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:
78,974 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.
I was driving around 1:00 pm when message came on display indicating 'check power steering now' and no longer had power steering. Luckily, I was driving at a low speed so was able to safely get home.
Driving down the road (curvy) heard warning chime and electrical power steering assist failure showed up on dash read out. Very hard to steer. Turned engine off and it reset. Happened 3 times. Took car to dealer they replaced gear assy. Not covered by warranty cost $1454.24.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. While driving approximately 35 mph, the power steering warning indicator illuminated. In addition, while attempting to turn the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the contact had to use extreme force to control the steering wheel. The dealer stated that the power steering assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 41,015. Updated 7/7/15
One month ago my car read default in power steering and the wheel would not turn. I could not drive the car. I turned off the vehicle and restarted and it went away. As a precaution I took it to the dealer who said it was ok and if it happened again bring it back. Well the next week it did and no matter how much I restarted the car it was locked with the same default code. I had it towed to dealer for repairs. They said the repairs were not covered under warranty and since my warranty just expired at the end of July I had to pay for repairs. The part replaced was steering gear assembly. It seems the same parts was defective in a lot of other Ford vehicles. My fear is that it will happened while driving and an accident or death will occur from this problem. I am afraid to drive the car. The car only has 7K miles on it and is in perfect condition otherwise and is serviced regularly for preventative maintenance.
A few days before the incident I had started my car and the steering wheel would not turn and felt stuck then a message popped up in my dash saying power steering fault. So I turned my car off and let it sit for about 2 minutes and started it back up and it drove fine. Then a couple days later I was arriving to a stop light and the steering just went out and luckily I was right next to a gas station and pulled into the side and turned the car off. I tried letting the car sit and see if it would re start fine just like the last time but this time when I started the car the message would appear again in the dash and the wheel was not turning. I tried multiple times turning the car off and on and it wouldn't change. I then had to get a tow truck and have it towed to a mechanic. I was told I had to replace the rack and pinion and it would take about 2 days for the parts and labor to be done.
- Galveston, TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated the service advanced traction and the power steering warning light illuminated as the power steering assist failed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,500.
I was slowing down to turn the corner and the power steering completely went out. Had to steer hard to get to the side of the road. I re-started the car and it is working fine since. This just happened this morning on my way to work.
Was exiting highway and depressed the brake. Car pulled to the left and power steering went out. Advance trac failure message displayed on indicator panel. Pulled off the road, turned off engine, then restarted the vehicle. All systems started normally. Took vehicle to Ford dealer for service on November 1st, 2013. They checked brakes and indicated all was fine. Also indicated no error message was in memory of the service module. As history, car has always had issues with pulling when braking (and sometimes when accelerating). Typically pulls to the left, but sometimes to the right. Never had it thoroughly checked until this visit as symptom is not consistent. Pulling is still occurring sporadically as of this date.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. The contact indicated that during the incident the service power steering message had displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the power steering pump was faulty and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 60,000.
After starting the vehicle and attempting to pull out of a parking lot, the steering became very difficult. The car had to be pulled into a separate parking lot and restarted. After restarting, the steering returned to normal. In the following days, when the car was started, sometimes the steering would be very stiff and a warning would display on the instrument panel. In some cases, turning the car off and back on would resolve the problem. Eventually the problem could not be fixed by restarting the car. I took the car to the Ford dealership where I was told that the gear assembly had to be replaced. I had to pay over $2,000 for parts and labor since my car was 1 month beyond its warranty period at the time.
When starting, console displayed "power assist steering failure". power steering would not work. Required turning car off and on again (sometimes multiple cycles) to get the power steering working. Ford dealer read code C200D (steering gear internal failure), which required a new power steering rack. Ford did pay half of the bill, but my half was still high at $863. I was told this failure would not occur during driving, however I had read and heard this was not always the case. Therefore I had it fixed before it failed while driving or completely failed which would require a tow. This should not happen with a car with 40,000 miles on it and just over 3 years after purchase. This component has no dealer replaceable parts which means the consumer has an expensive repair.
First occurrence: While driving in urban setting and preparing to make a turn, I lost power steering assist. Having driven cars without power steering, I was able to manually steer to car to our destination. I turned the car off for 10 minutes and when I restarted, the power steering operated correctly. Additional occurrences: When starting the car and trying to move there is no power steering assist. Turning off the key and restarting resets the power steering. Some of the time an error message shows up indicating a power steering failure and sometimes it doesn't.
While driving my 2011 Ford Fusion, in a residential area. My power steering gave out on me. There was no warning, there was no indication until after it happened. I had a car full of minor children because I am a cheerleading coach and it was extremely scary, to say the least for me and the kids.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the power steering failed and the instrument panel warning indicators illuminated. The contact mentioned that it was difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 62,000.
After cranking my car and before putting it into drive, the power steering failed and the "power steering assist failure" message appeared on the dash. I turned the car off and sat for a minute. Turned it back on and was fine. Two days later, I was leaving my home and the same thing happened. However instead of it working after a restart, the power steering assist failure message came on each time. I could barely muscle it back into the driveway. Myself being 5'3" 130lbs found it very scary to try to control the vehicle when the power steering was lost. It was almost impossible for me to get back in the driveway. The driver of the tow truck had to move it back before he could load it. I purchased the car from Ford as a certified pre-owned car with 63,000 miles on it in June. I cannot believe I have already had a $1000 repair on this certified pre-owned. Hugely disappointed. If this had happened to me while driving, I am scared to think of what the result would have been. No way I could have controlled the vehicle if it were in motion and the power steering went out. This issue needs to be addressed and I would like for Ford to reimburse those including myself dealing with their faulty parts.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. While driving in reverse, the power steering failed. As a result, the contact had to use extreme force to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle had to be restarted in order to resume normal operation. The failure occurred several times. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 11/20/14
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Smyrna, GA, USA