Automatic Transmission Gear Indicator Problems of Ford Fusion

The shifter cable bushing failed after being replaced under recall 7 years ago. When leaving a parking spot and trying to shift into drive my shift lever started to move freely and my digital prndl display was all white letters (usually the selected gear is lit up orange). No warnings displayed on my dash. I sensed something was wrong so I applied the parking brake and shut off the engine. I’m thankful this happened when I was leaving a parking spot and not when I was parking my car and getting out (potentially causing the car to roll away with my kids running behind the car on my hilly driveway). This is a known problem that Ford has issued multiple recalls for in the past. My car was covered by one early recall in 2018 (I will upload the carfax service history showing date and mileage of 2018 recall repair). An orange plastic shifter bushing was installed under recall in 2018. This bushing disintegrated eventually, leading to the problem I experienced a few days ago. I will upload pictures of the orange plastic debris scattered on top of my transmission. (these pictures include a temporary repair that was made after the failure occurred- shifter was reattached with zip ties in order to reposition the vehicle for service). Ford has since developed updated repair parts (a yellow plastic bushing and a plastic cover to keep contaminants off the bushing) for later recalls that affected different trims/configurations of the Fusion. I had to go to the dealer and buy those updated parts myself, which I installed so that I could continue driving my car to work (I will include pictures of repairs). I feel like Ford should be upgrading the earlier recalled vehicles with these latest and greatest parts. My car was fixed under recall and then experienced the very failure the recall was supposed to address. My car has about 245,000 miles on it. The initial recall repair was performed at about 88,000 miles. After about 7 years and 156,000 miles the recall repair failed.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Fusion 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving and attempting to make a right turn, the parking brake activated causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. The contact turned off then restarted the vehicle. Approximately 3 miles later while driving, the failure reoccurred. The odometer lights began flickering, the gear shift indicator (prndl) light started to change, the location of the gear shifter started to switch gears, and the radio malfunctioned. The shift sensor malfunction and fault warning lights were illuminated. The failure occurred a total of 5 times. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who reset the vehicle to remove of all the codes however, the failure reoccurred. The contact scheduled an appointment with the dealer however, the vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 38,750.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Fusion 🔎.