KnownCarProblems2012 Ford Fusion Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 2,516 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Fusion, most often about the steering (59% of complaints, typically around 83,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Fusion model year since 2000 and has 5 recalls.
⚠ Safety advisory2 recalls for this car came with a do-not-drive warning. See below and check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Most common 2012 Ford Fusion problems
Steering
1,473 complaints · 59%Half of these problems showed up before 83,000 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system, rack and pinion, hydraulic power assist, steering control module.
Early part of the year (2013) the service advance trac light will come on and off I contacted the dealer and he stated that it was the stability in the vehicle and also it wasn't nothing to be alarmed about unless the light just come on and stay on . Finally it came on and wouldn't go off I took it to the dealership…
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the power steering warning light illuminated as the steering became very hard to turn. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was determined that the electronic power steering unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the…
Air bags
404 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. While driving, the contact heard an abnormal noise in the steering area. The air bag warning indicator illuminated on and off. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed of NHTSA…
Driving north on a three lane road in which I was in the far left lane while there was a vehicle to the right of me in the middle lane. The vehicle in the middle lane tried making a left turn onto a street in which that lane was not possible. The vehicle brazed the right side of my vehicle and diverted me to crash…
Electrical
164 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 63,500 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, instrument cluster/panel.
I am the owner of a 2012 Ford Fusion and just this past friday, my teenage son was driving the car to college and all of a sudden it stopped on him in the middle of the road (busy intersection). He was able to turn it back on and make it to a parking lot on campus. When trying to back out of the parking lot, the…
When first starting the car after it has been parked for a while with turning the ignition on with the key. The steering wheel feels like it is locked in position and can not be turned in any direction. This usually lasts for less than a minute or two, then the power steering return as normal. This has happened…
Transmission
158 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 51,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Was driving the wheel sudden went stiff out of no where had to shut the car off and start again. That was the first incident. A couple days later the car did the same thing and it says power steering assault failed and I cant drive the car at all it says that as soon as I start it.
I was driving about 30 MPH when suddenly the steering became very difficult, I couldn't brake or accelerate for a brief period. All the warning light came on saying service power steering now, advanced track, low tire pressure, change oil now.
Other or unspecified
119 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles.
"takata recall" I have a vibration coming from the front end at high way speeds. Seems to be the front passenger side. Vibration only occurs during the speeds of 50 to 60 MPH. Anything above or below that is fine. I have had new tires, tires rotated, balanced, alignment, and just an over all inspection with no results.
While driving at 45-50mph the engine lost all power and the wrench light came on. I pulled over and the car started to skip and turned off. I sat a few minutes and cranked the car again. The light was off and the car went with no problem.I took it to a shop to see if any codes would show in the computer. Nothing…
Engine
116 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 51,000 miles.
While driving on a major highway at a set rate of speed the car acted as if it was trying to shift gears and bucked, RPM's went up and then back to normal. It went to the dealer and throttle body was replaced, a week or so afterwards the car started to do the same thing, but this time also in reverse. I took it back…
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact mentioned the instrument panel warning lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the…
Brakes
113 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 77,500 miles. Parts named most often: antilock, foundation components.
At 80,000, my brakes failed. It started when I started the car in the morning after it sat in the garage overnight. When I started the car, I put my foot on the brake and then put he car in reverse. My foot went to the floor board to stop the car. Normally, I barely tap the brake pedal for it to stop. This happened…
After my ABS system engaged while driving down an uneven road, my brakes have been soft for about a week now. I've tried to pump them but it doesn't seem to do anything and I need extra distance to brake than I normally would. Also, when the ABS system engaged the brake pedal went straight to the floor. This has…
Body and structure
99 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 65,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Driver's side door handle broke almost in the identical spot on a 2009 and 2012 Ford Fusion I own. The vehicle was stationary at my home when the incident happened. This happened with normal pressure to open the door . This prevents the door from opening and or being locked. The 09 had approximately 50k miles and the…
The interior door handle after normal use can break, leaving occupant stuck in vehicle if unable to climb to another seat or roll window down to open door with outside handle.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Ford Fusion recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on april 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and november 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21s12.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 ranger, 2006-2012 fusion, lincoln zephyr, lincoln mkz, 2006-2011 mercury milan, 2007-2010 ford edge, and lincoln mkx vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the frontal air bag, an inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began march 17, 2021. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21s05.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 mustang, 2004-2011 ranger, 2009-2011 mercury milan, 2006 ford gt, 2008-2012 fusion, 2007-2010 edge and lincoln mkx, and 2009-2010 lincoln mkz vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began february 13, 2019. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19s01.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2014 ford mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, ford is recalling certain 2011 ford ranger and mercury milan vehicles, 2011-2012 ford fusion and lincoln zephyr/mkz vehicles and 2011-2014 ford mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia or "zone b." ford is also recalling certain 2010 ford edge and lincoln mkx vehicles, 2010-2011 ford ranger and mercury mi
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing march 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19s01.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 2012 ford fusion and mustang and lincoln zephyr and mkz vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless included in "zone a" above, ford is recalling certain 2009 ford ranger, edge, fusion and mustang, lincoln mkx, mkz and zephyr and mercury milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia and west virginia, or "zone b." additionally, unless included in "zone a" or "zone b" above, ford is recalli
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the power steering control module (pscm) for diagnostic trouble codes (dtc). If dealers find any loss of steering assist dtcs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the pscm inspection, the pscm software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on july 21, 2015. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15s18.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 ford fusion vehicles without a 3.5l engine and lincoln mkz hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 mercury milan vehicles, 2011-2012 ford taurus, ford flex, lincoln mks, and lincoln mkt vehicles equipped with a 3.5l gtdi engine and 2013 ford taurus, ford flex, lincoln mks, and lincoln mkt vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Power steering failure
Summary
On september 28, 2016, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe16-011) to investigate claims of power steering assist loss on model year (my) 2010 ford fusion vehicles.â during the pe, odi received 718 unique claims related to the alleged problem with 598 reports indicating the power steering assist failed while driving at various speeds with no warning.â ford motor company (ford) provided 1,851 unique reports and 1,720 warranty claims related to the alleged problem.â it should be noted that as the result of investigation pe14-030, ford conducted a safety recall (15v-340) ofmy 2011-2012 ford fusion and other vehicles using the same electric power assist s
Electric power steering failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate complaints of the loss of power steering while driving. The subject vehicles are equipped with a rack mounted electric power assisted steering (epas) unit.some of the complaints alleged that the steering assist failed and resulted in increased steering efforts that contributed to a loss of control and in some cases a crash.the epas system was manufactured by trw automotive for ford and was designated as generation I.these units were first produced and put into vehicle production in july 2008 beginning with the model year (my) 2010 ford fusion and mercury milan.the system is comprised of a mechanical stee
Electronic throttle body malfunction
Summary
On february 21, 2013, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe13-003 to investigate allegations of electronic throttle body (etb) failures resulting in sudden reduction of engine power in model year (my) 2009-2013 ford escape, fusion, mariner and milan vehicles. During this investigation, ford identified a condition in subject vehicles equipped with 2.5l and 3.0l engines that may result in a sudden reduction of engine power.according to ford, the etb internal motor contacts may develop a high resistance material buildup condition on the commutator, resulting in intermittent electrical connectivity and reduced engine power. When this condition occurs, the ma
Questions about the 2012 Ford Fusion
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Ford Fusion?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (1,473 complaints, typically around 83,000 miles); air bags (404 complaints, typically around 68,000 miles); electrical (164 complaints, typically around 63,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Ford Fusion have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from March 10, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Ford Fusion?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Fusion model year since 2000, with 2,516 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.