10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
27 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
103,015 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Ford Fusion:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #232

Sep 202017

Fusion

  • 120,000 miles
Brake pedal lost pressure after hitting a speed bump and it took 30 mins to resume to the normal position. Breaking was very slow during this time and took a longer distance to brake. After researching the issue which seems to be affecting this year of Ford Fusion it appears it is a fault with the ABS hydraulic control unit.

- Plainfield, IL, USA

problem #231

Sep 022017

Fusion

  • 74,000 miles
At times my ABS will kick in when hitting a bump while braking or when hard braking, after the ABS kicks in I lose all pressure and have to floor my brake pedal to be able to stop. Eventually my brakes re pressurize but this takes time, this last event took 2.5 weeks for my brakes to "come back". this is also no the first time this has happened. I almost hit a girl crossing the street, my ABS kicked in, then my brakes failed and I had to floor the brake pedal to stop, I nearly hit the girl. Thankfully I realized what happened and knew to floor my brake pedal. First incident: I was braking to a stop and my tire hit a raised manhole cover in the road, wasn't real hard but enough that my brakes "failed" and I skidded into the intersection, thankfully no one was moving yet. My brakes recovered a couple days later. Second incident: The young girl I almost hit, I mentioned this in the above paragraph. Heading to work, doing about 30, I spaced out for a min, girl starts to cross, I slam on the brakes.(yes, I know, it was bad all around). The ABS kicks in, I start to slow, then I lose 99% of my brakes and I have to floor my pedal to stop from hitting her. I came within 5 feet of the girl. There have been other instances but I don't remember specifics. Although, the two events above, the first one was about 2 years ago, the second was 2 weeks ago.

- Camp Hill, PA, USA

problem #230

Sep 012017

Fusion

  • 95,000 miles
Tucson, AZ. City driving; potholes and sand on roadways common. No evasive or avoidance skidding preceded poor brake performance. Brake pedal must be pushed nearly to the floor to get brake action, which is only partial brake effectiveness. Brake repair shop replaced master cylinder - no change in brake performance. Brake repair shop then replaced ABS hydraulic control unit - brake performance returns to normal. Brake shop advised ABS can activate with cause, then hcu valve sticks open, creating reported condition.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #229

Sep 112017

Fusion

  • 188,900 miles
During adverse weather conditions, such as icy or wet, if I hit a bump or pothole, or take a sharp turn sometimes the ABS does not kick in and my brake pedal goes all the way to the floor and the car barely slows down to a stop. If I pump my brakes during this they will work again. This happens intermittently and not every time but when it does I have very little braking power. I have had my vehicle at the Ford moses in St. Albans wv twice and it sits there now. According to complaints and other private mechanics it is my hcu but Ford will not replace because they cannot duplicate the brake failure. It cannot be duplicated because it does not happen every time. According to private mechanics and information they researched it is a valve in the hcu not operating correctly and is a factory defect in the part, however Ford will not admit it is a factory defect. I have had my braking system checked by 2 private mechanics and been to Ford technicians twice with rotors, brake lines, calipers, and brakes inspected, removed and put back on, calipers replaced, brake lines bled, and still having the same issue. I have nothing to upload because the car is sitting at the Ford service department because it is not safe to drive. The problem has occurred while exiting the interstate at 25-35mph, on the interstate at higher speeds, pulling into a parking lot, and pulling into a side street at low speeds, as well as when hitting potholes or bumps in the roads and parking lots but all instances the pavement was wet and my ABS should have engaged and failed to.

- Winfield, WV, USA

problem #228

Dec 162016

Fusion

  • 100,000 miles
I was on the highway driving my 2008 Ford Fusion when a tractor trailer suddenly pulled out in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes to avoid a collision with the tractor trailer and my antilock brake system activated. After my antilock brake system activated, I lost significant brake pressure and the brake pedal went to the floor. Luckily I was able to maneuver to the side of the road and use the emergency brake and low range gear to come to a stop even though I was travelling down a steep gradient hill. My car had about 100,000 miles at the time of the incident. My car was towed to a mechanics shop where the mechanic said the hydraulic control unit was stuck. I removed the fuse for the antilock brake system to disable it.

- Homer, NY, USA

problem #227

Aug 232017

Fusion

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Fusion. While driving 35 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and traveled to the floorboard. The contact stated that the pedal was soft and spongy. The contact pumped the brake pedal a few times and the brake pedal returned to normal. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #226

Jun 042016

Fusion

  • miles
I have a 2008 Ford Fusion, about 1 year ago brakes went to floor while driving. Almost rear ended guy in front of me. Had the car looked at several times at auto shops to be told it was ABS control module. Almost a 700$part. Luckily they found a newer used one for me. Never buying Ford again after this

- Lafayette, IN, USA

problem #225

Aug 172017

Fusion

  • 78,445 miles
After going over a set of rail road tracks my breaks would go all the way tot the floor. I would not have any breaks for like 45 seconds and im like trying yo stop and nothing until I keep pumping. It's happened twice now and I go slow over the tracks.

- Salina, KS, USA

problem #224

Aug 192017

Fusion

  • 85,000 miles
The brakes go soft after going over a rough patch or a pot hole. Brakes go all the way to the floor, reducing stopping distance. This is a known safety issue and it needs to be recalled before someone gets injured or worse. It occurs frequently on my vehicle and in my opinion, it is very dangerous.

- Belleville, NJ, USA

problem #223

Oct 132007

Fusion

  • 15 miles
I recently drove my 90 year old mother in law's 2008 Ford Fusion. The vehicle only has 20,000 miles. The brake pedal has way too much travel - when applying full braking force the pedal never returns a hard end stop feel and pedal travel stops only an inch or so from the firewall. Once engaged the anti-lock system is not balanced resulting in some of the wheels to lock - and not the same wheels with each test. She indicated that this had been this way since she bought the car. I had the brake fluid completely replaced by Ford with no improvement. The dealership is not sure what the issue is and recommends replacing parts on by one until it is fixed - starting with the master cylinder and then the brake control module. Having an issue with this approach I searched on-line and determined that there have been hundreds of complaints on the Fusion for this issue and that the NHTSA has opened a formal investigation. The purpose of this complaint is to be included in whatever rectifications may result from that investigation.

- North Babylon, NY, USA

problem #222

Aug 012014

Fusion

  • 105,000 miles
(please note that I am a former factory-certified automotive technician, so description may be technical) when approaching a stop, small imperfections in road or slippery conditions results in an ABS event, which is normal (although I would argue sensors are overly sensitive and cause ABS to engage too quickly). However, after the ABS event is over, the pedal will often drop to floor on the next attempt at braking. While now aware of it, the first several times this happened it was unexpected and I nearly either rolled through intersections or hit another vehicle. After vehicle was turned off for a period of time (typically 30 minutes or more), pedal would return to normal. However, the problem has progressed to where the pedal now will never return to full firmness. After extensive research and testing, I have been able to determine that the issue is a malfunctioning hydraulic control unit (a part that should easily last the lifetime of a vehicle). Due to the symptoms, many have mistakenly tried replacing brake boosters and master cylinders, only to find the problem still exists. This is not my video, but this man does an excellent job of illustrating the issue: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=vwflkcxxzty. This is not a normal type of brake failure and poses a serious safety threat to anyone that is not expecting this behavior. The first few times that it happened to me, it was a matter of chance that I was not involved in an accident as a result of this. Also, if you contact me, my car still exhibits the issue and I can readily reproduce it. Finally, date of event happening is approximately when problem first started, it has been ongoing intermittently for several years (ABS events are not frequent occurrences) but has been getting worse over time, with pedal now not ever returning all the way to normal firmness.

- Norman, OK, USA

problem #221

Jul 102017

Fusion

  • 100,000 miles
Was not notified of any recalls on this vehicle when I purchased it. I had an accident last month and the brakes locked up and I couldn't control the steering and went careening off the roadway into a stationary sign and tow up the passenger side of my vehicle. The passenger air bag never deployed. Nor the driver air bag.

- Titusville, FL, USA

problem #220

Aug 092017

Fusion

  • 170,000 miles
Instances where braking while going over rough road or bumps causes brake to stop working, pedal goes to floor. Recently applied brake while going over slight uneven pavement. Brake went soft, to floor, traveled approx 75 yards. Wouldn't stop. Able to coast to parking spot w curb. Very scary!!!! shut off car, came back out hour later still soft too the floor. No brake. Pumped several times and then they seemed to work fine. Took to look local shop nothing wrong that they could find. Researched and it's the same ABS issue and occurrence as reported by others. Luckily there weren't any vehicles., obstacles or pedestrians in front of me or I would have hit them. I shook for over an hour.

- Mineola, TX, USA

problem #219

May 122017

Fusion

  • miles
No brakes.... my car has been basically yard art for several months.... have had issues with spongy brakes for years if I had to stop suddenly and the ABS brakes where engaged...then the brakes would go spongy.. another time I didn't even know if the car was going to stop I slide instead of stopping... this past May 2017 I was in traffic and a car pulled out in front of me had to slam my brakes on and I barely got stopped ! scared me to death.. brakes were extremely spongy by the time I made it home I didn't have any brakes at all !!! my husband replaced brake pads, calibers, master cylinder, and rotors ! well over $700 I paid out. Still have no brakes at all. This is a safety issue why is nothing being done "???" I'm the only income my family has and now I have a car almost paid for that just sits !!! it's yard art prett much.... I am spending a fortune to get to work and back and can't afford the $500 for theabs module / pump not to mention the cost to have it put on !!! this is horrible... I'm already die hard Ford girl but after his experience I will never buy another one....

- Shepherdsville, KY, USA

problem #218

Nov 302016

Fusion

  • 120,000 miles
Multiple times when I would be coming to a stop I have to push the breaks all the way to the floor and it still does not stop right away. Quite a few times I almost rear ended the car in front of me, and another time I drove into on coming traffic as my car was not stopping properly. It just braked slowly before coming to a complete stop in the middle of the lane in front of me. I have a loss of break pressure.

- Redford, MI, USA

problem #217

Aug 062017

Fusion

  • 160,052 miles
Car was in motion on a city street in traffic. As I drove over a small pothole while I was braking, it began to brake normally then suddenly went almost to the floor and the car did not slow down until the last moment. I barely missed hitting the car in front of me.

- Coppell, TX, USA

problem #216

Aug 052017

Fusion

  • miles
Brake peddle goes to floor when stopping. The master brake cylinder was replaced and the brakes were bled but the problem still exists. I hear from others with this same car issue that it is a faulty ABS pump and is very dangerous. Ford needs to do a recall on these units and don't wait until someone dies from not being able to brake.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

problem #215

Aug 042017

Fusion

  • 104,000 miles
This vehicle model has a faulty hcu for the ABS brakes that fails consistently. It has failed on me and many people who own the same vehicle. Make Ford responsible and have them issue a recall on this now before people are killed by the brake failure resulting in lawsuits against Ford and the NHTSA for failing to do their job

- Goshen, IN, USA

problem #214

Aug 012017

Fusion

  • 120,000 miles
Pressed brake pedal, brakes seemed soft or spongy and were slow to brake vehicle.released brake pedal and attempted again. Brakes finally resumed working but now see softer than before. Automotive repair could not determine cause but advised replacing ABS due to receiving similar complaints.

- Catonsville, MD, USA

problem #213

Jan 042017

Fusion

  • 100,000 miles
2008 Ford Fusion 100,000 miles first of all my car is still in drivable... I'm on a fixed income and I have already replaced the brakes, rotors, master cylinder ! my brakes have had issues for about a year. Come to a stop just a regular stop ( like a top light ) brakes go clear to the floor. This has been going on for a year. The last event was in Jan 2017 went to come to a stop in heavy traffic and I almost re ended the car in front of me. My brakes were all the way to the floor literally no brakes at all. Made it home and my son started replacing everything as mentioned above..... now still no brakes at all clear to the floor. The ABS control module is the only thing not replaced ( which should be a [xxx] recall ) I feel the only reason Ford hasn't done a recall is because of the cost. I'm already out $1000 now another $1000 part plus the labor. I'm 68 and fixed income no car since Jan this is ridiculous! I won't purchase another Ford and that's all I've purchased in my 68 years !!!! parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Shepherdsville, KY, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »