NHTSA Complaint #10733215 — 2012 FORD FOCUS

DRIVING 2012 FORD FOCUS ON HIGHWAY JULY 29,2015. MILEAGE 41,100. WARRANTY JUST EXPIRED. WHILE DRIVING 55MPH, STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER CAR OVER TO ROADSIDE. DASH MESSAGE READ STEERING ASSIST FAULT, SERVICE REQUIRED. ONCE STOPPED TURNED CAR OFF, THEN STARTED CAR AGAIN; STEERING RETURNED TO NORMAL. AFTER FIRST OCCURRENCE OF FAULTY STEERING, OTHERS BEGAN 3 DAYS LATER: JULY 2, 2015; STEERING LOCKED AFTER PULLING INTO PARKING LOT,SLOW SPEED; TURNED CAR OFF, STARTED UP,STEERING WORKED AGAIN JULY 6, 2015, STEERING LOCKED ON START-UP; THIS OCCURRED TWICE AFTER TURNING OFF/ON. JULY 6, 2015, TOOK CAR INTO DEALER(NORTHSTAR FORD IN DULUTH MN), WHERE I BOUGHT CAR NEW. NORTHSTAR TOOK CARE OF ANOTHER RECALLTRANSMISSION, REPORTEDLY REPROGRAMMED. UPON NORTHSTAR INSPECTION, DEALER SAID POWER STEERING WAS WORKING FINE, BUT FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED CAR NEEDS A WHOLE NEW STEERING RACK, TO COST ME $2,300 TO REPAIR (STATED THAT WARRANTY EXPIRED, NO RECALL ON THIS MODEL). I DECLINED REPAIR, AFTER PAYING $100+ FOR DIAGNOSIS. I FELT STRONGLY THAT THIS IS A CLEAR DEFECTION IN 2012 FORD FOCUS. AFTER RESEARCHING I FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF 2012 FOCUS STEERING MALFUNCTIONS, AS WELL AS REPORTS OF NHTSA CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE 2012 FOCUS STEERING ISSUES AND CALIFORNIA CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILING FOR FORD FOCUS 20102-2014. DRIVING LITTLE AS POSSIBLE HOPING NHTSA WILL ISSUE RECALL ON THE STEERING PROBLEM SOON. JULY 7, 2015; AFTER PARKING, STEERING LOCKED UP WHEN PULLING OUT. TURNED OFF AND ON TWICE BEFORE STEERING WORKED. HAVEN'T DRIVEN SINCE JULY 7. WORRIED ABOUT MY SAFETY, AS WELL AS DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS OF OTHER FORDS ON THE ROAD, TAKING LIVES INTO THEIR HANDS IN EVENT OF ON-ROAD EMERGENCY, REQUIRING QUICK ACTION,OPERATIONAL STEERING. HOPEFUL NHTSA TAKES URGENT MESSAGES SERIOUSLY, & ISSUES STEERING RECALL ON THE FORD FOCUS 2012 .