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
440 reports, newest first.
Electrical system, Aug 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the vehicle was unable to restart due to the battery failing to retain a charge. The contact recharged the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30.
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.
Engine, Jul 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the check engine and the temperature warning light illuminated indicating that the vehicle was overheating. The contact was able to pull over, turn off the vehicle, and waited for the engine to cool down. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the head gasket was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle than was taken to an authorized Ford dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The contact was also informed that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 121,000.
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.
Suspension, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 2, 2022
My transmission has start to work weirdly. My car started vibrating when I am driving slow. When move to second gear suddenly the car make stop and move again.
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.
Engine, Jun 1, 2022
Bought 2018 fusion used with 20k miles. Driving to work the check engine light came on. Took it to auto zone they ran codes and said misfire cylinder 3. Replace plugs and coil packs. Next day check engine light came on again. This time had rough idle at start up. Turned car off and contacted closest ford dealer. Upon inspection told me coolant leaking into head with no blown head gasket. Said to be common problem with ecoboost engines. Need to replace engine for over $7800. Not under warranty and Ford knows of issue and won't stand behind their product. I'm a single mom with no car to get to work now and no way to fix this. It would take me years to save enough to fix this car. Completely hopeless at this point. No car=no way to work. No job=no home or food. This is a common problem and well known issue but tough luck? How can this be right? How can I feed my children or pay rent? What am I supposed to do? This is not fair. You made a faulty product so you should stand behind it and make it right. This has literally destroyed my life.
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.
Engine, May 11, 2022
I was driving to work one day and my car's engine light came on and then the overheating light signaled and would drop and then signal again randomly one morning, with no sign of smoke or overheating. Unfortunately, I was crossing a bridge when this happened. My car started to slow down and eventually just stopped moving ON THE BRIDGE. I finally got it to a mechanic who thought that the codes ran could be fixed with a tuneup. Got a tuneup and the Engine light came right back on. He then looked further into the issue and found out about the eco engine issue. I could not drive my car for two weeks until ford could fit me in their schedule because they were booked two weeks out. I get it to the dealer and they tell me the car is leaking coolant into my engine and now my engine needs to be replaced and that this is a common issue but I must pay for this fix myself. This is wrong and completely unsafe to put people on the road in these cars knowing this can happen.
Engine, May 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the cylinder and the engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.
Back over prevention, Equipment, Apr 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving the infotainment touch screen went black with no warning. The contact stated that the rearview camera and hands-free feature were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was diagnosed with a failed Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM). The contact stated the APIM was not communicating with the vehicle. The APIM needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was not been repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the vehicle. The contact was then transferred to NHTSA to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Engine, Mar 5, 2022
Never had a problem with car no leaks nothing than starting to overheat checked coolant was empty refilled next day was empty again yet no leaks had it looked at all coolant is in engine block but no blown head or other way saw in other complaints lots with same car had same problem and said it’s a flaw engine where coolant gets into cylinder still owe more money then car is worth now and can’t drive
Engine and engine cooling, Other or unspecified, Mar 3, 2022
Ford issued a recall in 2020 for my car for coolant leaks. My vehicle was under warranty at the time (28k miles), and in the same week had white smoke emissions, engine stalling on the interstate and overheating in idle. The smoke never went away even after extensive, month long repair. The vehicle again had the same issues in august 2020 (76k miles), taken to Ford dealership with $3,000 in out of pocket expense. It is now March 2022 (82k miles) and my vehicle is still showing signs of coolant leak with no help from any Ford dealership.
Other or unspecified, Back over prevention, Feb 18, 2022
The audio/navigation display screen on my 2018 Ford Fusion went black as I was backing out of a parking spot almost causing an accident. It immediately came back on after this but unfortunately, it started to happen regularly upon startup, while driving, parked, just randomly, and for longer periods of time. It also started to increase the volume and I couldn't control it. The system completely stopped working after several weeks. I did a lot of research and noticed that this is a significant problem with Ford Accessory Protocol Interface Modules (APIM). Some have already been recalled on certain models of Fords and why they are not recalled on any that go out is beyond me. Seems that in and of itself would place some liability on the manufacturer in the event of an accident. The dealership wants to charge over $1,200 to replace the faulty APIM, which they described as a continued problem that everyone knows about. So maybe that is the reason it is not recalled. They can make money selling the vehicle and then another $1,200 after 40,000 miles when it goes out. I am very frustrated and will now be $1,200 less happy. Yes, I am frustrated at the financial impact, but it was a safety issue initially and at times startled me while driving, which could have caused an accident. I am sure that there are numerous examples of previous complaints that are able to prove this.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 17, 2022
Cylinder 2 Misfire. Told engine needs to be replaced due to a leak. Car was completely dead overnight with no other symptoms leading up to it.
Other or unspecified, Feb 8, 2022
I was leaving a doctors appointment and a message randomly displayed stating "Stop Safely Now" and the car quit moving. A yellow warning light came on as well. Fortunately I was in a parking lot, but I was unable to get the car to turn off or move for almost 10 minutes. Finally I was able to get to turn off and turn back on and drive home without another incident. It appears this is a common safety issue with Ford's hybrid vehicles. I am happy this didn't happen on a street road or the highway and that my daughter wasn't with me. I cannot be getting stranded places with the cold winters in Iowa or with my child.
Other or unspecified, Back over prevention, Jan 13, 2022
Faulty APIM for radio/navigation/rear view camera. System won’t turn on or operate In cold weather. When warm, system works perfect.
Fuel/propulsion system, Jan 8, 2022
I stopped at a gas station in 0 digit degree weather fahrenheit and when I tried to insert the pump into the capless filler, it was frozen guy the actual inner latch that opens to the tank itself. I tried to gently apply pressure and I could not get it to open after trying for 3-4 minutes. Luckily I was close to home since my gas light can come on and I didn't have a lot of gas left, but that also means my car is sitting in extreme cold right now with very little gas, which I believe poses a risk to line freezing. More important, what if I hadn't been as close to home? What if, while trying to drive around and fine someone to help me, I ran out of gas? If a person was in a more rural environment then I am, they might not be quickly seen and might be stranded with a car that can't provide heat any longer and in extreme cold.
Wheels, Jan 7, 2022
Had tires replaced and mechanic reported several swollen lug nuts.
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.
Other or unspecified, Dec 2, 2021
On four separate occasions the truck will randomly open while driving. After the first couple times I was extremely careful to ensure I did not randomly hit the button or had my key fob in a way that the truck release could be activated by accident. Despite this the truck will still randomly open on its own. Could be a very dangerous situation if the trunk is full.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Nov 30, 2021
Electrical: My car’s radio was going out and I took to Ford for a check while getting oil change. They said normal don’t worry about it. At this time I was still in warranty. When taken to Ford the 2nd time,they “reset” my SYNC & then the radio/touchscreen complete stopped working within 48 hours. When I told them, I just happened to be out of warranty then. Touch screen is completely blank! It will not turn on or allow controls for heat nor a/c. Cannot see backup camera nor can I hear the beeps. The USB plugs and outlets are also not working! This began in January 2020. I have a 7 month old at the time and it was a very cold winter. Engine: Fast forward to August 2020, my car just shut down in the middle of the highway and started shaking with my then 15 month old! Pulled over and had it towed to Ford. Ford told me it needed a new Engine and would cost $7500 to get it fixed. I had never issues before and each oil change received the multi point inspection and I was never informed of any issues prior to.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Oct 22, 2021
MISSOURI