NHTSA Complaint #10939160 — 2012 FORD FOCUS

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, I HAVE RECEIVED NOTICE THAT THE ELECTRONIC POWER-ASSISTED STEERING (EPAS) SYSTEM HAS A FAULT AND THAT SERVICE WOULD BE REQUIRED. THE REMEDY, AS PROVIDED IN THE MANUAL, IS TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE THEN RESTART THE VEHICLE TO RESET THE MODULE. WHILE I WAS FORTUNATE THAT THIS HAD NOT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ISSUE, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THE STEERING LOCKS UP WHEN THE FAULT OCCURS. RECENTLY, THE EPAS SYSTEM NOTIFIED ME OF A FAULT AND IT WAS NOT REMEDIED UPON RESTARTING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE SEEN MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE SAME MODEL YEAR AND MAKE, HOWEVER, FORD HAS NOT PROVIDED A RECALL, AS THEY DID WITH THE 2012 FUSION AND FLEX. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BECAUSE IT IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING OR DESIGN DEFECT, WHEREIN THE CONSUMER SHOULD NOT BEAR THE COST OF REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT (UP TO $2000.00), ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE RECALL ON SIMILAR MODELS FROM THE SAME YEAR. *TR