2012 Ford Fusion: problems, recalls and reliability
6 recalls and 2,611 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is steering (54% of complaints); the 2014 model year looks more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · 6 new complaints in the last 90 days · latest recall Mar 2021
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 2,611 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist, causing the steering wheel to be significantly difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive to the nearby residence and parked in the driveway. The message "Service Power Steering Assist" was displayed after the failure. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.”Owner report · Steering · Sep 2026
“I got a 2012 ford fusion se 2.5 4l power steering gone out in it,I put in the vin number to see if mine was recalled it said 0 but my car has the part in the car that made the car recalled ,on the dash its says power steering service its dangerous and I had my child in the car vin number on my car is [XXX] I seen where other 2012 ford fusion se 2.5 4l was recalled for the power steering going out INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)”Owner report · Electrical System · Sep 2026
“Our 2012 Fusion suffered a sudden loss of power steering, was diagnosed with code U3000 at a Ford dealer, and that the dealer confirmed it matches the 15S18 recall symptoms despite being built two months outside the window. Our vehicle was manufactured at the Hermosillo plant in 2012, just two months outside the 15S18 recall window. It suffered an identical, sudden loss of power steering assist while driving, indicating Ford's recall parameters failed to capture all vehicles fitted with the defective component.”Owner report · Steering · Aug 2026
Show 7 more owner reports
“I had purchased these tires P225/50R17 for my son's car in 2022. They have an 85,000 mile tread life warranty in April of this year. He had a blowout on the left rear tire where the tread separated from the tire and in late July this year is preparing for a 3500 mile trip as I was inspecting his car before his trip. I noticed the tire on the right rear looked to be defective. It looks like the tread where it meet the sidewall is separating from the tire on the inside with a tear about 8" long where the metal is showing. Two tires out of 4 losing their tread is disturbing and a concerning safety issue with these tires, see the Photos I have supplied.”Owner report · Tires · Jul 2026
“The power steering system, failure. completely without warning I see recalls on this model. But do not see it on the website. Nor will ford repair it”Owner report · Steering · Jul 2026
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and almost caused a crash. The message "Service Power Steering Now" was displayed. The contact was able to drive to the destination. The contact stated that the vehicle had become undrivable due to the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (STEERING); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.”Owner report · Steering · Jun 2026
“My car does not always respond when the brakes are tapped. They are soft/squishy at times and I have to push the pedal all the way to the floor for the car to stop. This issue has been occuring off & on for approximately 3 years though it's been more frequent since June of 2026. I have never seen any warning or failure light/notification any of the times this has happened. The issue was determined to be a faulty master cylinder by the service department at Colley Ford in Glendora, CA.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Jun 2026
“Brake system. Pedal is soft and braking force to stop is reduced. Yes, at first they thought it was the brake booster, and know thinking it is the master cylinder, now they aren't even sure what it might be. Ford dealership techs. No, pedal was "squishy" when braking”Owner report · Service Brakes · May 2026
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The failure was a recurring failure. The first failure was serviced by the dealer under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, a year later, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the rack and pinion was replaced but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.”Owner report · Steering · May 2026
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the steering wheel was hard to turn. The low tire pressure message was displayed. There was another unknown system message being displayed. The contact indicated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering pump was the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.”Owner report · Steering · May 2026
When filing, owners marked a crash in 111 of these complaints and injuries in 66 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 6 campaigns
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2010 Ford Edge, and Lincoln MKX vehicles. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver-side airbag inflator or module with an alternate one, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 9, 2021 for the passenger side, and November 14, 2022 for the driver side. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S12.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Ford is recalling certain 2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles and 2011-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Ford is also recalling certain 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2010-2011 Ford Ranger and Mercury Milan vehicles, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ vehicles, and 2010-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2012 Ford Fusion and Mustang and Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Ford is recalling certain 2009 Ford Ranger, Edge, Fusion and Mustang, Lincoln MKX, MKZ and Zephyr and Mercury Milan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Ford is recalling certain 2007-2008 Ford Ranger, Edge and Lincoln MKX, 2006-2008 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ, 2005-2008 Ford Mustang and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the recall and that parts are not yet available began mailing March 1, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S01.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain air bag inflator and/or module replacement service parts that may have been used as part of a collision repair. The parts include certain driver-side air bag inflators and/or modules, designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang and Mustang GT500. It also includes certain passenger-side air bag inflators and/or modules designed to fit 2005-2014 Ford Mustang, 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ, 2010-2012 Ford Fusion, 2010-2011 Mercury Milan, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger, and 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX vehicles. Please see Ford's recall report for the specific part numbers. These parts may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify dealers that purchased the affected parts, and dealers will provide replacement parts to purchasers, free of charge. The recall began March 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2005-2014 Mustang, 2004-2011 Ranger, 2009-2011 Mercury Milan, 2006 Ford GT, 2008-2012 Fusion, 2007-2010 Edge and Lincoln MKX, and 2009-2010 Lincoln MKZ vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with a driver or passenger frontal air bag inflator used as a replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver and passenger air bag module, and replace either the module or the inflator, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 17, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S05.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2012 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Counts are not adjusted for time on the road here - see all Fusion years ranked fairly for the age-adjusted comparison.
Check your exact Fusion by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2012 Ford Fusion reliable?
NHTSA has 2,611 owner complaints and 6 recall campaigns on record for the 2012 Ford Fusion. The most complained-about area is steering (54% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2012 Ford Fusion problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 75,000 miles or less.
Does the 2012 Ford Fusion have open recalls?
6 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.