That one detail changes the whole story. A regular gas-only 2016 Ford Fusion is not approved for normal four-down recreational towing. A 2016 Ford Fusion Hybrid or Fusion Energi is a different case. Ford allows those versions to be towed with all four wheels on the ground when the right procedure is followed. On top of that, Ford also gives a separate rule for emergency towing of a disabled vehicle, and that rule is not the same as normal RV towing. That is where a lot of the confusion starts.
It helps to split the question into two parts. First, are you asking about towing the car behind an RV for normal travel? Second, are you asking about moving a broken-down car a short distance because it cannot drive under its own power? Those two situations may sound close, but Ford treats them very differently. A car that can be pulled in an emergency is not always a car that should spend hours rolling behind a motorhome.
For the standard 2016 Fusion with a gas engine, Ford’s answer is no for normal four-down recreational towing. If the car is front-wheel drive, Ford says it cannot be flat towed with all four wheels on the ground because vehicle or transmission damage may occur. Ford says the front wheels should be off the ground on a tow dolly instead. If the gas Fusion is all-wheel drive, Ford says it also cannot be flat towed with all four wheels on the ground for recreational towing. In that case, Ford says the vehicle should be carried with all four wheels off the ground, like on a car-hauling trailer.
That means if you own a regular gas 2016 Fusion and you want to tow it behind a motorhome, the plain answer is no. Not four-down. It does not matter whether it is the smaller engine or the larger one. The deciding point is that Ford does not approve normal all-four-down RV towing for the gas Fusion. Front-wheel-drive gas models belong on a tow dolly. All-wheel-drive gas models belong on a trailer.
The story changes with the 2016 Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi. Ford’s Hybrid and Energi owner manual says those vehicles can be towed with all four wheels on the ground or with the front wheels off the ground using a tow dolly. That is the part many people are really hunting for when they ask this question. So if your 2016 Fusion is a Hybrid or Energi, Ford’s own towing section says yes, it can be flat towed behind a motorhome as long as you follow the factory steps.
Those steps matter more than people think. Ford is not saying you can simply hitch it up and forget about it. The manual lays out a routine that has to be followed before towing. The vehicle should be towed only in the forward direction. The parking brake must be released. The transmission needs to be in neutral. Ford also limits speed to no more than 70 miles per hour. At the start of each day, Ford says to place the transmission in park, start the vehicle, let it run for one minute, then shift back into neutral and place the ignition in the proper off position for towing. It is a short checklist, but it is not filler. It is the difference between approved towing and an expensive gamble.
This is where people get tripped up. They see the phrase “can be flat towed” and stop reading too early. The rest of the page is where the real work lives. Towing procedures are a little like baking directions. Missing one step may not ruin the result every time, but when it does go wrong, it can go wrong hard. A transmission does not care that you were only off by one step or one day. It only knows whether it was protected or not.
There is also the emergency towing rule, and this is the part that causes the most mixed answers online. Ford says that if a 2016 Fusion becomes inoperable and proper towing equipment is not available, it can be flat-towed with all wheels on the ground regardless of the powertrain and transmission setup, but only under strict limits. The car must face forward. The transmission must be in neutral. The maximum speed is 35 miles per hour. The maximum distance is 50 miles.
That emergency rule does not mean every 2016 Fusion is approved to be a dinghy vehicle behind an RV. It only means Ford gives you a short-distance escape route if the car is disabled and you need to move it without a trailer or tow dolly. Think of it like using a spare tire. It can get you out of a bad spot, but it is not your long-haul plan.
So if you are trying to set up a 2016 Fusion for regular motorhome towing, the first question is not just the year. It is the powertrain. If it is a gas Fusion, four-down towing for recreation is off the table. If it is a Hybrid or Energi, four-down towing is allowed when you follow Ford’s process. If the car is disabled and you only need to move it a short distance, the emergency rule applies, but that is a different lane entirely.
It is also smart to be careful with advice from forums, campground chatter, and hitch sellers. A lot of owners talk about what they have done. Ford talks about what it approves. Those are not always the same thing. Someone may say they have pulled a gas Fusion four-down for years and never had a problem. That does not change what the manual says. When you are deciding whether a car can be flat towed, the factory guidance is the safer voice in the room.
If you are not sure which 2016 Fusion you have, check the badging on the trunk, your VIN, your owner manual, or your original window sticker. Do not build a tow setup on a guess. Base plates, tow bars, lighting kits, and braking systems cost real money. It is better to spend five minutes confirming the model than to spend thousands finding out you built the wrong setup for the wrong version of the car.
There is another reason this question hangs around. The 2016 Fusion line is not one flat machine wearing different trim names. The gas cars, Hybrid, and Energi may share the same basic shape, but under that skin they are not all playing by the same towing rules. That is why one person can honestly say, “Yes, my 2016 Fusion can be flat towed,” while another person with a different 2016 Fusion has to say no. They may both be right for their own cars.
So, can a 2016 Ford Fusion be flat towed? If you mean a regular gas Fusion behind a motorhome, no, not for normal recreational towing. If you mean a 2016 Fusion Hybrid or Energi, yes, Ford allows four-down towing when its steps are followed. If you mean a disabled 2016 Fusion that only needs to be moved out of a bad spot, Ford allows short emergency flat towing at low speed for a limited distance.
The cleanest way to put it is this: with a 2016 Ford Fusion, the word “Fusion” is not enough to settle the question. Gas, Hybrid, and Energi each tell a different towing story. Once you know which one you own, the answer stops being cloudy and gets a lot easier to trust.