AutoUtility currently tracks 1119 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Ford Fusion. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 478 complaints (42.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 38 filings cite a crash, 9 cite a fire, 24 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 1119 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (478 reports • 42.7% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (311), Electrical System (132)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 38 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 9 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 24 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
1119
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
38
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
9
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
24
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2017 Ford Fusion

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 42.7% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

478 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 5 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 27.8% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

311 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 6 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 11.8% of complaints

Electrical System

132 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 10.1% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

113 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 12 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 7 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 4.7% of complaints

Steering System

53 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Ford Fusion

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Engine & Cooling 19.8% of complaints

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

222 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Powertrain & Transmission 3.8% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

43 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 2.4% of complaints

Engine Overheating / Temperature Warning

27 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 0.8% of complaints

Engine Stalling / Sudden Shutdown

9 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Brakes & Traction Control 0.7% of complaints

Reduced Braking / Brake Pedal to Floor

8 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Ford Fusion

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11759124
Filed: 08/24/2026

"Flexplate cracked 5 months ago, and now it has cracked again. This is due to troqeu converting failure and faulty transmission mounts."

Incident Date: 08/23/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757803
Filed: 08/18/2026

"If i do not run my car for atleast 10 minutes before driving, my gas tank will start making a loud horn sound, and when this happens and i go to slow down, the car will shut off. Mechanics say there’s an issue with the purge valve and the charcoal filter. I’ve already had this issue fixed three..."

Incident Date: 05/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11756818
Filed: 08/13/2026

"I am reporting a serious recurring safety concern involving a 2017 Ford Fusion SE with a 1.5L EcoBoost engine. The vehicle was purchased used in August 2022 with approximately 50,000 miles. Within months, significant coolant and engine problems began. In February 2023, at approximately 55,940..."

Incident Date: 02/20/2023 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11752546
Filed: 07/23/2026

"I was coming home from work and when I tried to shift the gear from drive to park it was stuck on drive and Neutral I contacted the car dealer and they said ford has had this issue that it was a recall on it so I researched and found out that Ford issued major safety recalls (Recall 22S43 and..."

Incident Date: 06/18/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11752388
Filed: 07/23/2026

"See attached document for complaint."

Incident Date: 05/27/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Ford Fusion

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Ford Fusion 1059 39 14 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Ford Fusion 1685 60 13 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Ford Fusion Current Page 1119 38 4 Current
2018 Ford Fusion 443 10 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Ford Fusion 428 5 4 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Ford Fusion 229 11 3 View 2020 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Ford Fusion

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 113 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 280 0 3 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 229 1 0 2 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 99 0 2 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 61 1 1 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 51 3 1 3 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 42 3 0 1 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 41 3 0 2 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 27 4 1 3 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 23 8 0 8 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 22 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 21 0 0 1 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 19 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 8 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 6 1 0 1 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 5 1 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 1 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN 3 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 3 0 0 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 1 0 2 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 1 0 2 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 1 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,WHEELS 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (1119). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)

2 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V063000 Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Recall Query (RQ) ODI Action #RQ22004
Opened: 2022-08-08 • Closed: 2023-03-24

Front Brake Jounce Hose Failures

Affected Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

On August 8, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 50 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging front brake jounce hose ruptures on model year (MY) 2013-2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. A ruptured front brake hose results in a brake fluid leak. As a result, the driver may experience an increase in pedal travel and a reduction in the rate of deceleration, increasing the risk of a crash. It...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 23V162000 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.