It has been discovered that in many if not all fmc 4 door sedan hybrids with the 2.5 liter engine and nickle metal hydride batteries, oem software starts to drastically reduce electric vehicle operation sometime after the hybrid warranty expires. The effect of this is the car's acceleration and fuel efficiency is drastically reduced and automatic periodic battery re-conditioning ceases. The car essentially ceases to function as a hybrid and the engine runs all the time except when at a standstill. Up to 70,000 vehicles may be affected. It has been found that this id controlled by a battery age feature in the software. Resetting this age to any lower value restores completely normal hybrid behavior and performance. Fmc has refused to do this instead quoting battery replacement for $8,000 as the solution. D.O. E. tests many years ago showed robust performance of the battery out to 160,000 miles in accelerated testing. The fix is a ten minute software battery age change that fmc refuses to do. The reduced acceleration is a safety issue as the atkinson cycle engine was not designed to be unassisted by the battery and has very slow power acceleration without it.

- Marco Is., FL, USA

After pumping gas in the vehicle, the engine does not turn on. The engine chokes and turns directly to battery mode. You must floor the gas pedal 3 to 4 different times in order for the vehicle to start. Must sit and wait about 5 minutes for the idleing to stop before putting car into drive mode.

- Durham, NC, USA

In motion on highway with cruise control car dashboard shows 'stop safely now' loose acceleration. Turn car off then back on and can drive. Check engine light on. Told vacuum pump creating issue. Replaced and car okay. While in motion on highway during acceleration 'stop safely now' entire car shuts down while driving. Loss of brakes, steering, acceleration. Get car towed back to shop and told acid leak degraded wire harness. But also told they can't ensure the car will be fixed from repairing. How does a battery leak so bad without any cracks. No shop can confirm the acid leak is causing the brake issue. Possible ABS module, electronic control, O2 sensor replacement too.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

I purchased a new 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid SE from a Ford dealership in fairfax, va. After owning the vehicle for approximately 9 years, the vehicle no longer operates in electric mode (it only operates in gas mode). My average mpg has dropped from 37-40 mpg to 25-27 mpg. I took it to a Ford dealership service center manassas, va in Nov 2019 who indicated they are aware of the problem but they have no solution to fix it (they initially were going to charge me $150 diagnostic fee but waived the fee and sent me home). There are numerous reports in Ford vehicle forums with the same complaint. Consensus is that Ford programmed the electronic mode to stop working after 9 years. When I purchased the vehicle, there was no disclosure that I would no longer have a properly working hybrid after 9 years. This end-of-life decision would have to be programmed into the vehicle's ECU at the time of manufacturing and should have been disclosed by Ford at the time of purchase. Had Ford disclosed this, it would have directly impacted my decision to purchase the vehicle. The fix appears to be reprogramming the vehicle to make it think it is less than 9 years old which returns the hybrid functions to normal. According to several forums, some Ford service centers have conduct this fix, but the majority of Ford service centers are not willing/able to resolve this issue. This issue has been identified in Ford's oasis database with no solution. Tsb #ssm 48238 NHTSA id #10167224 was announced in Oct 2019. Refer to forums with identical issues and solutions: (https://www.cargurus.com/cars/discussion-C28475_ds1000144), (https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/fusion_hybrid/2010/tsbs/), (https://www.fordfusionforum.com/topic/19361-my-instructions-on-restoring-the-hybrid-ev-function-on-the-Ford-Fusion-hybrid-approaching-the-89-years-mark/).

- Bristow, VA, USA

From a complete stop, car stutters and pauses before starting to move as if it's trying to decide which form of power to use - the electric battery or the engine. This has become quite dangerous because it's enough time to be hit by oncoming traffic while not being able to move. When it does "kick in", it lurches and makes a 'knocking' noise. I'm very concerned I'm going to be smashed into one day due to it not moving. Searching online and reading through the Ford Fusion forums, I've found that it has to do with the system reading the electric battery age. This stuttering happens almost daily now. My commute is all city driving and happens when coming out of a complete stop, no matter if I'm turning or going straight. I take excellent care of my car, have owned it since new, and have less than 60,000 miles on it. I'm hoping to be able to drive it for a long time to come, but, if this continues, I fear I will be injured - or worse - due to this issue. Please address this problem. There are many, many Fusion hybrid owners that are having this problem, but seem to not be getting any response from Ford.

- West Fargo, ND, USA

Car no longer converting to electric vehicle as it used to under similar circumstances. Only time it switches to electric vehicle is when brake is depressed, coasting down hill or at a stop. Dealer has run Ford diagnostics and has no idea what is wrong. The same issue is being reported on various websites.

- Tooele, UT, USA

I had already gotten my throttle body repaired the year before my car started jolting as if it was malfunctioning again. This time though the vehicle would jump when I tried accelerate from stop, rpms would go all the way up to 5 before switching gears and the speedometer would move up and down while electrical lights flickered. Took it to Ford and nothing was found so I got an oil change and transmission flush. That same day the car started doing it again. I took the car back to Ford they offered to clean the throttle body and returned the car the next day. Not even 24hrs after started the same problem. I took car to auto zone they immediately found an error for the camshaft position sensor. Brought car back to Ford where they had me leave it for two days for the transmission tech to look at it. They then said oil had leaked onto the sensor causing the car to drive that way. Replaced that and the head that was leaking. Car was still jolting and driving as if throttle body was messed up but worse. I brought my car back that same week they found a sensor that needed to be replaced in the transmission. This whole while I was 8-9 months pregnant and ended up spending 1200 dollars on something that should've been fixed the first timr and in my opinion a side effect from the car having a defective throttle body for so long before they allowed it to be fixed.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

We had driven to a football game, when we returned to the car it would not start. All the lights worked, it turned over perfectly every time, but it would not start. Had it towed to the mechanic in the morning and it started for them. However, after multiple test they were able to get it to stop starting. Checked the codes and it said O2 sensor. Replaced O2 sensor. Car died on my way home from the mechanic while pulling out onto the highway from a stop sign where vehicles are traveling 60mph with my two small children in the car. Terrifying! I barely chugged across the lanes and got the nose of my car on the shoulder. I turned the car off and after a few tries it restarted. When I got home, I took the battery cables off the battery for the weekend as I read that could help the faulty computer issue. So far, I have not experienced this issue again. A couple of weeks before this, I noticed that at speeds of 50 mph the car felt like it was speeding up and slowing down really fast like pulsing.

- Hauser, ID, USA

My 2010 Ford Fusion had the service power steering light come on while driving down the highway, and then the power steering went out and the service advancetrac came on. I called the dealership and even though my car has two open recalls for airbags and fuel tank, along with an extended one on my throttle body, they can't get my car in until next month. I've tried disconnecting the battery terminals, and replaced the battery in hopes that it would reset the computer as the car does not have a power steering pump and is controlled by a computer chip.

- Hauser, ID, USA

Rapid deceleration: While driving on the freeway rapid deceleration occurred. Car slowed to about 25mph and would not accelerate when gas pedal was pushed. Exited freeway.. turned engine off and restarted. Car operated normal. No error icons showed. About a half mile from home problem reoccurred crawled home at 10mph. Next several days problem did not reoccur. About a week later same problem reoccurred while driving home..10mph. Spoke to Ford service to see if they would cover repairs and they declined. Took it to my repair shop and they replaced the throttle body. $600. Very scary dangerous situation when this occurs on the freeway.

- Auuburn, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion SE. The contact stated that the fuel tank leaked fuel underneath the vehicle causing the vehicle to loose a quarter tank of fuel overnight after refueling. There was no warning, except that the contact smelled fuel constantly. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer where there was no leak detected. The vehicle was not repaired and was taken to another dealer for a second opinion. The vehicle was then diagnosed at riverside autoplex of poteau dealer (918-647-2228, located at 2100 S broadway St, poteau, ok 74953) where it was diagnosed that the fuel tank was defective and caused the leak. The dealer informed that on 08/2018 the vehicle was inspected under NHTSA campaign number: 15V793000 (fuel system, gasoline) however was concluded that the vehicle did not require the recall remedy performed and the recall was closed under the VIN. The dealer requested the recall be reopened again to perform the repairs on the vehicle but the request was denied by the manufacturer. The dealer confirmed that the canister purge valve (cpv) and the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact informed that the recall was within the service warranty period of 12 months and 12,000 miles of the closing repair order however the manufacturer's decision remained in declining the recall to be reopened. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was currently not being driven due to the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,000.

- Hartford, AR, USA

Fuel smell while driving, and also when filling gas it will not show that it is full.

- Corona, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle stalled and turned off. The contact was able to turn on the ignition and park on the side of the road, but the vehicle stalled again. In addition, the check engine and battery/charging alert warning indicators illuminated. The contact also noticed fuel leaking from both exhaust pipes and noticed a fuel stain underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home and then taken to North county Ford (located at 5829, 450 w vista way, vista, ca 92083, (888) 833-0634). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 117,000.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

I was driving 70 mph down the highway and my car just quit running. A few warning lights came on and I pulled over to the shoulder of the road. I was able to restart the car and merged onto the highway; the car quickly died again. I had the car towed home and was unable to start the car again since the anti-theft lock light was on. I had the car towed to a dealership and I am waiting to hear back from them.

- Coopersville, MI, USA

Driving down interstate or street car orange wrench light comes on car goes into limp mode close to getting hit

- Shepherdsville, KY, USA

1- driver side locked handle broken won't locked, 2-check fuel fill inlet and engine light turn 3-power steering problem

- Buena Park, CA, USA

Fuel tank crack: NHTSA campaign number: 15V793000 safety recall 15S34 this is a known issue for this model however the recall did not include my VIN. The recall included 2.5 and 3.0 liter engines mine is 3.5 liter V6. I am having the exact same issue as the complaint filed May 2,2019. NHTSA id number: 11205410 vehicle identification number listed in original complaint 3fahp0hg2ar**** if I fill my car above a half of a tank it leaks out all over the place and it leaks whether I'm driving or parked.

- Brandon, FL, USA

My car is having tank issues. It will not go even if you press the gas. It begin to jerk then cut off and continue to drain my battery. If try to start won't stay started was told it was fuel pump leaking. It was being driven on the highway begin to smell fuel.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

Gas tank is leaking. Per Ford- a recall fix was done in 2016 on the purge valve, but not the tank itself. The tank itself is leaking. Per Ford since the recall fix was donr in some capacity, it doesn't qualify for the remaining portion being fixed.

- Snellville, GA, USA

If I fill my car above a half of a tank it leaks out all over the place and it leaks wether im driving or parked

- Mt. Sterling, OH, USA