Ford is recalling over 270,000 Ford Fusions in North America for a potentially faulty shifter cable issue.
After this year, the Ford Fusion will be no more. Ford is discontinuing pretty much all their regular cars after this year, and the Fusion is one of them. But there are still hundreds of thousands of Fusions still on the road, and Ford will have to support them for many years to come.
Which is why they’re recalling about 270,000 Fusions in North America that could start rolling away at any second.
Ford’s latest recall is for 2013 to 2016 model year Fusions equipped with the 2.5-L motor. There are about 260,000 Fusions in the US, 10,000 Fusions in Canada, and a little over 3,000 Fusions in Mexico that are affected.
The issue has to do with the shifter cable bushing that connects the shifter cable to the transmission. Over time, the bushing can degrade due to corrosion and come detached from the transmission. This would make the driver think they’re in park when actually they’re still in drive. Or it may become detached in park and be impossible to put in drive, but the issue where your car rolls away after you think you’ve parked it is the bigger issue.
Ford is aware of 3 accidents resulting in property damage and at least one injury, so this recall is no joke. Engineers are still looking for the root cause of the issue, but until they figure it out, Ford recommends all Fusion owners use their parking brake whenever they stop.
Dealers and owners will be contacted just as soon as Ford knows how to fix this issue.
There is also a smaller recall for the Ford Ranger over a similar issue. Apparently the fastener for the shifter cable might not have been properly torqued and might come loose. Only 2,500 Rangers in the US and 260 in Canada are affected, but better safe than sorry. Keep using that parking brake and Ford will get you in for free repairs in the next two months.