NHTSA Complaint #10543321 — 2011 FORD FUSION

I HAVE BEEN SENSING A SURGE IN ENGINE POWER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS IN MY 2011 FUSION. I SUSPECTED A THROTTLE BODY PROBLEM AND GOOGLED FOR INFORMATION. I FOUND ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE ABOUT THROTTLE BODY PROBLEMS FOR THIS CAR AS WELL AS INFORMATION IN OTHER FORUMS. IT WAS A GOOD THING AS I WAS PREPARED FOR WHAT HAPPENED TODAY. I HAD JUST LEFT MY HOUSE WHEN THE DREADED (AND EXPECTED) LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WITH THE WRENCH LIGHT BEING ILLUMINATED. I EXPERIENCED THE SAME SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY SO MANY COMPLAINTS LOGGED FOR THIS ISSUE: LOSS OF POWER, ROUGH IDLE, JUST ENOUGH POWER TO BARELY MOVE THE CAR, CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TO LIMP ANYWHERE, MUCH LESS HOME, EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE WAS IN "LIMP HOME" MODE. I HAD MY CODE SCANNER WITH ME AND WAS ABLE TO RETRIEVE THE P2111 (THROTTLE STUCK OPEN) CODE BEFORE I RESTARTED THE CAR TO RESTORE FULL POWER. THIS ONLY WORKED ENOUGH TO GET THE CAR TURNED AROUND WHEN LIMP HOME WAS TRIGGERED AGAIN. I RESTARTED AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO GET WITHIN A BLOCK OF MY HOUSE WHEN LIMP HOME TRIGGERED ONCE MORE. THE THIRD TIME I WAS ABLE TO GET TO MY HOUSE. I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEN ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO GET MY CAR TOWED TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALER AFTER VERIFYING THAT THEY HAD A THROTTLE BODY IN STOCK. THE CAR WAS TOWED THERE AND A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY WAS DIAGNOSED AND REPLACED. THIS IS NOT A CASE OF IF THE FAILURE WILL HAPPEN, BUT RATHER WHEN. I WAS FULLY EXPECTING IT ANY DAY AND SURE ENOUGH, IT HAPPENED. I WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE AS I WAS LESS THAN A MILE FROM HOME, KNEW WHAT TO EXPECT AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT, AND MY CAR WAS STILL IN WARRANTY, BUT ONLY BY 1,806 MILES! ANY OTHER SITUATION WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN ME BEING IN A VERY DANGEROUS PREDICAMENT WITH A CAR THAT WAS BASICALLY DEAD IN THE WATER. I WAS ALMOST TO THE POINT OF PURCHASING A NEW THROTTLE BODY ON MY OWN IN THE INTEREST OF BEING PROACTIVE RATHER THAN BEING STRANDED. *TR