NHTSA Complaint #11584006 — 2017 FORD FUSION

I am the only owner and driver of vehicle with just under 70,000 miles. The vehicle has regular service maintenance with original dealership purchased from and no leaks or major problems have been detected during any visit. On Saturday 4/13 after battery was replaced, the check engine light came on. Engine coolant temperature too high warning came on shortly thereafter. Upon arriving to destination and car sitting for 4 hours, both lights went off. No issues the next two days with very minimal driving. On Tuesday 4/16 car was driven about 30 minutes and had issue restarting after sitting for about an hour. Upon restart, both warning lights reappeared. When car began to sputter at 65mph highway speeds, a flashing coolant warning was coupled with audio warning. Hazard lights and light traffic allowed car to be safely driven back to street, but eventually vehicle lost all acceleration. It was then parked in open lot and towed to independent service center after hours. (Normal service provider estimated two week delay before for any diagnosis.) On the following day, initial diagnosis was extremely low coolant and need for tune up. No leaks were detected, no battery issues, coolant was topped off, and vehicle was deemed drivable. Thursday 4/18 the vehicle was brought back for recommended tune up and also an oil change. Technician noticed smell of coolant coming out of exhaust and coolant level was considerably lower than previous day. Final diagnosis is coolant leak into motor resulting in blown head gasket. At minimum, replacement of affected cylinder, water pump and hoses is recommended. Most common course of action is complete motor replacement.