2018 FORD FUSION — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 495 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (220 complaints · 44.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 17
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2017 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 220 of 495 owner complaints (44.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 220 complaints, 44.4% of reports ENGINE 220 · 44.4% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 97 complaints, 19.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 97 · 19.6% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 25 complaints, 5.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 25 · 5.0% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 21 complaints, 4.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 · 4.2% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports STEERING: 18 complaints, 3.6% of reports STEERING 18 · 3.6% · 1 crash reports WHEELS: 16 complaints, 3.2% of reports WHEELS 16 · 3.2% SERVICE BRAKES: 12 complaints, 2.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 12 · 2.4% · 2 crash reports BACK OVER PREVENTION: 8 complaints, 1.6% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 8 · 1.6% SEAT BELTS: 8 complaints, 1.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 8 · 1.6% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 84 complaints, 17.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 84 · 17.0% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 220 44.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 97 19.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 25 5.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 4.2% 2 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 18 3.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 16 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 12 2.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 8 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 8 1.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 84 17.0% 3 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2017; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2018. 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2021-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2022-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2022-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2022-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2023-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2023-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2023-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 2024-Q1: 40 owner reports 40 2024-Q2: 35 owner reports 35 2024-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2024-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2025-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2025-Q2: 30 owner reports 30 2025-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2025-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2026-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2026-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2026-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 Owner reports Jan 2017 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 18V167000 ◆ Recall campaign 18V167000 Recall campaign 23V162000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V162000 Investigation RQ22004 ● Investigation RQ22004 Investigation RQ22004 ● Investigation RQ22004 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 23V162000 was reported 2,185 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 3
2018-Q2 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 4
2019-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q1 Owner reports 6
2020-Q2 Owner reports 4
2020-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q4 Owner reports 3
2021-Q1 Owner reports 7
2021-Q2 Owner reports 5
2021-Q3 Owner reports 8
2021-Q4 Owner reports 7
2022-Q1 Owner reports 9
2022-Q2 Owner reports 9
2022-Q3 Owner reports 23
2022-Q4 Owner reports 6
2023-Q1 Owner reports 15
2023-Q2 Owner reports 26
2023-Q3 Owner reports 38
2023-Q4 Owner reports 25
2024-Q1 Owner reports 40
2024-Q2 Owner reports 35
2024-Q3 Owner reports 38
2024-Q4 Owner reports 26
2025-Q1 Owner reports 24
2025-Q2 Owner reports 30
2025-Q3 Owner reports 27
2025-Q4 Owner reports 11
2026-Q1 Owner reports 14
2026-Q2 Owner reports 20
2026-Q3 Owner reports 10
Recall campaign 1 18V167000
Recall campaign 1 23V162000
Defect investigation 1 RQ22004
Defect investigation 1 RQ22004
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 18V167000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    A steering wheel detachment can cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel bolt with a longer bolt, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S08.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V162000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    A brake fluid leak will increase brake pedal travel and extend the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace the front brake hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S12.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 495 complaints · page 1 of 20

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources