NHTSA Complaint #11662745 — 2018 FORD FUSION

At 68,000 miles, the transmission began experiencing symptoms of a failed transmission. I took it to the dealer and they confirmed that there was a CONCERN HARSH SHIFT ON 3RD GEAR AND DIAGNOSE DIRECT DRUM CAUSING CUST CONCERN AND SHUDDER CONCERN TORQUE CONVERTER. This diagnosis caused the vehicle to hard shift everytime i would take off and often time cause a kick on the transmission. Because of this, the rear main seal of the engine also gave out prematurely. While driving on the freeway, the engine began leaking oil suddenly from the rear main seal causing the entire bottom of the engine to get soaked with oil. This also caused the oil to fall in to the brake pads and rotors. While driving on the freeway, i lost braking power and could not stop safely. I had to pull to the shoulder and attempt to stop the vehicle. Fortunatelly, there were no cars on the soulder and was able to stop the vehicle. This is where i discovered the vehicle full of oil in the bottom of the vehicle along with the brake pads and rotors. The vehicle was towed to the house about 130 miles. Once discovered, it was taken to Sunrise Ford where they discovered all of the issues. The service tech told me that it is a common problem for those transmissions to fail prematurely and cause other problems. This is a safety issue because after 7 years of the vehicle being on the road with under 100k miles, it is posing a safety hazard not only for the customers but also the public. Please investigate the transmission issue that is leading to other safety issues. This is the 6F35 transmission that is installed on these vehicles. These transmissions are famous for failing prematurely. This was one of those cases. No check engine light comes on to indicate that there is trouble with the transmission. This problem is putting others and oneself at risk because it lead to other failed components. The problem first appeared at 55k miles and around january 2023.