Sell your Ford Fusion in Tulsa

Ford Fusion problems by model year

NHTSA, the federal highway safety agency, publishes the complaints owners file, by model year and by the part involved. A complaint is one owner's report, not a proven defect, and a year that sold more cars collects more of them. The counts are what NHTSA lists under the name Fusion as of September 2026; its file stops at the 2020 model year.

• 2012: 2,616 complaints, 1,511 of them naming the steering. Most describe the power assist cutting out, leaving a wheel that is hard to turn.
• 2013 and 2014: 1,956 and 1,429 complaints. Steering leads both, with the engine and power train next.
• 2015 to 2019: the engine is named most every year, peaking at 462 of 1,703 complaints on the 2016. The 2016 and 2017 also carry more than 300 power train reports each.
• 2020: 182 complaints, with the power train on top.

Most of the engine reports on 2015 to 2019 cars mention coolant. Owners describe the level dropping with no leak in sight, a misfire on one cylinder, overheating and white smoke at startup. They call it coolant intrusion, several name the 1.5-liter EcoBoost, and a good number were told the engine had to be replaced.

Source: NHTSA complaints, 2012 Fusion; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020.

Ford Fusion transmission problems and the shifter bushing

The power train is named on more than 300 complaints for each of the 2013, 2016 and 2017 model years, and many point to one part: the bushing that clips the shift cable to the transmission. When it wears through or falls off, the lever moves but the transmission doesn't, so the car rolls with the lever in Park or sticks in drive, reverse or Park. Owners of later cars also report a SHIFT SYS FAULT message. Others describe jerky shifts, or engine speed climbing as the car loses drive on the highway.

Three recalls cover that bushing, all on 2013 to 2016 cars. The 2018 summary warns that a failed one "could allow the driver to move the shift lever to Park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in Park". Owners of 2017 to 2020 cars report the same failure, but NHTSA lists no bushing recall for those years. The 2017 has one drivetrain recall, for torque converters on cars with the 2.0-liter gas engine, which can leave the car unable to move. See selling a car with a bad transmission.

Source: NHTSA recalls, 2013 Fusion; 2017 recalls; 2018 recalls; 2020 recalls; NHTSA complaints, 2013 Fusion; 2016 complaints; 2017 complaints; 2020 complaints.

Recalls worth clearing on a Tulsa Fusion

Run your VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup, since a recall seldom covers every car of a year. Beyond the shifter recalls:

• 2012: two air bag inflator recalls; the passenger-side one lists Oklahoma and tells owners not to drive the car until it's repaired. On cars without the 3.5-liter engine, a steering recall replaces the steering gear if its module has logged a loss of assist.
• 2014 to 2016, door latches: the recall names Oklahoma among its states, and its summary says "A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch". Dealers replace the latches.
• 2013 to 2018: front brake hoses, which the 2023 notice says "may rupture and leak brake fluid". Dealers replace them.
• 2013 to 2016, steering motor bolts: two corrosion recalls cover only cars first sold or now registered in the states they list, Missouri included but not Oklahoma.
• 2019 and 2020 Energi plug-in: a battery control module recall whose notice reads "Owners are advised not to charge their vehicles until the remedy is completed." The fix is a new battery and software, or a buyback by Ford.

Under 49 U.S.C. 30120 the maker must remedy a recall defect without charge, unless the car's first buyer bought it more than 15 calendar years before the recall notice. The clock stops at the notice, not today, and every recall on this page was announced inside that limit. On a 2012, though, a recall announced from about 2026 or 2027 on may fall outside it.

Source: NHTSA recalls, 2012 Fusion; 2014; 2016; 2019; 49 U.S.C. 30120 (Cornell LII).

When no recall covers it: repair or sell as is

Clear any open recall before you list the car; it costs you nothing, and a buyer running the VIN will see it. The costly Fusion faults sit outside every recall: coolant in the engine on 2015 to 2019 cars, a failed shifter bushing on 2017 to 2020 cars, and lost steering assist on a 2012 the recall missed. Many 2012 owners say the dealer told them their car wasn't covered.

Get the diagnosis and quote in writing, and set the quote beside an offer for the car as it sits. If the repair would eat most of what the car is worth running, selling it as is usually makes more sense. The engine problems guide and repair-or-sell worksheet help. If you sell with the fault, name it, hand over the shop's findings and note it on the bill of sale.

Source: NHTSA complaints, 2012 Fusion; 2016; 2017; 2019.

What a buyer weighs on a used Fusion

No dollar figure appears here; only an offer on your car can give one. What moves it:

• Engine health. On a 2015 to 2019, whether the coolant level holds and any misfire code.
• Shifting. Every gear engages and it holds Park; on a 2013 to 2016, the bushing recalls are done.
• Version. Gas, Hybrid or Energi. On a 2019 or 2020 Energi, the battery recall status comes first.
• Miles and title. The exact odometer reading, and a clean title in your name. A salvage or rebuilt brand, or a loan still on it, changes who can buy it.
• Condition. Dents, hail damage, cracked glass and warning lights.

Where to sell a Fusion in Tulsa, and the Oklahoma paperwork

Call (539) 271-2021 or use the sell-it-to-us form with the year, miles, version and what's wrong. Some Fusions we buy ourselves, from any corner of Tulsa, paying by check. A Fusion with no title or no keys still gets a look, though not every one is a car we buy, and we'll say so if yours isn't.

Our partner Peddle is the other route. Its site describes a free, no-obligation offer online, says Peddle arranges and covers the pickup, and states that at pickup "Peddle issues payment immediately by check." Peddle's list of papers is the title, the registration and a driver's license or other ID. This site earns a referral fee on sales through that route; the cash for cars page weighs one against the other.

To transfer a car titled in Oklahoma, Service Oklahoma wants the title properly assigned and notarized, plus a lien release for any lien still active. Every Fusion on this page is a 2011 or newer model, so the sale also needs an odometer disclosure, usually built into the title's assignment; Form 729 covers it when it isn't. The paperwork guide has each step. Ford Motor Company and its dealers had no part in this page, and we have no business tie to them.

Source: Peddle, the partner's sell-my-car page; Service Oklahoma, title transfer and odometer rules.

Start with a call or the partner offer

Have the VIN, the mileage and a line on what's wrong in front of you, then call (539) 271-2021 or use the form. If we can buy your Fusion, we'll make you an offer, and we pay by check. If we can't, request the partner's offer; it costs nothing to ask for and you're free to say no.