EXTREMELY low mileage Fusions. What to make of them?

[Bobo]

I've seen several very low mileage 2010 hybrid fusions online. Will the LACK of use over the years cause any problems with the batteries? A couple of these cars have south of 20k miles on them and look cherry for less than 10k. Just thought I'd ask before snagging one of them. I've been looking at these and the escapes (and the volts honestly). The price on these though is pretty good. And frankly, the fact that they are using these motors in NYC taxis kinda says a lot.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Bobo

[lolder]

It's important that they haven't sat months without use. If a high voltage battery slowly goes dead over many months it damages them. If there are no DTCs or other warning lights it's probably OK. The only weak point is the 12 vdc OEM batteries. When strange things happen the first thing to do is usually replace the 12 vdc battery no matter how it tests. They are good cars. There were some TSB's; 10-15-5, 10-17-5, and a "Customer Satisfaction" item 10B 13 that should be done if required by the manufacture date. A Ford dealer is about the only place to verify them. They are software only and take about 15 minutes. Since it's past warranty they'll probably charge you. Only about 70,000 of the 2010-12 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury ( F L M ) hybrid sedans were made and they don't have many problems so dealers may be unfamiliar with them. If you know someone who owns a 2010-12 F L M hybrid ( they're all the same ) have him test drive it. It takes a long time to understand what it's doing. You don't need to know that to drive it, however reading all the manuals is very informative.

[Bobo]

I've watched some videos on how to drive them. Watched a video the other day where a guy was taking his out 'hypermiling', and he pointed out techniques that he used to really extend the mileage as much as possible. Interesting, and yes, very cool that it's THERE to utilize and maximize, but a person can also just get in and drive without needing to know how to use it right away. I like that idea. Six months ago, I didn't know about these Ford hybrids, and now they're one of the top choices on my list. I like the idea of one of these super-low-mileage Fusions for less than 10 grand, but there's also an 06 Escape for like 8 grand that only has 50k on it right around the corner. It's really nice having a way to haul something when you need to! This car is gonna be replacing a Focus wagon which is being totalled WAY too early. It's an 05 but only has 100k miles on it. Anyway, insurance is giving me 4500 on it and I figure I'd finally pull the trigger on a domestic electric/hybrid. Will be nice giving the finger to the gas stations for a change.

[mwr]

a person can also just get in and drive without needing to know how to use it right away..

You can also continue to drive it that way :-) I do that, except for braking differently, because I like to drive how I want to, not how this car might get a bit more mpg.

[lolder]

The Escape hybrid is an earlier generation hybrid and not as reliable as the Fusion nor does it get near the mpg. The Fusion is much more refined so really consider how often you really need that small SUV.

[jeff_h]

The Escape hybrid is an earlier generation hybrid and not as reliable as the Fusion nor does it get near the mpg. The Fusion is much more refined so really consider how often you really need that small SUV.

 

We had a 2006 Escape Hybrid, it ran fine (we had it for 66k miles) and my wife drove it 99% of the time - she would average about 26-28MPG and I would average about 30-33MPG (I try to drive smoothly for the best MPG), so if you want something with the better MPG then the Escape is not the way to go, but if you want a good small SUV there ya go.

 

I still see my 2010 Fusion Hybrid every couple months when I change the oil on it, I owned it for the first 145k miles and it's now owned by my wife's best friend, it now has 262k miles and still runs fine. The dealer offered the software updates mentioned in an early post but wanted $100 for each of them, I said no thanks the car is running well and so I didn't see a need to spend the $200 - that was 120k miles ago.

 

So I agree with lolder, I would take a test drive and see how you like it and make sure there are no warning lights showing and maybe go over to Autozone and borrow their ODB reader and see if they can check for active or stored codes (I don't know if their readers can check for these or not but worth a try). I would also check the 12V battery and see if it looks like the original battery (maybe there's a date stamp somewhere) and if so then it's probably a good idea to replace it on your timeline rather than have it go kaput when it's not on your timeline.

 

Good luck!

[lolder]

The "Customer Satisfaction" 10B 13 fixed a temporary loss of computer braking that even a Consumer Reports tester felt was a complete loss of braking. It was not but you have to push more than an inch further down to get power mechanical braking. The other TSBs correct software glitches one of which resets the instrument panel display to the default. The problems were corrected later in the model year so you have to have Ford check to see if they are needed. The 10B 13 should be done.

 

Try to make sure these cars weren't flooded as over a million cars have been this year.

Edited November 24, 2017 by lolder

[retka]

For what it's worth, last year I purchased my 2011 FFH with around 13K miles from a family friend. It was an "old person car" that just didn't receive much driving. I had my mechanic do a once-over before purchase and the car came back clean, and over the past year have put over 10K miles on it without a hiccup. If you can get an 2010-2012 with below 30k miles for under $10K and the car is clean and without accidents, it's likely a deal.

 

I currently get around 40 mpg highway, and 35 city (lots of hills) and haven't had to do any major maintenance. I would buy the car again given the chance in my situation as it's been good to me so far. Can't beat a fully-loaded sedan with 2x the mpg of my old car for under $10k.