NHTSA Complaint #11426507 — 2013 FORD FUSION

Defective Ford engine and engine cooling recalls have been issued for select models (i.e., recalls 12S41; 17S09;) for cars with 1.6 liter engines due to issues associated with low coolant levels in which a recall was issued in 2017 requiring Ford to install new coolant level sensors and the associated hardware and software in order to prevent engine overheating and catastrophic failure. While the recall was not issued for the 2013 Ford Fusion Energi Titanium Hybrid 2.0 liter engines, the problems identified with the 1.6 liter engines also characterize many of the 2.0 liter engines, including the one that I drive. My Ford has had 18 recalls, and during 2020 the engine light came on 4 different times between February and October of 2020 in which I brought the vehicle to Serramonte Ford service center to determine the reason. Ford did routine inspections and recall work in each visit, but it was not until the final time that the engine light came on that the tech looked inside the engine to discover leaking oil that Ford's service staff informed me I would require a new engine. Ford suggests replacing the defective engine with a rebuilt engine rather than breaking down and diagnosing the cause of the oil in the engine block, according to Ford due to the relatively cheaper cost to me (Ford did not make the diagnosis until after the car was out of warranty) of installing a rebuilt engine rather than tearing down the existing engine to diagnose and repair. I suspect that the 2.0 liter engine has the exact same issues as the 1.6 and should have been included in the 2017 recall, when I could have had the coolant level sensor installed while the car remained under the manufacturer's warranty. The car is at risk of a catastrophic fire now if I drive it off of the service center's lot, where it has been since November 2020. 12S41 and 17S09 recalls should be offered to the 2.0 liter engine models as well, before more people die.