bikrcoy

Update: I did buy a used EMTC from E-Bay (about $50) and installed the part last week. So far everything is working great!

I started having this same problem on my 2010 Fusion in early summer. During that time I just unplugged the connection to the Blend Door Actuator when the actuator was in the off position so that only cool vent air would blow. The AC would work fine since the Blend Door was always in the off position, so I know it is not an AC problem. Last week I started to troubleshoot this problem again since I will soon need warm vent air. I installed a new Blend Door Actuator, but the problem still exists whether the AC is on or off. The Actuator will work fine for a while but will eventually move all the way to the full heat position on its own. It does this intermittently but will return to normal after my car was been turned off for a while. I checked the connections the best I could, but the connections seem fine. At this point I believe the problem probably exists with the Electronic Manual Temperature Control (EMTC). I have not brought my Fusion to the dealer, but at this point I have no other option. But I may just put the Blend Door to the middle position and unplug it again. The air coming out of the vents will be moderately warm for the upcoming cooler weather, and I can just turn the system off on a warm day.

IT'S BACK!!!!...the sloshing sound that is. I bought this I4 Fusion in November of 2009 (build date of Oct. 09) and had the sloshing sound from day one. But the sound went away completely this past summer. No sounds what so ever. Nothing in June, July, or August until this morning. Nights have been in the 50's. Dang it!!!

The temperature has been in the 60's here the last several days. There is now only a faint hint of the sloshing sound...about 95% less than a couple of weeks ago. So, temperature does has an effect on this situation. BTW...where is the "bleed cap/screw" located on the 4- cylinder Fusion?

I’m still subscribing to the cavitation/turbulence idea. Is it possible that the concentration of anti-freeze in the 2010 just doesn’t work well with the new heater core orientation? No heater core is going to have laminar flow, so it could be possible that at certain operating temperatures (which could affect the viscosity of the anti-freeze) this new design just sets up a situation where gurgling noise is going to be heard. My Fusion gurgled all of December, January, & February, but the noise has subsided somewhat recently as the temps in my area have climbed. Also, if my Fusion is putting air into the cooling liquid then where is the displaced water going? It’s not going out the tailpipe as far as I can tell, and it’s not going into the overflow recovery system, so I don’t believe there is air in the liquid. A lot of mechanical items will have certain resonant frequencies in which vibrations will happen. Motors, pumps, place wings, and other masses will sometimes do crazy things at certain frequencies and speeds of motion. Above or below these frequencies/speeds the vibrations are fine. I believe this is why the sloshing sound happens at acceleration in our Fusions but not at normal RPMs or at high RPMs. Flushing and filling the cooling system twice (as a previous poster has described as their dealer’s method of curing his problem) might seem to suggest that there's a problem with the concentration of the anti-freeze in the new Fusions. Oh, well. it’s Sunday and my mind is just rambling on. BTW…I still really love my new Fusion. I trust Ford will get to the bottom of this situation. Take care, Coy

Dennis, Here's my VIN: 3FAHP0HA3AR205038 This thread is better than any murder/mystery I've read lately. Coy

I'm sure that Ford HOPES the problem is with the engine block, otherwise this means that the whole coolant system design is FUBAR. It will be a lot easier for Ford to replace engines than to recall a complete line of automobiles. I'm going to take a week of annual leave next month and get my "waterfall" Fusion to the dealer then. I REALLY appreciate all the work and concern of the posters in this thread...especially Dennis. The type of communication in this thread is what the internet should be about. Coy

Just another brainstorming idea here...I wonder if what we are hearing is cavitation of the water in the heater core instead of the sloshing around of big air bubbles? Is it possible that the draw-demand on the output of the core is higher than can be delivered to the input of the core? As the car warms up and the thermostat starts to open, the flow in the heater core may slow down resulting in less cavitation (because of slower flow). I know this sounds like a long shot, but that's what this great forum is for. :-) BTW...I've taken my Fusion on a couple of 500 mile trips and the sloshing sound is no better. Also, it doesn't seem like the "burping" procedure is working either.

Another interesting thing I've noticed: OK...let's assume that the noise is coming from the heater core. Doesn't it seem likely that if you turn off the heat that there should be no water flowing through the heater core, and if there is no water flow then there should be no sloshing sound? The sloshing sound in my Fusion doesn't change whether I have the heat control turned completely on or if I have the heat control turned completely off. This doesn't seem right especially if the sloshing sound is caused by water flow. What's going on here?

OK...this morning I started my car in the garage where the temperature was 42 degrees. I let the car idle for 10 minutes until the temp gauge showed a completely "warmed-up" engine. I then drove off as usual. There was no difference in the sloshing sound. Now that I am focusing on the "waterfall" sound I'm realizing that the sound is really there all the time, even after a 20 minute drive on the highway. So, I guess once air is trapped in the heater core it is going to stay there! That's actually probably OK since we don't really want the air-bubble to move...unless, of course, it moves out of the system.

My VIN is 205038 and I'm getting the sloshing as noted in my previous posts. Lately, I've been noticing the sloshing more. I've decided to give the radio a rest and just focus on the "waterfall" for a while. One thing that I didn't notice before is that I can definitely hear the sloshing sound at park. I thought that I had to be accelerating in drive to hear the problem. Tomorrow morning I'm going to start the car and let it idle for about 10 minutes before I drive away. I want to hear if the sloshing is there after the engine is completely warmed up. It's been noted that the sloshing sound occurs when the temperature is below 50 degrees. Let's keep this thread going!

I just took the Fusion for a quick test. Same waterfall sound after backing out of the garage and doing the initial acceleration. I drove the car for about 15 minutes and parked it at the city park for about 40 minutes (enough for a brisk walk in 34 degree weather). After only 40 minutes the Fusion made the same waterfall sound at the initial acceleration. The sound is definitely coming from the heater core area. The sound is up high behind the glove box. I don't really think it is a transmission sound or a water pump noise. The sound is up higher than the transmission and I believe if the problem was in the water pump we'd hear the sound on acceleration at park and I've never heard the sound at park. Mystery, huh?

Hello folks...new member here. I just found this forum after I Googled "Ford Fusion Sloshing Sound". My Fusion is only 3 months old with 2,500 miles. It's the 4 cylinder SE model with automatic transmission. I too am having the sloshing sound immediately on start-up after I put the car in forward. Normally, the car is parked overnight in a heated garage. In the morning the car is started, put in reverse, backed out into the street and put in forward. (Yep...just the normal stuff) The sloshing ONLY happens when the initial forward surge happens. Their is a stop sign 500 feet from my house and the sound is completely gone by the time I accelerate from this stop sign. The sloshing sound only happens once after sitting overnight. I'll be bringing the Fusion to the dealer in a week or so and I'll have some information (thanks to this forum) on this problem. Thanks for all the input to this topic.