Reliable Auto DB

2016 Ford Fusion reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2016 Ford Fusion has 1,698 complaints with NHTSA after 11 years, or 84 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Fusion years here — over the median of the other years, which is 49. NHTSA has 13 recalls on file, including Manual transmission, Camera, and Latch.

2015 Ford Fusion SE
Photo by Elise240SX, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

1,698

Per year

84

Recalls

13

Years on the road

11

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (462 of 1,698), then Powertrain (316) and Steering (184). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 77,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 50,000 and 104,000 miles. Those filings include 61 that report a crash, 6 that report a fire, 23 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Fusion has 1,061 complaints, 46 per year, and the 2017 has 1,109 complaints, 51 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 Ford Fusion. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (13)

Recall powertrain, manual transmission 2026-06-09 · NHTSA campaign 26V376000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Focus and 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 18V169 and 18V845. The clutch may fracture, resulting in damage to the transmission assembly and possibly a transmission fluid leak.
Remedy Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Additionally, dealers will inspect Focus vehicles and replace the clutch assembly as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 5, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6,2026.
Vehicles affected 5,252
Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2025-10-13 · NHTSA campaign 25V695000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.
Vehicles affected 1,448,655
Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2023-11-17 · NHTSA campaign 23V775000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015 Fiesta, 2016 Fusion, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component inside the door latches may break, which can make it difficult to latch or possibly allow the doors to open while driving.
Remedy Dealers will inspect the door latch date codes and if necessary, replace all four side door latches, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 20, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-177.
Vehicles affected 45,173
Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, hoses and fittings 2023-03-10 · NHTSA campaign 23V162000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. The front brake hoses may rupture and leak brake fluid.
Remedy Dealers will replace the front brake hoses, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23S12.
Vehicles affected 1,280,726
Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, gear position indicator 2022-06-10 · NHTSA campaign 22V413000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Remedy Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Vehicles affected 2,925,968
Recall latches, locks, and linkages, doors, latch 2020-03-23 · NHTSA campaign 20V177000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2015 Fiesta, 2014-2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles sold, or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and Ford or Lincoln dealers will replace the side door latches, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S15.
Vehicles affected 288,110
Recall Electric power steering 2019-08-29 · NHTSA campaign 19V632000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and 2016 Lincoln MKX vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering gear motor attachment bolts.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear motor bolts and apply a wax sealer. If any of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began October 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S26.
Vehicles affected 116,160
Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, lever and linkage, floor shift 2019-05-13 · NHTSA campaign 19V362000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles equipped with 2.5 liter engines. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to Park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in Park, with no warning message or audible chime.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 10, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S16. Note: Owners are directed to use the parking brake until the recall remedy repairs can be made. This recall is an expansion of 18V471.
Vehicles affected 259,182
Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, lever and linkage, floor shift 2018-07-16 · NHTSA campaign 18V471000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford Escape, and 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles, equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to Park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in Park, with no warning message or audible chime.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S20. Note: Owners are directed to use the parking brake until the recall remedy repairs can be made.
Vehicles affected 504,182
Recall steering, steering wheel 2018-03-12 · NHTSA campaign 18V167000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Lincoln MKZ and Ford Fusion vehicles. The steering wheel retaining bolt may loosen allowing the steering wheel to detach while driving.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering wheel bolt with a longer bolt, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S08.
Vehicles affected 1,301,986
Recall seat belts, front 2016-12-05 · NHTSA campaign 16V875000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured November 2, 2012, to July 31, 2014, and 2013-2015 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured November 14, 2012, to July 31, 2014. In the event of a crash, heat from the deployment of a seat belt pretensioner may cause a front seat belt anchor cable to fail.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply a protective coating to the seat belt cable, free of charge. The recall began May 16, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S42.
Vehicles affected 603,392
Recall seat belts, front, anchorage 2016-04-27 · NHTSA campaign 16V250000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured from March 10, 2016, through March 16, 2016. The front driver seat track assembly's rear riser may have been improperly welded to the seat track rail, and as a result, the driver may not be adequately restrained in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 207, "Seating Systems" and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
Remedy Ford quarantined the affected vehicles at dealerships prior to their sale. Dealers will replace the front driver seat track rail, free of charge. The recall began on May 19, 2016. Ford's number for this recall is 16C05.
Vehicles affected 39
Recall gasoline fuel system, storage 2015-10-01 · NHTSA campaign 15V618000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 13, 2015, and 2016 Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured September 3, 2015, to September 12, 2015. The affected vehicles have a fuel tank that may have insufficent wall thickness. As a result, the fuel tanks may crack in the event of a crash and thus the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 301, "Fuel System Integrity."
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began on October 19, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C11.
Vehicles affected 658

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (1698 total)

Engine
462
Powertrain
316
Steering
184
Electrical system
162
Back-over prevention
126
Engine and engine cooling
108
Service brakes
90
Fuel and propulsion system
86
Air bags
55
Speed control
54
Hydraulic brakes
50
Structure
50
Wheels
47
Latches, locks, and linkages
37
Electronic stability control (ESC)
28
Visibility and wipers
25
Seat belts
19
Exterior lighting
16
Fuel system, gasoline
9
Suspension
9
Forward collision avoidance
8
Seats
8
Lane departure
6
Tires
5
Parking brake
4
Visibility
4
Traction control
3
Fire-related
1
Other or not sure
1
Tether and lower anchor
1
Show 22 more Show less
Crash-flagged

61

Fire-flagged

6

Injury reports

23

Death reports

1

Of the 950 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 77,000 miles. The middle half fall between 50,000 and 104,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

32015572016582017134201815820191942020142202119820222532023183202416520251532026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2016 Ford Fusion. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact stated that while reversing in the driveway, the back over prevention camera…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-18
  • "The component that fail was the backup camera, and the dashboard screen was black. I was looking at the screen backing up, and I seen that the camera was black and had like colorful lines on it, and also my screen. One…"
    Unknown or other, Lane departure, Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-18
  • "I own a 2016 Ford Fusion that is included in NHTSA Recall Campaign 25V695 and Ford Recall Campaign 25SA9 concerning rearview/backup camera failure. The backup camera intermittently fails to display video when the…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-17
  • "Exhibited signs of a coolant leak followed by throwing a code about cylinder 4 misfiring. Took my car to the dealer who confirmed that there is coolant leaking into cylinder 4, and it is similar to other defects found…"
    Engine · filed 2026-09-17
  • "1. System / Component Failed: The rearview camera system displays a blank, distorted, or black screen while the vehicle is in reverse, completely eliminating rearward visibility. 2. Safety Risk: The loss of backup…"
    Electrical system, Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-15

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2016 Ford Fusion 4 DR AWD 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Fusion 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Fusion Energi 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2016 Ford Fusion Hybrid 4 DR FWD 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Fusion all-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 22 31 25 MPG $2600
Fusion Energi Plug-in hybrid 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 40 36 38 MPG / 550 mi range $1700
Fusion front-wheel drive 1.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 25 36 29 MPG $2250
Fusion front-wheel drive 1.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 24 36 28 MPG $2300
Fusion front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 22 33 26 MPG $2500
Fusion front-wheel drive 2.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 22 33 26 MPG $2500
Fusion hybrid front-wheel drive 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 43 39 41 MPG $1600

Specs and fitment

2nd generation, 2013–2020
Body styles Sedan
Oil 5W-20 (1.6L EcoBoost, 2.5L); 5W-30 (2.0L EcoBoost) , 5.7 qt capacity
Tire size 215/60R16 (S) to 235/45R18 (Titanium); Sport 235/40R19
Towing capacity 2,000 lbs

Known issues for this generation

2013-2014 Fusion sedans built with the 1.6L EcoBoost engine (Hermosillo plant, February 2012-June 2014) were part of a 2017 Ford safety recall (NHTSA campaign 17V-209, Ford reference 17S09) after the automaker found that coolant loss well below the minimum level in the coolant (de-gas) bottle at the time of a cool or cold start could let the cylinder head crack, producing a pressurized oil leak and, in 29 reported cases across the affected model lines in the US and Canada, an under-hood fire. The same recall covered the 2014 Escape, 2014-2015 Fiesta ST, and 2013-2015 Transit Connect with the same engine. Ford's remedy added a coolant-level sensor with supporting hardware and software at no charge; no injuries were reported. Only the 1.6L GTDI engine is covered.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Ford Fusion Next year 2017 Ford Fusion See every Ford Fusion model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Ford Fusion reliable?

The 2016 Ford Fusion has 1,698 complaints with NHTSA after 11 years, or 84 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Fusion years here — over the median of the other years, which is 49. NHTSA has 13 recalls on file, including Manual transmission, Camera, and Latch.

What are common problems with a 2016 Ford Fusion?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (462 of 1,698), then Powertrain (316) and Steering (184). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 77,000 miles, and the middle half falls between 50,000 and 104,000 miles. Those filings include 61 that report a crash, 6 that report a fire, 23 that report an injury, and 1 that reports a death.

Is the 2016 Ford Fusion more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2015 Fusion has 1,061 complaints, 46 per year, and the 2017 has 1,109 complaints, 51 per year. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2015. The 2016 has more complaints per year than the 2017.

Has the 2016 Ford Fusion been recalled?

The 2016 Ford Fusion has 13 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 Ford Fusion?

Owners have filed 1698 complaints about the 2016 Ford Fusion with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Ford Fusion get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Ford Fusion is 30.4 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Ford Fusion take?

1st gen: 5W-20 for all engines (~5.3 qt). 2nd gen: 5W-20 for 1.6L EcoBoost/2.5L and 5W-30 for 2.0L EcoBoost (~5.7 qt common fill).

Does recall 15V-340 cover the Ford Fusion?

Certain 2011-2012 Fusion sedans are covered by Ford's EPAS recall 15V-340 (15S16): electric power-assist steering may fail; dealers update software or replace the EPS as directed.

What generation is the 2016 Ford Fusion?

2nd generation (2013-2020). 2006-2012 are 1st generation in this catalog.