snowshovel

Finally, my case settled down. Ford bought my fusion back. It's a lose-lose game for both parties, except for my attorney. I'm still very happy as I don't need to listen to a noise... maybe... for years... AND, I won't go for fusion again for sure unless FORD gets this problem fixed...

"FP - Number" is "9E5Z-6006-E" on my invoice for the "service engine". I don't know if this number is part of the engine serial no. I asked where the new engine is from. Nobody can answer my question. I was directed to the parts dept. to get the orig. shipping address. Too many people were waiting at the moment for the representative. So I left w/o an answer. :-(

Before the engine replacement, I discussed the issue with Ford field engineer over phone. He told me clearly that the problem got solved after head OR engine replacement for many people. If the head replacement was not successful, FORD would try to replace the whole engine. However, he was not sure my problem was from head or engine at the moment. So, he suggested to replace the whole engine. And, most important, he did mention that there are some cases he knew that were not successful even after the whole engine replacement. So, I don't think my case is sporadic.

After a long vacation and a long wait for the new engine to come in, I picked up my Fusion today w/ a new engine installed. And, on the way home, I heard the "beautiful" sound again. Just left a voice mail for SM, don't know how FORD will respond though. Mysterious problem... :-)

I don't check it out yet. The field engineer and dealer service tech could duplicate the noise two days after the "drain-n-refill". Now, I was told the entrapped air is from engine, either from the head or the engine block. Anyway, the field engineer suggested to get the engine replaced...

A quick update. The new "drain-n-refill" procedure was NOT successful on my fusion...

Shame on Ford! I complained the "sloshing" noise to them and only was told to wait for a solution. Then, I told them I had to file a lemon law claim. Then, right away, Ford informed me one engineer will come to check my car! I do hope the engineer from Ford can bring a solution this time. Personally, I don't want claim my car as a "lemon". However, I really have no patience now. So, my appointment two weeks away from now is the final opportunity for Ford. I'll keep you guys posted.

Just read your post. You should post the info earlier. :-) Thank you very much for your contribution!

MRFFH, In order to get Ford's address to file lemon law claim, I contacted Ford customer relationship center last week. The gentlemen who picked up the phone is very polite. I told him what happened on my car. He said that he would mail me a package and let Ford know this. Today, I receive a package from "BBB Auto Line". May I know if this is what you called the "Papers to begin the buyback process"? If the answer is yes, you may check your state lemon law first because I found the reduced award formula from BBB gets a higher number than the one from my state lemon law, especially when you have a relative high mileage on your fusion. Just FYI. I'm still a rookie on the claim. Maybe I need an attorney. Good luck! Snowshovel

What makes you believe this will not cause mechanical damage, especially, in the long run, at this moment. No offense, just curious.

You're absolutely right. The SM informed me the same thing. That's the response from FORD. So, nothing to do but waiting...

I'd like to know the answer, too. It should be easy. I need a few more folks to call their dealers to confirm if there are any TSB out for the sloshing noise. My case has been forwarded to the service manager of my dealership. I was informed that the service manager is trying to contact FORD for a solution. Then, they will give me a call back. I'll let you guys know what will happen.

Just picked up my car today. They did another purge on my car and I heard the noise on the way home... I asked and confirmed that no any TSB out from Ford on this concern when I made my 3rd appointment. And, below is from my receipt, "Customer states: sloshing noise from engine area (see history). more in AM colder temps. Verified concern. Slight sloshing sound. Like trapped air in system. Read previous history. Ran Oasis No TSBS or SSMS. Performed cooling system bleading procedure as instructed by hotline from previous issue. Let vehicle come up to operating temp. Let sit for several hours to cool down. Jacked up for one end and ran at 2500rpm for 10 mins with heater on full hot. Let cool down. retest good." Please note it clearly stated "no TSBS or SSMS". One thing I'm sure is Ford will definitely have more patience if we can keep our patience. PERIOD.

I didn't hear any noise when the temp. was above 80. When temp was around 70, yes, I also heard it from time to time, but not every stop-n-go.

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation. Personally, I never file a lemon law claim. So, last question, do you have any idea how to find a good lawyer to help me? Many thanks.

Mark, No noise on my car when temp was above 80's here in MA last week. However, from yesterday, the temp. here is in the middle 30's at night, the noise came back in the morning. I called and made another appointment which is on next Wen. I hope the temp won't hit 80's again. So, I would be able to collect the 3rd document to get rid of the "good looking ONLY" fusion. I know some folks here enjoy their fusions very much. In my case, it's a totally different story! I'll keep you guys posted. Snowshovel

Just an update. The sloshing sound on my car decreases gradually when the outside temp. gets higher and higher. It's totally gone from last week! I don't think the problem was solved by my dealership. I heard the noise 2 days after the service. However, the noise got lower and not repeatable when spring is coming. I had to get my third appointment cancelled and wait for another winter. Now, I just started enjoying my fusion after owning it two-month. But, if ford cannot fixe it later. I'll definitely go for state lemon law or trade in...

JKing, If I were you, I would choose to wait. As what I know, many dealerships have known the issue now. And, they're sharing the experience how to fix it NOW. Every car with this beautiful sound will be purged (sure, the mileage will not change. It's brand new for you) and that procedure will get rid of the sound a few days. No possible way for you to hear the noise by test driving it. And, you can count how many folks here heard the noise after months of driving. If you're lucky enough or have a lot of time to kill, go ahead to pull the trigger. If you need to work Mon-Fri. and have a family to take care as well, trust me, stay away from Fusion I-4 at least. I have another Ford vehicle at home that is very nice. But, for fusion, sorry. If Ford can take it back and refund me the money, I won't mind to vote it as the "car of the year".

I just received a copy of my car's 2nd purge paperwork. Nothing new. Exact the same procedure as the 1st purge process. So, seems Ford haven't provide any new "fix" method yet. Before the 1st purge, the noise on my car is very loud. I could hear it even I tuned the radio to a very loud level. After the 1st purge, I would say it's much better although I could hear it every stop-n-go either on braking and accelerating. But, I need to turn the radio off to hear it. Now, after the 2nd purge, the noise is even lower and not always any more. It's pretty warm here in the last two days. Every morning, I heard the noise a few times when I drove to work. Then, the car sat in parking lot under direct sunshine for the whole day. After work, I had to wait a second before getting in the car becuase it's tooo warm inside. Then, I only heard a couple of times very little, almost nothing, gurgling. May I say the temperature did affect the noise level at least? If engine is the air source, the sound should be louder if we drive more. However, this is not true from this board discussion. And, the noise always returned to my car after 2-day stay (weekend) in garageafter both purges. So, I guess the air should be trapped gradually from some very small leakage. I'm afraid that the designed cooling water pressure is too high for the pipeline system. And, this in turn causes very small crevices around the clamps in the pipeline system where air can find way in when the engine is not on. Because our cars are pretty new and the leakage is so slow, the leakage is not noticeable right now. Dennis's problem was gone maybe because the tech tightened all the clamps enough when installing the new enigne. Just my guess, though. I'll wait the noise gets louder and often to make my 3rd arrangement...

Sorry. just read your post. I've been driving my car for around 2 days after the 2nd purge. This afternoon, I heard a little waterfall sound again although it's very little. So, you don't need to know where the bleed cap/screw is. I'm pretty sure the noise will get louder and louder based on my experience after the 1st purge. Now, I've collected 2 docs (the 2nd one is still on the way). I'll go for state lemon law once I have 4 at hands for sure (state only needs 3). Really sick of the car now. Although it looks good, not worth the hassel!

I got my car back today. And, my car got another purge again. I talked to the gentleman who worked on my car. He told me that he tested my coolant water when the engine was both in cold and hot condition. There was NO comubstion gas in the system. Seems he was pretty sure about this. He also mentioned that he searched online to see how other dealers handled the problem a few days ago because of some other cars w/ the same problem sitting there. One dealer indicated that the bleed cap (or bleed screw, maybe the name is wrong. anyway, something like this) was not tightened properly. He checked my bleed cap and did find some moisture there. So, he did the purge process again, and then tightened the bleed cap. He claimed he did the same thing for some other fusions. So far, no customer got back to him yet. He was so busy. No time to make me a copy of the repair receipt. They will mail me a copy later. I'll keep watching the noise to see if the noise will get back like last time, and keep you guys informed. Hopefully, the loose bleed cap is the root cause. Then, everybody here will be relaxed.

Wow, this thread is growing so fast... I dropped off my fusion and got a loaner car 6pm yesterday. I did mention what's going on here. However, dealer only wanted to follow the official procedure from Ford. It makes sense. I don't know what they're going to do on my car. So far, I don't receive any call from them yet. This is the 2nd time for me to leave my car overnight there. Last time, I got a Focus. This time, I got a fusion to drive. The loaner car has a 4-cyl engine. Guess what? I heard the beautiful sound on the loaner car, too! So, here is one more VIN contribution. VIN: 3FAHP0HA1AR110073. Build date: 03/09. Since my car was built on Jan. 2010. I really believe this is a wide-spread problem for 2.5L fusion owners. I did ask my dealership service dept. if they have received the same complains. My dealership is pretty honest. The answer is YES! But, they hinted that I'm the one of only a few people, if not the ONLY one, to ask for a fix. Dennis is a lucky guy if the engine is the root cause. Ford engineers might be discussing a cost reduction repair procedure right now. :-) For rest of us, maybe, we only can get the engine block replaced. I'll keep you guys posted once I get my car back.

My VIN: 3FAHP0GA6AR295285 Build date: 01/10 I've made an appointment with my dealership service dept. The earliest date for an available loaner car is next Monday. So, next Monday, I'll drop off my car again for a 2nd try. I'll keep you guys informed. Maybe I'm the only guy in my state who hope the weather is cold...

Dennis, Thank you so much for your kind reply. I'll let my dealer service dept know the suggestions from you. I don't know what they're going to do. Anyway, I'll contact them for an appointment that probably will be next Tue. or Wen as I'll be out of town until then. I've visited my dealership twice. One trip was for a check only and second trip was to drop off the car for the purge effort and got a loaner car. I never thought I would spend a lot of time on a brand new vehicle. Hope your car will be fine after the new engine installation. Finger crossed. Thanks again. Snowshovel

For the sloshing noise, maybe you're right although nobody is sure what's the final root cause and if the problem will damage the engine at this moment. As some folks and I got the noise back again after the purge procedure and the sloshing noise really sounds like from air entrapped in the coolant (not from cavitation), the air should be entrapped either from the coolant circuit or from the engine. I hope the engine block is the source because it only indicates that the problem is from a manufacture failure, not from a design defect which most likely will never be released to customer by many ways to bypass it. So, extended warranty always gives us a peace of mind, especially when the vehicle we bought are pretty new. Maybe I'm a hard guy to deal with and you're not.