2018 FORD FUSION Power Train Problems

Sensor that believe the car to be overheating shut the car down while driving in on the highway.. turning the car off completely or powering it down 99%.

CVT transmission completely failed at 150k miles and is not covered by Ford

Shift actuator wouldn’t go into gear I was stranded a few times had to be towed twice. I’ve found a plastic bushing that showed a $4.00 part could be responsible. Deadly for us disabled Vietnam veterans . I can’t walk. Maine has 200 vehicles with the same issues nationwide who knows supposedly the actuator will not be made by ford motors until February 2026. I’m 76 years old this is a hazard I can’t afford to buy another car. Please help us. Or get stranded in the middle of nowhere freezing cold Thank you

Car started running rough then white smoke was coming out the exhaust. Took it in to have it checked out by Ford and they said it was coolant intrusion into the cylinders. Now they want $9,000 to replace an engine that has less than 60,000 miles. I see online that this is not new and definitely a design flaw with this engine and many others.

At approximately 67,180 miles, a Ford dealership performed a multi-point inspection on my 2018 Ford Fusion SE with the 1.5L EcoBoost engine due to a check engine light on. The Ford dealership diagnosed the vehicle with a coolant intrusion into cylinder 2. The Ford dealership recommended the replacement of the short block and gasket kit, with an estimated repair cost of $7,465. This type of issue diagnosed for my vehicle is a known failure issue for 1.5L Ford EcoBoost engines documented in Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12, which covers coolant intrusion and engine damage in this engine type. Despite the Ford dealership diagnosis of my vehicle matching what is described in Customer Satisfaction Program 21N12, I was informed that my vehicle is not eligible. The Coolant intrusion into cylinder 2 is an issue that poses a safety risk due to engine misfires, stalling, overheating, and possible sudden loss of engine power...

Coolant intrusive. New motor needed

The car issued no warning, lights or messages prior to the damage. My [XXX] son was driving and the car started shaking which really scared him as he’s a new driver. I would say the safety of him and other drivers on the road were definitely put in danger. The vehicle has been inspected by a Ford dealership. They stated it had a broken flex plate and short block. Broken Flexplate; Diagnostic $210.00 Parts $1,345.86 (Flexplate, transmission fluid pump, filter, one time use parts) Labor $2,600.00 ($200.00 x 13.0hrs) Sales Tax $125.84 Total $4,281.70 Short Block replacement; Diagnostic $145.00 Parts $2,193.64 (Short block engine/kit, spark plugs, one time use parts) Labor $4,480.00 ($200.00 x 22.4hrs) Alignment $159.95 Sales Tax $205.11 Total $7,183.70 Tow Bill $140.00 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Shifter cable bushing degraded and fell off. Causing a condition where the car could not be shifted into or out of gear, and car applied park brake as a safety precaution and could not be disabled until the shifter was manually put back into park by mechanic. This bushing has been under recall for other year fusions but has not been extended to this one. Research on forums shows this is a very common problem. Could be a real safety issue if car cannot be shifted and it needs to be driven away in an emergency. This part should not fail in this short of time, it is made of inferior materials and does not last. No warnings given prior, part fails catastrophically.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the gear shifter could not immediately be shifted out of park(P). The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was unknown.

UNKNOWN

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and transferred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

Transmission shift linkage bushing failure and torque converter shudder shudder been on going problem for approximately 12months90000

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...

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine experienced coolant intrusion, which is a known defect in certain Ford EcoBoost engines. My independent mechanic diagnosed the issue after I noticed significant engine performance problems. The affected components, including the engine block and cooling system, are available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Coolant intrusion can lead to engine overheating, misfires, and in severe cases, engine fires. This significantly increased the risk to my safety and that of others on the road. Had I not addressed the issue promptly, a fire could have occurred while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem was confirmed by an independent, certified mechanic—not by a Ford dealership. The dealer failed to properly diagnose or even acknowledge...

The check engine light came on and something about the cooling system. I can’t totally remember. The Service desk confirmed the eco boost engine has known issues of the cooling system which may cause the engine to go bad. Reported I needed a new engine and transmission. Then after they had started that job and after I put $1,500 down they called me back and said the radiator has issues from it all and needed changed as well. I asked him if all fords only lasted approximately a 100,000 miles or just this one and he responded that it is a known issue by ford and happens with this engine. It cost me approximately $15,000 out of pocket to get the car fixed. Within a week there were more “issues” with the engine and I am now being charged over $300.00 to fix this part that they didn’t change even...

While maneuvering in parking lot car would not shift from Reverse to Drive after backing out of parking place, error on dash stated shift module failure. Tow truck driver manually engaged shifter to drive, too car to Freeman Ford. Upon inspection shifter grommet at transmission had worn not allowing car to change gears, $4 in parts, $300 in labor to fix. Fortunately the car was just blocking a post office parking lot, if this had been a maneuver in an intersection it could have caused an accident. There was no indication this failure was going to occur.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after his girlfriend was occupied and parked in the residence, while attempting to reverse the vehicle the gear shifted independently into park. The contact mention he lifted the front end of the vehicle, and he noticed the shifter cable detached from the transmission shifting arm. The contact was able to attach the shifter cable on the transmission shifting arm but also noticed the shifter cable bushing has detached from the transmission as well. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired however the contact mention the vehicle will be getting repaired on March 29th. The contact related the failure to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000(POWER TRAIN). The insurance company had not been contacted yet. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure they informed the contact that NHTSA calls the manufacture to have recalls...

My car had a bad shifting linkage which I paid for out of pocket. My 2.0 Ecoboost engine is leaking coolant into my oil and makes a very loud concerning ticking noise, along with reduced engine power and sporadic/random loss of brakes. There has been recalls for these issues on most other Ford Fusion models and this one NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. My engine is going to blow any day now and I will be stuck paying for the rest of my car loan for a vehicle I cannot drive. All of the Ecoboost engines should be recalled for poor design.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "WRENCH" symbol was displayed. The contact was unable to shift the transmission into drive(D). The contact had to wait for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before attempting to restart the vehicle before shifting into drive(D). The contact stated that the failure recurred, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

At 135,815 miles, my 2018 Ford Fusion SE experienced a sudden transmission failure while driving, with no prior warning signs. The vehicle was towed to Certified Transmission, where technicians confirmed: Transmission fluid level was correct but black/degraded. Multiple failure codes were present. Transmission pump whined and stopped functioning. Diagnosis: Internal transmission failure (6/17/2024). The shop stated this issue is common in these transmissions. The entire transmission had to be replaced. At 141,164 miles, just 5,349 miles later, the engine shut off on the highway while driving, again with no warning lights. After pulling onto the shoulder, it restarted after 10 minutes but was smoking heavily. Coolant was critically low in the reserve tank. Diagnosis: Cracked cylinder head due to coolant intrusion, a known defect in 1.5L EcoBoost engines. I contacted Ford Customer Care about CSP 21N12, but they refused assistance since my vehicle exceeds 84,000 miles, despite this well-documented defect....

Transmission cable shifter bushing was defective and popped off of transmission shifter. This subsequently caused the transmission control module to overwork and fail.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while at a stoplight, the vehicle hesitated and jerked. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The service vehicle message was displayed. There was a highlighted rectangle displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and DTC: P0218/P177S was retrieved, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Academy Ford Sales (13401 Baltimore Ave, Laurel, MD 20707); where it was diagnosed that the transmission, intermittent clutch, and shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The...

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, and the transmission failed to shift into third gear. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,433.

Transmission issues, I had my transmission replaced right out of warranty so Ford assisted 4 grand to assist the repair because the dealership took a mmtj to get my car in, i didn't know it was going to go over the trade in program replacements in miles. The car shifts weird, in drive the vehicle acts as if it was put in neutral randomly and it jerks you hard into gear throwing you and passengers into the back of the seat a,pay got hit two times it also when you start the car, put it in drive it throws it's self back into park then you put it back into drive or reverse and it grooms and goes as if I'm accelerating which i got hit once backing out of a sppt because of this i hagea friend who has the same issues why is theee not a recall on...

The vehicle started jerking violently out of nowhere while being driven only 35 MPH. It immediately became unsafe and unable to be driven without any warning whatsoever. No lights on the dash or anything leading up to this issue. After being diagnosed we were told the transmission needs to be completely replaced. Also after doing some research we have discovered that this is a well known issue with this vehicle that has not been addressed with this year model, but was with previous model years.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after her son had placed the vehicle into reverse(R), the vehicle failed to respond when shifted into drive(D). The contact stated that the WRENCH (Transmission) warning symbol appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The contact was informed that the shifter cable bushing and the shifter cable bushing cap needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NTHSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer unrepaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his wife was driving 60 MPH, the wrench symbol became displayed. The power train fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle started to shake with the check engine warning light illuminated. The power steering was inoperable. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the transmission independently shifted into the park(P) while driving at speeds of 30 MPH or exceeding the speed. The gear shifter had detached from the vehicle while driving over rough road surfaces. The contact had to manually maneuver the gear shifter to move the gear shifter to the desired position. The wrench symbol was displayed on the instrument panel, indicating that the vehicle needed to be serviced. The vehicle had been taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the gear shifter had a detached that needed to be repaired. The vehicle had been repaired; however, the failure persisted. The dealer had been contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline...

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced twice. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The power train warning light was illuminated. The messages "Shift System Fault”, “See Owner’s Manual" and "Take Vehicle to Service Center Immediately" were displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact stated that while shifting to drive(D) or to reverse(R), the gear shifter independently shifted back to park(P). The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure milage was approximately 89,000.

After reversing out of my driveway I could not get me fusion to go into drive. After getting the car back into my driveway my fusion starting putting the emergency brake on I would take it off and it would automatically put the parking brake back on. After looking at a video of problems with the shifter I popped my hood and found that the shift cable had come off. There is a recall on fusions for this issue but my year is not included.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated to respond, jerked, and experienced hard shifts while responding. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The power train warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with internal transmission damage that caused clutch B to fail. The dealer determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,559.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the engine started to overheat, and there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The message "Vehicle Temperature Overheating" was displayed. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and allowed the vehicle to cool down. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure recurred several times while driving. The contact pulled to the side of the road several times until arriving to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the PCM had failed. Additionally, the dealer diagnosed there was coolant intrusion in the engine cylinders. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA...

Originally, the car had Cylinder 2 misfire followed by the engine overheating. No crash, thankfully. have had this car for approximately 2 years, and put less than 30,000 miles on it. I took the car to Kings Ford Services where they discovered the engine block had been miscast resulting in engine coolant to enter cylinders 2 and 4, thus killing the engine. Spoke with Eric Hutton, Service Advisor Kings Ford Inc, (513)-683-0220 ext. 219, who said he has seen this happen multiple times with Ford Fusions and that the 1.5L has been recalled, but not the 2.0L which my car has. Per Kings Ford Repair Receipt: "Inspected the engine base part number to confirm it I'd 206 then with the engine at normal operating temperature, pressurized the cooling system to 20 PSI FOR 5 hours and the pressure dropped more than 4 PSK. Removed the spark plugs, used a borescope...

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the flex plate. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 22N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 116,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced two years after purchasing the vehicle brand new. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked and was significantly sluggish while the RPMs were significantly elevated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal. The power train and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while shifting to reverse(R), a message indicating that the transmission was in reverse(R) was displayed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and...

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to shift between gear. The contact also stated that the vehicle automatically shifted into neutral and rolled backwards. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the transmission shift cable bushing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 164,000.

The flex plate is cracked at 87,000 miles and causing the vehicle to make a loud rattling noise near the bottom of the engine toward the back of the transmission. While driving the vehicle it drags while accelerating on turns and gives a hard shift in gears from park. The vehicle was inspected by Aamco transmission and several Ford dealers where i was told that this seems to be a common issue with the ford fusions according to several ford dealers but the ford manufacturer is refusing to place a recall for this matter. There is no warning indicating the issue is near or has occurred until the flex plate has already caused damage.

Upon shifting the gear to put the vehicle in park, the shifter automatically put itself in neutral and the parking brake enabled. A warning came on the dash, saying SHIFT SYS FAULT Service Required. A wrench light was illuminated as well. The bushing securing the shifting cable was gone, as if it crumbled to pieces. I have replaced this bushing a few times within the last year.

Vehicle throws a system shift error when shifting vehicle. Due to loose transmission shift cable. Missing retention clip. Reported error on previous Ford fusion models. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge displayed that the engine was overheating. The transmission warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, who related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion) associated with the VIN; however, the mileage exceeded the warranty coverage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was advised to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.

Failed transmission. Hard shift from 2-3, and 4-5. Also transmission is slipping. Only 40,600 miles on the car. Car is a dealership for evaluation, they recommend replacing the transmission.

I PURCHASED THE CAR [XXX], FEW WEEKS LATER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THEN DISAPPEARED, I WAS ALSO EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE SEAT COOLING FUNCTION, AS THE TOUCH SCREEN CONTROLS WAS SHOWING THAT THEY WERE BOTH ON AND IT WAS STILL WINTER/RAINY SEASON OUTSIDE. I TOOK THE CAR INNTO FORD DEALER AT SAN BERNARDINO CA, THEY TOLD ME THAT MOST LIKELY IT WAS JUST A DASHBOARD LIGHT MALFUNCTION BECAUSE THE DIAGNOSTICS RESULTS CAME OUT FINE AND AFTER RESEARCHING IN OTHER MANUALS EVEN THOUGH THE SEAT COOLING FUNCTION WAS SWITCHED TO "on", THE CAR DID NOT COME EQUIPPED WITH SEAT COOLING ONLY HEATED SEATS. 3 WEEKS LATER AFTER TAKING MY CAR HOME, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN ON Y DASHBOARD, I BOUGHT AN OBDII DIAGNOSTIC TOOL, THE RESULT CAME BACK WITH 2 DIFFERENT POWERTRAIN CODES THAT WERE STRICTLY MANUFACTURER CODES. 1ST CODE WAS P1450 WHICH IS DEFINED AS...

Coolant reservoir is empty with no visible leakage and engine is no longer working

Torque converter ar60,000mi and needs whole transmission at 104000 mi

Terrible car, after long thinking about it the last accident in this car I think was caused from the transmission literally as soon as I put it in reverse it acted as if I was accelerating and proceeded out of the parking spot a little bit, another scary thing I pulled out of a parking lot and almost got hit because the car acted as if it was in neutral when the car was in drive with on coming traffic!!!!!!!! One time it wouldn't allow me to go into drive it started rolling back wards. Transmission was replaced in 2020 and the car has been parked since late 2022 because of this issue while still peeing $6,000 on a damn car I can't even drive and seeing the same similar issue about this stupid car everywhere is ridiculous and I don't see how there's not a recall on this transmission...

So first and foremost, this has been a issue before, first time I had this vehicle serviced because the car was shifting terrible I would be driving and the car would slip out of gear and act as if it's in neutral which does not allow the car to accelerate, which occured driving on the highway and everywhere!!!! Ford helped fix the first transmission and I had to assist on partial amount, Going 65 miles an hour and then have to merge and the car is in drive but did a jerk and it was just cruising and acted as if the car was in neutral and just reving the engine almost got me hit because a car was behind me!!! Like I said Ford assisted with the first one!!!! NOW IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN!!! I OWE $6,000 ON A CAR I CANT EVEN DRIVE THAT JUST SITS IN MY...

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and attempting to move the gear shifter, the gear shifter remained stuck in park (P). The contact stated that he disconnected the battery for 10-15 minutes, and the computer was reset. The contact stated that the vehicle then operated as needed. The contact stated that the failure recurred on another occasion, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was repaired; however, the failure recurred 30 minutes later after parking the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the gear shift module (GSM) needed to be replaced. The GSM was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The dealer determined that the transmission gear shifter assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure...

My car's transmission had a "system shift error", and now it cannot be shifted into any gear besides park, and is underivable. We were stuck at a gas station and blocking traffic. The problem has not resolved, we have not brought it to a service center but we can. There were no warnings besides when it occurred, we simply could not leave the parking lot and had to be towed. The tow truck driver had to drag the car up. onto the bed because since the shifter would not work or go into neutral, he was forced to tow it in park.

At 80,000 miles my car displayed Error codes that read “Cylinder misfire”. After taking it to a mechanic, I replaced spark plugs and ignition coil. After about 1 month I received a message that said “coolant engine overheating”. The message disappeared after 5 seconds. Shortly after, my car’s engine started to fail. The acceleration wasn’t working and I was forced to pull over. After a few minutes I restarted my car and drove home. When I arrived home I noticed that all the coolant in the coolant reservoir was empty. I refilled the coolant to drive my car to a local mechanic. Once I arrived the coolant reservoir was half way empty. There were no external leaks. The mechanic confirmed that the head gasket was ruined because of the overheating due to the coolant leak. He confirmed that that the leak had caused the original “cylinder misfire code” and coolant...

I went on a road trip to see family which needed 5 hours of travel. After returning and parking the car, I noticed a knocking noise coming from the engine bay when it was started and was idling. After doing what I could to rule out possible problems I concluded the Flexplate might be the culprit due to Recall 22N12 with Ford. A short time later, my car started to stall if I did not keep my RPM's high enough while my vehicle was stopped. After getting an inspection done with a dealership they confirmed that it is the Flexplate. The symptoms gradually got worse which is what ultimately led me to bring it in to a dealership instead of a different shop. The problem is that this repair estimate I got says this repair is going to cost me $3,000. I am arguing that my vehicle should have been...