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, Jul 27, 2025
Power steering first failed in March 2025 after longer than average driving (vacation). Unplugging the electronic power steering motor from the power supply / data cables resolved the loss of powering steering at that time. The power steering error and failure returned on [XXX] after average driving and upon restarting the vehicle. This time unplugging the power steering motor did not resolve the issue. The vehicle will be going for further diagnosis and repair this week. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Steering, Jul 18, 2025
I drove about 40 mins to a friends house. Got up the next day to leave and I started the car and the power steering assist fault warning light came on. Nothing led up to this incident. Just all of a sudden.
Steering, Jul 17, 2025
Back in 2022 my power steering went out while I was driving the lights service advancetac and power steering assist fault show up took it to Ford to tell me it was the rack and pinion I got it replaced 3 months ago I’m on the interstate trying to get off as an exit and it went out again with the same messages. This is really alarming And dangerous when is constantly keep happening during driving. Especially for the price at ford wants to constantly replace it for.
Steering, Jul 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel seized. The contact waited for several minutes and then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure had reoccurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the power steering system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Steering, Jul 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist was inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that the power steering message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with DTC related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01 (EPAS Steering Efforts). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed there was no coverage for the repair. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.
Steering, Electronic stability control (ESC), Jul 11, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 - 60 MPH, the AdvanceTrac and power steering systems became inoperable. The AdvanceTrac and power steering warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent certified mechanic, where an unknown diagnostic was made. The AdvanceTrac system was reset, and unknown power steering system repairs were performed; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic several times. The mechanic reset the AdvanceTrac system a second time. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall and the vehicle did not have warranty coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 29,104.
Steering, Jul 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving on a main road at 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality with the message "Service Advanced Track Power Steering" displayed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over on the side of the road to restart the vehicle; however, the power steering function remained disabled. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 165,000.
Steering, Jul 7, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There was no reservoir cap to check for power steering fluid. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Steering, Jul 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the power steering failed to function as intended and the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact called a friend to drive the vehicle to the residence. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that on another occasion, the steering wheel became difficult to turn while driving. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rack and pinon had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Steering, Jun 28, 2025
Steering Issue
Steering, Jun 28, 2025
My power steering went in my 2012 Ford Fusion. It was recalled years ago and now it has affected my car. I can’t drive it as it is very unsafe. I was told since it was under 150,000 miles it could be fixed but by someone else I was told it will not be fixed. I need some assistance.
Steering, Jun 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the power steering assist became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle due to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Steering, Jun 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.
Steering, Jun 9, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message “Service Power Steering” was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic, and the steering wheel seized. The message "Service Power Steering" was displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or inspected. The contact stated that another independent mechanic was scheduled to stop by the residence to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 122,234.
Steering, May 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gearbox had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
Steering, May 20, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Service Power Steering" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact's husband was able to drive the vehicle to the residence without power steering assist. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering control module (PSCM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was covered under Ford Campaign Number: 15N01. The manufacturer attempted to contact the dealer on the contact's behalf; however, the dealer was unreachable. The dealer later informed the contact that Ford Campaign Number: 15N01 had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 206,000.
Steering, May 12, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel started drifting and the contact was unable to keep steering wheel steady. The contact stated that there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the steering wheel while turning the wheel in either direction. The contact stated that the "Service Power Steering Assist" and "Service Advancetrac" messages were displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the power steering module was electrical, and no repairs could be performed on the vehicle. Despite the failure, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to the residence and contacted the manufacturer. The manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The contact was also provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 214,000.
Steering, Air bags, May 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 15V34000 (STEERING), 19V001000 (AIR BAGS), and 21V158000 (AIR BAGS); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not yet made aware of the issue. The contact stated whiling parking the vehicle the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn with the message "Service Power Steering" displayed. The cause of the failure was not determined, and the vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 310,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Steering, May 1, 2025
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 25-30 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality while turning into the driveway. The contact was able to park the vehicle at the residence. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 ( Steering). The contact called the local dealer who confirmed there was no recall on the VIN. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer by the Ford mechanic and was diagnosed that the sensor or module to the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
Steering, Apr 29, 2025
The contact's stepdaughter owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his stepdaughter was driving approximately 20-30 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that the failure had recurred on several occasions. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the power steering became functional for approximately 10 minutes. Additionally, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed on some occasions. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Steering, Apr 28, 2025
When I turned my car on to leave for work it was beeping and the menu said power steering system faulty and loss of power steering/ it will also randomly loss power steering while driving down the road
Steering, Apr 25, 2025
Randomly at start up, it says "power steering assist fault" We took it to Ford and they couldn't recreate the problem because it was happening at random, and they said they couldn't fix it as it wasn't having the problem at the time. Now it's permanent, we have no power steering assist and is very unsafe for my mother to drive.
Steering, Service brakes, Apr 18, 2025
Unknown, my son in law came inside one day and said that the steering wasn't working I didn't realize at the time it didn't have a fluid port. So I wasn't sure how to get it done but then the power was being lost also from the engine. I called to see if it had any recalls but it doesn't supposedly but then why is it that other fusions same year have the issue and it was recalled or is mine just to late to be taken advantage of? I am unable to drive it and the dealership I bought it from didn't offer an extended warranty so it has been sitting on the side of my house because it is unsafe to drive. Please help me.... thank you. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Steering, Apr 17, 2025
Power steering went out and it's electrical
Steering, Apr 11, 2025
The electronic power steering assist intermittently quits working, making the car very difficult to turn. You do get an alert in the dash when this occurs. This is a known issue for many Ford vehicles. This vehicle has less than 45,000 miles on it, but is beyond the 10-year period that Ford allows under their own "recall" program.