Ford Class Action Says Lug Nuts Fall Apart, Leaving Drivers Stranded

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Ford lug nuts designed to serve appearance more than function have been falling apart, according to a group of plaintiffs in a recent class action.

Plaintiffs Josh Wozniak, Angel Castaneda, Raj Chauhan, Samantha Ellis, Donald Lycan, and David Mathias are taking issue with the wheel lug nuts on recent model years of Ford vehicles.

Unlike traditional lug nuts made of a single piece of steel, these Ford lug nuts are made with a steel core surrounded by an outer layer consisting either of chrome, aluminum, or stainless steel.

While the outer covering may give the Ford lug nuts a nicer appearance, the plaintiffs say it fails to function properly in conjunction with the steel core. They claim these lug nuts tend to swell up and delaminate, making them impossible to remove using the lug wrench provided with the vehicles.

Photos of the damaged Ford lug nuts show they have an outer layer of metal that has deformed and separated from the inner layer. Some of the lugs have visibly rounded edges where their flat surfaces meet.

These failed Ford lug nuts can leave a driver stranded with a flat tire they can’t remove, according to this Ford class action lawsuit. Changing the tire then requires having the vehicle towed to a repair facility, where the owner must pay the labor costs associated with removing the deformed lugs, as well as the costs of replacement lugs.

When they sought to have the defective nuts replaced, many of the plaintiffs say Ford’s own service representatives encouraged them to buy non-Ford lug nuts to avoid being affected by the same defect all over again.

Ford failed to disclose the defect even though it knew about the problem for years, the plaintiffs say. The plaintiffs quote dozens of negative reviews from various online forums from vehicle owners who describe having to deal with this problem. Ford has been aware of these complaints and others filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for at least 10 years, plaintiffs say.

Yet despite being aware of the problem, the plaintiffs claim Ford has refused to replace the defective Ford lug nuts even when the problem manifests within the company’s express warranty period.

The six plaintiffs say these Ford lug nuts are installed on the company’s Fusion, Escape, Flex, Focus, F-150, and F-350 vehicles. Each plaintiff alleges they bought one of these vehicles, then later found out they didn’t get what they paid for because of these Ford lug nuts that are allegedly doomed to fail.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class covering other U.S. persons who are current or former owners or lessees of any of the above vehicles equipped with the purportedly defective Ford lug nuts.

They seek restitution of the purchase price of their affected vehicles or the amount of money they overpaid for them, an award of damages to include punitive damages, and an award of court costs and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Steve W. Berman and Thomas E. Loeser of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and E. Powell Miller and Sharon S. Almonrode of The Miller Law Firm PC.

The Ford Lug Nuts Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Wozniak, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 2:17-cv-12794, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.