Two problems related to manual transmission floor shifter have been reported for the 2016 Ford Fusion. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2016 Ford Fusion based on all problems reported for the 2016 Fusion.
2016 Fusion was in park turned off, started as normal, put it in r to back out of a parking spot, pressed break pedal to shift into d but my vehicle got stuck in r then shut off on its own. Put my shifter in p but the light on my dash still reflected that it was in r throwing the error message "transmission not in park", along with other random error msgs, exp: stabilitrac, traction control, advancetrac, engine hot (it was not),put transmission in p to start/stop, etc. My backup camera was stuck in reverse camera mode being the tranny is stuck in reverse. Ebrake worked fine so I engaged that to keep car from rolling. I removed the center counsel, cupholder and shift casings to try the red manuel shift lever that is under the shift mechanism to make sure it was in fact I'm park, it was. Tried starting it while in the neutral position- nothing. Thought maybe it was the "brain" so I disconnected battery, let sit for 20min to clear out and reset- nothing. Researched online for a minute found quickly other 2016 Fusion owners having the same problem and it being the recall of the: power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: floor shift. Ford motor company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Fusion vehicles equipped with 2. 5 liter engines. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission may not be in park. My husband replaced the #1 bushing and that fixed it. You need a clamp/press to correctly lock it in place so I had to drive home with it showing in park yet in drive, keeping it in drive not using reverse or park until I got to my destination to install correctly. Clearly recall warranted but not showing for my VIN when searched.
On 05/24/19 I got in my car as I was leaving my work, it would not start and kept giving me a message that the transmission was not on park. I released the handbrake and the car simply rolled back. After seeing that the shifter didn't work we searched on google and found that the shifter cable has a plastic bushing that breaks and renders the shifter useless. It is a common problem in the Fusion and there are many videos showing how to fix it. We went to o'reilly and bought a universal bushing kit. After 2 hours we finally fixed the car. It happened again on 06/02/19 which led me to search more about the problem and found this: recall number 18v471000 recall date 07/16/2018 power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:floor shift summary Ford motor company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Ford escape,and 2013-2016 Ford Fusion vehicles equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions. The bushing that attaches the transmission shifter cable to the transmission may degrade over time and cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. The condition could allow the driver to move the shift lever to park and remove the ignition key,while the transmission may not be in park, with no warning message or audible chime. Consequence if the vehicle is exited without the transmission being in park and without the parking brake being applied,the vehicle may unexpectedly move, increasing the risk of a crash. What owners should do Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing, free of charge. The recall began September 20, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18s20. Note: owners are directed to use the parking brake until the recall remedy repairs can be made. This is exactly what my car has and after calling Ford they say my car in not part of this recall and can't help me.