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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2013 Fusion doesn’t have the same track record of power steering failure as the previous 3 model years. Of course, those owners said their steering failed at 60k–100k miles. So this appears to be a classic "wait and see" scenario.

In the meantime, there’s plenty of interior accessory problems to complain about. By themselves, each is a barely a blip on the radar. But combined, they give you that feeling of what the hell have I gotten myself into?

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 21
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
49,678 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.

2013 Ford Fusion electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ford Fusion Owner Comments (Page 1 of 8)

problem #146

May 012024

Fusion

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The backup camera fails to show an image from behind the car over 75% of the time. The display in the car is black upon putting the car in reverse, within about 2 seconds a message displays -??rear view camera is unavailable. Please contact your dealership.-?? The collision sensors (rear cross traffic) also does not work when the camera is not working. Looking at multiple online sites, as well as a friend who has a similar model Fusion as I do, there are many many reports of this issue. My car is low mileage (63,141). Ford also has multiple recalls for this issue on other models and years, this car should be included in the recalls.

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

problem #145

May 222024

Fusion

  • miles
My car has been flashing a -??Power Steering Assist Fault-?? message since I bought it. Lately, it-??s been flashing the warning more frequently. I purchased the vehicle new

- Westland, MI, USA

problem #144

May 132024

Fusion

  • miles
Complete computer system is not working, won-??t show me how many miles i have, won-??t blow out any air. My windows won-??t roll down. This happens at least 10 times a year. I put it in drive and it went BACKWARDS as i pressed on the gas pedal and the brake locked up. So i turned it on and off and SAME thing happened.

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #143

Apr 172024

Fusion

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought my car in 2020 and immediately when I got home my car had died and I had to have it towed back to the dealership. Since then I have had 2 new batteries, 1 new lithium battery, and a new transmission. Issues with my vehicle include but are not limited to: 1. sporadically when I am driving all my dash lights come on and my power steering goes out and my car becomes difficult to steer safely. 2. my car has rolled back twice while I am in park. 3. Passenger airbag randomly will fault when I am driving. 4. My e-brake will randomly fault while I am driving. All of these issues happen very often and are happening more and more often. I have brought my car in a few times but I am told it needs to replicate the issues in order to be diagnosed but these issues happen sporadically and I cannot demonstrate them at will.

- Lodi, CA, USA

problem #142

Oct 192023

Fusion

  • miles
I bought from a dealer in live oak and told there was no recalls I only had car 2 months and the car transmission is acting crazy it smells like burnt oil or brake fluid leaking the radio has a major electrical problem it turns off and resets if I use the Bluetooth to talk through radio. This car all in all has been nothing but huge problems and here I am paying a car note on a car that's barely drivable.

- Branford, FL, USA

problem #141

Jul 112023

Fusion

  • miles
As I was going down the highway my car started smoking dramatically. There were no warning lights so I assumed it might be a belt. I pulled to the side of the road and opened the hood to find flames coming from the backside of the engine. I have had it in the shop now for the last two months and the initial thought was that the water pump could have caused the issue. However, after that set of repairs it was burning oil. Further investigation has shown that the head is cracked.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #140

Mar 012023

Fusion

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Although this vehicle is 10 years old it has only logged less than 17k miles (near new condition). A few months back it was noted that the backlighting on the console, steering wheel, interior door panels and overhead console were inoperative under non-daylight conditions. At night, it's driving blind from an instrumentation perspective. Controls cannot be located as they cannot be seen. This backlighting has a mind of its own. Upon entering the vehicle all the lighting in question lights up and then times out (?) Activating outside lighting (headlights) when you expect and need the backlighting, it just isn't there. Disconnecting the battery for 12 hours (reboot) did nothing to solve the problem. Personally, I believe the slap-happy lighting engineers went way overboard with warning and flashing lights on this vehicle. The lighting in question is there, not just when needed. Due to this over-engineering I refuse to pay shop labor prices to troubleshoot or replace parts on a premium vehicle. As this car has become the "Recall Queen" I feel it was placed on the market well before its time and as a consumer I'm now the guinea pig in the field. Never another Ford. NOTE: Uploaded file shows console section and backlighting is ON. Ignition is off and if car is started the backlighting eventually turns off. Activating the headlights the console and all other backlighting remains dead.

- Hinckley, OH, USA

problem #139

Jan 222023

Fusion

  • 144,206 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated. The contact veered into a parking lot where the contact pumped the brake pedal until the vehicle stopped. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact observed a moist patch underneath the front of the vehicle after moving the vehicle. The contact also stated that the windows failed to operate after the power window button was depressed. Additionally, the A/C unit was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer several times to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The system was reset. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Asbury Park, NJ, USA

problem #138

Feb 042023

Fusion

  • miles
While driving my vehicle into the garage, I placed the car into the P(park) gear and the car continued to roll. I had to hit the emergency break to stop the vehicle. The fuel line keeps cracking although it has been replaced multiple times causing gas to be leaking from the vehicle even after filling the car up.

- Coolidge, AZ, USA

problem #137

Jan 042023

Fusion

  • miles
2013 Ford Fusion with 99,799 miles on it; went out to go start it after work one day, unable to get into car or start car as battery was completely drained. Did not leave lights on etc. Had someone jump car; on way to repair shop, car shut down and would not restart; thankfully I was NOT on a highway. Since that time, it has had 2 new batteries placed in it, will run for about 5 minutes then shut off and you cannot restart it again; it has also been to 2 repair shops and is presently at the Ford dealership as my shop was not able to determine what was wrong. Cooling fan also noted to be running after car died yet still not able to restart. Read on Ford forums that this has happened to other Fusion owners of the same year.Up to this point, intermittently the battery saver message would come across the dash however I had that looked at and was cleared out. With the car just shutting down without any warning on a busy street in the city, this could have ended a lot worse: I could have been hit or even killed. No warning lights appeared on dash aside from powertrain light after it was jumped but after that, there was nothing. Car was essentially dead and I could not get it to restart. When it was running I could not get the car to go over 10mph in a 35mph zone

- Lansing, MI, USA

problem #136

May 182020

Fusion

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The cars dashboard lights kept lighting up and not long after I was on the freeway and the car caught onfire under the hood and burnt down complete loss

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #135

Oct 072022

Fusion

  • miles
-Electronic parking brake system (Brakes, Electrical) -If the Parking brake fails due to electrical component failure/premature degradation as well as the transmission bushing recall simultaneously, the vehicle could move on it's own while unattended causing accident/harm. -The vehicle is now in a dealer shop, work status has not been updated. -Inspection in progress by manufacturer dealership -Audible alarm with warning message "Electronic brake malfunction, Service now"

- Waterbury, CT, USA

problem #134

Jul 232022

Fusion

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after shifting to the drive(D), the transmission experienced hard shifting. Also, while shifting to the park(P) the transmission would remain in drive(D) even though the gear selector indicated that the transmission was in park(P). During the failure, the vehicle would erroneously drive forward. The contact was able to manually shift the transmission to the park(P) from under the hood while a second person depressed the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission shift cable bushing was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired on 3 separate occasions for the failure but each time the failure reoccurred. Additionally, all audible safety features such as the horn, alarms, and seatbelt alarms were inoperable. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #133

Nov 222021

Fusion

  • miles
Was sold the car with no inspection and was pushed to get this 2013 Ford Fusion. Lights inside car flickers on and off rather car is on or off; caused to get new battery.

- Inglewood, CA, USA

problem #132

May 252022

Fusion

  • miles
Windows will roll down unexpectedly without any warning. This has happened multiple times. I have not had inspected by dealer, however when I take the vehicle in for the two other recalls I will report them issue to the dealer.

- Cleveland , GA, USA

problem #131

Jul 262019

Fusion

  • miles
I was traveling with my family and a light came on the dash. I pulled over to check my manual and it said it was a power steering fault. Once I started my car again the power steering was completely gone and I had to drive 10 hours back home with no power steering which was extremely hard for someone who has never driven a vehicle like that. I seen online there was a recall for 23 ford fusions but of course mine isn-??t on the list. I found 177 complaints on this and I don-??t understand why this is not a recall. If this had happened while driving I could have been seriously injured or killed or harmed another life. Please take that into consideration!

- Scottsburg , IN, USA

problem #130

Nov 242021

Fusion

  • miles
My 2013 Ford Fusion SE had the high pressure fuel pump start leaking and dripped fuel on the exhaust and started the car on fire while driving down the road. This caused about $7,000 in damage but could have easily gotten out of control and caused injury or death to occupant(s). I reached out to Ford Motor Company and did a chat log asking for assistance and to make them aware. Ford Motor Company Case number CAS-34734107-H6J0Z5. What is dangerous about this design is that Ford chose to design and install a secondary high pressure fuel pump directly above the exhaust manifold and the engineers surely would have known the durability and longevity along with possible outcomes due to normal use over time. For the same reason you are not to refuel a hot engine, a fuel pump should not be placed directly over the exhaust manifold. I believe Ford Motor Company should be held accountable for their finished product liability. This is dangerous enough that they should remove these vehicles from service until a safe solution is available and deployed in my opinion.

- Wausau, Wi, WI, USA

problem #129

Jun 192019

Fusion

  • 26,000 miles
My family and I drove to the beach and we parked. Then when were driving home on the freeway I lost power in the steering wheel. It took all my strength/ muscle to keep control of car. That is when a light came on. I managed to get home at that point we pulled out the manual to look up the symbol. It too about 1 hour along with the internet just to figure that it was the power assisted system. It stated that the steering would be with out power and could potential lose control all together. We immediately called to have it towed from home to dealer after looking up recalls I noticed their was a recall for the same thing that happen to me but on the East coast. However my VIN number said my car was not part of that recall. But the year make model was. It is my belief that Ford should be responsible to fix this issue not only because of that but even though my car is a 2013 it have less than 30,000 miles on it. Showing it was not driven much or missed used. It is obviously a defect in part or manufacture installation or whatever. Very disappointed in my Ford dealers and company for not fixing it and making me do so espacial because there is a recall on it out there showing it is a defect.

- Corana, CA, USA

problem #128

Mar 262021

Fusion

  • miles
All locks in car start clicking then 3-5 seconds laters trunk opens. Happens at random time sometimes happen when car is parked or while driving. It's been going on for about 1.5 years have took its to 3 different Ford dealership all couldn't fine what the problem is. It's is a 2013 Ford Fusion with about 122000 miles. The most recent was 3/26/2021 woke up the next morning the truck was open. A couple of days before we where driving about to merge on the freeway they truck open had to pull over to close.

- Corcoran, CA, USA

problem #127

Mar 082021

Fusion

  • 115,746 miles
Trunk opens unexpectedly when either parked or in motion.

- Lancaster, PA, USA

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