The Used Car Index

2012 Ford Fusion problems

NHTSA lists 2,616 complaints for the 2012 Ford Fusion, 111 of them mention a crash and 9 mention a fire. 45 complaints mention an injury, with 66 injuries and 3 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD FUSION.

At a glance

Complaints
2,616
With crash
111
With fire
9
With injury (complaints)
45
Injuries
66
Deaths
3
Recalls
5
Do not drive recalls
2
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
2,602,668
Investigations
5
Open investigations
1
Manufacturer communications
56

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
STEERING1,51157.8%
AIR BAGS43616.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1776.8%
POWER TRAIN1626.2%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1274.9%
SERVICE BRAKES1204.6%
ENGINE1194.5%
STRUCTURE1013.9%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)903.4%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL873.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY99
STEERINGELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM16
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESDOORS15
STEERINGRACK AND PINION11
STEERINGHYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST6
WHEELSLUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS6
STEERINGSTEERING CONTROL MODULE3
SUSPENSIONFRONT3
TIRESPRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION2

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control1,08854.0%0.84
restraint or airbag37018.4%0.91
mechanical failure26413.1%0.80
electrical electronic1819.0%0.71
noise or comfort281.4%0.80
unclear281.4%0.89
fire or overheating190.9%0.80
visibility or lighting160.8%0.81
structural or corrosion110.5%0.62
fluid or fuel leak100.5%0.95
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1,42270.6%0.85
low44021.8%0.67
high1185.9%0.88
none301.5%0.68
critical50.2%0.83

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 2,015 tagged complaints of 2,616 complaints (77.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

5 recalls.

21V158000

Date: 2021-03-10. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: 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.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 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.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

21V081000

Date: 2021-02-16. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: 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-ter (excerpt)

Consequence: 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. (excerpt)

Remedy: 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. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V001000

Date: 2019-01-07. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: 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 (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: 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. (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

17V024000

Date: 2017-01-10. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: 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 "Z (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: 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 Fo (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

15V340000

Date: 2015-06-02. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: 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 a (excerpt)

Consequence: 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. (excerpt)

Remedy: 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 custome (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

5 investigations; 1 open.

DP22005

Opened: 2023-01-27. Closed: 2023-08-07.

Pedestrian alert sounds

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele

Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Linked campaign numbers: 22V063000.

EA21002

Opened: 2021-09-17. Closed: Not listed.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

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 rupt

Systems: AIR BAGS.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

EA17004

Opened: 2017-11-20. Closed: 2024-02-09.

Power Steering Failure

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.A 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.A For

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

PE14030

Opened: 2014-10-02. Closed: 2015-09-10.

Electric power steering failure

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

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: 15V340000.

PE13003

Opened: 2013-02-21. Closed: 2014-02-28.

Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction

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

Systems: ENGINE.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

56 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM13
POWER TRAIN11
ENGINE6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING5
STEERING3
AIR BAGS2
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY2

11029052

Date: 2026-02-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the

11008948

Date: 2024-10-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

While performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.

10254138

Date: 2024-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. Unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,

10250305

Date: 2024-02-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

When performing any transmission fluid change or topoff involving MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF, MERCONA A? V has replaced all versions of MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF and can be used going forward. Mixing MotorcraftA A? Premium ATF and MERCONA A? V in the same transmission is acceptable. After 31-Jan-20

10240415

Date: 2023-07-27. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2005-2006 GT, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion and MKZ/Zephyr, 2006-2011 Milan, and 2007-2010 Edge & MKX Vehicles Driver & Passenger Airbag Module Quality Control Inspection REASON FOR THIS SUPPLEMENT A A?A A A A? Updated Ranger Technical Information to include images

10236689

Date: 2023-05-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

Some 2010-2012 Fusion/Milan and 2011-2012 MKZ vehicles equipped with a 2.5L or 3.0L engine and electronic power assist steering (EPAS), a remanufactured replacement steering gear (MU2Z-3V504-ARM) is available which is significantly less expensive than a new replacement gear. When conducting repairs

10234103

Date: 2023-04-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN.

Some 2010-2012 Fusion hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), 2010-2011 Milan HEV and 2011-2012 MKZ HEV vehicles may experience reduced electric vehicle operation and increased gasoline engine operation around 10 years of vehicle age and beyond. This may be due to software in the battery energy control modu

10222465

Date: 2022-09-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Certain 2010 A A?A A A A 2012 Model Year Fusion / MKZ / Milan Hybrid Vehicles Hybrid Battery Reduced Electric Vehicle Operation BECM and PCM Software Update In all the affected vehicles, outdated software may result in reduced EV-only mode performance earlier in the life of the vehicle than intend

10209374

Date: 2022-03-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2005-2006 GT, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion & MKZ/Zephyr, 2006-2011 Milan, and 2007-2010 Edge & MKX Vehicles Driver & Passenger Airbag Module Quality Control Inspection: Ford Motor Company has determined that some vehicles claimed by dealers as repaired under Takata A

10203850

Date: 2021-11-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: COMMUNICATION, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Various 2012-2015 vehicles equipped with a 3G modem may experience a lack of 3G modem performance. This may be due to the 3G cellular service functionality being decommissioned starting August 2021 and through March 2022. As the 3G cellular service is decommissioned, vehicles equipped with the 3G te

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
FUSION2,516
FUSION HYBRID96
FUSION ENERGI4

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2012

Sources

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