2017 Ford Fusion: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Nov 2, 2026 · Transmission · CA

Recurring whining, rattling, and grinding noise coming from under the engine/transmission area of my 2017 Ford Fusion Energi (HF35 hybrid transmission). The noise is present in all gear ranges, including Neutral while the vehicle is moving, but not in Park. No warning lights or trouble codes. The transmission has already been replaced once for this same issue, and the noise has come back. This matches the known HF35 differential and transfer shaft bearing failure pattern (Ford TSB 22-2396, SSM 50744). I am on disability (SSDI) and this vehicle is my primary means of transportation.

Filed Oct 6, 2026 · Steering, Suspension · SC

The automatic transmission failed at approximately 59,000 miles. The vehicle was delivered to an authorized Ford dealership on 09/04/2025 for warranty repair. The transmission was replaced. The vehicle remained at that dealership approximately eight months and was returned to me on or about 05/01/2026. After return, a grinding and clunking noise was present when accelerating, turning, braking and going over bumps. A power steering line failed within days of return and emitted smoke from the front of the vehicle while driving. A "Shift System Fault" message began appearing when shifting into reverse and continues to appear intermittently. The same dealership performed three further repair visits. Their repair orders document multiple loose bolts holding the transmission mount to the transmission, an improperly installed exhaust, and a loose right hand CV shaft nut. On 08/14/2026 I took the vehicle to a second, unaffiliated authorized Ford dealership for an independent inspection. On a lift they found all four subframe bolts loose, the right front subframe bolt not fully seated and cross threaded so that it could not be tightened further, and the four smaller rear subframe bolts missing entirely. They also documented that no one-time-use fasteners had been billed on the original transmission repair. They tightened the loose bolts, replaced the cross threaded bolt, installed the four missing bolts, and confirmed by road test that the noise was eliminated. The subframe carries the engine, transmission and front suspension. The vehicle was driven approximately 1,700 miles over roughly three months, including highway driving, in this condition before the loose and missing fasteners were found. Repair orders from both dealerships are available for inspection.

Filed May 21, 2024 · Brakes, Fuel system · 123,523 miles · LA

My brakes are grinding squealing/rattling and i have pads replaced, no rotor wear, not sure what’s wrong. I’ve brought my car in to be serviced 3+ times and have left with no fixed car and worse brakes. When i bring up issues with my car that are related to the recalls the car has, they tell me those recalls don’t apply to my car although im having the same problems. My brakes have progressively gotten worse/louder and the pressure on my pedals is not the same. I’m scared to drive my car and i have been trying to get it fixed for months. This is not the only problem im having, my gas tank “farts” constantly and my car will stall and shut off unless i turn off auto start stop. There is no recall on this yet it’s a KNOWN problem. It makes the car undriveable.

Filed Sep 19, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · 150,960 miles · CA

Turbocharger leaked oil into the engine causing irreparable damage to the engine. Oil leaking cause engine failure, smoke coming out of the tailpipe, several blown gaskets and steering wheel malfunction. Cars computer system froze, enabling vehicle to move forward. Motor mounts were faulty, loose and unstable. Grinding sounds coming from wheels, vehicle alignment is unsteady. Issues with this vehicle previously reported under the federal safety agency ID #11534780 updated information being reported after repairs have been repaired.

Filed Mar 18, 2023 · Brakes, Wheels · NY · crash

Upon trying to stop at a stop sign my son was unable to stop in time and rolled into the roadway which caused a collision with another vehicle. He depressed the brakes and clearly heard a grinding noise and never felt the pumping feeling under his foot for the antilock breaks. He thought he couldnt stop due to ice on the roadway, but have since seen the brake recall on my vehicle. The accident caused the vehicle to become a total loss. The witnesses said my son stopped at the stop sing and pulled into the roadway in front of car going 50mph. That could not have happened by the angle of the car at the time of the accident. Had he stopped like the 'witnesses" said, he would have entered the roadway a couple second later and then become t-boned by the other car. He was hit on the rear quarterfinal coinciding with my sons story he could not stop. My son has held to his story that he tried to stop and the car would not stop. I have felt on occasion since Dec my brakes feeling a little off at times but never on a consistant basis to get it looked at. My vehicle had a small leakage in Dec which we could not locate and it never occurred since. We checked the brake fluid and all fluids routinely since. Never seen the leak since. I also put four brand new tires on my vehicle two days prior to the accident. It does appear in the photos after the accident there were new parts on the wheel in the area of the brakes. I only owned this vehicle for 9 months prior to this incident.

Filed Jan 25, 2023 · Steering · OH

I got in my 2017 Fusion SE to leave my house. As I started out of my driveway, I noticed that the steering was hard and I had a " Steering Assist Fault, Service Required" lamp on. I did not drive the car that day. The car drove fine the day before. I called my local mechanic to take my car into the shop to have him check the vehicle. As I drove the vehicle to the shop, I noticed that it was very hard to steer and the steering made a grinding noise. The shop called later and advised that the rack and pinion sensor was bad and needed replacing. The shop advised that the only way to repair it was to replace the rack and pinion. My mechanic advised that he has seen this problem with other 2017 Ford Fusions. The shop advised that the cost would be $3000.00. I was shocked at the cost, but I authorized the repair. The mileage on the vehicle was 39,650. I am just thankful that I was not driving the car on the road at the time that this went bad. There was no warning with this. I did look on this web sight and found that this is not an uncommon problem with the 2017 Fusions. I believe that because the sensor cannot be replaced on its own, that Ford should fix this dangerous problem and do a recall. How long until this happens a second time? Should I sell this vehicle before it happens again? I just hope I am not driving the next time the sensor goes out.

Filed May 20, 2022 · Electrical · WV

While driving, the dashboard goes black. When this happened, I slowed down to stop. After I’m almost stopped, the engine stops and spins the gear shift into park making grinding noise as cars do when they go into park before coming to a complete stop. This has happened twice.

Filed Mar 6, 2019 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · WA

I took my vehicle to mullinax ford of olympia for a squeak during suspension jounce. They traced the problem to a brake line rubbing on the sway bar. They allegedly fixed the issue. On march 5, 2019, I experienced a complete hydraulic failure of the vehicle's brake system. The vehicle was towed to skyline ford in salem, or for repairs and they found a brake line failure due to rubbing the vehicle's sway bar. I believe there is the potential for this to be a widespread issue and am requesting a full investigation due to the volume of ford fusion vehicles on the road and the severity of a brake hydraulic failure. The issue may be confined to "sport" models which may have a larger front sway bar than other fusion models. My vehicle has over 50,000 miles which is abnormally high for a 2017 model year vehicle. As other vehicles of this type acquire the mileage my vehicle has, more may be subject to this type of failure. The sport model was not produced before 2017