IllustrationThe chrome trim on the parking brake switch started chipping. The sharp edge drew a drop of blood and small pieces attached to your fingers. Replaced the switch in June 2026
2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 65.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Fusion Hybrid years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
60–25K
425–50K
850–75K
375–100K
3100–150K
3150K+
27 reports with mileage · 32 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
8 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports
Service Brakes complaints
7 reportsI am reporting a serious safety issue with my 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE that affects the braking system and related electronics: 1.The ABS stopped functioning previously. 2.Recently, the car displayed a “Brake Malfunction” warning for the first time, which appears when making sharp turns. 3.The TPMS (tire pressure monitoring sy…
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I am reporting a serious safety issue with my 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE that affects the braking system and related electronics: 1.The ABS stopped functioning previously. 2.Recently, the car displayed a “Brake Malfunction” warning for the first time, which appears when making sharp turns. 3.The TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) stopped working some time ago. These issues are extremely dangerous. The electronic brake booster and ABS module are critical for safe braking, especially in emergency situations. With the ABS and brake assist compromised, the pedal can suddenly become rock hard or soft, stopping distance increases dramatically, and traction control/ABS is unavailable during hard braking. I am concerned this is a systemic issue with the 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE braking system and not isolated to my vehicle. This failure could put drivers, passengers, and others on the road at serious risk. I request that NHTSA investigate this issue for potential recall action to protect the safety of drivers nationwide.
Leaking fluid, etc similar to recall on other 2018 Ford Fusions
Park Break engages on its on when the engine is turned off
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, there was a grinding sound coming from the front brake pads. After shifting into drive, the message "Emergency Brake Failure, Vehicle Shutting Off" was displayed and the vehicle turned off. After restart…
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The contact owns a 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, there was a grinding sound coming from the front brake pads. After shifting into drive, the message "Emergency Brake Failure, Vehicle Shutting Off" was displayed and the vehicle turned off. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 180,000.
I was able to replicate the first issue once, second issue happens more frequently: Braking system not grabbing on as hard as they should and abs did not activate. car also seems to lunge forward sometimes when slowing down, most noticeable when preparing to turn. Took the car to get inspected at a Ford Dealership, they claim …
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I was able to replicate the first issue once, second issue happens more frequently: Braking system not grabbing on as hard as they should and abs did not activate. car also seems to lunge forward sometimes when slowing down, most noticeable when preparing to turn. Took the car to get inspected at a Ford Dealership, they claim to no be able to replicate the issue. I've also opened up a case with Ford Motor Co.
I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK THROUGH A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT AND WAS SLOWING TO MAKE TURNS, I EXPERIENCED A HORRIBLE SCREECHING NOISE THAT WAS COMING FROM WHAT SOUNDED LIKE THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL AREA. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE SCREECHING OF METAL ON METAL. I FOUND A SAFE LOCATION AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGH…
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I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK THROUGH A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT AND WAS SLOWING TO MAKE TURNS, I EXPERIENCED A HORRIBLE SCREECHING NOISE THAT WAS COMING FROM WHAT SOUNDED LIKE THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL AREA. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE SCREECHING OF METAL ON METAL. I FOUND A SAFE LOCATION AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. THE ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN WHILE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON THE BACK OF HIS FLATBED AND AGAIN APPEARED TO CORRELATE TO USE OF THE BRAKE WHILE DRIVING IT UP THE INCLINED FLAT-BED.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
RQ22004 · Front Brake Jounce Hose Failures
Opened Aug 8, 2022 · Closed Mar 24, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
On August 8, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 50 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging front brake jounce hose ruptures on model year (MY) 2013-2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. A ruptured front brake hose results in a brake fluid leak. As a result, the driver may experience an increase in pedal travel and a reduction in the rate of deceleration, increasing the risk of a crash. It should be noted that the subject vehicles identified fell outside the scope of NHTSA Safety Recall 20V-469, which addressed front brake hoses rupturing on certain MY 2015-2018 Ford Edge and 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX vehicles. The result causes a brake fluid leak, lengthening the distance needing to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.On March 10, 2023, Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted to NHTSA Safety Recall 23V-162 (Ford Recall 23S12) to address front brake jounce hoses that may rupture. Ford found the rupture occurs from a localized failure of the internal reinforcement braid due to cyclic fatigue through tensile/bending and torsional inputs during suspension and steering articulations. The supplier for the front brake jounce hoses is Hitachi. This recall affects the subject vehicles equipped with non-hybrid engines and the suspect front brake jounce hoses (a total of 1,280,726 vehicles). The recall covers subject vehicles built from February 3, 2012 to July 19, 2017 when the suspect hoses were used in vehicle production. The remedy is for dealerships to replace both front brake jounce hoses with new hoses that have a revised braid material at no cost. The vehicles equipped with hybrid engines are excluded from the recall because the internal hose pressure is much lower due to the regenerative braking provided by the hybrid brake system. No failures of brake hoses on hybrid vehicles have been reported to ODI or Ford.Ford's actions address ODIs concerns at this time. Hybrid vehicles will be monitored for related failures. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by new circumstances.The 103 ODI numbers cited above can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under the following ID numbers:11511014, 11510867, 11510318, 11509030, 11505993, 11504989, 11504400, 11502147, 11502082, 11501820, 11501283, 11498439, 11498296, 11496842, 11496335, 11494931, 11494851, 11494252, 11493001, 11492084, 11492070, 11491444, 11491274, 11488858, 11488027, 11487627, 11487416, 11487233, 11486150, 11484924, 11484526, 11484080, 11483948, 11483926, 11483739, 11483723, 11482773, 11482690, 11481077, 11480788, 11480294, 11480052, 11479338, 11479334, 11479252, 11479247, 11479187, 11479094, 11479048, 11478985, 11478953, 11478729, 11478216, 11476892, 11476282, 11470558, 11468994, 11467109, 11466294, 11462746, 11461217, 11456065, 11455367, 11444848, 11436419, 11436376, 11430685, 11428329, 11425083, 11421026, 11420738, 11420735, 11420298, 11418197, 11403926, 11397549, 11366991, 11366757, 11361016, 11359968, 11354569, 11352165, 11350344, 11348799, 11343929, 11343205, 11331947, 11329020, 11319596, 11310529, 11292271, 11288455, 11254787, 11253479, 11253244, 11234622, 11230669, 11230050, 11228240, 11221111, 11143630, 11129392 and 11120228.