NHTSA Complaint #10532948 — 2010 FORD FUSION

I WAS DRIVING IN THE RIGHT LANE OF A MAJOR, HEAVILY TRAVELED (WITH MANY TRACTOR TRAILERS), DIVIDED HIGHWAY, TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF BETWEEN 55 AND 60 MPH. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE SEEMED TO SHUT DOWN. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE; THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RESPOND. THIS WAS A VERY SCARY SITUATION AS TRUCKS AND CARS HAD TO BREAK, WHILE I STEERED THE CAR TO THE NARROW SHOULDER. THE CAR DIDN'T SEEM TO LOSE POWER STEERING AND THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING (TACH SHOWED 900 TO 1000 RPM). HOWEVER, ENGINE WAS TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE TO MY DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, PUT THE FLASHERS ON AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND ATTEMPTED TO START THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE STARTED NORMALLY, AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY. HOWEVER, AFTER DRIVING ABOUT ONE-QUARTER MILE, THE SAME ENGINE SHUTDOWN OCCURRED. CALLED AAA AND HAD THE CAR TOWED. THE AUTO REPAIR CENTER CHECKED FOR TROUBLE CODES. THE THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY HAD FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. I HAVE NOT HAD A PROBLEM SINCE THE REPAIR WAS MADE. SUBSEQUENT TO THE REPAIR, I CHECKED ON THE INTERNET TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM. I WAS VERY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THIS PROBLEM IS NOT UNCOMMON TO FORD OWNERS. I WAS GRATIFIED TO SEE THAT YOUR AGENCY HAS OPENED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MATTER. I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AT FORD MOTOR COMPANY TO SEE IF THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL. FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE SAID THERE WAS NO RECALL AND DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE BODY UNIT. I THEN CALLED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF A LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP. THE SERVICE REP SAID THAT "THEY HAVE SEEN PROBLEMS WITH THE THROTTLE BODY UNIT", BUT CONFIRMED THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL. *TR