2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Driver assistance Problems

While driving a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium (approximately 157,000 miles), the Electronic Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS) system suddenly failed without warning during heavy rain in Philadelphia, PA. I was driving near the riverfront area by [XXX] when the steering immediately became extremely stiff and difficult to turn. No prior warning lights or steering-related symptoms were present before the failure. Due to wet road conditions and the sudden loss of steering assist, I temporarily lost the ability to maneuver the vehicle normally and nearly collided with roadside structures near the river. Considerable physical force was required to maintain directional control and safely move the vehicle. This created an immediate safety hazard to myself and nearby traffic. The vehicle has not been involved in a crash, but the failure created a near-miss situation. My VIN currently shows no open recall for this issue, despite similar steering-system failures reported in comparable Ford vehicles using EPAS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11739868

Incident

May 23, 2026

LOSS OF POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING, BARELY ABLE TO KEEP CONTROL AS IT HAPPENED MID TURN AND HAD TO STEER AWAY FROM CURB AS THE STEERING WHEEL WAS MOSTLY LOCKED UP. ERROR CODES INCLUDING STEERING ASSIST FAULT, ADVANCED TRACK FAULT, AND HIII START FAULT APPEARED AND STEERING WHEEL STAYED LOCKED UP. ATTEMPTED TURNING VEHICLE OFF AND ON BUT ERRORS AND STEERING WHEEL FAILURE REMAIN.

NHTSA ID

11216917

Incident

May 30, 2019

Mileage

76,000 mi

RECENTLY WHEN I SLOW DOWN TO STOP AND THEN PRESS MY BRAKES, THE CAR OCCASIONALLY PROPELS FORWARD.

NHTSA ID

11191786

Incident

Mar 27, 2019

WHILE DRIVING 65MPH ON A BACK ROAD LEAVING HARRIS CO. MY CAR STARTED TO SPEED UP WITHOUT ME PRESSING THE PADDLE AND WHEN I PUSHED THE BRAKES I HAD TO PUSH IT SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT WOULD WORK AND SLOW DOWN THE CAR. IT PRETTY MUCH MADE US JERK FORWARD WHEN THE BRAKES STARTED TO WORK. I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN UNTIL WEDNESDAY OCT. 24, 2018 AND DON'T KNOW WHO TO CONTACT. I HAD MY DAUGHTER AND NIECE IN THE CAR COMING FROM MY SON FOOTBALL GAME. THAT WAS SCARY AND I HOPE IT DON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

11142745

Incident

Oct 24, 2018

Mileage

88,000 mi

AT RANDOM WHILE CAR IS ON AT ANY TIME AND ANY SPEED (PARKED AND JUST TURNED ON, AT A RED LIGHT, DRIVING ON FREEWAY OR CITY DRIVING, TURNING OR DRIVING STRAIGHT.) REAR PARKING AID IS DISABLED WITH LIGHT TURNED ON, AIRBAG LIGHTS TURN ON, SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC LIGHT TURNS ON, THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT ALL THE SAME TIME. THEN RANDOMLY TURNS OFF AND DRIVES NORMAL AGAIN AT ANYTIME ( SHORTLY AFTER THE PROBLEM OCCURS, SOMETIMES IT STAYS ON AN ENTIRE DRIVE 1HR+ EVEN IF PARKED AND TURNED CAR COMPLETELY OFF AND ON AGAIN) THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE DEAL MULTIPLE TIMES WITH IT OCCURRING AGAIN SHORTLY AFTER BEING "FIXED"

NHTSA ID

11089941

Incident

Feb 6, 2018

Mileage

130,000 mi

DURING BREAKING AT APPROX. 15-20MPH THE BREAK PEDAL BECAME VERY SOFT AND LOST MOST (90%) OF THE BREAKING POWER. THE DASH BREAKING AND STABILITY CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS FLASHED. THE ELECTRONIC EMERGENCY BREAK ENGAGED AND WOULD NOT DISENGAGE. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO LOCAL DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA ID

11084409

Incident

Apr 10, 2018

DRIVING AT NIGHT, FREEWAY WITH STREET LIGHTS, VERY LIGHT TRAFFIC, CAR ON SPEED CONTROL AT 65 MPH; ABOUT 50 TO 75 YARDS IN FRONT OF VEHICLE A PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG FLEW ACROSS ROAD APPROXIMATELY 2 TO 3 FEET ABOVE ROAD SURFACE, VEHICLE SENSED THE BAG, SPEED CONTROL SLAMMED BRAKES HARD ENOUGH TO SET OFF ABS SYSTEM. SAME SITUATION HAPPENED A FEW MONTH LATER EXCEPT IN THE DAYLIGHT, CAR SLOWED DRAMATICALLY FOR A PLASTIC BAG BLOWING ACROSS THE ROAD BUT DID NOT ACTIVATE ABS SYSTEM. TALKED TO REPRESENTATIVES AT TWO DIFFERENT FORD DEALERSHIPS BUT THEY INDICATED THAT THEY NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE THIS. LEFT MY NAME/NUMBER BUT NEVER HEARD ANYTHING BACK.

NHTSA ID

10883185

Incident

Jun 1, 2015

Mileage

40,000 mi

MY VEHICLE - FROM A STOPPED POSITION - ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN TO 40 MPH (RATHER QUICKLY). HOWEVER, THE GAS PEDAL WAS NOT ENGAGING (IE. DEPRESSING). THIS OCCURRED AT LUNCHTIME ON 17-JUN-2016. ALL TROUBLE LIGHTS ON THE DASH LIT-UP. THE BEHAVIOR CONTINUED UNTIL I SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AT THE DEALER (ELDER FORD IN TROY, MI). I WAS UNABLE TO ENGAGE THE THROTTLE AT ALL; IT WAS ESSENTIALLY 'DEAD', EVEN THOUGH MY VEHICLE WAS ACCELERATING TO 40 MPH AND MAINTAINING THAT SPEED. BRAKING RESPONSE WAS DILUTED BECAUSE THE CAR WAS SELF-PROPELLING (IMAGINE TRYING TO BRAKE WHILE ALSO APPLYING GAS). I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY AND SHOWED THEM THE VIDEOS THAT I TOOK. I ALSO SENT THE VIDEOS TO THEM. I HAVE BEEN TOLD TODAY THAT THEY WILL BE GIVING THE VEHICLE BACK WITHOUT ANY REPAIRS BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE THE VIDEOS IN MY POSSESSION, SHOULD NHTSA LIKE TO SEE THEM. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL ISSUES OVER THE LAST 1.5 YEARS THAT I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. I CAN SEND REPAIR RECORDS. ....UPDATED 12/05/16 *BF UPDATED 6/18/18*JB

NHTSA ID

10876057

Incident

Jun 17, 2016

Mileage

37,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING 55 MPH ON A 4 LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY WITH ECO CRUISE ON WHEN THE VEHICLE JUST STARTED TO SLOW. NO ERROR LIGHT ON THE DASH OTHER THAN A BRIEF FLICKER OF THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT, ALL ELECTRONICS, BRAKES AND STEERING SEEMED TO BE WORKING, BUT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS VERY SLACK AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE WHEN I REPEATEDLY FLOORED IT. I ROLLED TO THE SHOULDER, TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN, AND IT SEEMED TO BE WORKING OK. IT HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN IN APPROXIMATELY 200 MILES OF DRIVING, MOSTLY AT HIGHWAY SPEED. HOWEVER, IT IS THE KIND OF EVENT THAT CAUSES ONE TO WORRY ABOUT THE VEHICLE SAFETY - ESPECIALLY AS THIS VEHICLE HAS ALREADY HAD 4 RECALLS FOR OTHER TYPES OF ISSUES.

NHTSA ID

10875777

Incident

Jun 18, 2016

Mileage

28,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY FEB 2 2016, THE FORD FUSION HYBRID 2013 MODEL, SUDDENLY LOST ITS ABILITY TO DELIVER POWER AND PROPULSION. LOSS OF POWER TO THE VEHICLE RESULTED IN LOSS OF LIGHT TO THE CONSOLE AND TO THE CAR'S PROPULSION SYSTEM SLOWING IT FROM FREEWAY SPEEDS OF 65 MPH TO WHAT SEEMS LIKE 5 MPH OR LESS, IN THE THE EVENING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC.ALL ATTEMPTS AT APPLYING THE GAS PEDAL HAD FAILED TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE, AS THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE POWER PROPULSION SYSTEM. I WAS ABLE TO CRUISE ON MOMENTUM TO A SOFT SHOULDER. THE CAR WAS TOWED OFF THE BRIDGE AND LATER TOWED TO A FORD DEALERSHIP. NO CAUSE WAS FOUND BY THE FORD TECHNICIANS AND FORD REGIONAL CUSTOMER RELATIONS SAID MY CAUSE COULD NOT BE HELPED IF THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM, THUS I AM STUCK WITH A POTENTIAL CATASTROPHIC FAILURE THAT CAN HAPPEN AT ANYTIME DURING FREEWAY COMMUTE. THIS IS A POTENTIAL DANGER TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND FORD IS UNWILLING TO MITIGATE OR ADDRESS SUCH A SERIOUS LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

10825903

Incident

Feb 2, 2016

Mileage

21,448 mi

THE CARS WARNING LIGHTS FOR HILL STOP ASSIST, SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC, TRACTION CONTROL, AND THE AIR BAGS ALL CAME ON INDICATING THAT THESE SAFETY FEATURES WE'RE NOT WORKING PROPERLY. TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID ITS THE RCM OR RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE THAT FAILED. THE CAR WAS IN NO ACCIDENTS, AND WAS DRIVING NORMALLY. THIS PART IS BACKORDERED FOR WEEKS BUT FORD WOULD NOT PROVIDE A LONER VEHICLE, SO WE FACED WITH DRIVING A CAR THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT AS SAFE AS PURCHASED, AND THE MANDATED SAFETY FEATURES ARE NOT WORKING. THIS PROBLEM IS HAPPENING T MANY FUSION 2013 HYBRID OWNERS AS SEEN ON THE FORD FORUMS, AND IT NEEDS TO BE A RECALL, AND PEOPLE SHOULD GET A LONER CAR WHILE WAITING FOR THESE TO GET FIXED. *TR

NHTSA ID

10631159

Incident

Sep 4, 2014

Mileage

22,505 mi

WHILE DRIVING IN MODERATE AFTERNOON TRAFFIC, WITHOUT WARNING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME UNRESPONSIVE. A WARNING CHIME SOUNDED AND A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER; THE VEHICLE EFFECTIVELY STALLED. AFTER PULLING ONTO THE SHOULDER, THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE TRIP CONTINUED WITHOUT INCIDENT. SINCE THEN THE VEHICLE HAS RANDOMLY STALLED, WITHOUT WARNING SIX ADDITIONAL TIMES IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESTART AFTER THE LAST STALL AND HAD TO BE TOWED IN FOR SERVICE. IT HAS BEEN IN FOR REPAIRS RELATED TO THIS ISSUE ON THREE OCCASIONS OVER THE COURSE OF 4 MONTHS FOR A TOTAL OF 29 DAYS. ON ONE OCCASION, WHILE IN FOR SERVICE, THE DEALER INFORMED THE OWNER THAT THE VEHICLE ALSO STALLED WHILE BEING ROAD TESTED AND HAD TO BE TOWED BACK. THE DEALER HAS UPDATED VARIOUS SOFTWARE MODULES AND REPLACED A GATEWAY MODULE, HIGH VOLTAGE CABLE AND BATTERY CONTROLLER. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY LESS THAN 11 MONTHS OLD WITH 6850 MILES. THIS HAS BEEN A SERIOUS AND PERSISTENT SAFETY ISSUE. FORD HAS DECLINED A REQUESTED VEHICLE EXCHANGE. AS A RESULT, THIS POTENTIALLY UNSAFE CAR IS CURRENTLY BACK ON THE ROAD WITH AN OWNER THAT NO LONGER HAS ANY CONFIDENCE IN IT AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT RECOIL AT THE THOUGHT OF BEING DRIVEN IN IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10552491

Incident

Jul 11, 2013

Mileage

4,600 mi