Ford class action claims Escapes, Bronco Sports pose fire risk

Ford fire class action overview: 

• Who: A trio of Ford drivers are suing the automaker.
• Why: The plaintiffs say their Ford Escapes and Ford Bronco Sports have defects that can cause fires under the hood.
• Where: The Ford fire class action was filed in a Michigan federal court.

Ford sells two models of cars that leak fuel into the exhaust, leading to fire under the hood, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Richard Letson, Kara Murray-Volpi and Richard Reed filed the class action lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. on Feb. 17 in a Michigan federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

The lawsuit refers to 2020-2023 model year Ford Escapes and 2021-2023 model year Ford Bronco Sports with 1.5-liter engines. 

According to the Ford lawsuit, the injectors on both models are prone to cracking, allowing up to 19 liters of fuel to leak per hour. When the fuel injectors crack, fuel can leak into the exhaust and turbo systems and result in fire under the hood, the plaintiffs allege. 

As of November, Ford reported 54 under-the-hood fires in 2020-2022 Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles with the 1.5-liter “dragon” engine, 17 of which have been confirmed as “likely the result of a cracked fuel injector,” the plaintiffs state.

Ford knew about the spontaneous fire risk, lawsuit alleges

Ford started receiving reports about the vehicles’ fire risk as early as September 2020 but didn’t issue a recall until March 2022, the lawsuit alleges.

“This fire risk was known or should have been known to Ford and is still unremedied by Ford,” the plaintiffs state, adding that even when the vehicles were recalled, the initial recall did not remedy the fuel injector issue. 

A November 2022 recall only saw the installation of a tube to drain fuel to the ground if a fuel injector cracks along with software to warn consumers, derate engine power output and lower temperatures of potential sources of ignition, the plaintiffs say. They allege this solution still puts them in danger.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a national class of people who bought or leased 2020-2023 Ford Escapes or 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports, plus subclasses for West Virginia, New York and Massachusetts.

They are suing for violations of warranty laws, fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment and breach of state consumer laws and seek certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Ford was recently hit with another class action lawsuit alleging it failed to permanently fix a dangerous rollaway defect in some of its vehicles that can cause them to move unexpectedly despite multiple recalls and years of investigations.

Are you affected by the allegations in this Ford class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Abigail D. Pershing, Steve W. Berman and Thomas E. Loeser of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and E. Powell Miller, Sharon S. Almonrode and Dennis A. Lienhardt of The Miller Law Firm PC.

The Ford fire class action lawsuit is Richard Letson, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 4:23-cv-10420, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

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