2016 Ford Fusion problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (326) · Power Train (251) · Steering (152)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Fusion model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
921 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (13)
Power Train:manual Transmission 2026-06-09 · campaign 26V376000 · 5,252 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Focus and 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 18V169 and 18V845. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
Risk: A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Additionally, dealers will inspect Focus vehicles and replace the clutch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were October 16, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2025-10-13 · campaign 25V695000 · 1,448,655 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Risk: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford'
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2023-11-17 · campaign 23V775000 · 45,173 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component inside the door latches may break, which can make it difficult to latch or possibly
Risk: Vehicle doors opening unexpectedly while driving can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the door latch date codes and if necessary, replace all four side door latches, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 20, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-177.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2023-03-10 · campaign 23V162000 · 1,280,726 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.
Risk: A brake fluid leak will increase brake pedal travel and extend the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front brake hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S12.
Power Train:shift Linkage/Cable/Rod 2022-06-10 · campaign 22V413000 · 2,925,968 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Risk: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2020-03-23 · campaign 20V177000 · 288,110 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fiesta, 2014-2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or lea
Risk: A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and Ford or Lincoln dealers will replace the side door latches, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15.
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2019-08-29 · campaign 19V632000 · 116,160 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering
Risk: If the bolts corrode, the steering gear motor may detach from the gear housing resulting in a loss of power steering assist, requiring a greater steering effort, especially at lower speeds, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear motor bolts and apply a wax sealer. If any of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S26.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift 2019-05-13 · campaign 19V362000 · 259,182 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles equipped with 2.5 liter engines. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to Park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in Park, with no warning message or audible chime.
Risk: If the vehicle is exited without the transmission being in Park and without the parking brake being applied, the vehicle may unexpectedly move, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 10, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S16. Note: Owners are directed to use the parking brake until the recall remedy repairs can be made. This recall is an expansion of 18V471.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift 2018-07-16 · campaign 18V471000 · 504,182 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford Escape, and 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles, equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to Park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in Park, with no warning message or audible chime.
Risk: If the vehicle is exited without the transmission being in Park and without the parking brake being applied, the vehicle may unexpectedly move, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S20. Note: Owners are directed to use the parking brake until the recall remedy repairs can be made.
Steering: Steering Wheel/Handle Bar 2018-03-12 · campaign 18V167000 · 1,301,986 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Lincoln MKZ and Ford Fusion vehicles. The steering wheel retaining bolt may loosen allowing the steering wheel to detach while driving.
Risk: A steering wheel detachment can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel bolt with a longer bolt, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S08.
Seat Belts:front 2016-12-05 · campaign 16V875000 · 603,392 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured November 2, 2012, to July 31, 2014, and 2013-2015 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 14, 2012, to July 31, 2014. In the event of a crash, heat from the deployment of a seat belt pretensioner may cause a front seat belt anchor cable to fail.
Risk: If the driver or front passenger seatbelt cables cannot properly restrain the front seat occupants, they would be at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply a protective coating to the seat belt cable, free of charge. The recall began May 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S42.
Seats 2016-04-27 · campaign 16V250000 · 39 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured from March 10, 2016, through March 16, 2016. The front driver seat track assembly's rear riser may have been improperly welded to the seat track rail, and as a result, the driver may not be adequately restrained in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 207, "Seating Systems" and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchora
Risk: An improperly welded driver seat riser may fail to adequately restrain the driver during crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Ford quarantined the affected vehicles at dealerships prior to their sale. Dealers will replace the front driver seat track rail, free of charge. The recall began on May 19, 2016. Ford's number for this recall is 16C05.
Fuel System, Gasoline:storage 2015-10-01 · campaign 15V618000 · 658 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 13, 2015, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 12, 2015. The affected vehicles have a fuel tank that may have insufficent wall thickness. As a result, the fuel tanks may crack in the event of a crash and thus the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 301, "Fuel Syste
Risk: A fuel tank that cracks may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began on October 19, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C11.
Service bulletins (152)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train 2026-05-02 · 25E01 · Emissions
certain 2014-2016 model year fusion vehicles equipped with 1.5l engine - powertrain control module (pcm) reprogramming
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Power Train 2026-02-17 · 25B61 · Other
certain 2013-2014 model year escape and 2013-2016 fusion vehicles equipped with a 6f35 transmission shift cable bushing inspection and protective service cap installation
Power Train 2025-11-12 · SSM 54366 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2015-2021 ford and lincoln vehicles may exhibit an illuminated mil with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0011, p0012, p0014, p0015, p0016, p0017, p0018, p0019, p0021, p0022, p0024 and/or p0025. pinpoint test hk in the powertrain control and emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) or in section 303-14 of th
Unknown Or Other 2025-10-16 · 25E01 · Emissions
the affected vehicles have an emissions control system that may not control tailpipe emissions effectively over time.
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Showing the 6 most recent of 152 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Back Over Prevention“the contact owns a 2016 ford fusion. the contact stated that they had received notification of notification of nhtsa campaign number : 25v695000 (back over prevention) the local dealer was contacted however the vehicle was not remedied as the contact was advised that the parts to perform the recall repair were not yet available. the contact had exp…”
2026-10-27 · Back Over Prevention · 16,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 ford fusion. the contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the rear-view camera operated intermittently. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted. the contact stated…”
2026-10-27 · Back Over Prevention“the contact owns a 2016 ford fusion. the contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse(r), the rearview camera displayed a blank or distorted screen. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted and…”
2026-10-27 · Engine“engine is overheating. main seal is leaking and over pressurising the coolant system. coolant cap is being blown off. …”
2026-10-26 · Back Over Prevention · 125,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 ford fusion. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer …”
2026-10-24 · Engine“engine failure due to a faulty design from ford motor company. coolant intrusion is the root cause due faulty engine design on the 2016 ford fusion 2.0 ecoboost engine. …”
2026-10-23 · Unknown Or Other“my vehicle is part of active nhtsa recall campaign 25v695 (ford 25sa9). ford has failed to provide a remedy or parts for an extended period, noting that a remedy is completely unavailable. my camera has progressed from intermittent issues to regular blackouts and failure while in reverse. ford is leaving me to drive an actively worsening safety haz…”
2026-10-23 · Engine“2016 ford fusion 1.5l ecoboost engine w/approx. 88,000 miles was just purchased from private owner on 10/7/26. on 10/17/26 the check engine light came on and showed problem with cylinder 1 and 4. car was running ruff, misfiring, losing power. safety issue for losing power on highway. new spark plugs installed and cylinder 1 and 4 replaced. replaced…”
2026-10-22 · Unknown Or Other“my ford fusion has had an open recall for about a year now for the back up camera. when i put my car in reverse the image is sometimes reverted, like things on the left are on the right of the screen, sometimes it is all black, and sometimes it has lines down the middle of the screen. i’ve called ford multiple times to see about when i could get th…”
2026-10-21 · Engine“ford ecoboost coolant intrusion. loss of coolant without noticeable leaks. loss of power while experiencing cylinder misfire. after cool-down, engine runs rough with white tailpipe smoke and generates check engine light for cylinder misfire.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.