2,111 of the
29,786 complaints filed about the Ford Focus
are about the steering —
7% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2012.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that upon reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The message "See the Dealer" was displayed, and the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a slight loss of automotive power while driving uphill and the steering became very loose. The contact stated that while turning to the left or the right, the steering wheel failed to return to center. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact associated the failures with NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 26V369000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) and 14V514000 (STEERING); as possible causes for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000.
NHTSA complaint #11756250 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When I turned on my car the power steering said at fault and normally I could turn it off then turn it back on and it worked but after that time it never turned back on
NHTSA complaint #11755369 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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.
I was driving down the road when the car dinged and a yellow light came on the bottom of the dash and it said steering loss please pull over for safety reasons so I pulled over shut the car off waited a couple minutes and then turned the car back on and the light turned red and I had no power steering at all.
NHTSA complaint #11743118 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Forcus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed power steering pump. The contact was informed that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure was persistent. In addition, the vehicle was towed to two independent mechanics multiple times for the same failure within the two years. The contact referenced an unknown recall which had a similar failure description, however the contact's VIN was not associated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
NHTSA complaint #11737817 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Electric power steering failed at 65,000 miles. No power assist in the steering. Trying to steer the car with no power assist is very difficult and not safe.
NHTSA complaint #11735104 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn while driving. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 128,604.
NHTSA complaint #11726736 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Steering wheel became hard to turn and then no steering and steering loss Stop safely came on the instrument panel, had car towed home and have had no one look at it yet
NHTSA complaint #11725902 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
During recent freezing weather, upon starting the car and attempting to turn, I realized that the steering wheel was frozen solid. While researching what could have happened, the war warmed up enough to melt the water in the electric power assisted steering motor, allowing the vehicle to turn. Now, the EPAS is seized up completely. If I had been driving when it locked up completely, it could have proved fatal. The problem has not been reproduced, as it just happened in the last couple of weeks. I never got any check engine light pertaining to this issue. OBDII showed not errors for the EPAS.
NHTSA complaint #11717304 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Steering system failure light came on and the Rack and pinion failed with no warning while I was driving on the highway at 75mph and the steering wheel locked up almost causing a potential fatal accident.
NHTSA complaint #11709317 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
the car runs without power when shifted to drive gear. It is sluggish trying to speed up. Took to Ford Dealers on a recall with that is suppose to take care of it..nothing seems to have changed. I am not sure anything was done. trans makes a rough sound starting..
NHTSA complaint #11707435 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving to drop my fiancé off at work when the "Steering fault, Service now" warning came on. Went home, parked the car. Start it up to go pick him up later, the wheel locked and "Steering loss, stop safely" warning came on. I just recently had my car inspected and had two new lower ball joints replaced. The one employee said my cars steering was working fine, and it was driving okay with no issues until today. Same thing just happened. You can't turn the wheel.
NHTSA complaint #11694021 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Experienced abrupt electrical steering motor failure. Power steering remains inoperable and available for inspection. Occurred during normal driving without warning, and effort required to manually steer was too much for my wife necessitating an emergency stop to avoid collision with oncoming traffic while trying to execute a routine turn putting us and the other vehicle in danger of an offset collision. This appears to be a known issue in FORD steering units but has only been addressed in Fusion models as a recall. The component has yet to be inspected as Ford will not pay for the repair despite the obvious ongoing safety issue, the vehicle will remain off the road for now in the hopes a recall is issued.
NHTSA complaint #11692211 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction and instead turned in the opposite direction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed steering column. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised that the parts to repair the vehicle were discontinued. In addition, the contact was informed that the aftermarket parts were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.
NHTSA complaint #11689468 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I’m writing about my 2015 Ford Focus (VIN: [XXX] ), which has under 38,500 miles. While heading to work, I suddenly lost power steering—no warning, just stiff steering out of nowhere. The repair cost me over $5,000 to replace the electric power steering rack, which only a Ford dealer could handle due to software restrictions. This follows a TCM replacement that Ford covered under recall. I contacted Ford for goodwill assistance, but they refused. At this mileage, these failures are unacceptable. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11689373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel fractured. The contact stated that the steering wheel independently moved back and forth. The contact stated that the failure was persistent and a safety issue. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic with a fractured steering wheel bolt. The contact was informed that the steering wheel bolt, nut, and seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact was advised to contact the dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.
NHTSA complaint #11687433 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving, the electric power steering went out. I purchased this vehicle on Aug 15 2025 and the Carfax report did not have any information pertaining to an issue with EPAS. To have this repaired will cost me over $3k which I was not prepared for. Being that other Ford vehicles have this EPAS recall, shouldn't a recall be made on the 2013 Ford Focus as well.
NHTSA complaint #11681687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.