Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Ford Fusion owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the power steering default warning light would illuminate. In order to turn off the warning light, the contact had to turn off and then restart the vehicle. The failure occurred intermittently however, the failure persisted with the power steering assist default warning light remaining illuminated, with the service advancetrac and traction control warning lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that there was an internal failure in the power steering module. The contact was informed that the steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault and Service Advancetrac messages were displayed, and the traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed and determined that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the power steering and the traction control failed causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch. The contact crashed into a pole coming to a stop and the air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that the maintenance service track and the service power steering now warning messages illuminated prior to the failure. The police were notified and a report was filed. No medical attention was required at the scene, however, the mother and the contact suffered from back pain after the crash. The vehicle was first towed to a tow yard and later to the contact's home. The vehicle was not destroyed; the vehicle had not been repaired or taken to a dealer. …
When turning on car at the Ford dealership following repair of recalled airbag the warning light to service electronic trac system. Steering wheel would not turn. Service writer checked codes and nothing came up. I was told to just turn it off and back on and that would reset it. That worked. It continued to do that on and off the next 2 weeks. Then it would not reset. We tried to drive it stopping and starting it to try to reset it. It suddenly became really difficult to steer and my husband lost control and ran over a curb on city street . Luckily no one was on the curb or sidewalk .no injuries. Ford says the electronic steering is out and will need to be replaced costing over 18,000$. I have 133,000 miles on car.
I was driving about 25-30 MPH in the busy streets of van nuys california, I had my entire family in the car as we were going to eat dinner. As I approached the parking lot from the street, the "vehicle dynamic control off indicator light" turned on, then immediately right after a message on the dashboard popped up and read "power steering need service". As soon as I tried to turn into the parking lot the power steering went out, I had to use all my strength to pull the steering wheel and avoid crashing into the cars exiting the parking lot (the cars were waiting to make a right, into the main street van nuys blvd). I can usually muscle a car without power steering, if it were a traditional oil pump, but the electrical system was almost impossible to turn. Luckily I made the turn without incident or injuries, but this is definitely something Ford has to address. …
Service advancetrac system 2010 Ford Fusion se 6spd manual, completely loses power at random times, has occurred 4 times in 5 days. Will be driving along at 40 to 45 MPH straight or turning at 5 to 10 MPH or even going up a straight, slight incline and the vehicle just loses power completely, the dashboard lights up and the service advancetrac system error message appears. I turn car off, yes in the midst of traffic with other drivers honking horns and praying no one runs into me, wait 5 seconds and then try to start the vehicle, which it does restart, however the service advancetrac error message remains. When the vehicle sits for more than a few hours the error message will not appear. It only comes on when the vehicle shuts off completely, which by the way is going to get me killed. …
I had a new battery placed and the oil changed with my local mechanic. I drove 3.5 miles home and, upon turning into my neighborhood, a red "stop safely now" alert flashed. There was no traffic so I proceeded to my home. Approximately 0.2 miles later the car lost acceleration, continuing at 10mph (even with the gas pedal to the floor) before losing all acceleration. I turned the car off and back on. The alarm had cleared. I restarted the car and drove 300 feet when the alarm recurred. I was 50 feet from my driveway so I restarted the car, cleared the alarm and went 15 feet before it recurred, with no ability to move in drive or reverse. I restarted the car a third time and the alarm had cleared again. I was pulling up my driveway at a significant incline when it recurred. I was able to make it up my driveway and park. …
I had already gotten my throttle body repaired the year before my car started jolting as if it was malfunctioning again. This time though the vehicle would jump when I tried accelerate from stop, rpms would go all the way up to 5 before switching gears and the speedometer would move up and down while electrical lights flickered. Took it to Ford and nothing was found so I got an oil change and transmission flush. That same day the car started doing it again. I took the car back to Ford they offered to clean the throttle body and returned the car the next day. Not even 24hrs after started the same problem. I took car to auto zone they immediately found an error for the camshaft position sensor. Brought car back to Ford where they had me leave it for two days for the transmission tech to look at it. They then said oil had leaked onto the sensor causing the car to drive that way. …
I was driving home from work, had to stop and drop some items off for my daughter at summer camp. When I was leaving camp the steering felt like it wanted to pull to the right, a few miles down the road all power steering was lost. Service advanc-trac warning message was being displayed on the dash board. I pulled over at a convenient store to investigate the problem, could not find anything. It was raining so I carefully drove home without any power steering. Took car to local dealership where they diagnosed the problem as a rack& pinion failure, total cost to repair $1,641.00. The dealer stated they had not seen this problem before. After a short search I found hundreds of similar problems reported. I read where this same problem initiated a recall on the 2011 Ford Fusion, but no help referenced to the 2010 Ford fusions. …
My wife was driving the Ford Fusion and an error for "service power steering" came up on her dashboard. She still had power steering and was able to make it to work and park. Upon leaving work, she turned the car on and realized the power steering was completely gone. She could not drive the car because she could not efficiently turn the wheel. I had to go pick her up and at which point I realized I could attempt to steer the car. I was able to make the commute home safely, although the drive was a struggle the entire time. We took the car to a Ford dealership. They were unaware of any common issues. They diagnosed the car needing a new rack and pinion unit (the epas unit). We replaced the rack and pinion, not through Ford because they wanted $1800 we did not have. And the issue is still present. The car not safe to drive. It has been a real inconvenience for my family. …
Traction Control complaints in other Fusion years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2010 Ford Fusion?
NHTSA has 155 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2010 Ford Fusion, 3% of the model year's 5,130 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2010 Ford Fusion traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2010 Ford Fusion, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2010 Ford Fusion traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 87,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 1 fire and 4 injuries to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.