2018 Ford Fusion
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 440 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 13th highest complaint count among 15 Fusion model years with reports.
Of the 2018 reports, 9 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 6 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsMar 10, 2023
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.
A brake fluid leak will increase brake pedal travel and extend the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 23V162000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, steering wheel/handle barMar 12, 2018
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.
A steering wheel detachment can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 18V167000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
106 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, May 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that on several occasions, multiple attempts were needed to shift the gear shifter out of park(P) after starting the vehicle. The wrench warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted, and the vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle had not yet been taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.
Power train, Engine, May 16, 2023
Misfires, overheating, Coolant leaking into cylinders
Power train, Apr 21, 2023
Car stopped in the middle of parking lot while i was trying to park in moving traffic. I was almost hit by another car. Transmission gear was stuck, gear didn't shift, gear moved by itself to park. Car wouldnt move. Transmission hesitates and jerks while driving
Fuel system, Gasoline, Power train, Apr 17, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start soon after refueling. Additionally, while stationary and while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate or stall upon depression of accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that the powertrain warning light would intermittently appear on the instrument panel. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no open recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Power train, Mar 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle and shifting into reverse(R), she was unable to shift between gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the under hood shifter cable bushing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was taken back to the mechanic for routine oil change service; however, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the canister purge valve (CPV) needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the part was replaced; however, the vehicle stalled after being refueled. The vehicle was taken back to the mechanic, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 18V735000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 22V413000 (Power Train). The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.
Other or unspecified, Power train, Mar 16, 2023
The transmission jumps, doesn’t want to shift gears, revs up on its own. The recall for the fusions year models 3013-16 is the same thing my car is doing.
Power train, Feb 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon shifting from reverse(R) into drive(D), the vehicle would hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that both the transmission warning light and shifter cable fault warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact called the dealer where she was informed that the shifter cable bushing was missing and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was 101,000.
Power train, Jan 31, 2023
Started parked car and when shifted into drive the shifter automatically reverted back to Park position and could not be driven. Inspection showed that transmission shifter bushing had popped off. Same problem has happened in other model year Fusions and recall has been issued but not for the 2018 model I have. Problem was verified and repaired by Ford dealer at my expense.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 7, 2023
While driving down the road the car suddenly flashed engine coolant is over-temperature warning and shut off and lost power. Inside of my vehicle the car was not showing it was running hot on the temperature hand. I was on a blind curve and barely made it to a pull off before the car completelyshut off. There have been no signs of over heating before this. There is a coolant intrusion in the cylinder and the engine block needs to be replaced. 120000 miles and out of warranty.
Power train, Nov 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission failed to shift into the intended gear, with the "Shift System Fault" message displayed and the transmission warning light illuminated. Additionally, the transmission inadvertently shifted into park(P). The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission bearing needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the transmission bearing. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Power train, Oct 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after reversing out of the driveway, the vehicle failed to shift out the reverse(R) after multiple attempts. The contact stated that the gear shifter indicated the vehicle was in park(P). The contact heard an abnormal clunking noise coming from the gear shifter as the shifter fault message appeared on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective shifter cable bushing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
Power train, Oct 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the gear shifter detached, and the contact was unable to shift into the intended gear. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission shifter cable bushing was missing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.
Power train, Sep 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his wife driving 5 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the flex plate on the flywheel was fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.
Power train, Engine, Aug 17, 2022
There is a coolant leak into the cylinder which causes it to misfire. Ford is aware this is a known problem!!
Power train, Aug 6, 2022
Went into reverse to back out of a parking spot and the gear shift went back into park while reversing. After research of the issue it was determined that the bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission detached from the transmission. If the parking brake is not applied, a degraded shifter cable bushing that detaches from the transmission could result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of injury or crash. There are already recalls issued for the same type if vehicle but my vin number does not populate a recall. I am having a safety issue.
Power train, Aug 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the gear shifter was in drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. The gear shifter then independently shifted back to the park(P) position. The shift system fault service required a warning message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact's friend was able to move an unknown part inside the gear shifter which allowed her to resume normal driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that her vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
Power train, Seat belts, Aug 1, 2022
The passenger seat belt is hard to buckle it gets stuck making it hard to even buckle up. And the shifter bushing broke had to use the key in the override shift to get it to shift so I could get it home, my father is the one who found the issue. We will be taking it in to the ford dealership to be looked at and to get fixed. The shift sys fault service required light did come on prior to it not shifting into gear.
Power train, Jul 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and attempting to shift into drive(D), the gear shifter remained seized in park(P). There was no warning light illuminated. The warning message "System Default" was displayed. The contact sought towing assistance. The towing agent went underneath the vehicle and manually lifted the shifter lever into the correct position. The contact then drove to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that gear shifter cable bushing had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 81,700.
Power train, Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while parked in the parking lot and attempting to drive off, the vehicle failed to shift into gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,735.
Power train, May 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while parked in parking lot and attempting to shift the gear shifter into drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond. The gear shifter would then independently shift back to the park(P) position. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not towed to a dealer or independent mechanic and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained at the parking lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,470.
Power train, May 14, 2022
When shifting the gears, the transmission gear "dial" locks in the parking position. This has happened twice and caused me to be stranded and requiring a tow. The safety issue is it could happen in traffic. Repaired twice. No warning lamps.
Power train, Engine, Dec 10, 2021
Upon entering off ramp to highway , upon acceleration car shudders and goes into limp mode, can't accelerate and forced to try and pull over to stop vehicle and re-start. Very dangerous as it is random, can't re-create and has happened at highway speeds, very unsafe. Took it to dealer, Ford could not recreate and said there were no codes present and subsequently found nothing wrong.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Oct 22, 2021
MISSOURI
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Apr 23, 2021
I FIRST NOTICED HARSH SHIFTING AND DELAYED SHIFTING. THEN I WAS PULLING OFF FROM THE CAR WASH AND MY GEARSHIFT JUMP GEARS FROM NEUTRAL TO REVERSE BUT NOT DRIVE HOWEVER THE CAR DID MOVE FORWARD. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO WINNER GORD WHERE THEY IMMEDIATELY KNEW WHAT THE ISSUE WAS BECAUSE THEY SAID ITS COMMON. WHEN I GOT MY VEHICLE BACK THE HARSH/DELAYED SHIFTING WAS STILL AN ISSUE. WEEKS LATER THE CAR IN ADDITION TO HARSH AND DELAYED SHIFTING IT NOW SHAKES REALLY BAD.
Power train, Engine, Mar 10, 2021
DRIVETRAIN WARNING LIGHT THEN A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. HAD THE CODES READ (P2119) CAME UP TOOK TO FORD SHOP AND WAS TOLD MY THROTTLE BODY ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM WAS STUCK CLOSED AND HAD FAILED. MY VEHICLE HAS JUST OVER 41000 MILES ON IT. LUCKILY IT IS COVERED BY THE WARRANTY.