2012 Ford Fusion problems
Owners have filed 3,061 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Fusion. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 48% of complaints. After that come air bags (13%) and electrical system (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 3,061 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 48% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 165 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 104 and 7
- Typical mileage
- 72,000 miles 2,137 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 210 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 265 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 341 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 356 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 301 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 230 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 158 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 126 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 82 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 34 |
| 200k+ miles | 34 |
What the data shows
Among the 2,137 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 72,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 83,000 miles (1,131 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 165 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 104 injuries reported; 7 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the Ford Fusion with enough data (1,496 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
According to the driver, the vehicle was put into reverse backing out of a parking spot, then when the car was put into drive the vehicle would not stop gaining high speeds up to 50MPH. The engine rpms were high and the car was "out of control" as the driver had their foot pressed on the brake. The fusion struck a few parked cars and eventually hit a vehicle head on coming the opposite way in a parking lot. There was one fatality as a result of the crash and other minor injuries from the victims.
Pulling out of my driveway at low speed, the steering locked to where it was nearly impossible to control the vehicle. I was able to come to a stop immediately so no damage or injury. Turning the steering wheel required a lot of effort so reversing back off the street and onto the driveway was quite difficult. After parking, the dash also briefly displayed something like "advancetrack error". I don't remember the wording exactly.
Yesterday 2/15/2020 out of no where the (service power steering now, and the advance trac light came on under normal driving conditions doing 55MPH on a curvy road. The problem is common and very unsafe for drivers. Not to mention extremely expensive to fix. Now why is it that only some of the cars are covered in the recall when all fords with the newly designed electronic steering are affected by the failure of this system!