2012 Ford Focus Electric problems & reliability
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 14 | 42% |
| Power Train → | 14 | 42% |
| Steering | 6 | 18% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 12% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 3 | 9% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 9% |
| Engine | 2 | 6% |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 1 | 3% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 19,202 miles (middle 50% between 9,666 and 66,250 miles), based on 28 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Focus BEV. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed that an unknown warning light was illuminated and remained illuminated for several days. The failure recurred several times. On one occasion, the contact was unable to start the vehicle. The contact…”
Electrical System · filed Sep 23, 2021
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford focus electric. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle hesitated to switch gears. The vehicle was driven to mahwah ford (55 franklin tpk, mahwah, nj 07430) where it was diagnosed that the clutch assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was…”
Power Train · filed Jun 26, 2019
“My vehicle experienced a stop safely now message while driving. Power were cut off and the vehicle stalled in moving traffic. My vehicle had done a recall on the power harness to address the stop safely now issue but I don't think the recall fixed it completely.”
Electrical System · filed Jun 18, 2019
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect Petition DP22005 · opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
- Door Latch Failures
Recall Query RQ19005 · opened Dec 19, 2019 · closed Feb 7, 2022 · led to recall 20V331000
- Door Latch Failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE16001 · opened Jan 16, 2016 · closed Oct 29, 2016 · led to recall 16V643000
- Electric powertrain propulsion failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE13031 · opened Sep 6, 2013 · closed Nov 15, 2013 · led to recall 13V523000
Technical service bulletins
22 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2012 Ford Focus Electric. The 10 most recent:
Some 2012-2016 Focus Electric vehicles built on 15-Sep-2011 and through 9-Dec-2015 may exhibit a Stop Safely Now message displayed in the instrument panel cluster (IPC) message center. This may be due to either an…
TSB 20-2140 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 24, 2020
Some 2012-2016 Focus Electric vehicles may abort the battery energy control module (BECM) on demand self-test but pass the network test. This is the result of a module software limitation and does not indicate an issue…
SSM 48243 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 4, 2019
Some 2011-2014 Fiesta and 2012-2014 Focus vehicles equipped with a DPS6 transmission may experience a fluid leak between the engine and transmission. Be aware that the engine oil and DPS6 transmission fluid are similar…
SSM 47563 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 4, 2018
Some 2013-2018 Fusion Energi, 2012-2018 Focus Electric and 2013-2017 C-MAX Energi vehicles equipped with a TCU built on or before 11-Oct-2017 may exhibit a discharged battery, inoperative remote features via MyFord…
SSM 47428 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 20, 2018
Some 2012-2018 Focus Electric, 2013-2017 C-Max Energi, and 2013-2018 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) may exhibit the high voltage (HV) battery failing to charge while connected to the second…
tsb18-2216 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 20, 2018
Some 2012-2014 Focus vehicles equipped with a 2.0L gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine may exhibit concerns of engine runs rough, crank no-start, loss of power, loss of engine RPM, and/or illuminated MIL with…
TSB18-2062 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2018
Some 2012-2017 focus electric/2013-2017 cmax energi/fusion energi/2015-2017 mkc/mkz/2016-2017 mkx and 2017 continental vehicles operating with a 3g tcu on or before 16-jan-2017 may not respond to customers remote…
SSM 46371 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 9, 2017
Certain 2015 model year mkc and mkz vehicles equipped with the reserve equipment group, and certain 2012-2016 focus electric, c-max energi, and fusion energi vehicles - embedded modem replacement.
15N04-S2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 5, 2016
Some 2011-2016 Fiesta and 2012-2016 Focus vehicles equipped with a DPS6 transmission may exhibit intermittent concerns of loss of transmission engagement while driving, intermittent no start or a loss of power. These…
TSB 16-0129 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 26, 2016
Some 2011-2015 fiesta vehicles built on or before 10/15/2014 and 2012-2016 focus vehicles equipped with a dps6 automatic transmission may exhibit excessive transmission clutch shudder on light acceleration. Some…
TSB16-0109 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 16, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2012 Ford Focus Electric has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2012 Ford Focus Electric?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 19,202 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.