The 2012 Ford Focus is known for its dependable nature, but that doesn’t mean problems cannot arise. In fact, like many cars, minor issues and serious faults have come up through the years. Since most happened later on, the carmaker could only respond with recalls and technical service bulletins.
No, not as of September 2020, but complaints have come in about this important part, such as:
Transmission fails to engage the gears
Sudden loss of power to the wheels
Vehicle will intermittently not start
Fortunately, we are here to help with this guide on the issues affecting the transmission control module (TCM) on the 2012 Ford Focus. Using our info, you can find out how to address the repairs and get your vehicle running right once again.
The transmission control module sends and receives all the information it needs to move through the gears without a hitch. If anything goes wrong within its circuit, it will start to act up. When that happens, you might notice that it cannot engage the gears as expected or even feels like it has lost power.
Even worse, it may fail to start up altogether but only on an intermittent basis.
As soon as these issues start to occur, it is important to have your TCM updated with the latest software. If you fail to do so, the problem could worsen, leaving you suddenly unable to efficiently pilot your vehicle or stranded on the side of the road.
Technicians may need to replace the TCM with a new one if the update fails to resolve the problem.
Upon discovering that the TCM was prone to failure when running outdated software, Ford decided to pre-emptively send out a letter to owners letting them know about the necessary software update.
Through this voluntary program, the carmaker hoped to prevent premature failure of this part. If you get the update soon enough, it is possible to altogether avoid the symptoms of failure, including poor gear engagement and no-start issues.
What’s the Best Way to Address a 2012 Ford Focus Recall?
Are you unsure if your 2012 Ford Focus has any open recalls you need to handle? If you want to find out, travel over to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website. You can get a full report by inputting your vehicle year, make, and model or VIN in the textbox on their homepage.
Upon learning that your vehicle has pending recalls, get started on seeking repairs by calling the Ford customer service team at 1-866-436-7332. They will indicate which shops can service your car and how to make your appointment.
Honestly, if you cannot be without a car for 4-6 months, think seriously about selling it back to the dealership for probably half than what it is worth, buy a new car, or…… Anyhow, here is some advice and information to get you through TCM hell. Knowledge is power for consumers. • Ask for evidence from the Customer Experience Specialist. For example, if your Customer Experience Specialist submits a buyback request, ask for the paperwork that this was completed. Ask for documentation stating that Ford will reimburse you for a rental other than a verbal agreement or a line in an email. I was skeptical to trust Ford about getting reimbursed for a rental and a document would have alleviated that stress. Rental agents from Ford dealerships actually warned me! • Ford knows approximately how long it would be to obtain a TCM but Ford choses to withhold this information and, resultantly, wastes time. I could have managed my “no car” situation very differently had Ford told me it would be 4-6 months to obtain a TCM. O Ford took me through these options: 1) Ford buyback my car, 2) try to get an aftermarket part & warranty approval for that part, 3) locate a new transmission that may contain a TCM, 4) wait for TCM, 5) consider selling car to dealership for pennies. Steps 1 and 2, took two months of communication with my Customer Experience Specialist. Ford purposely distracts consumers with these options and tries to burn out consumers and their service needs. You have to be a “squeaky wheel”, “put in your time”, and be persistent to get what you need. • If applicable, change your car insurance from comprehensive to liability until it is fixed. Most insurance companies can make these changes the same day. • Talk to the dealership about your car’s battery otherwise you will need to buy a new battery at the end of this. Try to negotiate this with Ford customer service. • From my experience, I estimated that Ford sends out about 2,500 TCMs/week and they are “watched” through he virtual part tracking system. Ask the part folks at the dealership or Ford customer service what number you are on the list so you can estimate a timeline for yourself. Press Ford people for this information. You might get lucky and get one sooner b/c the TCM virtual tracking system is kind of a mess. I warn you to avoid pissing off the dealership. The parts manager at the dealership has the power to skip you in line and Ford corporate cannot hold them accountable for that. Several people are likely waiting for this part at the dealership. Be nice this is Ford corporates fault, not the delearship. Same goes for the customer service agent. • Go to several dealerships and tell them your sob story. Ask for them to create a COPUS ticket for you for the TCM part. This way your name can be added to the TCM list more than once. Then, if one dealership calls you with the part, you can contact Ford customer service to strike a deal to transfer the part from one dealership to another. • Keep records by asking to communicate via email only. It is in the consumer's best interest to communicate via email to keep records. It is a lot of extra work to keep records and there no way for consumers to record phone calls that arrive at no specific time during working hours. A black and white "paper trail" is best for holding Ford accountable since consumers already do not hold much power • Keep the receipts (pictures) and inventory every single cent that this situation cost you. Tell you service agent how much this is cost you financially. At the end of all of this drama, your customer service agent may advocate for you with upper management to get reimbursed for little odds and ends. The strategy is to ask for more and you may end up getting it. This is why you should be NICE to your Ford customer service agent. Again, this is Ford corporates fault. Do not be angry with them, but do tell them how much extra money this is costing you. • When you get this this point (you will….), file a complaint with Ford corporate with the BBB (not the delearship), reach out to news agencies (e.g., Detroit press), and Twitter bomb Ford. Ford’s response via BBB was that they cannot control manufacturing. From my perspective, Ford actively chose to manufacture outside of the US & should take responsibility for that decision. Nonetheless, it affects Ford’s reputation if a lot of us complain. Know that your Customer Service Specialist is limited & can only do so much because 1) Ford has a limited, unreasonable, socioeconomically-biased rental assistance policy & 2) Ford Corporate is not manufacturing enough TCMs. • The rental policy that they will offer only covers 30 days of rental assistance (10 days at a time) regardless of the duration of the issue (for me it was ~5months). You will be required to pay for the rental upfront & wait for reimbursement after the car is fixed. So, you might be waiting for ~$1000 for 6 months. It is worth noting that they send you a debit card as reimbursement. Also, it is nearly impossible to find a rental that meets their $35/day guideline in this rental car shortage but try asking Ford dealerships or other car dealers for that rate. Again, keep the receipts. You may be reimbursed even if it costs you more than $35/day but no promises. My story: My car was in the dealership shop for 4 months & 26 days (149 days) waiting for a TCM for my 2014 Ford Fiesta with
Valeri Sawiccy
on October 22, 2021
Pissed off Consumer; PhDCandidate
If you TCM is broke on your 2012-16 Focus and 2011-16 Fiesta "Powershift" (DPS6) transmission, please add your name to this excel sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16_jgofyr-KYJcxFQaKUccnRaJw-S1pKaHUcTZumc2vM/edit#gid=0 This issue warrants another lawsuit for this transmission and the TCM shortage. POWER IN NUMBERS. Let's organize - this list will be used to contact the same legal team who completed the Ford class action lawsuit for the transmission. TCM ISSUE: In response to the reason for why the part is backordered my response is as follows: Ford chose to manufacture outside of the USA and, thus, should take responsibility for that decision, recall projections, & their product supply/demand management. Ford should offer solutions to the 41,000+ consumers who are dealing with the faulty DPS6 transmissions that Ford knowingly manufactured. Recall, Ford has had several lawsuits for the 2012-16 Focus and 2011-16 Fiesta with the dual-clutch "Powershift" (DPS6) transmissions where Ford was actually buying back the cars (www.fordtransmissionsettlement.com & www.fordpowershiftlawsuit.com). Furthermore, consumers are still paying car insurance for a car that is unusable. Cars will likely have further issues because machines should not sit in a lot for months at a time without being used. RENTAL POLICY FOR THIS ISSUE: the rental policy is not practical for the following reasons: the rental policy only offers 30 days (10 days at a time) of rental assistance regardless of duration of issue (for me it is ~6 months), consumers are required to pay for the rental upfront & wait for reimbursement after the car is fixed (e.g. @$35/day, that means you need $1050 disposable income that is returned to you for months!) & it is nearly impossible to find a rental that meets their $35/day guideline in this rental car shortage. Ford has a limited, unreasonable, socioeconomically-biased rental assistance policy. TO SUMMARIZE: 1) Ford knowingly made faulty transmissions for this vehicle, 2) the rental car policy is not practical, and 3) Ford is responsible for managing supply/demand for their products such as the TCMs (this was an issue BEFORE the pandemic). Ford is not supporting consumers who are covered under an extended warranty. Ford needs to manufacture TCMs, buyback faulty Ford Fiestas or, at a minimum, offer reasonable, socioeconomic-inclusive rental assistance or a loaner for this particular extended warranties (given the class action lawsuits). This is consumer abuse. PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE EXCEL FILE.
Theresa Z.
on August 16, 2023
TCM
I have a 2015 Ford Focus with less than 80,000 miles and the TCM has already gone bad. My friend has a 2015 Ford Fiesta. She had over 100,000 miles on her car before her TCM went bad. It is good to see that we are not alone in this dilemma. I do agree that all of us need to band together and file a lawsuit against Ford. I don't know about any of the rest of you, but neither my friend nor I ever received a letter informing us of this recall. Ford has kept this information on the down low, and they seem to be refusing to ever inform any owners of either vehicle about this recall. By refusing to do anything to help the owners of these vehicles they will be losing a lot of money in sales because I do not plan on purchasing another Ford. I believe that the Ford Motor Company should be responsible for ensuring all customers have access to a rental car. Neither of the dealers close to where I live offer any type of rental car. One is 20 miles away and the other is 60 miles away. If I had known about the TCM problem when I bought my car I would have steered clear of it and found something different. Again, we do need to band together to hold Ford accountable.
Joan Festa
on August 19, 2021
Ford Focur 2012 TCM failure
2012 Ford Focus SE purchased new All maintenance, recalls, and updates maintauned faithfully. At 39,000 miles, Aug. 2021, TCM failed. No warnings. Part on back order. It's in China. I'll never see it in my lifetime. No followup from Dealership. Customer Service was always lacking. Employees give generic "I'll notify my manager". Management is never available. My car is there 2 weeks. Other customers are waiting 1 and 1/2 months. Offers of me selling the car to them go unheeded. Calls to Ford custimer servuce is a series of transferred calls and recirdings.
Carey A.
on May 13, 2022
TCM DISASTER
The dealer and Ford left me without the use of my 2012 Ford Focus with 80,000 miles on it for over a month. They refused to agree to a rental car as well. I made it my daily habit to call Ford Motor Company every day and the dealer multiple times a day. They magically found a TCM for the car when it was on national backorder for more than five months. Unfortunately, the only way to get a helpful response is to become the squeaky wheel.
Tara Heiser
on November 19, 2021
Theiser316@gmail.com
My husband's 2012 Ford Focus is currently sitting waiting for a back ordered TCM part to come in. It's bullshit that this is not recalled! We've already spent almost $2700 and finally are told it's the TCM that needs to be replaced. My husband hasn't had a reliable car since Spring of this year. Ford needs to make this right. They put in shifty computers in Fords 2012-2018. Very upset customers.
Dan
on March 16, 2023
Do not buy
My 2012 Ford Focus was in the dealership for almost 200 days waiting for a transmission control module needless to say what else can go wrong with a car that just sits this long Ford doesn’t care about that at all they knew years ago this car had problems and should have done something then please stay away from Neilson Ford of Morristown N.J. The worst service department I have ever seen
Norma Pellegrino
on February 22, 2022
Normapellegrino79@gmail.com
I spent my tax money on this car. I was so excited to finally have a car that I thought was going to be reliable for me and my two daughters. I paid $4000 and for 4 months it ran great. First the starter needed to be replaced. That was $400 with labor. Then a few weeks later the TCM fails. I’m thankful for the bus but me and my daughter’s have to walk. Praying for a solution soon.
Scott Nishimura
on May 24, 2022
AVOID: 2012 Ford Focus
My Focus has been undriveable since November 2021, with a bad transmission control module. Earlier in the year, I took it into a Ford dealership in Fort Worth multiple times with symptoms, but the dealership initial denied the problem. It finally "condemned" the TCM in July 2021, and I've been on the waiting list since then. The car was driveable through October.
Rita
on February 6, 2022
2012 Ford focus
Same here. Same issues with car just sitting at dealership waits on TCM. This is so wrong on so many levels. Dealership has no rentals. Corporate customer service acted like they will help expedite the part. I don’t foresee that happening. There’s 5 or so in front of me waiting since May. Ugh.
Justin
on December 16, 2021
In the same boat
My car has been out of service for months now and no part in sight. Continue to get told it’s on back order and can’t seem to get any answers about it from anyone, just get the run around. Extremely upsetting and extremely frustrating. My next vehicle purchase will DEFINITELY NOT BE A FORD.
Amy Jorgensen-Epp
on August 22, 2022
2012 focus
Daughters car has been sitting since April 2022 I call and they still can’t tell me if they are close to getting one in the shop . Now my daughter is off to college again and I’m sitting with no car due to her having to use mine .
RH
on June 30, 2021
Upset Customer
I have had my vehicle at dealer two months now. No parts available. Ford will not provide a rental and I feel like I am left in the dark. Poor customer concerns on their part and no way to get a hold of management. Disgraceful!
Clarck Nikki
on November 19, 2021
Mr
I got this problem 3 weeks ago. The mechanic asked $3800 to fix it. The car sitting on the street and I plan to sell it as is. The modules sold out of Ford parts process are all defected.
Jacqueline Richardson
on December 17, 2021
Jrichardson1300@gmail.com
What is the solution here . I'm disabled no money for new vehicle.no money for payment .THERE HAS TO BE A.SOLUTION
Norma
on April 2, 2023
Transmission control module
Cannot find a transmission control module for my 2012 ford focus...ford will not help me
