2012 Ford Focus Electric

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2012 Ford Focus Electric arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2012 vehicle, but with only 53 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is electrical system (15 complaints), typically at 3.6 yr or about 17,160 miles.

Complaints: 53
Median age at failure: 3.6 yr
Median mileage: 16,029 n=46
Crash / fire / tow: 5.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

18V592000 2018-09-10

Equipment:electrical

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 120V Convenience charge cords that were supplied with and sold for use with 2013-2015 Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi vehicles and 2012-2015 Ford Focus Electric vehicles. Cords with part numbers FM58-10B706-AA, FM58-10B706-AB, FM58-10B706-AC, FM58-10B706-AD, FM58-10B706-AE and FM58-10B706-AF were manufactured without thermistors, and during vehicle charging, increased resistance in the house's outlet or wiring can cause the cord to overheat and melt.

An overheated cord can increase the risk of a fire.

13V523000 2013-10-30

Power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Focus Electric vehicles manufactured September 15, 2011, through August 23, 2013. In the affected vehicles, a powertrain control module software problem may result in a stall-like condition.

An unexpected loss of power while driving increases the risk of a crash.

13V475000 2013-10-17

Electrical system:ignition:anti-theft:control module

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Focus Electric vehicles and 2013 C-Max vehicles equipped with the Intelligent Access Push Button Start System. In the affected vehicles, there is no audible chime when the vehicle is operational and the driver's door is opened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Without an audible door chime, a vehicle owner may open the door and exit the vehicle without being reminded that the vehicle is still operational, leaving the vehicle susceptible to theft.

In owners’ own words

Electrical system 7,600 mi 2.1 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY BRIDGE, THE FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC STALLED. THE DASHBOARD SHOWS A SIGN "STOP SAFELY NOW" AND THEN A PICTURE OF A YELLOW WRENCH. I HAD TO STOP AT THE HIGHWAY'S SHOULDER. VERY VERY DANGEROUS. VERY UNSAFE. I TRIED TO START THE CAR. IT WOULD NOT START. AFTER 45 MINUTES, WHEN ALL THE ELECTRICAL LIGHT INDICATORS ON THE DASHBOARD SHOWED BLACK, I PUSHED THE START BUTTON AGAIN, AND IT STARTED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND I HEARD IN THE ONLINE FORUM THAT "CAR STALLED SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING" WAS COMMON RECENTLY. FORD NEEDS TO FIX THIS URGENTLY. *TR

Electrical system 8,033 mi 2.1 yr in service

"STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE APPEARED WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 30MPH AND SLOWING DOWN FOR A STOPLIGHT. CAR WOULD NOT MOVE WHILE MESSAGE WAS LIT. THE CAR HAD 88% CHARGE, AND WAS CHARGING 5MIN PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. TRYING TO RESTART THE CAR WAS UNSUCCESSFULLY AT FIRST, BUT I TURNED THE CAR OFF, OPENED A DOOR, CLOSED IT, THEN IT RESTARTED AFTER THAT. I WAS STUCK FOR ABOUT 3 OR 4 MINUTES. *TR

Electrical system 100 mi 1.2 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, I SUDDENLY RECEIVED A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT, SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, AND SOMETIMES WHILE THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN MOTION. IN ADDITION, THE STATED AVAILABLE CAPACITY OF THE BATTERY (23KWH) IS IN FACT NOT ACCESSIBLE, AND THE VEHICLE IS ONLY ABLE TO USE 16KWH BEFORE THE STOP SAFELY NOW MESSAGE IS DISPLAYED. *TR

Other Focus Electric model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2012 Ford Focus Electric

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Focus Electric model years

How to read this