Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2013 Ford Fusion
When control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
Owners of the 2013 Ford Fusion report control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 85,000 miles, from 21 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 20th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 125,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 117,500 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
19% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,500 miles | 50,000 miles | 65,000 miles | 83,000 miles | 125,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $700–$3,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 14 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 2018 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 86; the 2013 has 26. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I was exiting from the highway, and all of a sudden, all of the warning lights came on (ABS, traction control, airbags, hill assist, etc.). All systems became unoperational while I was driving, which caused me great concern. I brought it into the dealership the next morning (the issue was still happening), and they kept it for two weeks because the affected part, a restraint control module (rcm), was on national backorder. They said the car was unsafe to drive, and, if I had gotten in an accident, the airbags wouldn't have deployed. I have read about a number of other people with 2013 fusions with the same exact defective part, so this issue should probably be investigated. *tr
I was exiting from the highway, and all of a sudden, all of the warning lights came on (ABS, traction control, airbags, hill assist, etc.). All systems became unoperational while I was driving, which caused me great concern. I brought it into the dealership the next morning (the issue was still happening), and they kept it for two weeks because the affected part, a restraint control module (rcm), was on national backorder. They said the car was unsafe to drive, and, if I had gotten in an accident, the airbags wouldn't have deployed. I have read about a number of other people with 2013 fusions with the same exact defective part, so this issue should probably be investigated. *tr
My 2013 fusion with approximately 12,000 miles was already scheduled for repair to replace both rear shocks because they were leaking. Before it went in the airbag light came on. The dealership said "no problem we will take care of it". When I went to pick it up they told me that they could not get the light to go out and that they tried downloading software to the restraint control module (rcm) and needed to order one. Then they went on to say they are on back order and should only take a few days. Then I get home to hear the message they left saying that the part was on back order and that my airbags will not work without the module. I called and was told that it will take weeks to get this part and that I'm not the only one with this problem. From what they told me, the magnitude of the back order and what I have read it seems this is a major problem. How many fusion drivers are driving around without airbags? Who knows if your airbags will work even if your airbag light is not showing a problem? *tr
Also reported on the 2013 Ford Fusion
Other steering problem
Other engine problem
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Overheating
Door latch or handle failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 26 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure happen on the 2013 Ford Fusion?
Across 21 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 85,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure on the 2013 Ford Fusion?
26 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed