2016 Ford Fusion Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe engine problems, particularly coolant disappearing and ending up inside the cylinders, which complaints link to rough running, white exhaust smoke and, in many cases, engine replacement. A second large group of reports concerns the transmission and gear shifter, with rough or slipping shifts and shifter cables or bushings that leave the car unable to engage a gear properly. Most reports in the sample arrive between roughly 60,000 and 130,000 miles, and many owners describe gradual symptoms that worsen over weeks rather than a single sudden failure.

1. 1
   Engine

   Coolant leaking into engine cylinders (white smoke, misfire)

   • 374 complaints (23%)
   • median 100,191 mi at 7.5 yrs old (188 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $8,000 (median of 43 quotes)
   • filed 2017–2026

   Owners describe losing coolant steadily, sometimes refilling the reservoir weekly, along with thick white smoke from the exhaust, rough idling and misfires on specific cylinders. Complaints say the check engine light comes on with misfire codes and that pressure testing shows the cooling system losing pressure. Several report that a mechanic or dealer found coolant inside a cylinder and concluded the engine needed to be replaced rather than repaired. Spread across the sample from about 60,000 to 170,000 miles, with many reports in the 70,000-130,000 mile range and often noticed on cold starts.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check the coolant level and look for white residue or smoke at the exhaust, and ask whether the coolant system has been pressure tested. A service bulletin describes a low coolant and white smoke condition on 1.5L EcoBoost engines, so ask whether that bulletin has been addressed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The antifreeze is leaking into the cylinders, fouling out the spark plug causing the engine to miss fire. With this happening, it's using antifreeze burning it out the exhaust pipe , which causes the engine to overheat. Please look into this, I heard it can blow the engine and it's expensive to replace”

   NHTSA complaint #11362593, filed 2020-10, 84,000 miles

   “At approximately 70000 miles the check engine light came on and the engine would run rough when started but would smooth out and operate fine. The check engine light went off after a few days and would repeat every week or so. At 73000 miles the check engine came on and the engine was misfiring. Took to the Ford dealer and was diagnosed as p0301 and p0316 cylinder 1 misfire. Pressure tested coolant system losing pressure. Tried to remove #1 sparkplug could not be removed. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11327626, filed 2020-06, 73,000 miles
2. 2
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Gear shifter stuck or cable bushing detaching

   • 310 complaints (19%)
   • median 82,000 mi at 4.6 yrs old (217 state mileage)
   • 21 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $500 (median of 12 quotes)
   • filed 2016–2026

   Complaints describe the shifter failing to move out of park or staying in reverse, no gear indication on the display, and in some cases the car rolling while the lever shows park. Owners report being told the shifter cable or the bushing at the transmission end had broken or detached, with repairs quoted in the hundreds of dollars. Some report the same problem returning after a recall repair was already performed. Mostly reported between about 40,000 and 130,000 miles, and in some cases only a few years after purchase.

   Recall 19V362000Recall 18V471000Recall 22V4130004 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the shifter cable bushing recalls (19V362000, 18V471000, 22V413000) were completed and whether a protective cap was installed. Before buying, shift through all gears and confirm the instrument panel indicator matches the lever position.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission degrade and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. It let me move the shift lever to park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in park, with no warning message or audible chime. I almost could not stop the car and ran into a building. There is already a known recall for this vehicle but my VIN is not included.”

   NHTSA complaint #11387210, filed 2021-01, 75,000 miles

   “On monday 08/10/2020 park my vehicle in the morning and then came back to the car in the afternoon. It had started and was able to move the shifter but with no result from the transmission and no gear indication on display. Vehicle had to be towed and taken to a Ford dealership the next day. Advised that the shifter cable was broken and needs to be replace. Was informed that my car was ready for pick up on friday 08/15/2020. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11350516, filed 2020-08, 71,497 miles
3. 3
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Harsh or slipping automatic transmission

   • 287 complaints (17%)
   • median 83,500 mi at 4.9 yrs old (194 state mileage)
   • 12 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $3,150 (median of 12 quotes)
   • filed 2015–2026

   Owners describe hard engagement when shifting from park to drive or reverse, harsh downshifts, and the transmission slipping out of gear while cruising. Some report repeated rebuilds that did not resolve the behavior, whining or grinding noises, and in a few cases internal damage such as a shattered clutch or burned fluid with metal debris found. Mostly reported between about 25,000 and 130,000 miles, often noticed on the first shift of the day or during steady highway driving.

   Recall 26V3760003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Test drive from a cold start and pay attention to engagement into drive and reverse and to any whine or rattle at idle. Ask for transmission service records and whether any repair or reprogramming has already been done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The airbag warning light was on and stayed on. The passenger airbag light said the airbag was off when a person was in the passenger seat. I had to turn the car off while in park in my driveway and turn it back on after a few minutes. The light went off and didn't come back on. The transmission does not shift smooth when switching gears from park to drive.”

   NHTSA complaint #11318908, filed 2020-03, 61,000 miles

   “Internal transmission problems after purchase and driving 2016 Ford Fusion for 7 months. Vehicle had been stationary for hours as I was leaving home for work. After starting the car and putting gear shift into reverse there was a hard jerking of the engine. The car reversed very slowly out of the driveway. As I shifted into drive gear engine jerked really hard once again and car began to hesitate acceleration. Car slowly accelerated but would not drive over 30 MPH”

   NHTSA complaint #11382881, filed 2020-12, 67,405 miles
4. 4
   Back-over prevention (rear camera)

   Rearview camera blank, distorted or intermittent

   • 155 complaints (9%)
   • median 90,000 mi at 10.0 yrs old (77 state mileage)
   • 9 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2018–2026

   Complaints describe the backup camera showing a black, blue or distorted image, or going blank intermittently while reversing. Several owners say they received notice of a camera recall but were told the parts were not yet available, so the camera remained unfixed. Reported from about 80,000 to 170,000 miles in the sample, with the problem appearing intermittently rather than every time.

   Recall 25V695000

   What to check: Put the car in reverse and confirm the camera image is stable and undistorted. Ask whether recall 25V695000 has been applied, since owners report parts availability has delayed the repair.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rear-view camera image failed to operate intermittently. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11765948, filed 2026-09, 170,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the back-up camera occasionally failed to work as needed and intermittently went black while reversing. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who confirmed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #11491968, filed 2022-11, 105,000 miles

Buying note. Have a pre-purchase inspection focus on the cooling system and engine for coolant loss or white smoke, and on the shifter and transmission behavior from a cold start. Also confirm which of the open recalls listed for this model year have actually been completed on the specific vehicle.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.