Ford Motor Company was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the door latch systems in certain Ford and Lincoln models are defective leading to door sensor failure and ultimately costly repairs.
Lead plaintiff Roger Kinnunen alleges in his class action lawsuit that the door latches in various Ford and Lincoln vehicles contain a material design and manufacturing defect.
This alleged defect begins with the contamination of electrical contacts on the door sensor, “inevitably” causes the door sensors in the affected vehicles to fail. Once the door sensors fail, the door latches and lock systems fail to function as intended, Kinnunen says.
Specifically, the class action claims the defective door latches cause the “Door Ajar” light to turn on and “[i]f the door sensor communicates that a passenger door is not adequately closed, then the vehicle’s interior dome light will continuously illuminate, the door chime will sound, [and] the alarm system will not function properly.”
“Additionally, the vehicle doors will not lock, while both parked and driven, and the child safety lock feature on the rear passenger doors will not function as intended,” the plaintiff says. “Furthermore, if this condition continues when the vehicle is turned off, it can completely drain the vehicle’s battery and leave the vehicle operator stranded.”
According to the class action complaint, the “Door Ajar” warning light in the plaintiff’s 2011 Ford Edge started turning on intermittently in 2012. Kinnunen says he had it repaired at the dealership, but it started turning on again in 2015 and again in 2016 after being repaired. The plaintiff alleges that for the 2016 repair, he had to pay $206.91 out of pocket.
The plaintiff further claims that Ford actively concealed the defect and that the defect causes affected vehicles to be worth less at resale. Additionally, Ford allegedly has failed to properly repair defective door latches and has refused to cover the costs of the repair, the plaintiff says.
“For customers with vehicles within the warranty periods at issue,” contends the plaintiff in the complaint. “Ford has done nothing more than to temporarily repair the Door Latch Defect, or replace it with other similarly defective and inherently failure-prone door latch assemblies.”
According to the class action lawsuit, “Ford has refused to take any action to correct the root cause of this concealed defect when it manifests in vehicles both in and outside the warranty period. Since the Door Latch Defect typically manifests within and shortly outside of the warranty period for the Class Vehicles – and given Defendant’s knowledge of this concealed, safety related design defect – Ford’s attempt to limit the applicable warranties with respect to the Door Latch Defect is unconscionable.”
Kinnunen points out that numerous complaints have reported the alleged defect to Ford, as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but Ford has failed to issue any sort of recall or offer a replacement.
The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased or leased one of the following vehicles: 2011-2014 Ford Edge, 2013 Ford Flex, 2013 Lincoln MKT, and 2011-2015 Lincoln MKX. Kinnunen also seeks to represent a Michigan subclass.
The plaintiff claims Ford violated Michigan consumer protection laws, breached express warranties, and committed fraud and violated its obligation for good faith and fair dealing. The plaintiff is seeking damages, including punitive damages, an order enjoining Ford, restitution and attorneys’ fees.
Kinnunen is represented by E. Powell Miller, Sharon S. Almonrode, and Dennis A. Lienhardt of The Miller Law Firm; Joseph G. Sauder, Matthew D. Schelkopf, Joseph B. Kenney, Richard D. McCune and David C. Wright of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP.
The Ford Defective Door Latch Class Action Lawsuit is Roger Kinnunen v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 2:17-cv-11053-AC-EAS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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68 thoughts onFord Class Action Says Defective Door Latch Leads to Costly Repairs
I have a 1997 F-150 XLT. The keepers at the ends of the door latch cables for the back door are plastic and break. Once broken,you have to pretty much take the door apart to open it. In the meantime the door ajar light comes on and keeps the dome light on, etc. I’ve found my battery dead more than once.
There is a good chance that is because it is a 20 year old vehicle. You have to allow for normal wear and tear. I myself had an 1999 FX4.
My 2005 Ford Freestar SE van both pax door very hard to slide
My 2002 Ford Ranger had a bad tailgate latch that Ford refuses to repair. The plastic handle was made of junk plastic and the connecting rods were corroded. The handle broke off 6 months after buying it new. FMC would not repair/replace it.
I have a 1997 Ford Explorer that I purchased in 2008. It had 41,000 miles on it and it looked like a new car. I made an offer to the dealership and they accepted.
I drove it home, parked in my driveway and the next morning, I had a flat. I called the dealership. They couldn’t send anyone, so they called Big O tires, who is the business next door. The Big O guy came out and said that those tires were theirs anyway, so he changed the tire and I took it to Big O to check all the tires. They found two other tires that were in bad shape…so I got new tires…
The car that I totalled on black ice was a Toyota 4 Runner. I loved it, always used Michelin tires and got 50,000 miles out of them, so brand new tires (ok, from Big O…at 41,000 miles)? My antennae were up….but my insurance would only cover a rental car for a limited time, so I needed to find another SUV fast.
At the dealership where I bought the car, I got the Car Fax. It reported nothing…
Since the tire incident, the dash insert holding the radio, the air conditioning vents, etc., fell off while I was driving. The plastic had broken…I never touched it. Ok, I tried to change the radio station because of static and the entire thing – radio, 4 wheel drive knob, cigarrette lighter, and vents were loose (falling off)…so I took it to Ford. They told me that they would have to pull the dash for $1200…what? The heater/air conditioning doesn’t work unless you turn the fan on MAX, which uses too much gas…
This car has been a lemon since I bought it. After recently, the rubber gaskets on the doors (not the hatch door) all fell down…and were hanging. The windows all rolled up and down…so I asked Ford again…they told me that I needed to replace all four doors…WHAT?
Last week, I talked to a local guy who happened to park next to me in a parking lot. He told me he was a mechanic and that he could fix the gaskets…Ok…so I made an appointment and sure enough, he fixed the ones that he could. He needs to find me the outer gaskets to seal them and he’s working on that. Then he looked at the radio…He said everything in Fords clip together…everything is plastic and the dash is solid…the plastic inserts are cracked and did snap back into place and he popped in the vents from the backside before snapping the entire thing back together…Then I told him about the radio reception…I’ve never had good radio reception (in three states)…He took off the antennae and pulled off a rubber thingy that has always been on the antennae and I didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be there…he pulled it off and I now have radio reception…
In the process of looking at things in the interior, this mechanic told me that the only time he had seen things like this were with a drug car that came up in an auction. Whoever was smuggling drugs in the car wasn’t real careful about putting things back together…now, that makes sense…way better than the story the dealership told me when I bought the car.
I am a senior citizen living on Social Security. Clearly I need help. Is there anything out there?
Sorry this is a long story, but it’s been years of this. If I had any money, I would get rid of it, but I don’t have the finances and I need a car.
I agree with Thomas Watkins III. I have a 2004 Ford Explorer. Same problem.
Also, I have noticed that the panel in the back window- all have cracks and the “window lifts” have broken on my car and others.
We have a 2010 F150 and the door latch has done the same thing and ford refuses to fix it as well
I have a 2009 forf focus and the driver door latch has broken . The key entry is only on the driver door so this has left me to have to climb through the trunk to get in my car. I don’t see that year on this lawsuit it looks as though for has had this problem that figures.:(
I took my car to Ford Murfreesboro and they refuse to repair it. I showed them the recall letter and they still refused it. What can I do to sign up to follow this lawsuit.
This problem stretches a lot further back than 2011. I have had three 2002 Ford Explorers that have ALL had these same issues. How would I go about seeing if there is any possibility that the lawsuit could be broadened to include vehicles from 2002? I’m guessing it’s not possible, but I figured I’d ask the question and see where it takes me. Thanks.
I have a Ford Ranger 2002, and after six months after I bought it the tailgate latch broke off inside the interior of the tailgate door. I complained to the Ford Motor Corporation, who told me that I had been to rough when I opened the tailgate door. What was wrong, was that to get the tailgate door open, you had to almost “strain” both your arms to get the latch open. I asked a senior mechanic how to open the backside of the tailgate door. I finally opened the unit and found the plastic latch ” a piece of junk” probably made in China” and the rods were completly corroded. My Windstar 2002, on the passenger side has not worked for over 10 years. FMC refuses to do anything to repair anything.
I Have a 2013 Ford Escape with 5 recall notices.The Door Handles were just done I HOPE…..