2006 Ford Fusion SEL 2.3 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Good car, except for the airbags..

Faults:

Mechanically, nothing.

Electronically... the buttons for the sunroof only worked when they felt like it, and cruise control was starting to be really sketchy the past couple months..

General Comments:

Overall I really enjoyed this car... until I got in a 45mph nearly head-on collision and the airbags didn't deploy.

Loved driving it, fun around corners and nice acceleration with manual trans.. great fuel economy.. averaged 33-35 hwy and 23-25 city. Everything was amazing.. but after the accident, I will not be buying a Ford anytime soon.

Beware of these for safety issues... the seatbelt saved my life... though the airbags should have been there for backup.. and they weren't.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st August, 2010

21st Aug 2010, 21:12

It's hard to tell if the bags malfunctioned. Chances are that the deceleration was not enough to trigger them even at 45mph, especially if the impact was oblique. With all of the chaos about airbags injuring people, manufacturers have been dialing them back so that they only deploy when completely necessary. Since you weren't injured, (or at least you don't mention injuries) I would guess that there was no malfunction. If your belts had been off, they almost certainly would have deployed.

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2006 Ford Fusion SEL 3.0 Litre V6 from North America

Summary:

Reliable car except for the transmission, so can't recommend buying one

Faults:

Transmission blew at 98400 kilometres (61,000 miles). I am extremely disappointed. The warranty is 5 years or 100,000 Kms, but the dealer won't cover it!

The Fusion has been rated as such a well built vehicle by the media, but it actually has a lousy transmission record. Do a Google search for "Ford Fusion Transmission Problems" and you'll find many online Ford Forums discussing tranny problems and dealer reluctance to fix under warranty. I guess time is the true indicator of reliability, and it has caught up to the Fusion's reputation.

The dealer told me the transmission cooler lines are rusted, and as a result, causing the problem with the transmission. The dealer says the tranny is gone because of the lines; they won't cover the cost of the transmission repairs. I find this disgusting, and am very angry with Ford over this. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT IN MY LIFE. Back to Honda's for us.

General Comments:

The Fusion handles very well - BMW like.

The heated seats take way too long to heat up, and you can't leave them on so they will automatically come on with an auto starter.

The rear mounted center stop light blocks the view out the back, and creates a shadow from vehicles behind the car, which covers the bottom of the sensor on the auto dimming mirror, so it won't work. The rear stop light was located elsewhere for 2007 and onward - sucks for 2006 owners.

The transmission only has Drive and Low on the selector. Very frustrating not to have a selector for different gears.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 2nd August, 2010

2nd Aug 2010, 15:22

I would speak to a lawyer about the warranty issue. You may have to document everything and get the dealer to write a reason for declining the warranty work. That is no fun for sure, but... dealers try to get away with it.

2nd Aug 2010, 21:59

So much for the J.D. Powers highest rating huh?? I have seen a growing number of Fusion tranny problems now that they are getting to be a fairly old model. Funny how the Fusion lovers cite all the problems with Honda trannys. The tide may just turn on that one!

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2006 Ford Fusion SE not sure from North America

Summary:

Poor quality of the computer on the 2006 Ford Fusion

Faults:

The front right turn signal side light went out. I inquired on several sites with no luck, except that it was probably the bulb or flasher. We replaced those, and still it did not work. We replaced the harness, and still it is not working. We took it to an electrical car specialist and he said it was the computer. Not good! Not quite four years old and the computer is failing.

I feel this is poor quality that was set up to fail.

Don't think I'll buy another Fusion.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th June, 2010

29th Jun 2010, 06:46

It would sound to me as if the people you are having work on your car, do not have the skills required to repair it. Which computer are your experts talking about? Most cars today have more than 2 control units. Very likely, your car has multi-plexed wiring, which is significantly different from the systems employed before that. If so, it needs a very different skill set to diagnose and repair. The old skills may actually cause more harm than good.

29th Jun 2010, 18:13

Modern computer systems are a nightmare, and many service facilities are not staffed by people trained in setting and repairing them.

I knew a lot of the so-called "problems" with the Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy were due to inept service technicians.

When we bought our 2003 Envoy, I sought out a dealership that I knew had well-trained computer techs in their service department.

Our GMC has been flawless. It has not had a single repair, other than a light bulb at 90,000 miles.

We also own a 2006 Fusion. It, too, has been absolutely flawless.

27th Nov 2012, 20:14

Sounds like a faulty or at very least an inept mechanic, who is using the catchall faulty computer scheme. In all of my years as a trained Ford mechanic, I never met a computer that just went bad without an outside influence such as water leak or improperly aligned plug, and in most instances, the PCM can reprogrammed for software issues.