2012 Ford Focus Electric problems
Owners have filed 53 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Focus Electric. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. After that come drivetrain & axles (26%) and steering (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 53 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 15,000 miles 46 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 46 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 15,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 17,000 miles (15 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 95% of model years in our database.
It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus electric. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, another vehicle crossed the dividing road lines causing the contact to crash into the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact did not disclose if a police report was filed or not. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,403.
Driving about 30 miles per hour, the car chimed a warning and flashed "stop safely now" on the dashboard. The car lost speed and I coasted to a stop at the side of the road. I was not able to restart my car. The "stop safely now" warning with chime repeated each time I tried to restart. I called a tow truck, however, after about 20 minutes, I was able to restart the car. This has happened at least 7 times previously (very similar circumstances).
The product is bosch power xpress 240 volt charger coupled to my 2012 ford focus electric. It is set to 30 amps for my vehicle....updated 12/17/14 this charger was put in service on 7/22/2013. I noticed in february that there was a noticeable electrical smell of melted plastic after charging the car, but there was no damage. I figured that with the very cold air in my garage that my sense of smell may be off. I charge at home and at work. The work charger is made by pep.
On the freeway accelerating slightly while merging into the leftmost lane. Power suddenly was lost with a "stop safely now" message on the dash. As it was rush hour, it was difficult to merge 6 lanes to the right to get to the shoulder. Brakes and steering were working and I stopped safely. Car would not restart.