The transmission in my 2012 Ford Fusion (2.5L 4 cylinder, 6 speed sport shift transmission) will shift extremely hard and unexpectedly at both low and highway speeds. At low speeds when beginning to slow, the car will suddenly drop into a low gear, thus causing a loud "clunk" sound and the car to suddenly slow (as if hitting the brakes hard). At highway speeds, especially when climbing steep hills, the car's transmission will hold at a high RPM and not release, even after reaching the top of the hill and/or on the downward grade. I must brake in order to for the car to release from hits high revelations. I have had the car to different Ford dealerships on several occasions, and each time, I am told that the vehicle is operating normally, as my concerns apparently cannot be replicated. The car is now out of warranty, and the problems continue. I fear that an accident may occur as a result of this transmission's sudden, unpredictable actions.

- Imler, PA, USA

The first time I experienced the problem, I was making a left hand turn and it felt like the car was running on a couple of cylinders, very low power. I stopped as soon as I could and turned off the engine, restarted it and everything seem to be ok. Everything was fine for about a month, but while on a trip, I experience a sudden loss of power and unresponsive throttle. I took the car to the dealer and explained what had happened and that it sounded like the same problem my sister-in-law had experienced with her 2010 Fusion and that after a number of trip and problem repeated problems they replaced the throttle body which resolved the problem. In my case the dealer, even though I explained what I had experienced and that I was aware of a service bulletin from Ford for this exact problem, said my problem was a bad battery, which they replaced and returned the car to me. A couple of days later I experienced the same problem a couple of times and immediately took the car back to the dealer and this time they replaced the throttle body. I have since driven the car about 1500 miles in the last two months without a problem. My son is now going through the same problem with a 2011 escape hybrid. His dealer did not replace the throttle body when he took it with the same problem a couple of weeks ago, instead they charged him a few hundred dollars to "remove carbon buildup" or something. Today the escape experience the same problem while driving on an interstate. I took the car back to his dealer this afternoon and told them of my experience, the service rep said they would look into it. We'll see. I am a long time loyal Ford owner but feel they are waiting for someone to be killed before they fix this problem.

- Arlington, VA, USA

My car has had problems since I bought it, to me its seems its a transmission problem, it jerks as it shift into gears. In one occasion I was making a right turn. As I tried to accelerate it wouldn't accelerate and the car starting shaking and got stuck in the drive gear, I noticed the wrench light went on. Then I turn off the car got scared, lucky no one was behind me or else I would of had a really bad accident. As soon as I turn it back on the light wrench came off and car was like nothing happened. Also notice everytime the car goes between 2 to 3 RPM the car decelerates and is a big risk of having an accident especially if you driving on freeway. I've looked into to see if other people have complains and looks like 2011 have a transmission problem, I have tried taking it to the dealer and they never find what's wrong, im seriously considering getting and attorney.

- Sun Valley, CA, USA

I have a Ford Fusion when taking off it shifts really hard, or at times it wont shift until you let off of gas an let rpms go down then give it gas again. It also down shift hard at times not as much as it does when going up. I feel it can cause an accident if not aware when it happens. Some times when it shifts it shifts hard enough it feel like the back tires come off of ground. I think it is a safety hazard I seen where other Ford have had the same problem. I also seen where that same problem has caused an accident as well. Thanks, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Steelville, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while making a left turn, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the transmission control module and the clutch failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

- Villa Rica , GA, USA

As I was coming from bible study this night; my car turned off; I saw a screw driver symbol appear and it went dead. After waiting for awhile for my husband, we were able to crank it again and proceed home. Two days later; it did the same thing. We took it to stokes of beaufort, where we purchased it and was told that there was a recall on our year. They advised us to take it to oc welch; and was told there that they recalled Fusion, but not our VIN #, but was told that they checked it and so nothing wrong. We would have to wait tell it stops completely. I do have extended warranty; but they didnt see the need to go any further. Days later, after coming from the laundry mat, the same thing happened again on top of a bridge with my two grand babies in the car, it just stopped. What am I to do"?"

- Beaufort, SC, USA

Bought a 2012 Ford Fusion brand new from a dealership. First incident occurred within first 2 yrs of ownership while driving 45 mph down an incline - sudden loss of power. It felt as if it lost power steering and thought engine shut off. Dash alarms rang and briefly saw 'power steering fault' light up. Took all my power to pull car off road and to a safe complete stop.turned off ignition. After a few minutes restarted ignition and drove directly to a dealership without further incident. Dealership stated water pump was defective and sent a signal to the engine to shut down. Pump was replaced second incident occurred months later while at a complete stop at a traffic light. Steering wheel suddenly locked, and felt engine power reduce. Dash warning sounded and saw 'power steering fault, service powertrac' light up. Turned ignition off and back on and was able to drive to dealership without further incident. Was told a chip replacement was issued. Replaced chip and was told that would extend the warranty and resolve issue. Continue to have additional incidents (4 to date ) both while moving and at a stand still where the dash warning sounded and felt a reduction or loss of power, each time having to shut off ignition and restart to clear the fault. Dealership continues to attempt to service with no resolve as yet.

- Hayes, VA, USA

Bought this car 3 weeks ago with 20,500 mi and it has 21,500 mi on it now. Car drove well and did not exhibit any problems during several test drives. On the drive to work the following week the car started shifting hard between 1st and 2nd gears and shudder when accelerating from a crawl after about 5-10 minutes of stop and go traffic on the freeway. The problem is not always there in normal driving when some speed can be reached for a time. But it almost always shows up or get much worse after the car has been in slow moving or stop and go traffic or after idling hot for several minutes. To me this points to a defect in the transmission which causes friction and overheating causing premature wear of transmission's internal parts. I'm very disappointed to be having transmission problems on a car with such low mileage. I paid a significant amount of money for this car with the hopes of it being a reliable family car for some time to come. My opinion of Ford and its reliability is extremely negative. This is my first and probably my last Ford.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

I bought this car from a hertz dealer 1 week ago with 45, 589K miles before the indecent happened as follows. I was driving my 2012 Ford Fusion sel in the fast lane on the freeway going aprox 70 mph. The car suddenly lost power and entered into what I assume was safe mode. There was no throttle response and the car was at 1K rough idle. A wrench symbol was shown on the display. I could not accelerate and had to coast across 4 lanes of traffic while losing speed. I was able to get to the shoulder in time before I lost all momentum. It was a very dangerous situation and I was lucky to have made it to the shoulder. (despite several near misses from car traveling at full speed. Thank god my wife was not driving with our son in the car) while on the shoulder, the car was not responsive to throttle input and stayed in rough idle. I had to turn the car on and off several times before safe mode was deactivated. First attempt to get under way failed with only traveling a 100 feet. Second attempt to turn on and off the car worked and I was able to safely get off the freeway and take side streets home. The car once again went into safe mode while on city streets and the first attempt to "reboot" the car worked, I was able to arrive at home. The car now has a check engine light on.

- San Jose, CA, USA

While driving, the gas pedal became unresponsive and the orange wrench symbol came on. I pulled over and shut the car off. I attempted to restart the car. The car restarted and I was able to continue driving as normal. This problem has occurred approx 4 times. Each time with the same presentation and each time I was able to restart the car.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

I was driving down the highway when suddenly my vehicle lost power. I attempted to press the accelerator but the car just jerked violently. I was forced to stop in the middle of the highway because I was unable to accelerate to the side of the highway. I was almost rear-ended 3 times do to the speed of traffic and my car suddenly losing power. When the vehicle lost power, a "wrench" symbol appeared on the dash. I placed the vehicle in park and sat for a few seconds and attempted to start the vehicle. Once started I pulled over to the side of the highway. The car was running fine so I decided to drive on the highway again. After about 1/2 a mile, the car stopped suddenly again, this time I was able to coast onto the median because I was driving in the slow lane. This continued for several miles until I finally pulled over and called a tow truck.

- Riverdale, GA, USA

While driving my new Ford Fusion, only 5 months since purchase, the vehicle lost power and stalled. When I took it to the dealer they could find nothing wrong and said what's the issue it started didn't it" the same thing happened again in may and July of 2014. It is a known issue with Ford and a customer satisfaction was issued to replace the throttle body, but the dealership won't do so because no code shows up when I've taken the car in after each episode. This is a safely issue and a known issue. Why NHTSA allowed them to get away with not doing a recall is beyond me. It is unsafe driving a vehicle that suddenly loses power. It should not matter that a code doesn't show up. What happened before computers? it's a known issue and is happening so it should get replaced. Thankfully I wasn't driving over 35 when this occurred, but what about the next time if I'm on a highway going 60? what will it take - people to get seriously injured to get a true recall"

- Spring Valley, NY, USA

Hail damage, paintless dent repair, could be reason for unexplained tire tread wear, and/or knocking sound when backing up and turning. My Fusion is still under warranty. Please advise with any information that may be helpful.

- Washington, DC, USA

I was driving to work this morning, going 65mph when a chime goes off. There is an amber light on the dash and words are under the speedometer saying "power steering assist fault" and then "service advancetrac". I was on a straight stretch of I-35, so I didn't realize how bad it was until I came to my exit ramp. It was very stiff. At the bottom of the ramp I needed to make a series of much sharper turns and that's when I realized how bad it was. I stopped at a light and pulled out my phone and took pictures of what it was showing. When I got into work, I sent the picture to my dealer, who said they could look at it, but that was as far as they would commit. I have owned the car for 20 days and of course the 3/36,000 expired 2000 miles ago. I turned to the internet and found quite a few complaints about this same thing with numerous years of the Fusion. It appears that a short term fix is to shut off the car and when started again, the problem disappears, but may or may not pop up again. Not exactly reassuring, Ford Motor Company. How many complaints does it take for something to be done about this" a car with 38,000 miles having an issue that could be life threatening seems completely unacceptable in this day of car companies knowing about problems, yet doing nothing and then paying the consequences later. Do the right thing, Ford Motor Company, and fix this for those of us who chose to buy your product and put our faith into you delivering a quality, reliable and safe vehicle. I owned a 2005 Hyundai that I put over 270,000 miles on and the only issue was to replace a clutch. I was going to go with Hyundai again, but I thought since Ford didn't participate in the bailout, I would go american. Am I going to regret that decision"

- Kansas City, MO, USA

Was driving the wheel sudden went stiff out of no where had to shut the car off and start again. That was the first incident. A couple days later the car did the same thing and it says power steering assault failed and I cant drive the car at all it says that as soon as I start it.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

This model is an AWD model. Vehicle emits a foul 'natural gas' odor when vehicle comes to a complete stop after any period of driving. This odor smells exactly like the fluid inside the rdu. After several trial and error attempts, I believe the smell is being sucked in through the HVAC system. However when the system is put in re-circulation mode, the smell is not present. This proves that the smell is being sucked in from outside, from a vent connected to the rdu. I cant believe Ford has not had any other complaints about this. Its embarrassing to have anybody ride in the car.

- Jackson, WY, USA

Was accelerating to get on the interstate and the car delayed in accelerating. Since it was a new car (purchased in June on 2012) I really didn't think much about it. Over the last two years, this problem happens intermittently with a delay/harsh shift, a grumbling/vibration in the car when shifting in lower gears from 2nd to 3rd. This also occurs during down shift between 3rd and 2nd gears causing the car to "lurch forward" as if you have been rear ended. I now have 69,000 miles on my car and the warranty is gone and every time I ask Ford to look at the problem they can't replicate the problem (trying to tell me that the way I drive my car is too harsh) they did reprogram the tcs and the last time I tried to make an appointment before my warranty expired, the service department called me back stating the following: "it sounds like you are having problems with your transmission and it will be 6-8 weeks before we can get the car in for service".

- Cameron, MO, USA

When attempting take of from a stop car takes nearly 2 seconds to respond and transmission shifts horribly at times.

- Fall River, MA, USA

Vehicle lurched then lost power and check engine light came on. Vehicle would not accelerate after losing power. Since the repairs, the vehicle will occasionally lurch when the car is in gear and the brakes are applied.

- Bonita Springs, FL, USA

Driving along route 80, NJ, the car became unresponsive to the gas pedal as if it were in neutral. The wrench symbol came on and the car began to slow down. I had to cut across the middle and right lanes to get to the shoulder so I could stop safely. I turned the engine of and restarted the car; it worked fine.

- North Haledon, NJ, USA