Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Ford Issues ‘Goodwill’ Payments to C-Max Hybrid Customers
By Sarah Pierce
Ford Motor Co. has announced it will issue special payments to C-Max Hybrid owners as part of a “goodwill” effort to amend complaints that the vehicles do not achieve as much gas mileage as advertised. People who purchased the C-Max will receive $550 while those who leased the car will receive $325.
Ford has been heavily criticized by customers and scrutinized by the Environmental Protection Agency following complaints that the real-world fuel economy rating for the C-Max Hybrid falls far below the EPA rating of 47 mpg.
Last year, Consumer Reports tested the Ford C-Max and found that it only averaged 37 mpg. Similar findings with another Ford hybrid vehicle, the Fusion, sparked a flurry of class action lawsuits against the automaker.
In June, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated 15 putative class action lawsuits against Ford accusing the company of manipulating and misrepresenting data about its hybrid vehicles’ fuel economy rating. The cases will be heard in the Southern District of New York.
Ford maintains its innocence in the fuel economy debacle, blaming the discrepancies on “testing anomalies.” Ford said it is standing by its Fusion fuel-economy label, but will restate the C-Max’s mileage rating – which was based on a test of the Fusion.
Per EPA label rules, automakers are allowed to generate fuel economy labels for a family of vehicles that have the same engine, transmission and weight class since they, historically, achieve nearly identical fuel economy. Ford said it will now test and label the C-Max Hybrid separately going forward, starting with the 2014 model year.
Existing Ford C-Max customers will receive their special payment by mail. Customers with questions can contact the Ford Customer Relationship Center at http://corporate.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/contact-ford, or 1-800-392-3673.
The Ford Hybrid Fuel Economy MDL is In re: Ford Fusion and C-Max Fuel Economy Litigation, MDL No. 2450.
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
