I have a 2006 Ford Fusion with a 2.3 L engine and 110k miles that needs a new engine according to the dealer. The car was well taken care of with regular oil changes etc. My local mechanic says the supply of used engines for the Fusion is limited because of their extremely high failure rate. He is a one man shop that has done 6 Fusion replacement overs the past 2 weeks alone yet when I called Ford they claim there has not been unusual numbers of engine failures reported. In spite of this, the Ford dealer mechanic refers to it as a throw away engine. Are there others out there with this problem?
1 Like
You haven’t said what’s wrong with your engine, so it’s hard to see how anyone can help you here.
Sorry you’re having problems. The Fusion 4 cylinder is one of the more reliable engines out there overall, as far as I can tell. “Engine major” reliability is “Much better than average” for all years, according to the Consumer Reports reliability survey.
The supply of used engines on such a new car probably has nothing to do with its reliability.
liom9car - Rod knock is what is wrong with the engine, though I wasn’t really looking for a fix, just whether it is a widespread problem that Ford should be responsible for.
texases - thank you for your comment. I guess I just got a bad one then.
I haven’t heard anything, but that doesn’t mean anything. I actually have a ford escort - those have obvious valve seat issues, but it isn’t commonly known.
I’d poke around on some forums dedicated to the fusion. Here are a few:
http://www.fordfusionclub.com/
http://www.fordfusion.net/forums/
http://www.fordfusionforum.com/
How often were the oil changes done? There has been discussion lately on these pages about the extended oil change intervals in newer cars. If you followed the longer schedule instead of the “severe service” schedule, which actually applies to most cars, that may have contributed to the problem. Often the severe service oil changes are pretty long these days.
Well, you see some complaints in forums… of course if you do a search for fusion engine rod knock on google, you find fewer hits than with the Camry.
The same basic engine design is used in a TON of vehicles - Mazda3, Mazda6, Mazda5, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr, Ford Escape, Ford Focus, Mercury Mariner, Mazda Tribute, Ford Ranger, Mazda Miata, Mazda CX-7 (turbo’d here), etc…
If it was a common problem, I’d expect it would pop up in more vehicles and with the millions of them on the road, it would be caught by surveys…
The one more common engine failure issue I saw with that engine when I got our 6 was that some of the cars had cartridge oil filters, and if you weren’t careful, you could damage the housing during oil changes and the cars would leak oil catastrophically… more of a poor maintenance practice than anything else, but they changed the designs to take standard spin-ons to prevent that issue.
We have come a long way, 60 years ago someone would have said " WOW, my engine lasted 110,000 miles."
I looked at safercar.gov and they show no complaints for the issue you have. It is not a common problem.
The defect may be in your mechanic, not in your engine.
1 Like
I would rely on our forum member, Ken Green, to comment accurately on this allegation of “bad engines” in the Ford Fusion. Ken is a parts man at a Ford dealership, and if anyone would know about problems with these engines, it would be Ken. Hopefully Ken will chime in on this issue.
However, whether this is a chronic problem or not, I seriously doubt if the OP can expect financial assistance from the manufacturer for a problem with an engine that has 120k miles on it.
Clarify the part about well taken care of with regular oil changes by mentioning what regimen was used on those oil changes as to time and miles.
You might also let us know how often you raise the hood and check the oil level.
1 Like
My local mechanic says the supply of used engines for the Fusion is limited because of their extremely high failure rate. He is a one man shop that has done 6 Fusion replacement overs the past 2 weeks alone
What’s wrong with that picture?
1 Like
There are no known chronic problems with the 2.3L Duratec. Several other models use that engine as well, the Focus, Ranger, and Escape use it and none of those vehicles have chronic engine problems either. I question your mechanic’s expertise on the subject.
1 Like
"I question your mechanic’s expertise on the subject."
I also question his honesty.
Like littlemouse, I strongly doubt that he "has done 6 Fusion replacement over the past 2 weeks alone ".
This sounds like just so much hyperbole…or BS…to me.
1 Like
I’d also take that one man shop, 6 engines in 2 weeks tale with a grain of salt.
On this board, we notice that few people bother to check their oil level any more…Many drivers don’t know (or don’t care) how to open the hood…Just one episode of “oops, it was three quarts low” can result in premature bearing failure…
As far as it being a 'throw-a-way" engine, today, most engines are designed and built that way. It’s more common just to replace a failed engine than to attempt to “rebuild” it…
@VDCdriver - never underestimate what companies might do.
Toyota replaced the engine on our family’s 1987 Camry not once, but TWICE outside of warranty.
Ford replaced the transmission on another family member’s 1992 Crown Vic for $400 once, and that car was a good 4 years out of warranty at the time, and the transmission failure could easily have been blamed on neglect.
No engine defects.
No history of many replacements at my Ford dealer, zero engine sales of that four cylinder since the 06 inception of the fusion.
Now the Albuquerque dealers may show a different history as they cater to many more cars than me, but I have never heard talk of such from my four corners vantage point.
I have a very similar story. 2007 ford fusion with a 2.3 duratec. Oil changes every 3000 miles either at dealership or certified mechanic. Drove home on a Saturday evening with no issue, started on sunday with loud rod knock. If you truly look, car complaints.com has numerous complaints on the ranger, mazda 3, fusion and escape duratec engines of mysteriously missing oil and thrown or bent rods. This same car had major transmission issues within first 10000 miles. My family has always worked in Ford Dealerships and supported Ford. We currently have between 4 family members, 5 super dutys, 2 focus, 1 escape, and the fusion. After this, I will never buy another Ford light duty vehicle. My 16 year old drives a 97’ BMW 3 series with almost 300,000 miles and no engine issues. I always thought my Fords could compare, but was mistaken here.
1 Like