2018 Ford Fusion POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the "WRENCH" symbol was displayed. The contact was unable to shift the transmission into drive(D). The contact had to wait for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before attempting to restart the vehicle before shifting into drive(D). The contact stated that the failure recurred, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
The check engine light came on and something about the cooling system. I can’t totally remember. The Service desk confirmed the eco boost engine has known issues of the cooling system which may cause the engine to go bad. Reported I needed a new engine and transmission. Then after they had started that job and after I put $1,500 down they called me back and said the radiator has issues from it all and needed changed as well. I asked him if all fords only lasted approximately a 100,000 miles or just this one and he responded that it is a known issue by ford and happens with this engine. It cost me approximately $15,000 out of pocket to get the car fixed. Within a week there were more “issues” with the engine and I am now being charged over $300.00 to fix this part that they didn’t change even though they put in a new engine.
At 135,815 miles, my 2018 Ford Fusion SE experienced a sudden transmission failure while driving, with no prior warning signs. The vehicle was towed to Certified Transmission, where technicians confirmed: Transmission fluid level was correct but black/degraded. Multiple failure codes were present. Transmission pump whined and stopped functioning. Diagnosis: Internal transmission failure (6/17/2024). The shop stated this issue is common in these transmissions. The entire transmission had to be replaced. At 141,164 miles, just 5,349 miles later, the engine shut off on the highway while driving, again with no warning lights. After pulling onto the shoulder, it restarted after 10 minutes but was smoking heavily. Coolant was critically low in the reserve tank. Diagnosis: Cracked cylinder head due to coolant intrusion, a known defect in 1.5L EcoBoost engines. I contacted Ford Customer Care about CSP 21N12, but they refused assistance since my vehicle exceeds 84,000 miles, despite this well-documented defect. Safety Concerns: Unexpected transmission & engine failure while driving creates a serious risk. Engine shutoff on the highway could have led to an accident. Coolant intrusion in 1.5L EcoBoost engines is a known issue, yet Ford has failed to notify all owners. This issue affects many owners and creates major safety risks. I urge the NHTSA to investigate and consider a mandatory recall to prevent further incidents.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine experienced coolant intrusion, which is a known defect in certain Ford EcoBoost engines. My independent mechanic diagnosed the issue after I noticed significant engine performance problems. The affected components, including the engine block and cooling system, are available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Coolant intrusion can lead to engine overheating, misfires, and in severe cases, engine fires. This significantly increased the risk to my safety and that of others on the road. Had I not addressed the issue promptly, a fire could have occurred while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem was confirmed by an independent, certified mechanic—not by a Ford dealership. The dealer failed to properly diagnose or even acknowledge the problem, which appears to be common based on other consumer complaints. Ford did not identify what was truly going on with the vehicle, despite clear symptoms. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Ford has not inspected the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified, but they declined to take responsibility or offer a solution. There was no inspection by police or insurance representatives, as the issue was caught before a fire or accident occurred. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Yes. The engine began running rough and hesitating under acceleration. I also noticed excessive white smoke from the exhaust, and the check engine light came on intermittently. These symptoms began appearing several weeks before the full diagnosis, and Ford service failed to address them accurately during prior visits
Originally, the car had Cylinder 2 misfire followed by the engine overheating. No crash, thankfully. have had this car for approximately 2 years, and put less than 30,000 miles on it. I took the car to Kings Ford Services where they discovered the engine block had been miscast resulting in engine coolant to enter cylinders 2 and 4, thus killing the engine. Spoke with Eric Hutton, Service Advisor Kings Ford Inc, (513)-683-0220 ext. 219, who said he has seen this happen multiple times with Ford Fusions and that the 1.5L has been recalled, but not the 2.0L which my car has. Per Kings Ford Repair Receipt: "Inspected the engine base part number to confirm it I'd 206 then with the engine at normal operating temperature, pressurized the cooling system to 20 PSI FOR 5 hours and the pressure dropped more than 4 PSK. Removed the spark plugs, used a borescope and found coolant has entered the cylinders. Removed the engine and replaced the long block assembly using all of the approved Ford gasket removers, parts cleaners, shampoo and metal surface prep wipes to clean all related mating surfaces per the workshop service manual. Also replaced all other related seals, gaskets, and non reusable hardware and reinstalled all components Removed for repairs in the reverse order of removal. Evachated, pulled system into vacuum, and recharged thr air conditioning system to service the engine assembly." I called Beechmont Ford who filed a claim with my warranty, but the warranty refused to aid and gave many excuses that were not true to the problem such as "it was a gasket issue not an engine" despite Mr. Hutton telling them multiple times it was the engine. I found out later their excuses were just that as Ford Inc. said the warranty expired within a year of having the car. They also had heard of this happening before, as well. Ford Inc. who was willing to pay a portion of the bill, $5,000, despite it being a manufacturing issue. Car was fixed and returned to me on 08/01/2024.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the temperature gauge displayed that the engine was overheating. The transmission warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, who related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12 (Short Block Replacement After Coolant Intrusion) associated with the VIN; however, the mileage exceeded the warranty coverage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was advised to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.
Coolant reservoir is empty with no visible leakage and engine is no longer working
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the transmission was previously replaced two years after purchasing the vehicle brand new. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked and was significantly sluggish while the RPMs were significantly elevated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal. The power train and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while shifting to reverse(R), a message indicating that the transmission was in reverse(R) was displayed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 79,225.
At 80,000 miles my car displayed Error codes that read “Cylinder misfire”. After taking it to a mechanic, I replaced spark plugs and ignition coil. After about 1 month I received a message that said “coolant engine overheating”. The message disappeared after 5 seconds. Shortly after, my car’s engine started to fail. The acceleration wasn’t working and I was forced to pull over. After a few minutes I restarted my car and drove home. When I arrived home I noticed that all the coolant in the coolant reservoir was empty. I refilled the coolant to drive my car to a local mechanic. Once I arrived the coolant reservoir was half way empty. There were no external leaks. The mechanic confirmed that the head gasket was ruined because of the overheating due to the coolant leak. He confirmed that that the leak had caused the original “cylinder misfire code” and coolant had leaked into the engine. My safety was put at risk because my car engine could have over heated or started a fire due to the coolant leak. I cannot drive my car anymore due to the coolant leaking into the engine
I was driving and all of the sudden engine overheated and car could not drive over 10MPH during an extremely bad storm at night on the highway putting me in extreme danger if someone were to have been behind me. There were no engine lights on or warning signs of this happening and just happened out of nowhere car was driving fine before it happened. Issue happened on September 26th, 2023. This is the second engine problem I have had since getting the car in 2021. Last issue was with the top half of the engine CAC/intake manifold and luckily was under warranty or would have been over $6,000. Had vehicle towed to Ford dealership and there verified a check engine light fault. P0303 active in PCM. Upon diagnosing the concern found that the head gasket is leaking into cylinder 2 and 3 due to a failed cylinder block assembly. Need to replace the short block assembly with an updated design. Was quoted $8,700 to fix the issue. I can't afford to pull that kind of money out to fix a car that isn't even 5 years old. Car is no longer under warranty.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that she initially received a notice in the mail about a Customer Satisfaction Program-19B37. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the program was cleared off the vehicle. The contact then stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal as the "Service Engine" warning light appeared on the instrument panel. In addition, the vehicle would fail to start upon refueling. The contact used a code reader which determined that the purge valve was defective, and the part was replaced. Once the purge valve was replaced, the vehicle was restarted, and the code reader then showed a misfire in cylinder #2. The contact replaced the spark plugs and engine coils but then noticed moisture in the engine block. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test where the mechanic confirmed coolant intrusion in the engine block. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer reached out to the manufacturer and was informed by text that manufacturer would not assist with the repair of the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 19B37. The contact called the manufacturer herself and the manufacturer denied the program. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
Bushing that controls the shift gear pops out I am aware that other fords have a recall for this yet this one is absent from your list
Misfires, overheating, Coolant leaking into cylinders
There is a coolant leak into the cylinder which causes it to misfire. Ford is aware this is a known problem!!
Upon entering off ramp to highway , upon acceleration car shudders and goes into limp mode, can't accelerate and forced to try and pull over to stop vehicle and re-start. Very dangerous as it is random, can't re-create and has happened at highway speeds, very unsafe. Took it to dealer, Ford could not recreate and said there were no codes present and subsequently found nothing wrong.
DRIVETRAIN WARNING LIGHT THEN A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. HAD THE CODES READ (P2119) CAME UP TOOK TO FORD SHOP AND WAS TOLD MY THROTTLE BODY ACTUATOR CONTROL SYSTEM WAS STUCK CLOSED AND HAD FAILED. MY VEHICLE HAS JUST OVER 41000 MILES ON IT. LUCKILY IT IS COVERED BY THE WARRANTY.
2018 FORD FUSION SE 1.5L ECOBOOST 66K MILES- 8/27/2020 I WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY APPROACHING A STOPLIGHT WHEN OUT OF NO WHERE MY CAR FELT AS IF IT WERE GOING TO STALL OUT, VERY ROUGH SHAKY IDLE, AND IDLING AT 800 OR LESS RPMS. ON GREEN, I ATTEMPTED TO GO AND MY CAR WAS HAVING TROUBLE ACCELERATING, AGAIN FEELING AS IF IT WAS GOING TO STALL DUE TO LITTLE POWER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND WAS FLASHING THEN WOULD STAY LIT, FLASHING EVERY SO OFTEN. AIR CONDITIONING WOULD GO IN AND OUT WARM TO COLD AND IT WAS ROUGH AND SHAKY TRYING TO GET THE CAR TO GO. I TOOK IT TO AUTOZONE IMMEDIATELY WHERE I GOT THE P0302 READING INVOLVING IGNITION COILS AND SPARK PLUGS. WE REPLACED ALL 4 PLUGS AND COIL PACKS THAT NIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND THE CAR WAS STILL IDLING ROUGH AND HAVING TROUBLE ACCELERATING. TOOK CAR TO A MECHANIC SHOP 8/29/2020 WHERE IT WAS LOOKED AT 8/30/2020. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS FOR SURE CYLINDER 2 MISFIRE AND THAT THE SPARK PLUG WAS COVERED IN OIL (WHICH WAS BRAND NEW COILS, NO OIL WHEN THEY WERE REPLACED JUST DAYS BEFORE). HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT AT 9/1/2020 AND IT WAS INSPECTED THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE VERDICT WAS VERTICAL SCORING PRESENT ON CYLINDER WALLS IN CONSISTENT WITH PISTON AND PISTON RING CAUSING OIL CONSUMPTION AND PRESSURE LOSS; NEEDS A NEW LONG BLOCK. THIS WAS NOTHING I HAD DONE TO THE VEHICLE, NO PREVIOUS ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE, UP TO DATE ON ALL OIL CHANGES AND MAINTENANCE BUT MY WARRANTY HAD RAN OUT. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO MANY 1.5 L ECOBOOST ENGINES AND FORD IS AWARE OF THE DEFAULT IN THE ENGINE. THIS WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE BEFORE I TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CAR. THERE IS REPROGRAMMING OF SOFTWARE TO BANDAID THE PROBLEM BUT NOW THIS IS MY PROBLEM THEY WANT ME TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR.
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The 2018 Ford Fusion has 17 POWER TRAIN,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.