CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Fusion builds off the 2010's reputation. That's not a good thing.
The first thing that jumps out is the ridiculous amount of power steering complaints. It grinds, it squeals, and it eventually just fails.
And if losing power steering isn’t enough for you, how about a sudden loss of engine power? That combination is enough to achieve clunker status.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
42 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
21 / 1
Average Mileage:
80,373 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated as she entered the driveway, the steering wheel became hard to maneuver as the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact notified the manufacturer and was advised to have the vehicle diagnosed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000
I was sitting in line at a Valvoline Instant Oil Change on Dixie Highway in Louisville, Kentucky. Due to the time waiting, I would turn my car off and restart when the line moved. After my last restart, the power steering no longer worked. I turned it off and restarted. Still no power steering. I went ahead and got the oil changed. Restarted to leave the bay area without power steering. I parked in the lot of the business and called for a wrecker service to tow my car home and had another family member pick me up. I noticed on the internet that this is not an unique problem. My car had 77,951 miles on it when the power steering went out. It happened 12/3/2021. I had the air bag recall worked done on 8/8/2022 and a diagnostic done on the power steering. They reported an internal component failure, along with loose outer tie rods. They said it was the steering gears (in other words, the rack and pinion). Fortunately, I was where I was at when it happened, as I am 82 years old. I could have very had an accident, because of the power steering failure.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the auto track assist warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the electric gearing system to be replaced. The contact stated the dealer informed him not to repair the electric gearing system until it completely failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated on 8/9/2022 while his son driving 35 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated the auto track assist warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the electric gearing system to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,500.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the electric power steering assist had become inoperable. The power steering assist fault warning message had appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who referred her to the manufacturer. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 207,000.
Power Steering Assist Fault I've seen where the 2011 Ford Fusion was recalled for this and mine has failed. Please add my VIN to the list. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact me. Thank you.
- Lancaster, OH, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the electric power steering assist became inoperable. The electric steering assist failure and the service advance track messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel became firm. The vehicle was towed to the residence. An independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the steering gear was defective and needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. No assistance was provided. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 93,000.
The electronic traction control light would come on but then go off. Was driving home on the interstate doing about 75 when lost all power steering. There is none at all. Got home finally, and started checking into the issue. Ford did a recall in 2015 on this and if the car showed problems when brought in then the service center replaced the faulty part., If it showed no problems then they only reprogrammed the vehicle which left the original faulty part in the vehicle that was reprogrammed when it had no codes given.. which is to say that nothing was done because how can you fix an issue that the vehicle doesn't see as there" It was a way for ford to get out of having to pay and replace the issue. I feel that my life and anyone else's life that was on the road when it went out was in high danger. When I contacted ford on the issue they stated that because the car had been brought in and been reprogrammed for a problem that the car didn't have because it didn't see one to give a code they wouldn't replace the part. Now how can you have 2 solurioy for the same problem and one of them is to replace the part but only for vehicles that it went out in" If it's the part that is subpar( it is ) then what good does it do to reprogram when the low quality and poorly designed part that can't be serviced is not replaced for all of the cars that it is on" But I guess if I had a whole group of people that did nothing but around and think of loop holes to get around actually solving the issues, why would they actually fix it"
Power steering shuts down while the vehicle is in motion - while making turns or even slight turns with the steering wheel. Error message on dash board is power steering assist fault. The ability to control the car varies with the speed of the vehicle. My research shows that Ford continues to send out vehicles with electronic steering and has not resolved these problems. This is a real safety hazard.
I recently completed a car diagnostic and there were no reports of steering concerns. I was driving my son so summer camp and as I was trying to exit, my wheel locked and I had to use crazy force to get off the hwy exit and to avoid hitting the median. I had no warning lights in the car prior, but recived a message times after I would force the wheel "power steering assist failure".
Tucson, Arizona. The incident occurred on about June 10, 2022 around 10:00 a.m. The steering failed just after the car was started by the owner, the dash light "power steering assist fault"turned on and the car was nearly impossible to steer. The car was driven approximately 2 miles straight ahead and parked at home. The car was towed the next day to the AAA service center at 7060 Speedway, Tucson, AZ 85710. The owner researched recalls related to steering on the 2011 Ford Fusion; it seems NHTSA Campaign 15v340000/Ford Recall 15s18/393,623 vehicles affected by 06.23.2015. Steering complaints continue to roll in for the 2011 Ford Fusion, yet, the recall has not been extended. Steering issues appear be the same or similar to those issues covered by the previous recall. I wonder why NHTSA has not extended the recall.
Advance Trac light abs traction control light came on next thing I know car goes out of control and now my car is totaled total loss smashed right into side of the road brakes failed steering failed and all this popped up moments before and then q truck ran into me my mom went to hospital but is ok I'm fine
Was driving about 50 miles per hour and lost my power steering. Almost hit the car beside me my power steering assist fault and service advancetrac lights are on. Ford had a recall on this issue.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH the power steering malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the Power Steering Assist failure and Traction Control messages were displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the power steering assist had failed. No further information was available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 108,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving and turning the steering wheel, there was an abnormal grinding noise detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
I have a 2011 Ford Fusion. There was a recall 15S18 which was a recall on the Electric Power Steering Assist. Where the vehicle may lose power steering. It claims extra effort may be required at lower speeds. It doesn't matter the speed, if this system goes out, it is extremely difficult to steer. It was replaced in my vehicle in 2015, before I owned it. Then the recall 15N01 came out, which was an extended warranty of the Electric Power Steering Assist. I purchased the vehicle and the Electric Power Steering Assist failed and was replaced in 8/2020. Now less than 2 years later the Electric Power Steering Assist has failed again and Ford refuses to warranty a part that they provided and installed. If I had purchased the part myself, it would have had a 2 year warranty. But it was provided and installed by Ford. This system failure is an extreme hazard. The vehicle becomes almost impossible to drive. It feels like Ford never resolved the initial problem that led to the first recall of the Electric Power Steering Assist.
on January 14th 2021 I brought this car in to address the power steering(15S18), airbags, and Fuel Tank and Canister Purge Valve recall (15S34). The dealer reprogrammed the PSCM at no charge, inspected the Fuel Tank and Canister Purge Valve and replaced the passenger side airbag...we did not realize the didn't do the driver side airbag at that time. The vehicle had 172k miles on it at this time. on April 25th the driver assist power steering failed so I brought the car in again on April 27th. The car now has 200k mile on it and they want to charge $3400 to replace the rack and pinion. They indicate the vehicle is reporting the u3000 error codes which are related to the 15S18 recall. Shouldn't they honor the recall since the issue is related to the recall? Also, I feel like they did not address the recall during the first visit and this potentially put my family at risk driving the car with the possibility of the power steering failing.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 46 MPH, the steering wheel locked while making a left turn. The contact instead turned right and the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with power steering failure. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 165,000. The VIN was not available.
On several occasions, when starting the car, an alert is displayed on the instrument panel that says "Power Steering Assist Fault", and the power steering system is inoperative. After restarting the car, the message usually goes away and the power steering is fully operational. There is already a safety recall for what seems to be a similar issue. That recall campaign number is 15V340000. For some reason, this car is not yet included in the recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- West Palm Beach, FL, USA