Reading a Fusion’s Model Year From the Tenth VIN Character
Once the number is in hand, the model year comes first, because replacement glass is matched to it. A VIN is a 17-character code, and federal rule 49 CFR 565.15 splits it into sections. The first character of the fourth section stands for the model year. Counting from the left, that is the tenth character.
The year-code table in 565.15 gives one code to each year. For the second-generation Fusion, which ran from 2013 to 2020, the codes are these:
| Model year | Tenth character of the code |
|---|
| 2013 | D |
| 2014 | E |
| 2015 | F |
| 2016 | G |
| 2017 | H |
| 2018 | J |
| 2019 | K |
| 2020 | L |
That span runs from D for 2013 to L for 2020. The table skips the letter I, so a 2017 car shows H and a 2018 car shows J. Earlier Fusions read from the same table. Model years 2006 through 2009 use the digits 6 through 9, and 2010, 2011 and 2012 use A, B and C. The table is the same for every make, so a Focus code is read the same way.
The step from C to D marks the Fusion's change of generation. A 2012 car and a 2013 car sit on opposite sides of that line, so the two cars belong to different generations of the sedan. One character is enough to find which side of the line a car falls on, even when the two years look alike from the curb.
The same federal rule adds a check on the rest of that fourth section. For a passenger car, its last five characters are digits. If a photo seems to show a letter in one of those five places, the character was misread, and the plate should be read again before a part is chosen.
Reading it takes three steps. Find the code and confirm it has 17 characters. Count in to the tenth character. Then match that character to the year in the table. On a retired model, listings for the car are split by year, so that one character narrows the search before anything else. A tenth character of F marks a 2015 model, so its door glass is ordered as glass for a 2015 Fusion.
A parts listing for a retired sedan names a span of years, such as one generation of door glass. The tenth character tells you whether the car falls inside that span, which is how you find the right listing among several. For a car near either edge of a span, read the code off the car before anything is ordered. We match every pane to the VIN, because glass can change from one year or trim to the next within one model and the VIN helps us match the exact part.
Ford Fusion Door Glass: Laminated Front Doors on the Energi
Trim can matter as much as year on one Fusion. A laminated-glass vehicle list published in July 2019 has a row for the 2015 to 2019 Fusion Energi, the plug-in hybrid. That row shows laminated glass in the front door on the passenger side, the right side of the car. A shop finding glass for a retired plug-in Fusion starts from that row and then checks the car itself.
Ordering a part for that door means ordering the laminated pane listed for it, and a shop that orders by year alone can miss it. Our post on door glass types shows how to check a window before ordering. A separate Ford post covers which Ford side windows are laminated.
A 2017 Fusion and a 2017 Fusion Energi share the same tenth character. On the 2019 list, both front doors of the 2015 to 2019 plug-in car are laminated, the passenger side and the driver side. Say whether the car plugs in when you describe it, and give the full code so the model is read along with the year.
That 2019 list runs through the 2019 model year, so a 2020 Energi needs its own check. The same list shows a laminated front passenger door on the 2015 to 2019 Fusion Hybrid and base Fusion, and each of those rows sits beside a 2013 to 2018 roof row. Confirm the pane against the car before anything is ordered. Front and rear doors on these retired sedans are described on the Ford door glass replacement page.
Open Recalls Are Searched by the Same Number
The number you found for the glass does a second job for a retired car. On Ford's recall page, owners can search recalls initiated since January 1, 2004, by entering a VIN, and the same page explains Ford's recall repair service. The search runs on that code, so a retired sedan is checked the same way as a current model.
Any recall on a 2006 or later Fusion was opened after that cutoff, so the search reaches it. A Focus is covered for every recall initiated from 2004 onward. Run the search while the number is in front of you, and you will find any open recall in the same sitting. Keep a screenshot of the result with the car's papers, since a later buyer of a retired sedan may ask for it. Glass broken by a rock or a break-in is a separate matter from anything the search turns up.
A buyer looking at a used Fusion can run the same search before paying. Our used-car ADAS calibration check post lists the camera questions to ask on that same visit where the procedure can be done on site.
What Any Replacement Pane Has to Meet
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 205 sets the rules for glazing in vehicles. Its section S5.1.2 reaches replacement glass directly: under FMVSS 205, glazing intended for replacement use is required to meet the requirements of the standard. The rule attaches to the pane itself, whatever year the car was built. A replacement part for a retired sedan is held to it by the rule, so the owner's open questions are fit and features. That holds whether the pane goes into a front door, a rear door or the back window.
That covers the safety side for a retired car. A replacement pane for a 2012 Fusion answers to the same standard as glass for any other vehicle, however long ago the model left production. No Arizona or Florida statute sets a separate parts rule for retired models, so the federal standard governs the glass in both states.
A side window on a sedan door also has to fit the hardware that moves it. A door pane rides in a channel and is raised and lowered by a regulator inside the door. A moving pane is identified by year, model and position: driver or passenger side, front or rear door. Every pane we fit is OEM-quality glass, chosen for the exact window it fills.
A back window brings its own features into the match. Rear glass carries thin defroster lines printed on the inside and powered at the edges, and some back glass carries antenna lines as well. A Focus back window is matched by model year and features, like any door pane. The Ford rear glass page covers that work.
Why the Fusion Was Discontinued: Ford's 2018 Plan to Drop Its Sedans
Ford's April 2018 sedan plan is the backdrop for both retirements. CNBC reported on April 25, 2018, that the company faced falling demand for its passenger cars. It would not invest in next-generation traditional sedans for North America. Within a few years, the only two cars it would make were to be the Mustang and a new Focus Active crossover, then due to debut the next year.
Trucks and SUVs were to fill the other 90 percent of the North American lineup by 2020. That date matters to Fusion owners. The second-generation car ran through the 2020 model year, so the last Fusion model year fell in the plan's target year.
The reason for dropping sedans was this. Demand for passenger cars was falling, and Ford chose to stop spending on new sedan generations. The decision was about future products. Cars already sold kept their owners, their identification numbers and the owner support that both retirement pages describe.
One name in that plan can trip up a parts search. The Focus Active was a new crossover in the 2018 plan, a separate vehicle from the Focus already parked in your driveway. Its glass belongs to a different body, so a listing under that name is the wrong place to look for a sedan's door or back window. Search by the model year read from your own car's tenth character.
Booking Ford Fusion Glass for a Retired Sedan
Have the VIN ready, name the broken window by side and position, and say whether a Fusion is an Energi. With those details the pane can be matched before the visit, and our technician brings it to wherever the car is parked. Start on the Ford glass page or book door glass replacement directly.
Retired Ford Fusion and Focus glass questions
Can you still get parts for a Ford Fusion that is no longer built?
Ford's retirement page says it is still there to help keep a Fusion's maintenance up-to-date and to answer questions, but it names no pane. Glass is therefore checked one window at a time. A 2012 car reads C in the tenth VIN position and a 2013 car reads D, so they sit in different generations, and a listing that spans 2013 to 2020 door glass fits only cars inside that range.
Why did Ford Fusions get discontinued?
CNBC reported in April 2018 that Ford, like many of its peers, faced declining demand for passenger cars. Ford said it would not invest in next-generation versions of its traditional North American sedans. Trucks and SUVs were planned to make up the other 90 percent of its North American portfolio by 2020, with the Mustang and a Focus Active crossover the only cars left.
Does Ford's recall search work for an older Ford Focus?
Ford's recall page lets owners search recalls initiated since January 1, 2004 with a VIN, so a Focus built after that date is inside the search. The page gives no end date for the search. Run it with the VIN in hand, because the same 17 characters that match a pane also identify the car for recalls. A window broken by a rock or a break-in is not a recall item.
