Ford recalls 550K Fusion, Escape vehicles for transmission problems

A 2014 Ford Escape sits in the showroom at a dealership on November 26, 2013 in Niles, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Ford announced a recall of 550,000 Fusion and Escape vehicles to replace shifter cable bushings that could detach from the transmission.

According to Ford, the vehicles range in year from 2013 to 2016 and were built with a bushing that attaches to the shifter cable of the transmission. A degraded shifter cable bushing that detaches from the transmission may cause the vehicle to be in the wrong gear. 

The recall covers certain 2013 through 2016 Fusion sedans and some 2013 and 2014 Escape small SUVs.

What that means is that if you put the car in park and took the key out, the car may actually not be in park. If the parking brake isn't applied, the cable bushing detaches and the car could roll away.

Ford is not aware of any accidents at this time.

The recalled vehicles include:
2014 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 18, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
2013-14 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
2013-14 Ford Escape vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013

The recall involves approximately 549,401 vehicles in North America, including 504,182 in the United States and federalized territories, 36,887 in Canada, and 8,332 in Mexico. The Ford reference number for this recall is 18S20.

Dealers will replace the shifter cable bushing at no cost to the customer. Owners should use their parking brake.