Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Ford Fusion owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started to stall and shake with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the canister purge valve was stuck in the open position and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed of an unknown recall however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault message was displayed. The power steering function was inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated due to a possible canister purge valve failure. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 165,461.
The driver power steering system message goes on every so often and I have to turn off and on to reset the light, but my concern is that it's going to go off as I'm driving, and the fuel mileage as I'm driving it says mileage to empty and one time I was trying to get to the gas station and it hit 0 and it was still going the car, and the suspension makes noise when I go over the bumps and also when I'm reversing and turning the wheel there's a popping sound from the front it sounds like,
My steering assist system goes of at odd times, and the acceleration it does tiny tugs, and my suspension it rattles, over street bumps,, can it be fixed by a dealership, cause it's my only vehicle I have and plus I'm on ssdi income and I can't afford major repairs, like these, and if so have the car fully inspected just in case I'm missing something, oh and also there's a popping noise coming from the front of the car..
Vehicle loses power while driving, with no response when accelerator is depressed further. The engine continues to run but no throttle response. No engine warning light came on. No codes stored. Must stop, turn off engine and perform an engine restart to continue driving again.
Absolute unacceptable level of rust to the body and frame. Even with regular car washes, sitting for a year covered. It's literally totalled and I am out of a car. It's a 2012 with this amount of rust
In April 2017 I had a recall on throttle body. I quickly took the car to dealer for repair. On 6/21/17 I was driving and the car suddenly died and would not start. After having car towed to dealer I again had throttle body and motor assembly replaced
Driving on 6 lane divided highway during morning rush hour traffic at about 30 MPH when I lost power to the vehicle and wrench light came on. Got pushed to the dealer that was a block away. The dealer said they did their $129 test - no faults and my car was ready to drive home. I wasn't going to leave until it was safe to drive. There was another $129 test that they could do. This test didn't find anything but when the tech was driving it stalled on him. They replaced the purge valve ( for free, wasn't charged for either test) but he hoped that this fixed the problem. Two days later, had the same problem on another 6 lane divided highway going about 30 MPH and was almost rear ended by vehicle behind me. I let the vehicle sit for about 5 minutes and it was rough starting but got back to the dealership. …
Rapid uncontrolled acceleration followed by sudden loss of power. Speed is reduced to under 10 MPH, the wrench light turns on when this occurs. Power is restored after turning the vehicle off and back on. This problem has occurred twice in the last week, in rush hour traffic, and nearly resulted serious accidents involving both our vehicle and vehicles behind us trying to avoid our almost stalled vehicle. This is a very dangerous defect! The car behind us swerved in front of a semi truck which nearly caused a chain reaction crash in 70 MPH traffic. The second vehicle, behind the one that cut off the semi, nearly rear ended us as we limped along at under 10 MPH. It was almost impossible to get the vehicle to the shoulder from the center lane in both instances. We purchased the vehicle used almost two years ago and have not received a safety notice concerning this defect.
Just had recall # 16b38 done 1/24/18. Driving my husband to work and my engine light came on, took it to have scan done and it's my gas tank or cap? The tech told me my tank is not breathing, neither am I. Not a happy camper. There is currently a recall on the air bags, # 17s01. That's all I need to have an air bag go off and kill everyone in the car. There is also a recall # 15s18 the steering. I would really appreciate it if you could get these recall's taken care of and re do the recall # 16b38. Something went wrong. The car is in michigan, so we need a Ford dealer in michigan. Please email me or call me as soon as you can get this set up. Also just replaced front and rear brakes, rotors. Then turned around got new tires and was told I needed a front end alignment, done it. Love my car but hate the cost to fix, Ford is expensive. Thank you
Fuel System complaints in other Fusion years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2012 Ford Fusion?
NHTSA has 65 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2012 Ford Fusion, 3% of the model year's 2,517 complaints. The component named most often is storage › evaporative emissions › canister (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Ford Fusion fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2012 Ford Fusion, though it has 5 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 2012 Ford Fusion fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 52,000 miles, and 21% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 7 injuries and 2 deaths to fuel & propulsion system 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.