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Update:
- U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain in part denied Ford’s bid for summary judgment in the class action lawsuit alleging 2013-2018 Ford F-150 trucks were equipped with a defective front brake master cylinder that can cause the vehicles to suddenly and unexpectedly lose braking ability.
- The Michigan federal judge first ruled that testimony from Ford’s own engineer indicates the company knew that its 2016 recall of the F-150 trucks with faulty brakes did not resolve the issue.
- Judge Drain also noted that discussions among Ford engineers and sales from 2011 to 2013 indicate the company knew about the brake defect long before 2016 when Ford argued it first learned about the defect.
- Judge Drain tossed claims from two named plaintiffs. One plaintiff had purchased the affected truck for her business, which does not fall under the California law being cited. The other plaintiff sold his vehicle before Ford had a chance to examine it.
(02/17/2020)
A Michigan federal judge recently dismissed some claims brought in a Ford class action lawsuit, although other claims regarding F-150 brakes were preserved.
On Feb. 11, U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain returned a partial denial in response to a dismissal motion from Ford Motor Company, arguing that their F-150 trucks were not equipped with defective brakes.
Several plaintiffs filed their Ford class action lawsuit in August 2018. They argued that 2013-2018 Ford F-150 trucks were equipped with a defective front brake master cylinder from Hitachi. According to the plaintiffs, this component can cause the vehicles to suddenly and unexpectedly loose braking ability.
The front brake master cylinder helps control the amount of brake fluid pushed to the front brakes of a vehicle. When these components work properly, they make sure that brake calipers on each wheel can clamp on the wheel rotors and stop the vehicle from moving.
According to the Ford class action, the “piston cup seals within the Master Cylinders roll within their grooves and become unseated, allowing brake fluid to escape from the Master Cylinder” in the affected vehicles.
“This loss of brake fluid leads to a loss of hydraulic pressure and a resulting loss of brake function for the Class Vehicles’ front brake circuits,” the Ford class action lawsuit argues.
Although the claims were previously dismissed in July 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the next month. Ford filed their opposition to the claim in October 2019, arguing that the new complaint should again be dismissed.
In opposing the plaintiffs’ express warranty claims, Ford argued that two of the plaintiffs are unable to bring the allegations since they were dismissed in prejudice from the original complaint. For the other plaintiffs, Ford argues that they haven’t proved the company breached limited warranty. The company included similar arguments for breach of implied warranty of merchantability.
According to Judge Drain, both implied and express warranty claims must be dismissed in accordance to Ford’s arguments. Since these claims were dismissed, Judge Drain also dismissed the plaintiffs’ Magnuson Moss Warranty Act claims.
Although the court dismissed these warranty claims, Judge Drain allowed the plaintiffs’ fraud based claims to continue. The plaintiffs reportedly satisfied the requirements to bring these Ford class action claims under West Virginia and Georgia state laws.
Finally, the judge agreed to dismiss the unjust enrichment claims brought in the Ford class action lawsuit. According to the dismissal order, no changes were made to these claims between the original and amended complaints.
Have you experienced braking issues with your vehicle? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by E. Powell Miller, Sharon S. Almonrode, and Dennis A. Lienhardt of The Miller Law Firm PC, W. Daniel “Dee” Miles III and H. Clay Barnett III of Beasley, Allan, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC, and Adam J. Levitt, John E. Tangren, and Daniel R. Ferri of Dicello Levitt & Casey LLC.
The Ford F-150 Brakes Class Action Lawsuit is Weidman, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 2:18-cv-12719-GAD-EAS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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36 thoughts onFord Defective Brakes Class Action Gets Trimmed
I have a 2018 F-150 with the 2.7 V-6 and the brakes suddenly failed. The brake booster is full of brake fluid. This issue is not new to Ford
I own a 2018 F150 3.5, the brakes have never been right. The pedal is way soft and travels excessively long, half way to the floor. I have never cared for a soft brake pedal which makes braking of the vehicle inconsistent. I have to drive very defensively. The dealership said the brakes are fine. I fought with them to bleed the brakes, cause that would be first stop. However it didnt help with soft pedal condition. I have owned some 10 F150s new and i cant remember one that had ‘spongy ‘ pedal effort. You just cant tell when the brakes are going to activate, just keep pushing until they activate. I traded in a 2016 F150 w/2.7 eco that was a good truck, i did not notice any problems with brakes on it, but only owned until 25000m. I am a ASE certified tech and had my own truck business for a few years, understand hydraulics brake systems and repaired my share. I still own F150 and drive it cafefully. Its a good truck otherwise.
Has there been a settlement on this issue? If so, or if not, who could we contact. Claim filed last spring to join the class action lawsuit.
Ive had nothing but problems with my truck since i purchased. Spent more then5000.00 trying to fix it. 3 dirrerent eps racks have gone out and locked my entire steering system up. Had to undo tie rods just to tow. Truck would make huge noise and it would feel like rear end if truck was lefr behind. Simple brake job cost my hundreds. Had to buy new drums 4 sets of brakes because they would just stop working. I loved my truck. I still own it and keep it because im deathly aftaid to have anyone else get behind the wheel of it. Its a death trap. If i can help in anyway please get a hold of me. This truck would be the perfect piece of evidence in court. Thanks jennifer thoresen. My email is jltpascual@gmail.com
Who did you file your claim with? I had catastrophic brake failure due to this recall that damaged the car. 2016 F150 3.5 L.
I had a 2018 Ford f150 that the doors filled with water in rain no signs of entry visible,first it was the driver door then driver rear door later it became all 4 doors filled with water my husbànd was driving to a job and went to turn the truck did not stop when the breaks were applied causing him to not stop and rearending another vehicle causing us to receive a ticket,points on his license and damages to our vehicle we could not continue to pay for the truck due to it being damaged and loosing clients not being able to get to them the truck fell into default later reposition it was our only source of vehicle and way to earn income and the one accident caused a spiral decline loosing possession and now being in debt 23k $ after putting down 10k$ for a truck that I feel was faulty in many ways from the beginning
Purchased my 2013 F150 brand new with just 10 miles on the odometer. I’ve had my truck always serviced regularly at Ford, even after the warranty expired. At 66K had the brakes serviced and brake pads replaced for $360. At 74K had the brake system flushed for $103. All good right? At 89K, June 2021, fortunately I was parked and upon putting in gear, noticed the brake pedal down to the floor. Guess I’m not driving this car. This time I researched it would be an expensive repair at the dealer, but not so bad if I pulled out the tool box myself and only paid $347 at AutoZone. I’m now at 105K and pretty happy. It seems to me a nearly decade old vehicle would have parts go bad, so I’m not faulting Ford. Sure it is possible the failure could have occured during a highway trip and caused bodily harm. But any car could have this issue or worse. Just my two cents.
My 2016 Ford Expedition did the same thing as most here. Luckily I was parked at home and went to start the car and the brakes went to the floor. I added brake fluid and made it to the intersection coming out of my neighborhood before complete loss again! This is extremely dangerous and deadly! I had the repairs done and out of pocket costs for a rental because all the ford dealerships were “backed up” on service for MONTHS! I expect Ford to cover every penny, if not more for the inconvenience and the anxiety of “what if”
My daughter was using my 2014 f150 was in an accident she was rear ended. After the repairs were done to the truck the body shop told me the brakes didn’t work. I contacted the ins. co. about it they said there was a a recall on the master cylinder. When I contacted the Ford dealer they told me there was no recall. So I had to get it repaired out of my pocket before the body shop would release it to me.
Now I find out about this problem.
I drove to a restaurant to get breakfast in my less than 2 year old f150. When I returned to my truck I pressed the brake pedal to turn it on the truck. To my amazement. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor and realized I had no brakes. I had to wait in the parking lot for 2 hrs waiting for a tow truck on my dime. If I had driven the the road any further, I probably would’ve
got seriously hurt or hurt someone else. Once at the ford dealer, they didn’t have one to replace it with. So they had my truck for 10 days awaiting a replacement part. I’m so disappointed in ford. I’ll probably never buy ford again.
The dealer advised me it was the master cylinder. They put the exact same model that was defective back into my truck until a replacement was available. Wtf, I thought. It was several months later when a replacement was installed.
After purchasing my 2017 Ford f150 I had to replace brakes twice in less than 3 years front and back!