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Ford Motor Company has reached a settlement that addresses a class action lawsuit that accused the company of selling Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta vehicles with malfunctioning transmissions.
Plaintiff Omar Vargas, initially filed the lawsuit in 2012, complaining of a transmission defect. After signing the lease of his new 2011 Ford Fiesta, Vargas says he had to make multiple trips to Ford dealers to have the transmission checked out.
According to the plaintiff, nothing seemed to be able to fix the transmission problem. Vargas’ complaint alleges that Ford Motor Company knew about the transmission defect but decided not to forewarn their customers of the issue. Vargas’ lawsuit was consolidated with a similar class action in 2015.
“The complaint alleged that the transmission, which Ford billed as a new type of transmission that combines the best features of automatic and standard transmissions, causes class vehicles to slip, buck, and jerk and to suffer sudden or delayed acceleration and delays in downshifts,” the Ford class action claimed.
The settlement relieves the plaintiffs and all Class Members who owned or leased a 2011-2016 Focus or 2012-2016 Fiesta vehicle with several substantial restorative measures including and not limited to: cash payments, reimbursements, and credit towards the purchase of a new vehicle.
The proposed settlement has multiple key elements, the first of which, grants Class Members cash payments partly for the inconvenience of having taken their vehicles back to Ford dealers for repairs. This cash payment does not exclude customers who did not incur any out-of-pocket costs while doing so.
Moreover, customers who have had, “three or more service visits for a replacement of one of the primary transmission parts will receive $200 for the third visit,” the settlement documents explain. This returned service fee will increase with each additional visit.
The settlement further discusses that “In lieu of cash, Class Members may elect to receive a Vehicle Discount Certificate (‘Certificate’) toward the purchase of a Ford vehicle for twice the cash value. Class Members may collect up to $2,325 in total cash payments or $4,650 in Certificate value.”
Class Members can also replace their defective vehicles or repurchase a new vehicle through an “arbitration program” within a span of one or two months. Those consumers who may have also been incorrectly charged or were not able to repair their vehicles can purse warranty claims, as well, under what is called a “Warranty Arbitration.”
The settlement further allows consumers entitlement to full reimbursement for those who had replaced a clutch a third time within a five- year span or 60,000 miles. Ford will also provide their dealers, “with language designed to make prospective buyers aware of issues related to the unusual characteristics of the transmission,” the settlement claims.
Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett and Karen L. Wallace of Capstone Law, Russell D. Paul of Berger & Montague and Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr. of Zimmerman Law.
The Ford Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit is Omar Vargas, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 2:12-cv-0838, 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.
UPDATE 2: On Feb. 2, 2018, objectors have urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reject a proposed $35 million Ford transmission defect class action settlement, claiming that many Class Members will not receive meaningful relief.
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255 thoughts onFord Settles Fiesta, Focus Transmission Defect Class Action
I must be included in this class action suit. I own a 2016 Ford Fiesta. I have had it to the dealer once, but it is just not shifting smoothly or exhilarating correctly. Please forward me any information I may need to file.
My 2014 Focus was in for service 9 times within the first year and a half. the jerking shuttering sticking stalling all of it. before it was a year old the clutch was replaced. then even after i took it in for the recall on the TCM, it left me stranded on my way to work and just dies on the highway, in Atlanta no less, the TCM went compleetly and had to be replaced. AND THE SERVICE PEOPLE EXPECT YOU TO FILL OUT A SURVEY AND TELL YOU STRAIGHT OUT TO MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THEM AN EXCELLENT ACROSS THE BOARD!
A customer service rep at Ford actually had the nerve to say to me ” there is nothing wrong with you car ma’am, it’s the way you are driving it. That car wasn’t made to be driven like an automatic it was made to be driven like a manual transmission.” I laughed and said “Really? How much is Ford paying you to say that to all of us”
I love everything else about this car!! but I do not feel safe in it!! I paid for all the upgrades. and it’s in perfect condition but to trade it in I will lose so much money for a car I have had nothing but problems with. It’s not right. I would have to finance $5K of it with a new car loan. FORD should pay that $5K!!!! I should not have to do that!
I need in on this class action suit. Our daughter’s 2012 Fiesta is horrible to drive/ride in. Transmission is the problem. Even after the recall “fixes”. The worst part is that Ford knew of this problem and sold the cars anyway.
I worked for a company that tests these vehicles and I have a lot of info that no one would listen to. I was let go because I didn’t press a button but told them the problem, being honest. So much for honesty is the best policy.
Can I still file a claim
The settlement has not yet received preliminary approval from the court. Once the settlement is preliminarily approved, a settlement website will be released. Please keep checking Top Class Actions for updates. We will let our viewers know as soon as the settlement website is up and running and claim forms and instructions are available!
Thanks for answering a question that was about to be sent. Looking forward to following. I’m on my forth time with the transmission going into trouble, so thanks again.
I can attest to this. The 3-year lease on my 2014 Ford Focus recently ended. I had noticed the jerky transmission and the service people basically told me there was no fix, so I just put up with it. Thank god I did not buy one.
I own ford fiesta and we’ve noticed that it skip its 2015
Help me file a claim I have a 2012 Ford explorer that I have brought in for the same issue jerking staling back firing about 6 time macanic told me it was transmission when I took him on a ride in car with me but Ford refused to admitt that this is an issue even but a device in my car for 3 weeks and asked me to push button every time it happened I believe they left out for explorer year 2012 with this issues as well along with other issues that are wrong with car and becomes unsafe to drive car
Me too
Help me file a claim