership are refusing to repair it despite evidence and recall criteria that match my vehicle’s condition. I am appalled at their avoidance to fix my problem. Thank you. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AC

NHTSA complaint #11757897 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The TCU/TCM has been going in and out of control. Sometimes it will work then others it will shut off. Speedometer won’t work, power steering won’t work, cruise control won’t work, etc. and when you do the transmission reset for it, it won’t work at all.

NHTSA complaint #11752841 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

On XXX I received email from CARFAX regarding my vehicle recall "26S40 PCM REPROGRAMMING FOR FUEL TANK DEFORMATION”. I contacted Ford Cutter Hawaii answering spoke with [XXX] over the phone regarding the recall, she asked me to forward the email then she after she read the email she dismissed the information as not reliable as it came from Carfax. She will only follow up if I got recall notice in the mail. XXX my car stalled in the middle of freeway and got towed. At the time the reading of fuel is low but not empty. The car started and only run for 1-2 seconds before it died again. That is very similar symptoms described in the recall information: "Safety Risk THIS MAY RESULT IN AN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT WARNING OR WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO RESTART AND CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.” End of complain. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11749771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Group 1 Ford of South Austin, TX refused to perform door latch recall unless we purchased additional parts and service out of pocket. The door will not latch and flies open even at slow speeds.

NHTSA complaint #11745330 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Vehicle stalls while driving at low speeds and during acceleration. The engine loses power unexpectedly in traffic and may shut off completely while in motion. RPMs increase without corresponding acceleration and the vehicle fails to shift or respond normally. Check engine light is on with fuel/emissions-related codes. Fuel gauge is inaccurate and vehicle has unexpectedly run out of fuel even when gauge showed remaining fuel. The vehicle also hesitates, jerks, and feels unstable when stopping or turning. These issues have been present since shortly after purchase and have continued for approximately one year. Vehicle is unsafe to operate due to risk of stalling in traffic.

NHTSA complaint #11744465 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

For months in 2025 the car fan would continue to run for several minutes after the engine was turned off. I took the car in a two times to diagnose and couldn’t replicate . I sent video of the fan running even after short trips and in cold weather. Finally after catastrophic cooling system failure was the faulty fan module diagnosed. It was a safety issue because cooling failure causes car to stop operating properly. I was returning from the airport so the engine was cold. After a massive bill did the cooling fan module get diagnosed and replaced on May 16. There were not any safety recalls for faulty fan module. Hopefully this is reimbursable and others can have a safety recall.

NHTSA complaint #11743763 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The Powershift for the transmission is the issue. Got two notices about a software update and followed through with updates. When done my Ford dealership said they couldn’t do anything else and that I was just going to be like it was. I never received any more recalls or even a Class Action letter! I recently called Ford motor headquarters and they found my information and could not confirm any additional recalls to me or the class action letter that was sent to me and said that they would NOT DO anything for me! No goodwill — Thisissue from this area continues and I very concerned for my safety! Need help.

NHTSA complaint #11730708 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The Power Steering shut down suddenly while I was driving it. I am [XXX], and certainly did NOT have the power to turn the wheel like it needed. If there had been fast moving traffic at that time, I could have been hit and severely injured, Why hasn't this been recalled yet? The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. I had to go there when my power steering intermittently came back on because it was only 6 blocks away from my house and I didn't dare try to drive it to a ford dealer which was 12 miles away. I'm not positive about the light coming on, but I believe I saw a circle with an "i" inside of it I was too stressed to notice completely, when I was trying to control my car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11671103 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Unknown

NHTSA complaint #11667109 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Transmission problem

NHTSA complaint #11661650 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

TCM needs replaced. Car does not have reverse, stalls and overheating.

NHTSA complaint #11657446 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The TCM on the transmission needs fixed they said i could get a rental car.

NHTSA complaint #11652609 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Brought into Ford dealership for recalls to be done and when I picked my car up, no recalls were performed

NHTSA complaint #11627241 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

On highway with my 18 month old and as a cat merged on ramp I signaled and moved to left lane. I had to move and quickly so that another fast car would not hit me in the rear end where my baby was seated in car seat. In only the 3 seconds I had to make decision which hit would be better for me and my child, my car stuck in the lower gears and I could not speed up to move out of way or pass vehicle parallel my car was losing speed rather than gaining when I pushed in gas to floor

NHTSA complaint #11610355 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

UNKNOWN. I am aware of at least 2 recalls on my vehicle and took it to Long McArthur in Salina to have the recalls fixed in late summer 2023. As of this date, Long McArthur has not notified me the parts have come in to fix the recalls properly and I am still driving unsafely with many check engine lights on constantly and my vehicle making odd sounds. In summer 2023, Long McArthur said the parts were hard to come by and on back order and told me to highly consider buying a new vehicle.

NHTSA complaint #11608369 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

There’s a recall for my transmission but my clutch which is also the cause of my transmission failing and overheating and also stopping in its own in the middle of traffic is a major safety issue that Ford says they don’t have a program for and stated that they can’t fix my transmission due to in the recall it doesn’t mention clutch being repaired. I have the paperwork stating that I need my transmission rebuilt but Ford couldn’t do it due to the clutch not being in the recall but of course I was out of $200 just to get a diagnosis and risk the chance of driving to the Ford company and back home to get my car diagnosed which my car stopped on me once going to the Ford dealership and had to pull to the side due to transmission overheating safety popping up on my dash and saying wait 5 minutes. Today 7/12/24 after picking my car up from Ford I had to manually reset my transmission in order to drive back home which is what I’ve been previously doing every since having this problem my car dash alerted me that my transmission was overheating within driving it for only 2 minutes and just automatically shut down on me in the middle of the intersection. There’s no way for me to put my hazard lights on due to car shutting I had to hurry up and jump out of my car to direct traffic to go around me. Had to wait at least 10 minutes then reset my transmission and tried driving back home but again my car shut off without warning me this time. I feel like Ford isn’t any help when it comes to an issue like this cause this really is a safety issue what if the car behind he wasn’t paying any attention and crashed my rear end even though they’ll be at fault. What if this situation would’ve happened on the highway when traffic is really busy going 70 miles per hour? This is something that needs to be added in the Ford recall program as well with the transmission. Now I’m stuck w/out a car with no job due to not having a reliable person to take me to and from work while my car won’t run

NHTSA complaint #11601600 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

While driving car trying to stall in middle of traffic.

NHTSA complaint #11578004 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The door ajar light illuminates on the dash even though the door is shut, the door ajar shows it is the driver side back door. With that warning I'm unable to lock the doors while inside the vehicle and the doors do not lock when putting the vehicle in drive from park or unlock when putting the vehicle in park from drive. I'm also unable to use the door handle lock and unlock sensor on the outside of the driver door.

NHTSA complaint #11573504 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

we had a recall and Ford Motor frauded us three times. we brought our car in for ford focus transmission module in 2021 to get it fixed wihtin greico Ford the ten year and they made us pay 176 to hold the part put us off for two years telling us no part on back order and then they called us said they had it and gave it away in a day as we were five hours away after making us wait two years and taking money from us they refuse to give us back our money and then we took to anohter ford dealer sarasota ford and they frauded us and just reset the old defective part and now they saying sorry to late now i demand something done we shjpuld have it markled as not fixed the recall it is outstanding they lied and we never got it fixed and they l;ying saying it was fixed and they just reset the old defective part they frauded us

NHTSA complaint #11559463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Sometimes when I start the car it shifts into next gear slowly. It may begin with a vibrating or jerky motion.

NHTSA complaint #11559105 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Transmition control module on my 2012 ford focus sel Broke on a road trip leaving me with 1,3,5 gear only , and online it says this is a common issue considering you NEED a transmission to drive I feel this should be something that gets a recall

NHTSA complaint #11543714 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Not even a month ago my car started jerking when taking off like hard enough to practically put you through the windshield. It almost stalled on me at a stop sign. I have the customer satisfaction program 14mo2 letter from Ford about my TCM replacement. But I believe it is the power shift dual clutch in transmission that’s having the issue.. I called Ford today because the dealership I want to take my car to wants to charge me $4000 if it’s not the TCM. Apparently there have been issues with the powershift clutch transmission and that the coverage that they had to fix that issue has expired years ago. I cannot drive it out of my small town for fear of it breaking down on me. I found out the TCM had been replaced in 2016 and I’ve only had this car six months to seven months tops and it only has 75,000 miles on it. It revs up real high and does not shift gears properly. I am afraid to take it out on a highway or anything afraid it might cause an accident and Ford told me they will not fix it unless I pay for it if it’s the powershift dual clutch. I thought ford was supposed to fix any transmission issues whether under warranty or not. These safety issues could get someone killed!

NHTSA complaint #11543137 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

sudden loss of power. would not stay in gear. took it to the ford dealer and they had to replace the TCM.

NHTSA complaint #11534824 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

It wont go in reverse and comes out of gear transmission?

NHTSA complaint #11527634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The problem is with the transmission and dual clutch and electrical. My car shakes when still, doesn't want to go when I put on the gas, doesn't want to change gears. The electrical keeps going on and off and the fan goes on and stays on after I shut car off and get out and stays on. I took it to schicker ford on south kingshighway to get programmed and I got my car back it was worse.

NHTSA complaint #11526713 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The component is unknown and below is description. The car is stalling while accelerating and rushing forward when it does accelerate. At stop lights and when the car stops in traffic the vehicle is stalling. When the gas pedal is pushed to accelerate the stalling can cause a vehicle behind me to crash. After stalling, the acceleration causes the car to rush forward and it could cause my vehicle to run into someone in front of me. The vehicle was inspected at a dealership however I strongly believe their recommendations were not correct and that there is an easy fix for the issue above. They also claimed that it had nothing to do with the recall and did not provide information on the assessment about the recall. This particular recall does cause stalling so it is baffling to see that the dealership did not provide a written assessment on the report like they did for the door handles. I paid $150 for an assessment and around $200 for tow to bring the vehicle home after the assessment. The check engine light did come on and I took the vehicle to the dealership due to how unsafe the car was driving. I feared driving the vehicle and had it towed to the dealership for this poor assessment. I have not driven this vehicle in a year due to the unsafe driving conditions. I would like for the recall to be fixed and determine if that is causing the issue or not.

NHTSA complaint #11526362 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The truck opens by itself while I’m driving.

NHTSA complaint #11525355 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The automatic dual clutch is shaking my steering wheel and whole car.

NHTSA complaint #11520771 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

transmission control model in the car needs a new one

NHTSA complaint #11519457 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

While stopped and preparing to turn left at yield light, my check engine light suddenly came on followed by several alerts and dings. Not understanding what was occurring in that exact moment, I had an opportunity to safely make the left turn, and intended to address the issue once off the main road. Within moments of releasing the brake my car began violently revving and jolted forward into the intersection, in response I quickly threw on my hazard lights while trying to maintain control of the situation. Following this moment, my car suddenly had zero acceleration or vehicle control- just loud revving and bells and whistles. This left me briefly stranded in the middle of the intersection with oncoming traffic approaching quickly. I threw the car into park, and then back into drive- it never stopped revving, but it finally gave me enough control to lurch the vehicle out of intersection and barely into the entrance of a subdivision. It was utterly terrifying, and as result caused me to have a massive panic attack. Mind you, This car is barely over 100k in miles, and I just purchased it last summer from a used car dealership- so I took to the internet to search the issue while waiting for AAA to arrive. To my unknowing amazement, this car was slated with 2 major safety recalls- one being related to the transmission. I do not understand how this vehicle was allowed to be sold to me with such issues, or without disclosure about the possible recalls. With that aside, I was utterly distraught when my research concluded that Ford KNEW about these issues before they hit the market- they’re also allowed to keep them on the road with sorry assed “band-aid” repairs for the faulty equipment- still knowing full and well that this issue is Guaranteed to happen again! So now, I knowingly have to continue payments on a death trap- that I currently cannot drive. I am losing income I couldn’t afford to lose, and I’m terrified of my car. This is not ok…I’m not ok.

NHTSA complaint #11518509 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.