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:
9 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,895 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.
I was driving on 7/26/2023 and the power steering system malfunctioned, resulting in complete loss of power steering. I received a warning message: "Steering Assist Malfunction Service Required" I lost control of the vehicle momentarily until I realized I could still steer, but with great difficulty. I pulled over, turned off the car, restarted it and regained power steering for a few seconds before it failed again, giving the aforementioned warning message. From that point, power steering was completely lost and did not come back after stopping and restarting again. Fortunately, I was able to get my car home without incident but it was very difficult to steer and making tight turns was impossible. I took the vehicle to Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor, MI who told me, "The power steering rack has an internal failure that won't reset or clear." They indicated that the only way to restore the power steering is by replacing the electronic power steering rack. I was quoted $3950.80 for this and my car is currently undergoing repair because I need a mode of transportation. There is a known issue with the Ford Fusion (https://www.consumerreports.org/consumerist/ford-recalls-nearly-445k-vehicles-for-power-steering-failure-fuel-leak-issues/) and Ford has issued recalls for 2011 to 2013 model years. Mine is a 2013, but the specific model (Energi) is not covered. I experienced the same issue so Ford's recall should cover the Energi model and I should be reimbursed for the repair costs.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the message "EPS Warning System" was displayed, and the vehicle suddenly lost power steering assist functionality, causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to steer. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the steering wheel responded as needed. However, upon starting the vehicle the following day, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the electric power steering (EPS) system. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign number: 15V250000 (Steering). The local dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 111,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 30 MPH, the vehicle overheated, with the power steering system, and other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle shut off and the contact was unable to depress the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle was stuck in the middle of traffic. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was an unknown sensor failure. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was currently at the dealer and the repair was pending. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no further assistance. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the power steering failed, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the messages "Service Power Steering'', "Hill Assist Not Available" and "Service Advance Track" were displayed. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 140,000.
My daughter in law just had her brakes serviced at Jack Demmer Ford and the next day the power steering suddenly failed while she was driving with my grand daughter in the back seat. She was unable to steer the car but did manage to stop safely. I understand the Electric Power Steering Assist (EPSA) failure is a very common problem on this vehicle and has been recalled on this model and year but not on her VIN. Now Ford says they cannot even look at the car for 3 weeks so she is driving my car while I will be driving hers with no power steering. I have owned and driven cars from 1966 to 2023 and never had power steering fail while the car was in motion. Older cars that never had power steering are still easy to steer and drive but the 2013 Fusion Hybrid is very difficult and almost impossible at lower speeds meaning she absolutely cannot drive the car. Amazing how she can get her car into the Ford dealership for brake maintenance but not for a immediate safety issue like not being able to steer.
- Westland, MI, USA
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The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the "Power Steering Fault" message was displayed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering shaft torque sensor was faulty, and the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was loose and wobbly, and not completely secured to the steering column. 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 206,000.
While traveling at low speed and making a turn, sometimes loss of power steering assist that is requiring a greater steering effort occurs. Increasing the risk of a crash. Dashboard warning lights turns on as in the attached photos. Similar problem resulted as a recall for certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles, Steering Gear Motor Bolt Corrosion. However my vehicle, which is assembled in Hermosillo, Mexico, has exact same issue this recall mentions were not recalled by Ford. NHTSA Safety Recall: 19S26
Power Steering Assist Failure while driving. Problem is intermittent but persistent and can happen suddenly. It nearly caused me to go off the road when it happened while going around a curve. If it happens suddenly it is extremely hard to steer and could definitely end up in an accident. I have not had it inspected yet by a mechanic. No warning lights appeared before the failure but when it happened the message read "Power Steering Assist Failure"
My vehicle steering has failed/is failing. While driving I had intermittent loss of power steering and a knocking noise when turning the wheel in any direction which has been confirmed by my local ford dealer. They have stated that the electric rack and pinion is the issue. I didn-??t receive any notification on my dashboard. It seems this is an ongoing problem with my year vehicle in other states.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that an unknown warning light had appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was test driven and the fault codes were reset. Upon restart of the vehicle, the power steering assist message appeared on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and a dealer however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 163,233.
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.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the power steering assist fault message was displayed, and the steering wheel became difficult firm. The contact pulled over on the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the EPS gear and the axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering). The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would unintendedly drift to the left. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A warning message indicating power steering failure was displayed. The contact was able to continue driving by using physical force to steer the vehicle. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for recall repair; however, after the recall repair, the power steering failure increased significantly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while reversing the vehicle, the steering wheel disengaged. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his wife was driving 70 MPH, a warning message indicating power steering failure was displayed. The contact's wife veered to the side the road and attempted to activate the hazard lights however, the hazard lights were inoperable. The contact met his wife on the side of the road and towed the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The steering wheel of my 2013 Ford fusion is becoming loose. Apon looking up this issue I found that there is a recall on 2014-2018 Ford Fusions for this same issue. I am wondering if my vehicle can be included so that this safety issue can be fixed?
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, a message indicating a power steering failure was displayed. The steering wheel locked. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The contact was able to drive to her residence by using physical force to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the Powertrain Control module (PCM) had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as there was no open recall on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 174,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dexter, MI, USA