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Ford Fusion

Every model year 2016–2020: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

5 Model years 2016–2020

26 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

4,148 Complaints owner reports, all years

D Newest grade 2020 Safety Signal

2018 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2020 Fusion →Which years to avoid Compare it

2020 Ford Fusion

Every Ford Fusion model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2020	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	D	3	235	★★★★★	42 mpg
2019	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	D	4	473	★★★★★	42 mpg
2018	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	C	2	508	★★★★★	42 mpg
2017	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	D	4	1,204	★★★★★	42 mpg
2016	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	F	13	1,728	★★★★★	41 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2018

On the filed record so far, the 2018 is the cleanest Fusion year we hold, and the 2019 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2018	C	0.2	64	1 critical
2017	D	0.4	134	1 critical
2016	F	1.3	173	1 critical
2020	D	0.5	39	2 critical
2019	D	0.6	68	2 critical

Which Ford Fusion years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2017 electrical system complaints at 0.83× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 29,000 miles). Latest: 2018 steering at 4.48× (65,000 miles).

Year	Engine	Power Train	Electrical System	Steering	Service Brakes	Fuel/Propulsion System
2020	1.58×	1.93×	3.03×	—	—	—
2019	1.95×	2.96×	2.77×	—	—	—
2018	1.92×	2.34×	2.39×	4.48×	—	—
2017	1.34×	2.0×	0.83×	1.4×	2.42×	1.41×
2016	1.37×	1.6×	1.29×	1.52×	2.0×	1.32×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Ford Fusion, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 1,704 complaints, every model year transmission and drivetrain problems 923 complaints, every model year electrical problems 579 complaints, every model year steering problems 304 complaints, every model year brake problems 274 complaints, every model year fuel system problems 204 complaints, every model year backup camera and parking sensor problems 162 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2020: 9 → 8 EPA configurations
2019: 7 → 9 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 41 → 42

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 79 of 79 3.65× the mileage of same-age vehicles Ford Fusion owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 79,127 miles across 2018–2020 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 446 readings.

Common questions about the Ford Fusion

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Ford Fusion year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2018 Fusion comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade C (78/100), 2 recalls and 508 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Ford Fusion years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 have the weakest recall records in this range. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Fusion model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Ford Fusion have?

Across model years 2016–2020, NHTSA has posted 26 recall campaigns for the Ford Fusion. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.