2016 Ford Fusion Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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Steering fault indicator on dashboard and then steering loss displayed and now can not steer car
Steering Wheel power steering no longer works. Can't turn the steering wheel. Became extremely difficult to turn before permanently parking. The 2016 Ford Fusion is currently at the dealership and they confirmed the issue. It's been inspected by a Ford Dealership Service Center. Yes, a light came on in the vehicle, but I do not remember which one. Nothing we did caused it to stop working. One day it just started jerking and catching while turning. Then it stopped working suddenly.
The steering wheel became wobbly and loose. Took it to the Whaling City Ford in New London CT. and they said that although this type of issue was the subject of a recall, this particular car/VIN was not part of that recall, and they would charge $60 just to diagnose the issue. Called Ford later in the day and they said the car had been repaired under the recall in 2018 and now it was not in warranty. Obviously the fix performed under the recall was not done properly, or it was otherwise ineffective. They refuse to fix it at their expense. I had it repaired elsewhere. at my own expense.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she became aware that the steering wheel was not functioning properly and had become extremely loose. The contact briefly lost control of the vehicle, nearly causing a crash. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the retaining bolt was loose and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V167000 (Steering), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Was driving and my wheel was hard to turn the wheel. Had to get a tow truck to pull it to my house. No lights didn’t show on the board indicating that there were any issues but, I can’t and haven’t been able to drive my car since the wheel locked.
The steering wheel has became severely loose to the point of almost detached. Ford claims there is no recall on this part for this model, however I've read that many people have had this problem. It is a high safety concern.
On affected vehicles, the steering-wheel bolt may not maintain enough pressure, allowing it to loosen over time. As a result, the steering wheel may detach.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became loosened. The contact stated that the failure increased significantly, and the vehicle had become undriveable. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V167000 (Steering). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact the vehicle was not included in the recall. No further information was provided. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
I have an electric power, steering rack and assist and it failed on the way to Pennsylvania to visit my daughter and grandchildren. I had to drive an additional 42 miles with no power steering. There was a recall, supposedly completed for the bolts in the Assist, and I no longer have a warranty on this. it was fine until 5 hours into my trip.
Power steering fault
I was driving to a friends house when my car start to make a dinging sound, and on the dashboard it said that power steering was lost, and to pull over safely. When i tried to turn the car on and off again to see if it might have been a glitch, the wheel locked up and I couldn’t turn it, without almost breaking it. If i want going to my friends house when it happened, my car would have been in an accident on a highway going towards my house, possibly causing multiple injuries and accidents since it happened late in the afternoon almost night time. I went to have it looked at by a mechanic and they said it could possibly be the rack and pinion when they ran the codes. The only warning i got was that my car was saying that the hill assist parking was turned off, even though i never turned it off.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH and attempting to turn to the right, the steering wheel tightened as if the power steering assist had failed. The failure occurred and then self-corrected intermittently. The failure had become persistent over time. There were no warning lights illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering failed, and the steering rack needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was currently being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that there was no recall on the VIN for the coverage of the repair. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000.
When driving straight the steering wheel was turned to the right, after I turned the steering wheel a couple of turns the steering wheel and the car was driving straight. the stirring wheel was wobbly. I took it to a dealer they tightened up the steering wheel. no warning signs
The steering wheel is suddenly incredibly loose and while in park the steering wheel will rotate but the tires do not move with the steering wheel. While driving the steering wheel suddenly gets caught on something and will hold the steering wheel in place while turning the steering wheel. I have not the slightest idea on why this is happening but it is very concerning.
While at a stop trying to make left hand turn steering assist disabled appeared and steering wheel locked up.
The power steering assist on my car completely shut off while I was on the highway. I almost got into multiple head-on collisions trying to get the car back home, and I have not been able to drive it since. The part that is faulty is very common in 2016 Ford Fusions, under the recall number #19S26. However, for some reason Ford is saying the recall is not available anymore to me, because it passed prior inspection two years ago when I bought the car. There were warnings as the steering shut off to stop the car, letting me know that I had power steering loss. I know from personal research that Ford should offer a recall for this, especially since they "inspected" it before letting me purchase the car, just 24 months ago. I spent $14000 on a relatively new car, and now they are charging $4500 to fix this part that was originally recalled. They either repaired it wrong, or there should be a recall administered for the repair. Thank you for your help
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became still and difficult to maneuver. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The contact’s wife was able to maneuver the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the EPS system failed and needed to be replaced. The unknown dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,156.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while making a right turn the steering wheel became dislodge and loosened. The contact stated that the steering wheel was not functioning correctly. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V167000 (Steering) and offered no additional assistance. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the bolt in the steering column was worn. The steering column bolt was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 130,000.
First of all steering wheel came loose from steering column luckily I was pulling into a parking spot due to steering wheel feeling very loose and the electric steering went out also this could have resulted in terrible accident as I was driving back from working offshore approximately 45 miles away. The dealership replaced the steering wheel due to a bolt which was a recall item after 3 weeks of sitting at the dealership but they told me the electric steering issue was not a recall item on my vehicle. They also said they fixed something with break system and something with transmission shift linkage which they did say were recall items. While the vehicle was getting steering wheel changed out they did something to the steering system which allowed the vehicle steering system to operate normal but two weeks later the steering went out again. I had seen online somewhere that 2016 Fusion also had some wires in steering column short out due to loose steering wheel but dealer said they were not aware of that issue. Bohn Ford Lapalco Blvd. Marrero, La. performed the repair on the vehicle. I’m offshore Gulf of Mexico working so I don’t have repair paperwork.
The contact's fiancé owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became firm, with the ABS, power steering assist, and traction control warning lights illuminated. On one occasion, the contact stated that the vehicle slid into a ditch as a result of the failure. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist failed, causing the steering wheel to make a loud screeching sound. The steering wheel then seized. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the steering wheel loosened and wiggled from side to side. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
AdvanceTrac System Malfunctioning 3 times while driving the AdvanceTrac system has malfunctioned while turning. Each incident, the Service AdvanceTrac light has come on mid turn, causing steering wheel to feel tight, not sure turn able in the moment, everything happens in a second or two. Two of the 3 incidents of AdvanceTrac abruptly disabling itself resulted in close calls with me almost not completing my turn safely and coming close to colliding with other vehicles on the roadway. Hill Assist and AdvanceTrac turn off causing multiple dash lights and warnings. I took the car today to Ed Morse Ford, Lebanon MO for diagnosis. I was told by the service department that because I had turned the car off, no error code could be scanned on the AdvanceTrac. In addition, a mechanic drove the vehicle and could not duplicate the issue. Service department indicated the "probable cause" was a steering assembly needed to be replaced at the cost of $2700. No explanation of how the mechanic made this determination without being able to duplicate the issue. I was told the AdvanceTrak system is not connected to the check engine system (the system that does store codes and errors) so there was nothing they could verify without duplication, yet again, wanted $2700 for a major component switch out. AdvanceTrak is Ford's proprietary property, yet is has no consumer safe guards to monitor any system defects- completely unacceptable and unsafe.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while pulling into a parking space the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated there were several unknown warning lights illuminated with unknown messages displayed. The vehicle was towed to the contact’s daughter's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted and stated that the VIN was not under recall. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Power steering suddenly failed during left turn at low speed. "Steering Assist Fault", "Service AdvanceTrac" warnings as well as hill decent Dash has the two Stability Control Lights illuminated. There is no check engine light
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The 2016 Ford Fusion has 112 Steering complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.