Overview & Reviews

The Ford Focus has been completely redesigned for 2012. An all-electric-drive version of the Focus is also new.

• Nimble handling
• Refined and quiet ride
• Abundant list of upscale and high-tech options.
• Stylish and well-made interior
• Lively engine

• Quirky automatic transmission response.
• Infotainment controls are finicky to learn and use
• Backseat is a little short on legroom

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 267.00

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  What a turd - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Hong - December 20 - 3:16 pm

  What a turd. I purchased on on April 2012 and its been a nightmare since. Its had build, mechanical, electrical issues from day one. I noticed the window switch would work sometimes. It was later replaced twice. Then I noticed the dash had a gap on the right hand side. Its had intermittent issues with MFT Sync so the thing had to be replaced. It was not detecting my phones. The dealership told me my phone was not compatible yet it worked when I first bought it. There was paint issue on the trunk as well. It was repainted then I noticed the spoiler coming undone so back it went. Now the fun part, the transmission, its been a nightmare since day one. Its been reprogrammed multiple times to no improvement. Since I cannot afford to trade it in or purchase a new car, Im stuck with this [non-permissible content removed]! Run, do not walk away from Ford and Kearny Pearson Ford in San Diego, CA. I will never buy an American car again!

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  bought it and 3 days later.. new transmission - 2012 Ford Focus
  By JR Gillespie - December 16 - 1:03 pm

  I went to the local Ford Dealer in Dallas, GA last weekend to look at cars. I found a 2012 SE Hatchback that seemed nice enough, Ford Certified used car, great condition, 40,000miles with 100,000 powertrain and extended 36,000 mile bumper to bumper It seemed a bit funny on the test drive, all flat terrain but was assured that was normal. Then I took it to work the first time.. on my way home it was mostly uphill and it slipped at every time I tried to start up from a stop, rolled back at every stop and at speed would lose power and slip out like into neutral The second day it was even worse so I called the dealer who referred me to service who said it was a easy fix and they had to reprogram the transmission with the new software released this week dropped the car off this morning and a hour later was told it would require a whole new transmission and they have to order parts which are in short availability and could take weeks before I have my 3 day old car back.. at least they loaned me a fusion.. DO NOT BUY THIS!!!

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  Dont Buy - 2012 Ford Focus
  By penny - December 4 - 3:27 pm

  Please dont buy this car.....clutch problems fro day one!

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  Another story of a transmission problem - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Cynthia Beard - November 18 - 10:05 am

  I was rolling along in traffic on a main interstate highway and 2012 Ford Focus suddenly would not accelerate and then stalled. This was followed by all sorts of things lighting up on my dash, and the car would not re- start, wouldnt turn over, nothing. I was lucky to be able to get over to the shoulder of the highway, although it was on the left side of the road, which was super dangerous. Long story short, I was denied roadside assistance (which I thought I was covered under) because my car was no longer under warranty. I had 76,000 and change. My warranty apparently ran out at 60,000. However, this well known transmission problem that exists with this vehicle, is covered under an "extended warranty" up to 150,000 miles (but theres a $100 deductible!!!). So, because theres a faulty issue with this vehicle, a documented, known fault in the manufacturing my money, time and convenience are not a matter of concern. My car had been properly maintained, in fact had been inspected not a week before this happened, and there was no indication of this happening. This is extremely dangerous and frankly I find it unacceptable that FORD didnt do more to prevent this from happening. There is one Service Advisor at the dealership who was helpful. He has agreed to submit my towing bills for reimbursement. No one was really apologetic or concerned with my satisfaction as a Ford customer. If I was knowingly selling dangerous, faulty vehicles, I would be falling all over myself to make sure I could make the customer happy, if that were possible. Basically the attitude is one of indifference. I thought I was doing a good thing by buying an American car, but I would never buy another Ford again, and will try to trade this vehicle in ASAP. I will buy a Subaru if I can afford it. In short, buyer beware ... transmission problem, Ford not too concerned with customer satisfaction.

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  Dont Buy It. Dont Be another Statistic - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Mark - November 9 - 11:42 am

  Dont buy this car. Its not worth taking the chance with the transmission. I bought this car thinking that the transmission problems would get fixed. Bought the car at 28,000. In my first months of having the car, I went to the dealership for shuddering and gear grinding noises.. oh and how the car completely shut down engine light on and wouldnt go faster than 20 mph. THAT was scary on the freeway. Supposedly its a safety mechanism. Talked with at Susan with my car at 50,000 at corporate and theres nothing that she can do. My car doesnt count to be a lemon. It would be a great car if it wasnt for the transmission. Everything else is there but the fundamentals are all shot. And to my surprise, they are still implementing the same faulty transmission even in their new 2016 cars.

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  HATED THE CAR!! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Mark Clemson - October 28 - 1:03 pm

  I bought my 2012 Ford Focus in October 2014. I should have done the research, but I didnt. I test drove the car and noticed a little shutter and how it went backwards on the hill, but didnt think anything of it. I should have!!! Within two weeks of having the car, my breaks started squeaking. I thought I needed to changed my brake pads. They said they were fine and couldnt duplicate the problem. Then two weeks later, it start stuttering to the point the car would shake every time I hit the gas to get the car moving. Took the car back and thankfully the warranty covered that. The brakes continued to squeak and I just had my mechanic change the brake pads anyway and the squeaking stopped. The car worked fine for a while then all of a sudden the stuttering came back and also when I would drive in the city and hit a even a small bump it felt like the back of my car would fall apart. I took the car in and was told I needed new shocks in the back. $450 dollars later I had new shocks and a realignment and that noise was still there!!! The stuttering would happen EVERYTIME I hit the brake and then the gas. Finally after dealing with this for over 6 months, the car violently shook on a hill while trying to accelerate. I couldnt take it anymore and traded it in the next day. I didnt get very much for the car and had to take money out of my Savings account to get my new Nissan Altima. Didnt want to, shouldnt have had to, but it was a great decision. I had my 2012 Ford Focus for a year and dumped almost $1000 of my own money on repairs and only put on 13,000 miles on the car. This was a complete POS and the biggest waste of money ever!! DONT BUY THIS CAR, YOU WILL REGRET IT!

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  POS - 2012 Ford Focus
  By peter - October 9 - 6:11 pm

  Beware of this car. 2012 model year has transmission problems. It has been in the shop five times for new transmission fixes...software, parts..etc. It has stalled while being driven 4 times. It is an absolute hazard. Ford customers service is the worst. They will absolutely not stand behind their products..especially a LEMON! The trade-in value is embarrassing low. Basically, I have lost the entire value of the car. It is worth more at the junk yard.

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  THE WORST FORD IVE EVER OWNED!!!! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Phill O - October 5 - 8:28 pm

  1st let me say i was eagerly awaiting this car. i loved the styling, performance and economy of it. Now lemme tell ya, this car is a POS!!! the transmission is junk (look at Fords FSAs regarding this). the rear door latch broke, nobody uses this door so it should not have failed, the drivers window motor failed the day before a rain storm. and now, today the freaking drivers door will not latch closed!!! DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE VEHICLES! YOU WILL REGRET IT!

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  HEADACHE!!! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Elizabeth - October 4 - 4:54 pm

  I purchased this vehicle in May of 2015 the first month I had it it was great then started shifting hard. On Saturday September 26 I was drving on i44 through springfield and my car slammed itself in to park while I was going 70. I drove my car 3 hours to get it fixed due to my town refused to fix it. The car has a recall on the tcm. I got my car back on october 1 the car was in for 4 days and my check engine light just came on saying " transmission malfunction service now" I have the biggest headache with this vehicle right now I hwve to get the rpms up to 4 grand just for it to shift out of 1st gear. I am so sick of Ford dealerships saying "thats just how the Focus is made" "its going to do that for the life of the vehicle"...... Love the gas millage just not the headache

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  Im losing my job and livelihood over this thing! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By John the car guy - September 20 - 10:03 am

  WARNING: 6 Paragraphs Long! Patient/caring readers only The number one thing you have to watch out for is that ridiculous auto/manual/automatic transmission. In all due honesty I absolutely love everything else about this car. I love the seats, I love the handling, I love the entertainment system, I love the engine, and I love the color and style. But that transmission is such a negative that it takes away all the positives. I cant enjoy the rest of the car when the transmission never shifts correctly. Its most annoying habits to me were the loss of acceleration in 3rd gear and up. 1st and 2nd gear pulled just fine. Whenever it shifted into 3rd, there would always be a nasty chattering sound and acceleration would drop. Next, the transmission would not let me accelerate to passing speeds on the highway, especially on an incline. I put the foot down, the transmission downshifts, the car starts to accelerate, and just as soon as the engine picks up in RPM, it up shifts, killing the acceleration. I found that to pass effectively in this car I had no choice but to give it full throttle. Not what I call an economical pass. Now, this is ALL bad news about the tranny... now let me explain the title of my review. My car is sitting at my workplace, collecting dust and God knows what, because the transmission cant figure out what gear it was last in and therefore IT WILL NOT START. This is a major issue that I have read HUNDREDS of reviews on from loyal Focus owners. Its just 2000 miles out of its powertrain warranty, so Ford is giving me the middle finger and has the audacity to tell me that its a normal issue (a normal problem... who would have thought) and that Im already looking at roughly $2000 to get it fixed. Problem is... Im a low level bachelor who doesnt exactly have the largest savings account built up in my young existence. I know it may have been stupid to finance a car without a respectable financial foundation, but Ive always known the Focuses to be very good cars. I got a decent deal with my non-existent credit, and I could afford it, and then some. Paying for preventive maintenance is not a problem for me. Paying for extensive repairs when Ive done my part in keeping the car stays in tip-top condition IS a problem. So right now, Ive got a dead car sitting at my job 24 miles away, my bank account is getting thinner, and lets just say my family and friends are too busy to help out a brother in a time of great need. I am in good with my boss, but he called and told me that he cant keep flexing for me and will have to let me go and hire someone else. If I lose my job, then I lose the car. And if I lose the car... well... fat chance getting another job to buy another car with because with no car and cant transport myself to and from a job and this is just a spiral of doom developing before me. All of this... because Ford basically released an overly-complex, software-dependent, unproven and flawed transmission design to the public that can and WILL fail. After reading so much dirt on the transmission, I drove to work everyday feeling fearful that it would let me down... and it happened. I cant hate the car as much as I can hate Ford for such an asinine support. Expensive repairs... failed repairs... DEATHS. I have come across so much material from other Focus owners that has made me decide to NOT have it fixed. Hopefully I can find some way out of the loan and get myself in something with a good old fashioned manual transmission before I lose my job and/or my life over this mess.