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:
26 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 1
Average Mileage:
71,586 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.
Power steering has gone out several times since I first bought this car. Each time I have taken it into the dealer in the past they have told me they weren't willing to look at it without a fault code on the dash. Today (04/17/2015) I finally managed to get them to look at the code and they are unwilling to fix the problem under warranty despite it having been an ongoing issue. Looking it seems to be a problem not just related to my car, but a number of these 2011 Fusion.
Without warning the power steering stopped working and the car was extremely difficult to pull over to the side of the road. Ford informed me the power steering unit had failed for no reason. Extremely difficult to even drive to Ford dealership as the steering kept trying to overcorrect left and then right. Just happy to be alive !!!!!
Was driving about 30mph and wheel immediately locked up. Dash board display a message " power steering assist fault and service advancetrac". I was able to turn the car off and back on and that fix the problem however has happen again two days later and turn the engine off and back on is no longer working. Wheel is very hard to turn making the car impossible to drive. Have an appt with Ford but from what I'm reading it seem like the issue isn't covered under warranty.
4 times in the last 2 weeks my 2011 Ford Fusion SE has had a power steering failure. Twice causing complete loss of control of the car and another two times turned the car into the sidewalk with pedestrians in the way(no one was hurt....this time). While the car is still drivable there is an excessive amount of force required to steer the car. So much so that my wife-not a weak women at all was not able to steer the car and drove off the road. Even if you are able to steer the car to avoid an accident you can pretty much just drive in a straight line as turning is next to impossible. Something has to be done about this soon. This is not only dangerous for the driver and people in the car but for anyone around a 2010-2012 Ford Fusion. Like a said, we almost struck pedestrians twice. Lets not wait for someone to get hurt or even killed before action is taken.
While driving my car to the local deli market the power steering in my car just stopped working. I was unable to adequately steer my car. I was fortunate that there was a drive way I could turn into. This is very dangerous and I was also fortunate I wasn't in heavy traffic or trying to make a turn. It has come to my attention that this is an issue with some of the Ford Fusion however Ford is not announcing a recall nor advising owners of this issue. It has the potential to cause a fatal accident.
- St Petersburg, FL, USA
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When I turned on my Ford Fusion the other day, I saw a power steering failure message come up on my dash. I had lost power steering on the vehicle and was unsure what to do. I shut the vehicle off and started the car back up which resolved the issue for now. I'm nervous this could happen again when driving at high speeds on the freeway during my commute.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. While driving at an unknown speed, excessive force was required in order to maneuver the steering wheel. The power steering warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,000.
This is now the 6th report of steering failure on this car. This incident happened easter Sunday (April 5, 2015) with approximately 176K miles on the car. This time I was turning at a stop sign and the steering failed completely. The power steering failure light came on with no warning and I could not turn. If there would have been a car there, I would have hit it. I had to kill the engine to re-engage the steering control. It reset itself. The other report #10693725 dated 11-Mar-2015 referred the other failures: 9/25/2014 power steering complete loss turning into parking space 9/29/2014 power steering complete loss on highway 10/7/2014 power steering complete loss on highway 10/09/2014 power steering complete loss on highway 3/9/2015- power steering complete loss while traveling 83 miles an hour with traffic 4/5/2015- power steering complete loss turning right.
The power steering assist failed on my car 5 times so far, once while I was driving which caused me to crash into a curb and get a flat tire. (!) it seems to reset itself after I turn the car off and turn it back on. I am worried this failure of my power steering is going to happen while I am driving on the freeway which I must drive on in heavy traffic everyday. This is very dangerous. After reading all the other complaints about this issue with this make, model and year of car, I am suprised my car has not yet been recalled. Someone is going to get killed if this problem is not addressed and fixed. I don't have the money to fix my car, and from what I read, Ford auto repair doesn't even know how to fix this problem. What a nightmare. Please recall.
One morning I started my car and the steering wheel locked up and a warning "power steering default assist" appeared. I turned the car off then restarted and the power steering was fine. This incident happened 2 more times in February. After the 4th or 5th warning appeared, I made an appointment with the dealership I purchased the car from. The informed me that they could not replicate the problem and that the could not detect a malfunction code. Last week it happened again not just once but twice while I was parked in a hospital parking deck. After the third try, the steering reset itself. The next day the power steering locked up and it did not reset. I had to have the car towed to the dealership. Now they want to stick me with at $2000 repair stating that the problem is not covered under warranty and that Ford does not have a recall. I had the car in the shop three times in 2014 for a problem we thought was the rack and pinion. Again, because the service department could not duplicate the problem, the car now has had more damage to the steering. Thankfully, my son and I made it home across the mountain after his doctors appointment before the car's steering completely locked up.
After getting gas and car was off and in park, tried to go the power steering was gone and the car was not controllable. No one seems to know the exact problem.
The power steering rack went out on my 2011 Ford Fusion. I could not drive it while being fixed which was a pain, but I did get a loner vehicle to use for the gas used while being fixed. I paid to have the vehicle towed to the Ford garage. It sat for the weekend. After the diagnosis I had to come into town (17 miles) to pay for the part before it would be ordered. The problem occurred on a Thursday and it was repaired the following Wednesday at the end of the day. Total bill was $1708 and change. With a three warranty it was not covered. However there have been 94 complaints on the vehicle model of which 39 were for the power steering rack. Other Fusion models were fixed under a recall. I believe mine should also be covered by Ford because other models were covered. I am fortunate the power steering went out on a city street and not on an interstate highway while I was driving the previous week driving at 65 mph. I am 71 year old widow and do not drive recklessly. Many power steering racks last well over 100,000 miles. I really don't feel safe in this car anymore. I probably will be car shopping at another brand dealer.
The 2011 Ford power steering unit failed gave a warning to service the car. The dealer found nothing wrong. Vehicle is not safe to drive post failure and the problem is not repeatable at the dealer. The dashboard reads "steering assist failure'.
While driving car the power steering failed causing a loss of proper control of the car. The car steering would not budge and was very difficult to pull over to a safe place. Message on dashboard read power steering assist failure. This has happened 3 times in the last 7 days.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel seized as the power assist failure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Started car and immediately power steering fault assist came on and could not move steering wheel turned car off and back on and it corrected itself and I drove from fl to ga with no problem. 2 days later sitting in driveway the same problem occurred turned car off and back on and it fixed the problem.until next time I have googled the issue and there are 500K reports of this happening and Ford needs to do a recall. A 26K car should not have major mechanical problems in 4 years.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact had to apply force to the steering wheel in order to turn the vehicle. The contact stated that the power steering default and power steering low was displayed across the message board. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000. Updated 4/30/15 updated 10/23/2015
My power steering is out I waited the 30 seconds and longer with no good results I drove it home and waited and still no steering assist there is a fault light on the instrument cluster.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Halethorpe, MD, USA