2012 Ford Fusion
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 2,616 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 15 Fusion model years with reports.
Of the 2012 reports, 111 involved a crash and 9 involved a fire. 66 people were injured and 3 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, frontal, driver side, inflator moduleMar 10, 2021
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.
Campaign 21V158000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontalFeb 16, 2021
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Campaign 21V081000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator moduleFeb 16, 2021
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain air bag inflator and/or module replacement service parts that may have been used as part of a collision repair. The parts include certain driver-side air bag inflators and/or modules, designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang and Mustang GT500. It also includes certain passenger-side air bag inflators and/or modules designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion, 2010-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, and 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX vehicles. Please see Ford's recall report for the specific part numbers. These parts may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Ford will notify dealers that purchased the affected parts, and dealers will provide replacement parts to purchasers, free of charge. The recall began March 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Campaign 21E013000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator moduleDo not drive until repairedJan 7, 2019
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Campaign 19V001000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator moduleDo not drive until repairedJan 10, 2017
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Campaign 17V024000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemJun 2, 2015
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
Campaign 15V340000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: steering
1,511 reports, newest first. Show all
Steering, Mar 19, 2023
while setting in a fast food restaurant drive thru for 1 minute on 03/14/2023. I was asked to pull forward and could not steer my car. I pulled straight ahead to get out of the lane and couldn't steer left or right. I shut the car off for a moment, restarted and the steering works fine. I know that this car has electric assist power steering. I googled the problem with this model and found that many people have had the same issue. Some were saying that Ford covered it on a recall and others said that Ford took care of them on the problem. My car has only 108,000 miles and is in excellent condition. There are owners that have said that the dealership has replaced the rack & pinion, elec. motor, wire harness's, etc. and still have erratic loss of steering. Had this happened in traffic or cornering, the results could be disastrous. There was absolutely no control over the steering when this happened. I contacted Ford and they said that there were no recall/issues with this problem. It seems to me that when they replaced the passenger side air bag in 2019 that they may have done some type of power steering recall/software update?. I am afraid to drive this car until I can get some more info. or resolution on this . I have not been to a dealership at this time since the Ford factory rep. didn't acknowledge an issue or current recalls. When I pressed them on this issue, they suggested that I contact you. After the incident and restarting my car, I safely drove it home about 4 miles with no further incident. I did not notice any warning lights at the time of loss of steering. Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Steering, Mar 18, 2023
Steering: Electgric Power Assist System Failure Making the car almost impossible to steer at low speeds.
Steering, Mar 17, 2023
"Power Steering Assistance Failure" error message, along with total failure of the power steering, reverting to manual steering only. This makes the car unsafe for driver and passengers, and undriveable. The dealer has diagnosed it as an internal failure of the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) that will cost $2,100 to fix. This is despite the fact that the dealer made a software fix two years ago to the PSCM to avoid problems like this.
Steering, Mar 15, 2023
While driving down the highway car all of the sudden alarmed service power steering now and service advance trac system. The steering wheel then locked up on the highway putting my family in harms way because we were unable to steer going 70mph. We were able to slow down and turn the steering wheel just enough to get off the highway and wait for a tow truck. My car was examined by the local for dealership. There were NO warning lights prior event. No warning signs.
Steering, Mar 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while making a right turn, there was a popping sound coming from the steering wheel. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic stated that the electronic steering assist motor needed to be replaced. The contact was advised to contact a dealer for assistance. The dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The failure mileage was 76,000.
Steering, Mar 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Power Steering Control Failure" was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the steering wheel responded as needed; however the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the steering gear control module was faulty. The independent mechanic related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the vehicle was repaired under the recall in 2016. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that she would be charged a repair fee as the vehicle was more than 10 years old. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Steering, Mar 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after the vehicle was taken to a local dealer for routine oil change services, she was made aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering functionality with the power assist fault warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.
Steering, Mar 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a left or right turn, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The power steering assist fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the cause of the failure could not be determined. The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Steering, Feb 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH the steering wheel became firm, making it difficult to turn the steering wheel. The contact stated that the Service Power Steering Assist message was displayed. The contact was able to drive back to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the steering assist was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Steering, Feb 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault message was displayed on the instrument panel and excessive effort was needed to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic test was performed, and the vehicle was diagnosed with power steering failure. The dealer informed him that the vehicle was not covered under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.
Steering, Suspension, Vehicle speed control, Feb 18, 2023
Steering failed rack and pinion
Steering, Feb 14, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked, and the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Steering, Feb 14, 2023
Bait n switch at the dealership two years ago “no open recalls except for the passenger airbag” that’s fine. couple nights ago, i go to get some groceries and my power steering fails. no problem, usually, i just turn my car on and off again but this time it’s actually quit on me. my dad tells me to check the recalls (which i think is pointless bc i already know there’s “only one”) lo and behold there was a recall on the power steering that coincidentally expired the year i bought the car. i’m at 100,000 now and i’m the fourth owner. got quoted $190 just for Ford to diagnose it. i’m not the type of person to make a big deal over this, i hate lawsuits, i hate haggling, i hate doing all this but i’ll be damned if anybody tries to f*** me over over and over again
Steering, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Feb 6, 2023, crash
The braking system failed. Yes it’s available upon request for inspection. The safety of myself and others were put at risk because it caused me to hit something in front of me. I stepped on the brakes and the pedal went straight to the floor. This has happened multiple times it is putting my safety as well as my children’s safety at risk. When I step on the brake pedal there is nothing goes to the floor till I pump the pedal. Initial Lu when hitting the pedal it jerks the steering wheel out of my hand to the right every time. It’s not only putting my children’s, and my self in harms way but any other driver that might be even near me while driving considering it takes the steering wheel out of my hand uncontrollably.
Steering, Feb 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and attempting to make a turn, the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure as a malfunctioning electric power steering module, that needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contract related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The contact stated that the dealer was contacted and verified that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 159,900.
Steering, Feb 6, 2023
Power steering assist went out, dealer quoted $2200 repair for new steering gear on a car with around 70,000 miles. Reading on line, this seems like a common issue with this model car and should be covered by a recall.
Steering, Feb 5, 2023
Power steering stopped working while I was driving.
Steering, Feb 1, 2023
Had car towed to Brian Hoskins Ford dealership on Dec 2 2022 due to power steering failure. Originally had same dealer service car when a recall (15S18) was sent out July 2015. Was told it was fine, no part replacement needed: "Check for DTCs and reprogram PSCM". I purchased car Sep, 2013 with 11,000 miles on it from Car Sense. At time of recall it had 26,991 miles. At time of steering failure mileage was 75,573. Dealer would not honor the recall, charging $2055.50. I called Ford Motor Company before repair was made and they also refused to honor recall, placing blame on the dealership for reprogramming the PSCM and closing program 15S18. I paid Hoskins Ford to fix the issue but feel I should be compensated due to the recall status that is still in effect. The dealership service advisor, [XXX], inferred that I was past the date and also stated that the dealer gets no specific mechanical details for the recall from Ford. My case number from my phone conversation with Ford Company is [XXX]. I called them Dec 5 2022. I don't feel I am past the date and hope that you can help me. I don't understand why it wasn't fixed at the recall and how they deemed it safe to drive. It also only has half the miles covered (150,000). INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Steering, Jan 31, 2023
Power steering assistance fault occurring for several years. Dealership said that Ford would not cover repairs unless they could recreate the failure while they had it in their possession and could hook the car up to the computer. This most recent issue did not clear after restarting the vehicle several times as it had before. Lost power steering and took it to the dealership. On the way, service avancetrak error came up as well. Dealership reported the steering gear needed replaced and this car would have been covered under a warranty extension if we would have brought it in before 10 years. Ford claims that they are unable to extend any further and that nhtsa will not allow them to help cover after this 10 year period. Nhtsa claims that is false, and all i can do is file a complaint here that goes to a different part of their organization that does not have a phone number, and work with the manufacturer and FTC for warranty extension. Never received any notices for this warranty extension that should be a recall.
Steering, Jan 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. As a result of the failure, the steering wheel failed to turn and caused the contact to damage the mid passenger’s side of the vehicle. The power steering assist fault and tire pressure sensor fault warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was then informed that the VIN was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 93,967.
Steering, Jan 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Steering Fault" displayed, and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the power steering gear had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 56,000.
Steering, Jan 25, 2023
I was driving and my steering wheel locked up with me and my kids in the car I googled what the problem is and this is a constant problem for these fords I contacted the dealership and they are not trying to help me my car is 14 miles over the mileage and a year over the time frame for them to replace this part on my car she stated it had been taken care of in 2015 but the last letter for the customer satisfaction program was sent out in may 2019 I am not the first person to own this car and the fact that Rk chevrolet sold me a car with this issue is a concern and a lawsuit because I had my children with me and they aren’t trying to help me replace a 3000 dollar part that has been an issue for many owners of this car
Steering, Jan 25, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault waring light illuminated, and the steering was stiff. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and the contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the vehicle was already serviced under the recall. The contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 92,985.
Steering, Jan 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the steering fluid was inspected however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the Manufacturer Recall Number: 15S18 (Steering). The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.
Steering, Jan 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was pulling into a parking lot, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A message indicating a power steering failure was displayed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle by using physical force to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to Ford Campaign Number: 15N01. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the service campaign had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.