2006 Ford Fusion SE V6 from North America

Summary:

Finally Ford did something right in a car

Faults:

The inside door handle broke at 10,000 miles; replaced under warranty.

Nothing else to date.

General Comments:

I bought this car new, it came down to this or the Honda Accord. For the price we paid, I think we got a great deal.

We have had no problems really. The brakes had to be replaced, but lasted 80,000 miles, and we used two sets of tires. But we have put 100,000 plus miles on the car. Paint and inside still look good. I love the moonroof, my only complaint would be seat comfort. Leather would be a good way to go, especially if taking long trips.

The V6 is powerful and gets decent gas mileage; middle 20's.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th November, 2011

2006 Ford Fusion SEL from North America

Summary:

Wouldn't ever buy another

Faults:

The transmission is shifting hard, when I slow down and speed back up. It jerks a lot. It started this at 50,000 miles.

The CD player got jammed.

All this after the warranty was up... Wow, what a car,

General Comments:

It is not a good car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th November, 2010

27th Nov 2010, 21:56

The dealership is able to reprogram your transmission so it shifts better.

The CD player can be easily unjammed. Pull the surround off, unscrew the CD player from the mount, disconnect the wires, unscrew the top of the unit, and remove the face of the radio. You should see that a CD is jammed, gently pry it back under the small wire arm. Plug the wires in and eject your CDs, it can sit on your shifter while you do this. Once they're out, all you need to do is put the radio back together, and then you should be able to load your CDs in properly. I found you need to have the radio installed, otherwise the angle of entry in to the radio will reject your CD.

2006 Ford Fusion SE 2.3L I4 from North America

Summary:

Roomy, reliable, economical, good handling, comfortable, bad dealer service!

Faults:

When I first got the car used from a Ford dealership, the water pump leaked. The accessory belt squealed and the brake pedal pressure was at the floor. The dealer was awful about these problems, but I have a great mechanic.

The pump was a warranty item, as I'm sure I could've argued the rest were as well.

My main concern the day I picked up the car was the brakes. I was told "it's normal for an old car to have lower brake pressure". I don't even feel like getting into how stupid that comment was, but I got them, after 3 hours of arguing, to write me out a 6 month warranty for the braking system, if there was something major found to be wrong. I took it apart myself, and the problems were in the assembly. Seizing sliders and sticking pads etc. I serviced them all and within a day the brakes were fine. I just figure considering how easy that was, the dealer would just do it properly.

My mechanic told me that the water pump failure on this car was rare, and that he could replace it with a performance Mazda pump that would never fail again for the same cost as a Ford OEM, so that's what I did. The water pump caused the accessories belt to fail as well as its tensioner. I paid my mechanic to do the work because it was fairly cheap, has an honoured warranty, and I didn't want to see anyone from Ford's face ever again.

That was all at the beginning. I've since had no problems, but for one well known one. The interior door handle broke. This is fairly common on this model. The Lincoln equivalent is the exact same part, so there's no upgrade. Cost about $60 CAD.

General Comments:

So besides the horrible dealership, I really like the car. It has adequate power with the 4 cylinder engine, good on gas, handles well and rides smooth.

Only two very minor complaints, are the engine is a little noisy, and the turning circle is wide for parking. The car feels very sporty and much higher class then it is. For what I paid vs. an Accord or Camry, the minor things I’ve had replaced over the last 2 years and 41000 km's, I’d say I did pretty well. It’s still a plain enough, car but it's great value for the money.

I didn’t really do that well purchasing it though. I did all the homework on what model to buy, but not all the homework on your rights with the dealers.

As time goes on though, the car has made up for my misfortunes with the dealer, and I’m very happy with it. I guess you often have to differentiate the car's abilities and the shabby dealership service.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th October, 2010

2nd Dec 2010, 19:18

I'm sorry to hear that you encountered problems with your Fusion. We also have a 2006 SE with the I-4, and it has never had one single problem. Like you, we have a really awful and dishonest dealership, but I drive an extra 15 miles to a very GOOD Ford dealer. I always advise checking out several different dealers.

Also, as a mechanic I do much of my own maintenance. Of course after only 5 years, very few Fords require anything beyond oil changes. Mine has not even had the brake pads replaced yet. I seldom do brake jobs or tune-ups on any domestic before 100,000 miles.

20th Dec 2010, 13:38

One of the issues I am encountering with our I-4 Fusion is not the car's fault, but is becoming a bit of an annoyance. When having to pull out into traffic very quickly I get a lot of excessive wheel-spin, sometimes to the point of smoking the tires. I don't have electronic traction control, which would solve the problem. In talking to the tire shop I buy all my tires from, I was advised to go to a tire with a higher traction rating as soon as the car is ready for new tires (no time soon). Until then, I will have to avoid fast take-offs. The I-4 has a lot of power for a 4.

21st Jan 2011, 17:48

I'm the original poster, and I agree the traction is not amazing. I believe the 2006 V6 came with traction control, because it basically had to. Now all models have traction control. I live where there can be a lot of snow, so I know what you mean, but it's still acceptable. It's still the best overall car I've ever owned.