Ford owners in 14 different states have accused Ford Motor Co. of manufacturing defective vehicles that spontaneously and unintentionally accelerated, putting drivers and passengers at risk.

In 2013, a number of plaintiffs filed an unintended acceleration class action lawsuit in West Virginia federal court against Ford. They allege that certain Ford vehicles were equipped with an electronic throttle system but not a brake override system, something the unintended acceleration class action lawsuit claims amounts to a design defect. The electronic throttle system can cause a vehicle to suddenly accelerate on its own without human interaction, leaving drivers unprepared and possibly at risk of crashing.

The plaintiffs accuse Ford of knowingly concealing the purported unintended acceleration defect from consumers. According to this Ford class action lawsuit, Ford began installing a brake override system in vehicles in 2010, but did not address the unintended acceleration issue in older Ford models.

While the Ford unintended acceleration lawsuits and this class action lawsuit do not allege wrongful death or personal injury, Ford owners are pursuing compensation for loss of their vehicles’ value, arguing that consumers overpaid for defective cars between 2002 and 2010.

“We allege that Ford knew about this problem and chose to put its own profits ahead of customer safety,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer states.

The unintended acceleration class action lawsuit further alleges: “Ford could have and should have prevented the dangers presented by these foreseeable incidents by including a brake override system or other fail-safe measures in its vehicles. Ford affirmatively concealed from plaintiffs and the other class members the defect.”

Ford Unintended Acceleration Allegations

At the time of the 2013 unintended acceleration class action lawsuit filing, Ford issued a statement that the company had addressed the rare instances of throttle problem with the U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “NHTSA’s work is far more scientific and trustworthy than work done by personal injury lawyers and their paid experts,” Ford states.

A Ford vehicles list that includes the Ford car models named in the various unintended acceleration lawsuits include:

Ford Vehicles

• 2005-2007 models 500s
• 2005-2009 Crown Victorias
• 2005-2010 Econolines
• 2007 2010 Edges; 2009-2010 Escapes
• 2005-2010 Escape HEVs
• 2005-2010 Expeditions
• 2004-2010 Explorers
• 2007-2010 Explorer Sport Tracs
• 2004-2010 F-Series
• 2009-2010 Flex
• 2008-2010 Focus
• 2005-2007 Freestyles
• 2006-2010 Fusions
• 2005-2010 Mustangs
• 2008-2010 Taurus
• 2008-2009 Taurus Xs
• 2002-2005 Thunderbirds
• 2010 Transit Connects

Lincoln Vehicles

• 2003-2006 LS
• 2006-2008 Mark LTs
• 2009-2010 MKS; 2010 MKTs
• 2007-2010 MKXs
• 2006-2010 MKZs
• 2005-2009 Town Cars
• 2006-2010 Zephyrs

Mercury Vehicles

• 2002-2005 Cougars (XR7)
• 2005-2009 Grand Marquis
• 2009-2010 Mariners
• 2005-2010 Mariner HEVs
• 2006-2010 Milans
• 2005-2007 Montegos
• 2004-2010 Mountaineers
• 2008-2010 Sables

Ford joins several other automakers accused of manufacturing vehicle with unintended acceleration. According to USA Today, Toyota, Audi, Honda, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia have all had reported incidents of unintended acceleration and are currently facing or may be facing similar acceleration litigation in the future.

The accusation against Audi brought to light in the 1980s nearly put the German automaker out of business, according to USA Today, and Toyota’s problems cost the Japanese manufacturer $1.1 billion to settle the subsequent design defect lawsuits. Toyota recalled more than 10 million vehicles from 2009 to 2011 and was subjected to congressional hearings over its handling of the safety issue.

In 2013, Toyota also reached a $29 million settlement over the sudden acceleration claims with attorneys general from 29 states and one U.S. territory according to the Los Angeles Times.