jmimac351

Mine did the same thing. It would come and go to varying degrees and it drove me nuts. I had it in one time and the dealer couldn't tell because a few days before it settled a bit. I've noticed that it seems to vary according to the load you have in the car - full of fuel, trunk loaded. Mine does it 100% of the time now. I can only assume that the failure has gotten to the point where it just can't hide through some movement of the component.

By the way, here is one of my other cars that I race and maintain. This ain't my first rodeo with cars.

Grey, normally I would agree with you and that just illustrates how outrageous this issue is. Your guess misses the mark though. If this were just damage related then a TSB would not exist from Ford. The TSB is 06-24-07. Think about that. They know about this issue very well. And I'll tell you what's more - they know it's not just "localized". My car is a 2007. My car was "fixed" the first time when it was over 36,000 miles and supposedly out of warranty. The dealer helped get that done but Ford would only authorized the repair of the subframe not replacement. Ask yourself this: If this were "damage related" why would Ford authorized the out of warranty repair to a vehicle not explicitly covered under the 2006 TSB? It's because they know the issue is pervasive. Furthermore, the failure point on my vehicle isn't even where the TSB is!!! That means there could be multiple bad welds. Don't believe me, look at these pictures. Do you see any bent or broken parts there? How about those control arms - they look pretty straight. This isn't from damage, my friend. It's quite a stretch for you to assume something you can't possibly know. This is a design and / or manufacturing failure. Based on the number of people here indicating an issue this effects a lot of cars. Many Fusion owners aren't even aware of the problem and even fewer seek out an internet forum to investigate something they don't know about. I do agree with you about one thing though - it will be a long wait before Ford does anything, if at all. If anyone from Ford wants to dispute this here in public, be my guest. I've sent links from this forum to Ford so they are seeing this. I will tell you this though. When I first contacted Ford last year about the initial issue the Customer Care center gave me a very dismissive and plain vanilla response. So I got my dealer involved and we got some movement. They said nothing about the NHTSA. It is interesting that they mention the NHTSA now.

Here is the latest response from Ford about my defective subframe. Others experiencing this problem may want to contact Ford as well. I contacted them via their site from this link. I'm not sure whether it will make a difference but it won't hurt, that's for sure. https://secure.ford.com/footer/contact-ford...leServiceIssues +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the front sub frames assembly on your 2007 Ford Fusion SE. We regret the circumstances that prompted you to write us. We recommend that you have the repair completed at a Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealership where the technicians are trained to put your vehicle back into factory specifications, and any Ford covered parts replaced will come with a 12 months/12,000 miles warranty. Your dealership has factory trained technicians, comprehensive service information and specialized equipment to resolve your concerns. Moreover, Ford Motor Company is concerned with the satisfaction of all Ford and Lincoln-Mercury customers. Your feedback is highly valued by all divisions within Ford Motor Company and serves to provide us with insight into areas where we may need improvement. In addition, Ford and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) work together to proactively identify areas of concern through investigation of consumer and dealer feedback. During an investigation Ford co-operates fully with NHTSA. Ford does not speculate on the outcome of any current investigation or future actions. Due to our rigorous safety standards and constant testing, not all issues result in recall or Customer Satisfaction Programs. If a program is announced on a specific component, Ford will notify you by mail. At this time, we suggest you hold on to your original receipts in the event that customer contacts such as yours have been reviewed and Ford Motor Company decides to issue a program related to your vehicle's concern. Your original receipts for the repair will be required for submission to a local Ford dealership in order for you to be eligible for a refund. Sometimes e-mail communication does not allow us to gain additional information that may be helpful in responding to your inquiry. Should you feel that we have not adequately addressed your questions, please feel free to contact us via telephone at (800)392-3673 between the hours of 8am and 5pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing-impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact 1-800-232-5952. Please provide your 10 digit reference number - XXXXXXXXXXX. Sincerely, XXXXX Customer Relationship Center

Mine is a 2007. My car was over the mileage warranty but the dealer worked with me because I've bought several vehicles from them. Ford knows there is an issue. I'd suggest checking to see whether your dealer has someone in charge of customer satisfaction, etc. If they continue to say no then request a meeting with the Ford Field Service Engineer. I was very nice and very persistant. Just because they "can't find anything" doesn't mean something isn't wrong that they don't have to fix. When I got my car "fixed" the first time the service guys confided to me that they were seeing quite a few of these problems. Most people don't understand there is something wrong with their car. They figure it just doesn't steer or ride as well as it used to. Most mechanics can't fathom that the damn subframe is breaking. That "just doesn't happen". That's like a door falling off.

Update... the pictures I posted are of my car and my problem is back with a vengence. I have a friend who is a great mechanic and I think we are going to drop the subframe and weld every damn "weld" on it. If you are experiencing this problem I encourage you to take a few minutes to report the issue to the NHTSA. I am going to print out my pictures and send a package to them. Hopefully it ends up on someone's desk who doesn't have much to do.

Joel, FYI... if they didn't drop the subframe they don't know that all of the welds are ok.

There is no reasonable explanation. I filed a complaint with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and suggest you do the same. I have a friend who is a great mechanic and we are going to try to repair mine. Keep in mind mine was already "fixed" once by Ford. This consisted of welding the failure points to save a few bucks over a new subframe. There could be numerous failure points... Them saving a few bucks there will cost them thousands down the road because I will never buy another car from Ford - and I've owned Fords all my life. I've dealt with the dealer and I have dealt with Ford's "Customer Care". They know this problem exists but they just don't care.

Do you feel a looseness, metal to metal feel in the steering or is it just a sound?

If that were true then I wouldn't have had the problem since the TSB for this issue is for model year 2006 cars and mine is a 2007. I'll give some follow up to this as I had my car back into the place that did the initial work. We had the car up on the lift and I am satisfied that the weld fix they did is holding. The other problem we uncovered was a failed lower motor mount. That was probably damaged due to the flex in the subframe from the initial issue. When you remove the lower engine cover under the vehicle the main lower engine mount is right there at the back of the engine. It attaches in two places and pivots up and down. Wear on it showed that it had failed and the inner sleeve was moving side to side.

Not sure why it's not listed there. I filed a complaint online with the NHTSA last year about this issue. I'm going to mail copies of the pictures, TSB, and an explanation to the NHTSA. I would hope pictures will make a big difference in getting the issue some attention.

The TSB is an advisory to dealers about how to deal with known issues. Every Ford vehicle has TSBs for random things that run from A-Z. It's not a recall, so you can't just walk in and expect the work to be performed. However, if your car is doing what the TSB describes then it will certainly help in your discussion with the dealer. As I described above, my problem has returned. I am not convinced the remedy described in the TSB was actually done to my car. I think they fixed another point that failed and now the weak point described in the TSB has finally failed. I think it became the weak link once the other area was welded.

Attached is the file for TSB 06-24-07. If you look at the TSB you'll see where it indicates reinforcement where the control arms are mounted. If you look at the pictures above you'll see that the repair done to my car was in the corners of the subframe. These subframes are failing at multiple points. That is outrageous and this sort of thing is NEVER supposed to happen. TSB062407.pdf

I think I found the TSB on this website? Can't remember for sure. I have it in .pdf and will scan it in and post the image of it when I get home. When my car was worked on the manager of the repair center said they were seeing a number of these. This was a large auto body outfit where car dealers in the area refer their customers for work. There's no telling how many Fusion owners are riding around with this problem and don't realize why their car doesn't drive like it used to. They probably figure it's just the alignment because that is what is happening, the alignment of the vehicle is changing when the suspension does something dynamic. That's why the car feels like it's wandering. That's also why the ride seems more harsh. The springs and shocks are not able to do their job because of the flex in the chassis due to the cracks. It feels like your shocks are shot when actually it's the chassis flexing too much.

My car is a 2007 and had this problem as well. Had the control arm replace also. The issues is still there. It astounds me that Ford has not resolved this issue. It must be too expensive to get right. Hey, hopefully your subframe doesn't start cracking: http://www.fordfusionforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1499