Ford Truck Owners Initiate Class Action Lawsuit over Engine Issues

Six consumers filed a case against Ford Motor Company alleging that the company knowingly sold vehicles with engine defects and concealed this fact to avoid paying for the repair costs under warranty.  Consumers brought the lawsuit on behalf of all current owners of a 2004-2008 Ford passenger or light truck vehicle equipped with a 5.4L engine delivered within 8 years and having less than 80,000 miles and sold in the United States.

The case, Jason Schmidt et al. v. Ford Motor Co., was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania right after Christmas on December 27, 2012. The engine problems are also alleged to lead to safety concerns.  The  Ford 5.4L engine had design or manufacturing defects that cause the vehicle to accelerate, hesitate, loss of RPM, loss of power and cause sudden deceleration issues.

Plaintiffs allege the company knew about the defects from 2005 through 2012, and cite an August 2008 technical service bulletin to Ford dealers that addressed the problem and how to fix it.  Ford, however, decided not to alert consumers. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege that Ford Motors intentionally omitted from telling consumers so that they would not have to cover the costs of the repairs.  “Concealment of these engine problems was orchestrated to minimize and/or avoid the defendant’s contractual responsibility to the plaintiff class of owners,” the class action lawsuit states.

The vehicles include popular models such as the Ford 150 and Lincoln navigator, and also include the original Powertrain Control Module (PCM), the Transmission Control Module (TCM), the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) and/or the Throttle Body Assembly.

The plaintiffs are seeking out-of-pocket replacement/repair costs, diminution in value of the class vehicles that is attributable to the engine defects, damages, injunctive relief and more for alleged breach of express and implied warranty, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and violations of state consumer protection statutes.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of consumer fraud contact Khorrami, LLP for more information.

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