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 Motor Company was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that some model years of the Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus come with an automatic transmission that is defective and potentially dangerous.
Plaintiffs Kevin and Andrea Klipfel of California are the owners of a 2013 Ford Focus and a 2013 Ford Fiesta that came equipped with the PowerShift Transmission, which they paid an additional$1,095.00 to have in their cars instead of the standard manual transmission, according to their Ford class action lawsuit.
In April 2014, when the Focus had about 14,000 miles on it, the Klipfels began having problems with the car “erratically shifting in second and third gear,” and they brought it in to a local Ford dealer to have it looked it. After reprogramming the powertrain control module and the transmission control module, the technician said that that car was okay.
In December 2014, when the Ford Focus had about 24,000 miles on it, they brought it back to the dealership because it was “exhibiting transmission symptoms,” however the service advisor “could not find a problem.”
According to the defective transmission class action lawsuit, the Klipfels have had a similar situation with their Ford Fiesta and took it into the dealership in December 2014, when the vehicle had about 21,000 miles on it because it “had a very sluggish shift between the first and second gears and that the upshift bogs down like the vehicle might stall.”
The Ford vehicle technician reprogrammed the powertrain control module and the transmission control module, as had been done on the Focus, and said that it was “working as designed.”
However, the Klipfels claim in their Ford class action lawsuit that both vehicles “continue to experience the transmission defect, including, but not limited to, bucking, kicking, jerking, harsh engagement, and delayed acceleration and lurching.”
These symptoms of the transmission defect pose “a safety hazard because they severely affect the driver’s ability to control the car’s speed, acceleration, and deceleration,” the Ford transmission defect class action lawsuit explains.
“Even more troubling, the transmission defect can cause the vehicle to fail to downshift and decelerate when the brakes are depressed,” the Klipfels explain. “As a result, plaintiffs and class members have experienced their cars lurching forward into intersections at red lights due to the failure of their braking efforts to stop the car.”
According to the Ford class action lawsuit, there has been over 500 complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the alleged transmission defect, claiming that it has caused accidents and several near accidents and put drivers and their families in dangerous situations.
The Klipfels allege in their class action lawsuit that the problem is that Ford designed an automatic transmission that is supposed to be more fuel efficient. However, “it lacks a torque converter instead using two ‘dry’ clutches to directly connect and disconnect the engine to and from the transmission. Whereas other ‘automated manual’ transmissions on the market use ‘wet’ clutches bathed in oil, Ford’s PowerShift Transmission clutches lack the oil pumps and other components of a wet clutch system, and instead operate ‘dry.'”
This they claim is the source of the problem, as both the Ford Focus and Fiesta “have the same design and components,” which they also allege Ford knew about since at least 2010 and has actively concealed.
This Ford transmission defect class action lawsuit is for anyone across the country who has “purchased or leased any 2011 through 2015 Ford Fiesta or 2012 through 2015 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with a PowerShift Transmission.”
The Klipfels are also proposing a California sub-class, a California Consumer Legal Remedies sub-class and a nationwide implied warranty sub-class.
The defective transmission class action lawsuit claims that Ford violated the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violated the California business law, violated breach of implied warranty according to the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act in California, breach of warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of express warranty, and unjust enrichment.
The Ford class action lawsuit was originally filed in California state court on Feb. 20, but was transferred to a California federal court on Monday.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Robert K. Friedl, Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.
Ford is represented by John M. Thomas and Tamara A. Bush of Dykema Gossett PLLC.
The Ford Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Klipfel et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 2:15-cv-02140, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: October 2017, the Ford PowerShift transmission class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru vehicle data collection class action lawsuit investigation
May 17, 2024 | Legal News
478 thoughts onFord Hit With Class Action Over Fiesta, Focus Transmission Defect
Can I still file a claim
I also want to file a claim. I purchased a 2012 Ford focus and I’ve had the transmission recalled on it three or four times. Now it’s sitting at a Ford dealership service dept bc the last transmission they put in also went bad and I cant afford to have it fixed & still paying on a car that I can’t drive!!
I would like how to take part in this. Having the same problems 2016 Ford.
2011 Ford Fusion also have a lot of recall and transmission problem
Would like to get a group together for a class action lawsuit against ford…..my 2014/ford focus is considered a lemon and they are settling cases
My 2015 is in the shop for the 5th time in less than a year for the transmission problem and I am unable to find any information on how to get involved in a class action lawsuit
I have a 2012 Ford Focus that I purchased new, and have brought in to the local dealers time and time again, wasting hour upon hour of my time, plus countless days with no transportation due to my car being in the shop all day. It was ‘fixed’ twice, and every other time I was told it was within their normal range of transmission shudder. First ‘fix’ was early on, with no change whatsoever in the transmission issues. After many more trips to the dealer over the next few years, and constantly being told it fell within the acceptable range, they finally said they would keep overnight and drive a longer test drive than normal. The extended test failed their requirements, so they once again ‘fixed’ my transmission by reprogramming. Again, I continue to have the same issues as before my car was ‘fixed’…hesitation, shudder (sometimes so violent that my car literally rocks back and forth when in idle), poor acceleration to the point where I hate to even try merging into traffic because the car has no power. Every time I sit in heavy traffic, especially on very hot summer days, I am worried that my car is going to stall out, and my biggest worry is that this will happen when I have one of my pet bunnies in the car with me since rabbits are highly susceptible to heat stroke. More recently (well after the second ‘fix’), the engine revved way up as it sometimes does, except this time, my car suddenly lurched forward and accelerated on it’s own (while the cruise was on) I have discussed all of my concerns with the local dealers many times, and have been told their hands are tied. I am so tired of hearing that all of these issues are normal for my car. Not only are they not normal, they are also not safe.
I have a 2013 Ford Focus which exhibits all of the symptoms listed here. I have been to the dealer several times and they ‘reset’ and ‘reprogrammed’ with no improvement. Has anyone experienced real results from their legal efforts and has Ford acknowledged the issue? Thanks for any help and insight.
I have one as well. They have acknowledged the problem in the form of extending the warranty on the transmission. The clutch on mine has been replaced 5 times.
I am currently working with an attorney and filing a lemon law case on my 2013 Focus. It has all the same symptoms mentioned in the case above and also has stalled in the middle of a intersection, stalled puling into traffic, delayed drive engagement while pulling into traffic, and was stuck in 1st gear 50 miles from home in a mountainous area, my 19 year old daughter got stuck driving it home by herself on that trip. I don’t think the consumer should be stuck with the cost of life and limb because Ford decided to make us the guinea pigs in their new engineering project. There should be a full recall on all of these vehicles and standard or revamped automatic transmissions should be put in place of these piece of junk engineering marvels before someone gets killed.
I completely agree, these vehicles need to be pulled from the road. I have had the clutched replaced 3 times on my 2014 Focus. It hesitates and what makes me most nervous is that when I am on a incline and let off my break it will roll back. Back in the old days I knew that was normal for a stick shift which was the first car I owned but I am not at the age that I want to be dealing with that anymore in my life. I am starting the process of the lemon law and hope they take this car and drive it off a cliff somewhere to not be seen again.
We just bought a used 2014 ford focus and have already had to have the clutch replaced. Do we qualify for this lawsuit
I have a 2014 Ford Focus and I financed the car with it having 20,000 miles on it I took in a few times for the sluggishness when taking off noises when baking up and so forth. in a months time recently we have drove our car back and forth to Oakland Ca from Sacramento ca and on the last time which was Friday the March 17, 2017 when we got to our destination we went to reverse and our car would not reverse there was an engine light on. I called Ford told them about my warranty and they were really were not trying to accommodate me with another car. I only have this loaner car for 5 days and my car was token in on Friday and they are closed Saturday and Sunday and I was told they was told they would not get to it until Monday or Tuesday. So if its something major I will be screwed with no car after Wednesday. And then they told me I may have to pay on it to get it worked on on a recall with money I don’t have.