2019 Ford Fusion: What to check before buying

Coolant leaks into the cylinders on the 2.0L and 1.5L EcoBoost engines, and the usual fix is a full engine replacement. Warning signs include coolant loss with no visible leak, harsh cold starts, shuddering, a misfire on one cylinder, white exhaust smoke, and overheating. Many cars get new spark plugs and coils first, and then the misfire comes back. Most failures land between about 69,000 and 126,000 miles, with a few much earlier. Some cars stall on the highway. Repair bills near $8,000 come up, with coverage denied or only partial. Cracked flex plates causing loud shaking also appear.

Coolant intrusion into the cylinders is the main failure, and it usually ends in a recommendation to replace the engine. The car shakes at startup or at highway speed, the check engine light comes on or flashes, and scans show a misfire on one cylinder. Other signs include white exhaust smoke, an empty coolant reservoir, Engine Coolant Overtemperature warnings, and limp mode. Several cars lose power while moving and have to coast to the shoulder. Swapping spark plugs, coils, or the water pump does not fix it. Failures mostly appear between about 75,000 and 108,000 miles.

A cracked flex plate is the most repeated failure. It starts as a rattle or ticking at idle near the bell housing, gets louder with each start, and can leak transmission fluid or cut power. One car cracked a second one within about 12,500 miles. Other reports describe harsh shifts from first to second and second to third, a torque converter clutch that keeps engaging and disengaging, and a SHIFT SYS FAULT message that leaves the car unable to go into park, traced to a worn shifter bushing. Coolant intrusion and head gasket failures also show up here.

Battery trouble on the plug-in hybrid dominates. Most complaints describe a recall repair that has dragged on for months, with parts on back order and owners told not to charge, which cuts efficiency and resale value. Two reports involve fire: a popping sound, a stop-vehicle warning, then smoke filling the cabin. One injury is reported. Other hybrids suffer repeat battery control module failures and sudden shutdowns while driving, sometimes with a burning smell. Separately, the backup camera freezes or goes black or blue, and the infotainment system forgets paired phones.

The car is hard to start right after refueling. It takes several tries or a wait of about five minutes, and the check engine light stays on. Mechanics trace this to a stuck canister purge valve or a failed EVAP canister. Some cars also hesitate, slow down on their own, or stall. The remaining reports describe a cracked flex plate or flywheel that makes a loose, knocking noise at idle, with one car losing power around 70,000 miles. The purge valve failure appears around 56,000 miles.

Most of these complaints are about a recall delay on the plug-in hybrid. Owners say they were told in June 2023 to stop charging until a fix arrived, and some were still waiting as of March 2025, driving what amounts to a less efficient regular hybrid. Compensation reports are thin. Other reports describe hard starting after every fill-up caused by a failed purge valve, with replacement parts hard to find. One complaint describes the transmission locking the front wheels at 45 mph.

The wheel stiffens or locks up while driving in a few reports, one with an electronic power steering control module fault message. Others describe the wheel catching on left turns while the brakes grab and the ABS light comes on, and the steering wheel shaking whenever the brakes are applied, which one dealer could not diagnose. A sudden hybrid shutdown in traffic left steering and braking very heavy. One owner reports the steering wheel control panels melting and cracking in direct sun. The reports are too few and too varied to point to one cause.

Cruise control accelerates past the set speed in several reports. Holding the plus button can cause runaway acceleration until the driver cancels or brakes. One car surged to 71 mph after the driver released the brake, at just 350 miles. Adaptive cruise misses vehicles during lane changes and on curves. Other complaints describe the accelerator pedal seizing, the brakes seizing in traffic, and the car sticking in first gear, problems one owner links to the auto stop-start feature. Most of these reports come from cars with very low mileage.

Front airbags fail to deploy in serious frontal crashes in three reports, each with an injury. These include a T-bone collision in an intersection, a deer strike at 70 mph, and a 35 mph impact that totaled the other car. Injuries include a fractured sternum and back and neck pain. One driver saw a front camera unavailable message minutes before the crash. A separate report describes an airbag warning light from a failed module at 6,400 miles, with warranty coverage denied.