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CarComplaints.com Notes: Ford significantly updated the Fusion for the 2010 model year. We wish they hadn't

Throttle body issues have led to a ton of reports about a sudden deceleration and loss of power while driving. Ford issued a “customer satisfaction program” in March 2014 that, unsurprisingly, has left very few customers satisfied.

2010 is also the year we started seeing complaints about the power steering failing. Throttle and steering failure? Yeah, that’s why this is a clunker.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,048 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.

2010 Ford Fusion drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2010 Ford Fusion Owner Comments (Page 37 of 40)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #78

Mar 142012

Fusion

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While attempting to accelerate, automatic transmission stalls and wrench light illuminates. At first I could turn the car off and back on, but eventually, the car stopped functioning altogether. Analysis was performed and throttle body was the cause. Has occurred with other 2010 Fusion sels. Ford unwilling to replace faulty manufactured part.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #77

Apr 252012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 47,282 miles
I have a 2010 Ford Fusion with a four cylinder engine. While driving to work, I started speeding up from an intersection, only to experience a complete and total loss of power, the wrench light came, the engine started misfiring (rough idle at less than 550 RPM), but all systems where still working. Pressing the gas pedal produced no results. I was able to pull off the side of the road, stop the engine, let the car sit for about 15 seconds, and then restarted it. When the engine restarted, the car started up and ran like nothing had happened. Yesterday (June 1st), the Fusion did the exact same thing, except this time I was pulling into an intersection (approximately 5 miles per hour). I had a catastrophic loss of power, the wrench light came on again, the engine was misfiring (rough idle), the rest of the systems continued working. Luckily no one was coming in my direction and I was able to pull off the road into a parking lot, stop the car, and then restart it. I took it to the dealer today and they diagnosed it as needing a new throttle body. They quoted the price and labor at $400 for the repair. I've had this car less than 1 year and it only has 49,800 miles on it. If I had been pulling onto a busy street and experienced the same loss of power, it could have been a much more dangerous situation. According to my research, this is a common problem with the 2010 Ford Fusion, and the replacement part has been "redesigned" according to the dealer where I took my car for repair.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #76

May 312012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 32,707 miles
While accelerating from a stop the engine suddenly cut out and began a rough idle. The check engine light and the wrench light came on. The engine would not rev even with the gas pedal pushed in. Coasted to a stop. Turned the ignition off and then restarted the car. The check engine light and wrench light were no longer lit. Started to accelerate away and then it happened again with the check engine light and wrench light on. I was able to idle home. Once at home I turned the ignition off and started it back up. This time the check engine light came on but not the wrench. While in park I would rev the engine and it sounded fine and could not get the engine to shut down while revving. I didn't move the car and had it towed. Fortunately it has only 32707 miles on it and covered by warranty. So, will have to wait to find out what the cause is. Based on other complaints and their follow-up it sounds like the throttle body issue.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #75

May 072012

Fusion

  • 33,740 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When trying to accelerate, rpms would rev to between 4000-5000 but car would not speed up. Once it finally started (after three tries), car finally jerked forward and shuddered before speeding up. After driving for about 30 minutes, I then tried to reverse the car and it jerked and grinded extremely hard. Smells like something is burning at times. Took to dealership twice already, but still having problems.

- Raymore, MO, USA

problem #74

May 022012

Fusion

  • 36,000 miles
While driving my car suddenly went into shut down mode. A wrench symbol showed on panel. I was able to turn into a drive way and after turning the vehicle off and back on the wrench went off and the car ran normal. I took to the shop and nothing showed on the computer. It then happened 5 more times. Back to the dealership now says that it is bad throttle body and is not covered. After researching online it appears to be a bigger problem and Ford should recall. There are so many complaints that it is obvious that it is a defect. People are going to get killed. Ford fix this now. I have no choice but to pay to have it fixed but I shouldn't. it would be very interesting to see how many have been fixed to date just by Ford and not other companies.

- Denham Springs, LA, USA

problem #73

Apr 132012

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 35,500 miles
I drive approximately 30 miles on the highway to get to work. The day this problem first occurred, I got off the highway and came to a stop sign. I checked for traffic both directions. A car was coming from the left, and I was turning right. I knew with my car's acceleration I had plenty of space to pull out safely (it has a V6 engine, automatic transmission). I hit the gas and pulled out. The car did not accelerate as expected. I barely hit 5 mph and the tachometer redlined. I took my foot off the gas pedal and tried again. Same thing - redlined. The third time I tried, the car shuddered and finally shifted to the next gear. The car behind me was far enough away to slow down safely, but in a different situation they could have easily hit me. I just rolled out in front of them because the car didn't respond when I hit the gas. Immediately after that incident, I scheduled a service appointment at a Ford dealership. The first available appointment was two weeks out. I booked the appointment and continued to (cautiously) drive my car to work. The car ran rough even at constant highway speeds. Last night I dropped my car off at the dealership for the service appointment. I took the highway to get there. When I tried to accelerate to merge onto the highway, the problem occurred again. I rolled out into traffic at about 5 mph, hitting the gas pedal and getting nothing. Again, I was lucky that there was enough room between me and the approaching traffic. This problem could have easily caused a bad accident. My car is currently at the Ford dealership. I'm waiting for them to call back with a diagnosis.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #72

Jul 262011

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 39,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving on the West Virginia turnpike at 65-70 mph when the RPM's jumped above 4 and lost all power to the engine. The engine was still running but had no power from the gas pedal to the engine. Pulled to the far right side of the road as I was going up hill into the truck lane and then eventually on to the berm as the trucks were now running faster than me going uphill. It was the most dangerous driving situation I have ever been through. I was able to locate a Ford dealership on the turnpike where I could leave the car for the necessary repairs. The repairs took a total of 25 days. Ford would not provide me with a loaner car as I bought the vehicle used and therefore no rental coverage even though the issue was a known issue due to faulty parts and a poor initial repair by Ford. I had to rent a vehicle in West Virginia in order to complete my drive home and had to drop the rental in columbus. $185 + gas + deposit and resulting nsf fees in my checking account for a 12 hour car rental that Ford would not cover. Upon getting my vehicle back it ran smoothly until October of the same year. I took my vehicle to a national chain oil change company who advised that they could see transaxle fluid all the way to the back of the underbody of the vehicle. I took the car to my local Ford dealership who found that the repair completed in West Virginia did not get the pan sealed properly and the fluid was leaking from the faulty seal, which they repaired but it took them 14 days to do so. Fast forward to may and another hard shift with a lurch forward and then no power from the gas pedal to the engine. Took it to the local dealership who could find no error codes and could not duplicate the issue. 5/13 - mother's day and it happens again but this time the engine light is now on and the car runs rough. Taking to dealership again tomorrow.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #71

May 122012

Fusion

  • 34,000 miles
On 5/12/12 coming home from a softball tournament with the cruise on at around 65 mph the yellow wrench light came on. Engine was still running but could not accelerate. Coasted into a church parking lot. Put the car in park and restarted. When restarting seemed hard to start...like an alternator issue. Arrived home safely (was about 5 miles from home when incident happened). On 5/13/12 (Sunday) same issue except it happened 3 times during a 30 mile trip. The last time I had pulled over and put it into park I was worried it wouldn't start...turned and turned but slowly...again sounded like an alternator. I had issues with the cruise control a few months back and of course nothing was found to be wrong. Short story is when I hit "resume" to get it back to the speed it was while on cruise control the RPM's will run 5000-6000 for F a R longer than it should. The car will be to the desired speed and it will stay at the high RPM for 4-6 seconds instead of kicking into the next gear which obviously is hard on the engine and gas mileage. Not happy with the dealership in their investigation of matters and not happy with the car itself.

- Murphy, TX, USA

problem #70

May 102012

Fusion

  • 26,572 miles
I was driving home and going up a hill when I felt the vehicle slow acceleration and then it revved back up. The transmission/throttle control light came on so I pulled over. I turned the vehicle off and waited for a few minutes. Turned the vehicle back on and when I went to accelerate it lurched. I continued driving home and since it was after 9:00 P.M. when I got home, I couldn't take it to the dealership until the next morning. On May 11, 2012 I took it to the dealership and they called to tell me that the vehicle slipped from 4th gear into 5th gear and this should never happen so they were going to have to pull the transmission and I would be without my car for 5-6 days. After research on the internet it appears that several people are having this same issue with the transmission of the 2010 Ford Fusion.

- Ozark, MO, USA

problem #69

May 022012

Fusion

  • 35,000 miles
2010 Ford Fusion: While driving at 65mph on a highway with cruise control set the car lost power and stalled. Tachometer dropped to 1000 rpms and fluctuated between 500 - 1000 rpms. Wrench light (throttle / transmission) illuminated and the car coasted to a crawl at less than 5mph. The car's throttle was unresponsive and I was unable to accelerate. I became a serious rear-end hazard in a construction zone and had to pull off to the side of the road. I put the car in park, restarted it and the car ran fine. I am just barely under warranty (and just bought the car 1 week ago) so I brought it to a Ford dealer - they "checked" the car and found "nothing wrong" with their computer scan and stated that there was no error code - so there was nothing that they could do. The day after I picked the car up from the dealer the car did the same thing, twice. This time it did it after a cold start in the morning and again when I left work in the afternoon - again the wrench light came on and shut off once I restarted the car. Bringing the car in tomorrow again...we'll see what happens. What a safety risk - my wife refuses to drive the car!

- Schofield, WI, USA

problem #68

May 052012

Fusion

  • 72,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on the interstate, the wrench light came on and the car became unresponsive to acceleration. I had to turn on the hazards and coast to the shoulder. The car was able to be restarted and drove fine for another 30 minutes before the same thing happened again. 2 days later the same thing happened on the interstate again, requiring me to coast to the shoulder of the road! today it happened while I was only going 45 mph and happened three times in 10 miles. When I got home I immediately began researching other Ford Fusion problems and found this to be a common occurrence. We tested the chip of the car and got a code of P2112, indicating the throttle body was malfunctioning. This comes behind an electrical problem requiring a new battery after 50,000 miles, a plastic piece breaking off the sunroof and needing to be replaced at 40,000 miles, and the sunglasses spring breaking at 35,000 miles! this is the second Ford I have owned and we were thrilled with our Ford five hundred, but the Fusion seems to have more problems than it has good qualities! Ford really needs to find a fix for their throttle problem before one of us is injured or killed while we coast to safety on the interstate in a malfunctioning car!

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #67

Apr 162012

Fusion

  • 52,956 miles
I was driving down the highway at 70 mph when my car shut off I was almost hit by another car then a semi truck because I didn't know what had happened. My car had no throttle response. After having my car looked at it, it was diagnosed to have a bad throttle body. So I did some research and its a common thong with 2010 Ford Fusion, but for some reason Ford won't either find a way to figure out why they seem to have throttle bodies that are malfunctioning and putting their drivers lives in danger. They need to recall this before it causes someone to lose their life. For people who don't know it cost about $500 to get it fixed if your vehicle isn't under warranty.

- Albany , GA, USA

problem #66

Apr 262012

Fusion

  • 12,000 miles
The transmission of the 2010 Ford Fusion slips and resulted in my inability to accelerate the vehicle in heavy traffic while traveling over the george Washington bridge in New York city. The dealer, van bortel in rochester, NY, has had the vehicle for a transmission re-build and two additional times for a seal that leaked transmission fluid. I had another incident where I brought the vehicle to another dealer and they replaced additional components pursuant to a program fix from Ford (the van bortel should have performed, but did not). This is dangerous as I was lucky not to have been rear-ended by the 18 wheeler behind me at the time my transmission failed on the bridge!

- Canandaigua, NY, USA

problem #65

Apr 112012

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 38,750 miles
The vehicle was bought 3 weeks ago and noticed shifting issues 1 week after purchase. I took the vehicle in to see what was wrong with it and found that the transmission fluid was dark black and had a burnt smell. It appears that there were multiple (updates) needed for transmission"?? also was told that is the normal color of the tranny fluid?" burnt black...

- Roanoke, VA, USA

problem #64

Apr 192012

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 42,200 miles
Car has 2.5 engine and 6F35 auto transmission. Car exhibits "flare" when shifting. Typically occurs when cold. Problem presented itself at around 42,000 miles.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #63

Apr 182012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
Driving child to school - car's speed starts declining even though accelerator was been pressed (car should have been going between 50 -55 miles). Got car off road. Switched car off, waited a couple of minutes and then started car again. Drove child to school, called Ford dealership and placed car in repair shop. Was told that warranty went out 4,000 miles ago and part and labor would cost approximately $300 and car should be ready to pick up by 5 P.M. next day. Got rental car from dealership and was told later same day car went to shop that throttle control will have to be replaced. Unfortunately they didn't have one in stock and it would have to be ordered and hopefully with me paying an expedited delivery charge it would be in the next day if not hopefully within the next day day or 2. now I am stuck with a rental car for approximately 3 more days.

- Philadelphia, MS, USA

problem #62

Mar 082012

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 29,900 miles
Traveling highway, going 70 mph the car suddenly jerks and the speed started to decelerate and the wrench light on dash went on. The engine was still on, but zero ability to accelerate. Coasted to the side of the road and the RPM's were fluctuating from 0-1 in park. Turned the car off for 10 seconds and turned it back on. After turning the key on, the starter sounded like the key was turned with the engine on for about 20 seconds. The second time was going up hill at 20 mph back roads. Same thing with no acceleration and the wrench light came on. Had to pull over because the car could not move and shut it off. Same with the starter for about 20 seconds of it sounding like the key was turning with engine on after turning it on. Incidents are about 1 month and 10 days apart.

- Antrim, NH, USA

problem #61

Mar 292012

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 37,024 miles
I was driving on interstate 65 in the middle lane when the car quit responding. The RPM gauge was stuck on 1 and pressing the accelerator got no response. I was lucky enough to be able to get over and barely off the side of the road but it was a close call. Traffic was pretty heavy. I called aaa towing service for help. After 15 minutes I tried to start the car and it started up normally. I was able to get back into traffic and take the next exit. I drove to the dealer. I purchased the car on February 6, 2012 from Town & Country Ford dealer in louisville, ky and had driven it only 596 miles when this happened. The repair bill to replace the throttle body, intake carb kit and recalibrate processor was $730.29. I didn't have the extended warranty so I had to pay the entire cost of the repair. I asked the dealer if this was a problem with the Fusion and was told no it was not.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #60

Apr 122012

Fusion

  • 41,000 miles
The vehicle began to jerk when driving or between automatic shifting. Specifically when it shifts into third, it jerks extremely hard. The engine and maintenance light will come on as the vehicle stalls. There is no response from the accelerator and I have to put it in park, stop the car and restart it in order for it to move again. I was almost rear ended due to the vehicle dying in the middle of the street.

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #59

Dec 182009

Fusion

  • 200 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle began to jerk abnormally. The contact applied the accelerator pedal and the engine rpms would increase excessively. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technicians stated that the transmission would have to be recalibrated. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the technicians advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 200.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

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