2017 Ford Fusion problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2017 a good year for the Ford Fusion?

The spread across this nameplate is wide: the 2011 draws 15 times the complaints of the 2020. On a run like that the model year you buy matters more than the badge, and 2017 sits in the middle of it.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 9 of the nameplate’s model years. 2019 is absent, which means no records came back for it — not that it was clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2017 accounts for 8% of every complaint filed against the Ford Fusion in this retrieval, which works out to 123.3 complaints per year on the road across the 9 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Complaints fell against the preceding year: the 2017 carries 65% of the 2016’s reports. Some of that is age, but a drop this large between consecutive years often marks a fix.

Which recalls cover the 2017?

NHTSA records 4 recall entries against the 2017 Ford Fusion. The campaign text for this year was not part of the stored sample — check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, which is the only way to know whether a specific car’s campaigns were carried out.

What do owners report on the Ford Fusion?

Across every Ford Fusion year, not the 2017 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Steering — 4,145 reports
• Power Train — 1,791 reports
• Engine — 1,498 reports
• Air Bags — 918 reports

If your 2017 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Clunk over bumps
• Shaking at highway speed
• Pulls to one side
• Humming rises with speed

Which other Ford Fusion years should you compare?

← 2016 Ford Fusion · 2018 Ford Fusion → · All Ford Fusion years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Ford Fusion page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.