Home · 2013 Ford Fusion Hev · Complaints

What 1,948 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Fusion Hev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (1,948)Crash / fire / injury (173)Steering (417)Engine (395)Transmission & drivetrain (315)Electrical system (189)Body & structure (179)Fuel system (156)Seat belts (113)Airbags (112)Brakes (88)Latches & locks (88)

315 of 1,948 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters · page 2 of 13

Dec 13, 2023Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemLatches & locks

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated that while sitting in the passenger seat as their husband was driving through a fast food drive-through and attempting to make a left turn the power steering suddenly failed. The dashboard was illuminated with several different lights, meanings unknown, however, there were no warning lights before the failure occurred. The driver had used an excessive amount of force to pull to the side where he turned the vehicle off and then restarted it to regain proper function. The failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electrical power assist system failed. The independent mechanic informed them that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V250000 (Steering) and referred them to Ford. The dealer was contacted and informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V250000 (Steering) but was included in NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V413000 (Power Train) and 20V331000 (Locks, Latches ) . The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V250000 (Steering) then referred them to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11559858

Nov 10, 2023Transmission & drivetrainElectrical system

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.

NHTSA ODI 11554473

Sep 26, 2023Engine & coolingTransmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost significant motive power and struggled to attain speeds of over 30 MPH. The contact also stated that there was an excessive amount of smoke coming from the exhaust that contained the odor of oil. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the Eco-Boost system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 183,000.

NHTSA ODI 11546682

Sep 11, 2023Engine & coolingTransmission & drivetrainAirbags

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V597000 (Air Bags, Seat Belts). Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start on two occasions. The vehicle was towed to the dealer on both occasions, and the dealer determined that rodents had consumed the electrical wiring, causing an electrical failure. The electrical wiring was replaced. The contact also stated that the transmission was slipping while driving. The contact stated that two engine cylinders had misfired, and the ignition coils and spark plugs were replaced. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, messages indicating that the coolant level was low, and that the vehicle was overheating were displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle shuddered and lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where an unknown hose and the thermostat were replaced; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic, who referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that coolant was leaking into the engine, causing the engine to overheat. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V551000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11543901

May 11, 2023Transmission & drivetrainSpeed control

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle suddenly stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as designed. The contact stated that occasionally the gear shifter could not be shifted to park(P). The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 105,000.

NHTSA ODI 11521508

May 1, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

The gear downshifts multiple levels and causes worn torque converter. This unintended downshift triggers a sudden speed reduction, which could result in a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash. Similar problem resulted with a recall for certain 2011 - 2013 Model Year F-150 Vehicles Equipped With A 6R80 Transmission, Ford Safety Recall Number: 19S07. NHTSA Recall Number: 19V-075

NHTSA ODI 11519828

Apr 19, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving downhill at 80 MPH, the transmission inadvertently downshifted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11517882

Feb 7, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

While driving, the clutch is beginning to slip in from 1st- 3rd gears. I feel as though this could be a safety issue if the transmission gives out all together in traffic. This problem has been inspected and confirmed by manufacturer. There were no warning signals prior to the failure and they began to appear around 130,000 miles. Ford has a recall for the SAME models with the EXACT same issue (recall number 18s07), but not with my 2.5 L engine. This seems completely unfair as I have the EXACT same transmission and obviously it will have the EXACT same issues. Therefore, I would like a total coverage for the repairs as it has already been identified as a manufacturing issue of Ford.

NHTSA ODI 11506101

Feb 6, 2023Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlEngine

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle decelerated. The contact stated that the vehicle was slow to accelerate. The driver was able to pull over. The check engine warning light was flashing on and off. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the vehicle had experienced transmission failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11505845

Jan 31, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

The contact called on behalf of his wife who owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11504798

Jan 17, 2023Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the check engine, engine coolant system failure, and various other unknown warning alarms and lights were illuminated and heard, and the vehicle then lost motive power. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, there was no diagnostic test or repair completed. The vehicle was then towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact then towed the vehicle to another independent mechanic and after the mechanic shifted the gear into neutral(N), the vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was then diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the mechanic's shop awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 165,000.

NHTSA ODI 11502224

Jan 6, 2023SteeringTransmission & drivetrain

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.

NHTSA ODI 11500525

Dec 8, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

I was driving home from work in the freeway my 2013 Ford Fusion started shaking , jerking , stopping and not accelerating and all of the sudden came to a complete stop. I was almost hit by vehicles in the freeway and had to exit to get the vehicle tow due to faulty transmission issues with ecoboost. Ford was contacted and they try to tell me no open recalls for the transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11496515

Dec 5, 2022Transmission & drivetrainEngineFirerelatedFire

10 mins into driving the car the car had a loss of power and the instrument cluster flashed a see manual indicator and a wrench flashed on the screen within 1 min of pulling on to the shoulder of the road the entire engine compartment was in flames. I had the recall for the issue know to have caused this performed on the car but it doesn’t seem the issue was resolved. The car is now totaled due to an issue that has appeared to happen with multiple vehicles reported to the NHTSA.

NHTSA ODI 11496003

Nov 22, 2022Transmission & drivetrainEngine

Transmission is the worst I have ever used in any vehicle. Constantly slips downshifting and upshifting also when breaking. Transmission is slow to shift and then has hard bang and jerks the car

NHTSA ODI 11494635

Oct 12, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 MPH, she began to slow for a traffic light when the vehicle stalled and would not start again. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that there was no transmission fluid left in the unit and that the transmission had to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11489022

Oct 5, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

this is 2013 ford fusion and have transmission issue while shifting the gear, it picks the gear very late from stop to moving the car and it cause jerking, this is manufacturing fault in this model. please investigate and should be RECALL for this issue

NHTSA ODI 11488038

Sep 23, 2022Transmission & drivetrainElectrical system

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.

NHTSA ODI 11486064

Sep 22, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

My issue is with the transmission when applying the brakes. It seems to be the regenerative braking switching back-and-forth between the brake pads and the regenerative motor. Which causes the dash to come up with a bunch of error codes, including ABS brakes, traction control, airbags, Lane monitoring. these transmissions have about a 75% failure rate.

NHTSA ODI 11485829

Sep 14, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that his son informed him that transmission fluid was leaking from the vehicle onto the ground. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11484402

Sep 13, 2022Transmission & drivetrainCrash

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle rolled forward and crashed into a pole. The contact was not inside the vehicle when the failure occurred. A police report was filed. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

NHTSA ODI 11484293

Sep 7, 2022Transmission & drivetrainTires

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the gear shifter was stuck in the park position and failed to shift into the intended gear. The contact stated that the TPMS and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V362000 (Power Train). The approximate failure mileage was 124,515.

NHTSA ODI 11483274

Aug 26, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal whining sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that while refueling the vehicle, fuel would spew back out of the tank. As both failures persisted, the vehicle began to jerk and hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact attempted to make an appointment with the dealer but was informed that due to a shortage of employees, the vehicle could not be serviced for months. The contact stated that while waiting for the appointment while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled upon depression of the accelerator pedal while at a complete stop. The "Stop Safely Now" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with a defective purge valve which caused the transmission failure. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train). The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the issue and informed the contact that the recall was not related to the transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11481335

Aug 26, 2022Transmission & drivetrainCrash1 injury

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at 15 MPH downhill, the steering wheel locked. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle would not stop. The contact was unable to move the gear shifter and crashed between the trees and a restaurant sign. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained soreness on the neck, back, and left shoulder but did not seek medical assistance. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front passenger's side axle was fractured and the transmission shifter cable bushing needed to be replaced. However, the cause of the steering failure was not determined. The mechanic replaced the front passenger's side axle and referred the contact to the dealer for the transmission and the steering failures. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts for recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) were not yet available. Additionally, The contact stated that upon pulling into a parking lot, the steering wheel locked. The contact continued driving straight into a parking space. The steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11481431

Aug 17, 2022Transmission & drivetrain

The shifter cable bushing malfunctioned. I could not shift the car out of park even though the gear shift inside the vehicle would move. There is a recall for this in other Ford vehicles but not for my vehicle. I feel like there should be a recall for the group my vehicle falls under as it happened to me.

NHTSA ODI 11479863

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How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Ford Fusion Hev verdict →