2012 FORD FUSION — Complaint #2098980
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS filed June 9, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2098980 (ODI reference 11665808) concerns a 2012 FORD FUSION and was filed on June 9, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on June 2, 2025. The report was geocoded to Arizona based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as wheels:lugs/nuts/bolts/studs, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD FUSION cohort independently describe similar wheels:lugs/nuts/bolts/studs failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2012 FORD FUSION shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his son was driving at 65 MPH, he had to pull over to the side of the road due to a flat tire. The contact's son had a difficult time removing the lug nuts. The lug nuts could not be removed with the tire iron. The contact called AAA, and it was difficult for the Roadside Assistant to remove the lug nuts. The contact was informed that the lug nuts were swollen due to the aluminum or chrome material. The contact stated that the Roadside Assistant had to drill the lug nuts to remove the lug nuts. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2098980 |
| ODI Number | 11665808 |
| Date Filed | June 9, 2025 |
| Failure Date | June 2, 2025 |
| VIN | 3FAHP0GA1CR |
Similar WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS Complaints for 2012 FORD FUSION
at approximately 58,000 miles, Ford dealer told me the lug nuts were swollen and not safe and needed to be replaced. No warning signal prior to this event.
The lug nut issue that has been creating issues with Ford vehicles. They swell and canât be removed to change a tire. Something has to be done!
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FUSION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN FOR SERVICE AT HOLMAN FORD TURNERSVILLE LOCATED AT 3641 RT 42 SOUTH TURNERSVILLE, NJ 08012, THE MECHANIC DISCO
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FUSION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CROWLEY FORD & LINCOLN (225 NEW BRITAIN AVENUE, PLAINVILLE, CT 06062) FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD FUSION. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE SERVICED, THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE LUG NUTS WERE SWOLLEN AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE F
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.