Courtney Jorstad  |  October 24, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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FordFord Motor Company was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that several models of the Explorer have a defect which causes exhaust to enter the inside of the vehicle.

Plaintiff Angela Dixon of Florida filed the Explorer class action lawsuit in a New York federal court Monday and said that “the potential exposure to exhaust and carbon monoxide renders these vehicles unsafe to drive.”

This problem is allegedly present in Ford Explorer 2011 through 2015 models.

Dixon explains that Ford said in a Technical Service Bulletin sent out in 2012 that there is an “exhaust odor” inside the sports utility vehicle when the “auxiliary climate control system” is on in the 2011 through 2013 models. Another Technical Service Bulletin issued in 2014 said that the problem existed in 2014 and 2015 Explorer models, as well.

These bulletins, according to Dixon, include service procedures for how to correct the problem, however, she says that they don’t work.

In addition, she explains that not only is the condition not fixed, but Ford fails “to acknowledge that carbon monoxide may enter the passenger compartment of affected vehicles.”

And even though bulletins were sent to authorized dealerships, according to the Ford Explorer class action lawsuit, Ford did not send bulletins to “non-Ford automative repair facilities” nor did the car company notify Dixon or other Ford Explorer owners “about the defect and the potential exposure to lethal carbon monoxide.”

The Florida woman says that she leased a 2013 Ford Explorer in October 2012 from a dealership in New York.

“At the time of the lease, plaintiff was not notified that the 2013 Ford Explorer she was leasing was defective, nor was she notified that she and all occupants would be exposed to carbon monoxide and other potentially dangerous gases while driving in her 2013 Ford Explorer during its normal and customary use,” Dixon explains in the Ford class action lawsuit.

She said that she took her Explorer into the New York dealership many times to have it serviced and told the employees there that there was “an exhaust odor” inside the vehicle while she was driving.

“The Lynbrook, New York, Ford dealership advised plaintiff to operate the air conditioning in her vehicle in a manner that the dealership claimed would limit any such odor,” the Ford Explorer class action lawsuit explains. She says that she also notified the Ford dealership in Plantation, Florida of the problem as well.

“Plaintiff has discovered that carbon monoxide was entering the passenger compartment of the vehicle while the vehicle was operating in a normal and customary manner,” the Ford lawsuit explains.

She claims that when Ford sold the 2011 through 2015 Ford Explorer models that “it knew or should have known of such defects, or Ford otherwise learned of such defects and failed to notify plaintiff and proposed class members of the defect . . . [that they were exposed] to a life-safety hazard.”

However, she says that “to date, Ford has not repaired plaintiff’s 2013 Ford Explorer, nor has Ford acknowledged to plaintiff or the members of the proposed class that the 2011 through 2015 model year Ford Explorers contain design flaws and/or defective exhaust and/or HVAC systems permitting exhaust, carbon monoxide and other potentially dangerous gases into the passenger compartments of those vehicles.”

Dixon’s charges against Ford in the defective Explorer class action lawsuit include breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and violation of the New York Consumer Protection from Deceptive Acts and Practices Act.

She is asking the New York federal court to certify the class of Ford Explorer owners and those who leased the 2011 through 2015 Explorer models. In addition, she wants Ford to notify all owners of the defect and be required to repair the defect. She wants damages to include the cost of repair as well as attorneys’ fees, court costs and whatever relief the court believes is necessary.

The plaintiff is represented by Steven Sachs of Steven Sachs Law, and by John J. Uustal, Jordan M. Lewis, and Michael A. Hersh of Kelley/Uustal, PLC.

The Defective Ford Explorer Class Action Lawsuit is Angela Dixon v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 2;14-cv-05135-SJF-ARL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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One thought on Ford Hit With Class Action Over Defective Explorers

  1. Hilberg Plaza says:

    Yo soy de Ecuador, tengo una explorer 2015 y presenta los mismos problemas el auto es nuevo recién comprado en el mes de abril 2016! Mis hijos presentan alergias causadas por el monóxido de carbono inhalado y el concesionario no quiere cambie el auto por uno nuevo! Además presenta otras falla de fábrica, solicitó me ayuden con más información de la demanda para poder presentarla junto al comunicado por escrito que les he hecho llegar, sé que no soy el único caso en Ecuador, tengo un amigo que le ocurre lo mismo con el lote del 2015, realmente afecta a la salud! No tienen la delicadeza ni ética profesional es enviar un comunicado de prensa para estar atentos a tremendo problema

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