Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Ford Fusion owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the traction control warning light and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gear had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V632000 (Steering) however, the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered because the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the traction control warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V162000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 108,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
When the steering wheel is turned all the way to either side, multiple alarm sounds go off in the vehicle including loss of power steering, loss of reverse sensors, loss of hill assist and loss of stability control. This occurs anytime the wheel is fully turned, either stationary or moving. This occurred 2 years ago in the same vehicle and they replaced the computer, after not finding any other issue. Now it is occurring again, same symptoms, same cause. A video can easily be sent if requested.
There was electrical malfunctioning taking place and the power steering was malfunctioning and the car would just stall and like lock up everything in it and everything would be flashing on and on inside on and off
This vehicle is at 48800 miles and I started to receive the following warnings/errors on my dashboard when the problems began: "hill hold assist not available", "service advancetrack", ABS fault and airbag failure sign lights remain while I was driving the car. After these warnings I lost power steering assist and pulled over and restarted the car. However the warning signs did not clear and I lost ABS, traction control and airbags. I have contacted with a Ford dealer to diagnose the problem. Error codes they got from the car were c0031 and u0401. The first one is related to a short wire in the ABS wheel speed sensor at the driver side front wheel and this part was replaced at the dealer. However, after replacement all the mentioned warnings/errors remain and u0401 code remained. …
On Friday I was backing into a parking space and put the gear shift in park. The gear was in park but the car was still reversing! I immediately applied the emergency brake to avoid reversing down the hill into the tree at the bottom.I then turned the car off to see if that will assist but was not able to restart the vehicle. The dashboard continuously flashed transmission not in park! I contacted Ford which stated there was a recall on the car and to bring it in. I called Ford towing for a tow truck at 11 am and was not picked up until 7 pm by the time I reached the dealer the service department was closed. The next morning the mechanic reached out to me and stated he was going to be able to fix the issue and I would have to pay for it! …
While driving the car on both the highway and on city streets the steering locked and the power assist quit. The MIL traction control symbol lit and the warning center said it was disabled. The MIL steering assist control symbol lit and the warning center said it was disabled. In both driving instances the steering wheel was being turned from moderate (interstate highway speed) turning to sharp turning (city street speed). In both instances I was able to avoid hitting close, surrounding vehicles and in the case of the city occurrence, pedestrians. In both instances I pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and shut off the engine and accessories. I waited about a minute and performed an engine re-start. The MIL's were not lit and the power steering assist returned. In both instances the same condition appeared about 20 minutes later, and a engine stop/re-start had to be performed. …
Madison, wi,west beltline hwy, headed west bound in middle lane, jan 21, 2017, 11:00 am: at 60 MPH on 6 lane hwy car suddenly slowed to a crawl. A wrench icon appeared on the driver's dash panel with statement "check owner manual". As car slowed to a crawl (but did not shut off) was able to maneuver in traffic safely to the breakdown lane w/o control of car other than steering (auto steering continued to function). I pressed the accelerator but no response. This was repeat of a similar incident on jan 11. Turn off car, waited 1 minute and did a re-start (much like my desk top pc. Immediately drove to middleton (wi) Ford dealer who had worked on car previous week (jan 13-17) for same failure (a bent wire found). During the jan 13-17 period the dealer in a road test experienced the same failure. Left car with dealer for a 8 days while out of town. Dealer could not repeat failure. …
I was driving on the highway and the main screen in the center of the dashboard turned off and had the message 'turning off system to save battery'. This was not an accurate projection by the car system being that I just recently installed a brand new battery a couple of days prior. As the car system continued to shut down, the alert of 'system charging service now' showed up on the dash. Following that message the power steering completely shut down. Shortly there after, the entire electrical system shut down in my car. Lights, steering, dashboard, electronic seats, doors, gear shift, everything! This all happened in the span of 1 minute or so on a highway at 11 pm at night. I almost got into an inescapable acccident trying to find somewhere to get the car off the highway. Shortly there after the engine also cut off due to not getting any power from the car system. …
Vehicle in motion. After 40mph, service advancetrac lights on dash. ABS is activated even though on dry ground. Brake pedal becomes hard and drops about 50%. Stopping distance dramatically increased. Pedal pulsates under my foot. Traction control turned off. Hill assist turned off. This continues to happen every time I drive the car since mid November, 2018. The defective part is the tone ring, which is part of the wheel bearing and is very expensive to repair. Ford will do nothing about it even though there is no problem at all with the tone ring. The electrical problem is the harness that the wheel speed sensor plugs into on the left front wheel. The yellow wire has a hole in it and corrodes. Ford is also aware of this problem but refuses to do anything about it.
Traction Control complaints in other Fusion years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2016 Ford Fusion?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2016 Ford Fusion, 2% of the model year's 1,644 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2016 Ford Fusion traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2016 Ford Fusion, though it has 13 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 2016 Ford Fusion traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 73,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 0 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.