2012 Ford FOCUS - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2012 Ford Focus receives an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, indicating above-average safety features across various crash scenarios. In terms of specific crash ratings, the Focus performs well with consistent ratings of 4 and 5 for front and side crashes. It is equipped with standard electronic stability control, enhancing the vehicle's stability on the road. However, it does not feature forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

Despite its good safety ratings, the Focus has a relatively high number of complaints, with 3,664 reported issues. Additionally, there have been 10 recalls on this particular model, which is worth considering when evaluating the overall safety and reliability of the vehicle. Overall, the 2012 Ford Focus provides decent safety performance, but potential buyers should stay informed about the reported complaints and recalls to make an informed decision.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

3,664

Recall Count

10

Investigation Count

5

Safety Rating

4/5

Search Vehicle Details

Advanced Search

The advanced search lets you search by safety ratings and features. This will return a list of vehicles that match your search criteria.

Safety Features

2012 Ford Focus 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2012 Ford Focus 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2012 Ford Focus 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2012 Ford Focus 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 3 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 4 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2012 Ford FOCUS

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"i was driving my car and received a "stop safely now" message. it was brought to the dealer and the 12v battery was replaced and the condition stopped. one week later, however, it happened again. i was in the middle of an intersection after taking off from a stop light and the "stop safely now" message appeared and the car would no longer work. dealer indicates it is an issue with the transmission control module- which is under a recall for some other 2012-2014 ford focus electric cars... mine does not appear to be included in that recall, but it is exhibiting symptoms exactly like the open recall. very hazardous situation as the vehicle loses all power- first time was on an interstate highway and the second was in the middle of the intersection."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-10-01

Complaint:
"jerking on first and second gear shutterings"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-07-12

Complaint:
"the contact's wife owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the transmission unintendedly shifted gear. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired approximately 15 times, but the failure persisted. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 12,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-04-11

Complaint:
"took vehicle to ford dealership after being seen at transmission shop. previous transmission shop said tcm was bad as well as clutch. took car to ford for tcm recall, they said it wasn't broken and refused to replace it. the did say clutch is broken and needs replacement which ford is not willing to help with on cost."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-05-10

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was shifting erratically. the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. the contact was informed that the transmission clutch and shift motor had failed. additionally, the clutch fork was stuck. the contact was informed that the transmission clutch, shift motor, and clutch fork needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 109,301."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-08-09

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated while driving 30 mph, the transmission shifted erratically. the contact stated that the transmission was shifting rough between gears. the transmission warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with pcm and tcm failures. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred four additional times. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed; however, no assistance was provided. the failure mileage was 38,600."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-09-03

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle failed to shift gear as designed. the transmission warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission control module (tcm), resulting in damage to the transmission. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the nhtsa hotline for assistance. the failure mileage was 119,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-03-07

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated while driving at various speed, the engine revved up; however, the vehicle failed to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal and the vehicle shuddered. additionally, the transmission failed to shift into the intended gear. the contact was able to veer to the side of the road. the contact stated that she continued driving; however, the failure recurred while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the transmission control module (tcm) was replaced; however, the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission clutch needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the nhtsa hotline for assistance. the failure mileage was unknown."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-12-03

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford focus. the contact stated that when her grandparent started the vehicle and attempted to shift into reverse, the gear shifter was inoperable. the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with failure of the clutch and transmission. the contact was informed that the clutch and transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. the manufacturer referred the contact to the nhtsa hotline to file a complaint. the failure mileage was approximately 75,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-11-08

Complaint:
"the transmission shakes and shutters went to dealer and asked about the issue and they stated it was known issue and i should just accelerate very quickly which would clean the clutches. it did work temporarily. in august 2023 while driving the car it refused to down shift while climbing a hill. after stopping by the side of the road, the car would not start on the first try. after trying again car did start however it would not go into reverse. it would move forward however driving in heavy traffic the car would not shift out of second causing very high rpms. limped it into the dealership where they stated it was the clutch and shifting forks. one month later i got the car back and on the way home it once again would not shift while climbing a hill and the check engine light came on. the next morning when i went out to start it once again it would not start. once it did i could not shift it into revers and once again only second gear was available."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-01-08

Recalls for the 2012 Ford FOCUS

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2012-2018 ford focus vehicles with a 2.0l gdi or 2.0l gtdi engine. the canister purge valve (cpv) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in fuel vapor management system."
Consequence:
The excessive vaccuum may result in an engine stall while driving, without warning and without the ability to restart the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Powertrain Control Module. Dealers will also check for fault codes and replace the CPV as needed. If the CPV is replaced, dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. The recall began August 19, 2019. Owners may contact Ford Customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S32. Note: Until the vehicle is serviced for this concern, owners are advised to keep the fuel tank at least halfway full.

Component(s) Involved: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE > STORAGE
Date of incident: 2018-10-22

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2012 and 2017 focus vehicles equipped with 2.0l gdi gasoline engines and 2013-2014 focus st vehicles equipped with 2.0l gtdi engines, previously recalled under 18v-735. the affected vehicles did not have the powertrain control module (pcm) updated as intended. therefore, the canister purge valve (cpv) may malfunction, possibly causing excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system."
Consequence:
The excessive vacuum may result in an engine stall while driving, without warning and without the ability to restart the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Powertrain Control Module. Dealers will also check for fault codes and replace the CPV as needed. If the CPV is replaced, dealers will inspect and replace the carbon canister, fuel tank and fuel delivery module as necessary. The recall began July 29, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S22.

Component(s) Involved: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE > STORAGE
Date of incident: 2019-07-05

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

Related Vehicles

Why not check out other FORD vehicles?

2016 FUSION HEV
FORD
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 1208
  • Recall Count: 11
View Car
2018 EXPEDITION
FORD
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 179
  • Recall Count: 7
View Car
2018 FUSION
FORD
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 217
  • Recall Count: 2
View Car
2023 ESCAPE HEV
FORD
  • Overall Safety Rating: 5
  • Complaints Count: 0
  • Recall Count: 0
View Car