The 2011 Ford Fusion just plain isn’t a great used car. There’s no nice way of putting it. Despite a four-star crash test rating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the sheer number of complaints and recalls on file make it one of the less reliable used mid-size cars.
- The 2011 Ford Fusion’s biggest issue is airbags, with complaints still being registered despite five recalls.
- Power steering failures are a leading concern for 2011 Fusion drivers.
- Cracked fuel tanks may lead to engine stall and jerking.
- Electrical issues include random warning lights and melting wires.
- Despite all these issues, the car holds a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Five Airbag Recalls Lead to Parts Shortage
The airbags in the 2011 Ford Fusion have led to five recalls in total. First, in 2016, nearly two million Fords were recalled for ruptured airbag inflators. Then, from 2019 to early 2021, the 2011 Fusion was included in four recalls covering millions of units for potential exploding airbags.
In all five recalls, the root problem had to do with degradation of chemical propellants as a result of exposure to heat and humidity, and temperature cycling, meaning constant changes in temperature.
With the first recall, the concern was that the airbags simply wouldn’t work, as a result of ruptured inflators. With the latter recalls, the concern was the opposite, that the propellant could go off when you don’t want it to.
While the recall seems to have gotten the job done, complaints continue to pour in regarding parts shortages. So if you’re buying a used Ford, your best bet is to run the VIN and make sure the repairs have already been taken care of so you’re not sitting around waiting for a new airbag.
Power Steering Assist May Go Out, Despite Recall
At 1,193 complaints, steering issues make up nearly half of the 2,469 total complaints on file with the NHTSA for the 2011 Ford Fusion. A steering recall covering nearly a half-million 2011-12 Fords was issued in 2015, but complaints continue to come in as late as September, 2022, the time of this writing.
Failure mileage has been reported between 100,000 and 200,000 miles, so the issue could pop up well before the car has come anywhere near its life expectancy. The story tends to be the same in every complaint: the wheel simply seizes up or take tremendous effort to turn.
An investigation was launched in 2014, resulting in the recall, with the NHTSA ultimately concluding that a failure rate of 8-14 percent was expected in recalled vehicles, and 1 percent in non-recalled vehicles. In short, they know it’s still an issue, but they’ve managed it about as well as they can for now.
Your best bet here is to test the steering during your test drive. Check it out at high speeds, low speeds, wide turns, sharp turns. There are over 1,000 complaints for faulty steering on file, so you should be on the lookout for this issue on the used car market.
Vehicle Speed Control Issues May Have to do With Cracked Fuel Tank
There are currently 269 engine complaints on file, 262 powertrain complaints, and 251 complaints for vehicle speed control. It’s not hard to guess that these numbers indicate some major problems under the hood.
The pattern we’re seeing over and over in these complaints: jerking, stalling, rattling, and going into limp mode. These symptoms on their own could point to any number of things, but many of these reports may be connected to a 2015 recall for cracked fuel tanks.
Several of the drivers reporting engine stall also report fuel leaks or a gasoline smell, meaning that what’s likely happening is they’re getting abnormal pressure changes in the fuel system and the engine isn’t getting the steady flow of fuel it needs for normal operation.
The most recent engine and speed control complaints date back to 2019, so the issue seems to be happening with lower frequency since the recall was issued a few years prior to that. All the same, this may be worrying for anyone buying a used Fusion right now.
Random Alerts and Warnings May Appear for no Reason
Besides the power steering assist issue, there are a lot of electrical problems being reported with the 2011 Fusion. Most common: random alerts and warnings for airbags, anti-lock brakes, and traction control flashing on and off out of nowhere.
Some drivers have reported the car losing electrical power out of nowhere, and at least one reports that they smelled a burning plastic odor only to find a bunch of melted wires under the glove box.
These complaints are still coming in as late as 2022, numbering nearly 200 in total, and there have been no recalls for the general electrical issues so far. And with the car now out of warranty, that means that melting wires and blinking dashboards will come out of your pocket to fix, if they can be fixed at all.
While this issue might not be as immediately concerning as the faulty airbags, loss of power steering, or fuel tank leaks, it may be the final nail in the coffin for many buyers considering a used 2011 Ford Fusion.
Despite Solid Crash Test Scores, You Might Want to Skip the 2011 Ford Fusion
There’s a lot wrong with the 2011 Ford Fusion. If you know what to look for on your test drive, if you know how to inspect a vehicle, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to find one with no real issues, but, the odds of that happening might not be great.
There are over 2,000 complaints on file, nine recalls, and three investigations. That’s a lot for a car that’s barely more than a decade old, and given the severity of some of these issues, it might not be worth the risk if you have any choice in the matter.
The 2010 model actually has thirteen recalls on file, plus nine investigations, and nearly 5,000 complaints, so that one might not be the best used car on the market, either, and the 2012 Fusion isn’t looking too hot for that matter.
Overall, the Ford Fusion just doesn’t have a great track record for a used car, and you might want to consider something like a 2011 Honda Accord, instead.
