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Ford owners from three different states say they were never properly warned about a Ford throttle body defect in the cars they purchased.
Plaintiffs Fernando Aviles, Barry Kiery, Michael Kelder and James Cowen claim there’s a defect in the electronic throttle body used in several models and model years of Ford cars. They claim this sixth-generation Delphi throttle body is prone to failure, which causes the vehicle to stall or to suddenly decelerate to near-idle speed.
According to this Ford throttle body class action lawsuit, the Ford vehicles that contain the Delphi throttle body at issue include the following models, all from model years 2011 to 2015:
- Mustang with 3.7L TiVCT engines
- Edge with 3.5L TiVCT and 3.7L TiVCT engines
- Lincoln MKX with 3.7L TiVCT engines
- F-150 with 3.5L TiCVT and 3.7L TiVCT engines
The plaintiffs say defendant Ford Motor Company has known about the Ford throttle body defect for years yet has failed to address it adequately. They accuse Ford of purposely ignoring the defect in hopes that the warranties on affected vehicles would expire before the vehicles’ owners found out about the defect.
In fuel-injected engines, the throttle body is the component that controls how much air enters the engine. Older throttle bodies were mechanically linked directly to the accelerator pedal, allowing more air in when the driver depresses the pedal.
The Delphi throttle body is operated by electric motors linked electronically to the accelerator pedal. Plaintiffs say the defect in the Ford throttle body causes a loss of connectivity between the throttle body and the powertrain control module, which responds by limiting the vehicle’s speed to just above idle.
As plaintiffs describe it, the alleged Ford throttle body defect creates a significant threat to safety. Drivers have reported that their vehicles decelerated without warning while driving at highway speeds. When the alleged defect occurs in heavy traffic, navigating the disabled vehicle to the road’s shoulder can be extremely dangerous, the plaintiffs say.
Plaintiffs say scores of Ford owners have lodged complaints about the Ford throttle body defect in online forums and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The class action lawsuit alleges that Ford has known about this problem since at least 2009, yet the company never disclosed the problem to purchasers. Ford claimed to have found and resolved a problem in a previous version of the Delphi throttle body, then continued to install defective throttle bodies in newer vehicles, the plaintiffs say.
The plaintiffs propose to represent a nationwide plaintiff Class that would include all current and former owners and lessees of one of the above “Class Vehicles” that was purchased or leased within the U.S. They also propose three subclasses to represent Class Members from the plaintiffs’ home states of California, Florida and Alabama.
They are asking for a court order that would require Ford to repair, recall or replace vehicles equipped with the Delphi throttle body at issue. They also seek awards of damages, restitution and disgorgement of related revenues, plus reimbursement of cout costs and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys David S. Stellings, Jason L. Lichtman, Fabrice Vincent and Andrew R. Kaufman of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP; by W. Daniel “Dee” Miles III, H. Clay Barnett III, Archie I. Grubb II and Andrew E. Brashier of Besley Allen Crow Methvier Portis & Miles PC; and by Anthony J. Garcia of AG Law.
The Ford Throttle Body Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Fernando Aviles, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 8:17-cv-00281, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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55 thoughts onFord Throttle Body Defect Puts Drivers in Danger, Say Plaintiffs
My 2018 Ford Fusion lost all power while driving 55 on a highway. The wrench appeared as my foot was to the floor trying to make it off the side of the road. I sent a complaint over two months ago to Ford and no answer. The dealership has replaced the part, but it still cost me the money.
Happened to me twice – wrench appeared on screen – all power lost had to pull over and stop engine and restart. Took to dealership and they determined bad throttle body – thank goodness covered under warranty but is going to take over a week to be repaired. IF this is a known defect why hasn’t the expeditions been recalled yet?
This happened to me 2 days ago in my 2018 Transit 250. It is currently at the Ford dealership I purchased it from. I was nearly killed when I lost all power while driving.
My 2012 Ford Fusion is having troubles with its throttle body
Happened to my sons Ford Focus hatchback 2015
Anybody else with a hatchback?
Same with my 2013 Edge. Had it towed last night to the Ford service dept. Explained what happened, the guy couldn’t understand what I was talking about. He tried to start it 3 times and was finally able to move it. All he kept saying was I needed new tires soon and they had good deals, and what did I do when it started to do this. I said “driving home from work!!” We get regular maintenance at this dealership. He also said that he’s never heard of anything like happening and if I was sure that’s how . $160 for diagnosis.
And not all Ford service departments are the same. Mine has become lazy and does not care about customers anymore. We’ve been going there since we purchased our 2001 F-150 and purchased our 2013 Edge there as well.
Brought my son a Ford Edge Limited and it lost all power. After going to 2 repair shops who couldn’t fix it, had to eventually take it to a Ford dealer who replaced the throttle body costing over $2500. Less than 24 hours and it did the same thing each time while in traffic. Took it back to same dealership who had to replace the entire computer to the tune of an additional almost ,$700. Its definitely a safety hazard when it losses all power out of nowhere in the middle of traffic.
I own a 2015 Ford Expedition. It has happened to me THREE TIMES now! I refuse to drive it any more but i also do not want to sell it to another family. Ford Corporate says i dont “ qualify “ for replacement program because i am over the warranty miles. ( even though FIRST time was at 36,000 miles) they are hiding behind the lemon law. I told them i was disgusted that they are more worried about saving money than lives. I asked if he would put his family in this car and he was stumped and said “ thats not a fair question “ yes it is! And you just answered it! I hope i can get in on this lawsuit. I now have a car sitting in front of my house that i refuse to drive and a car payment. I need a car and idk what to do
Just had my ford escape 2010 fixed this has been fixed twice.
I was almost hit because I lost all power in a middle os an intersection.
How can I get on the class action
The exact same thing happened to my son’s 2010 Ford Edge Limited in the middle of traffic. Costed over $3200 to get it fixed. Let me know if u find out anything.
I have a 2017 Ford Expedition that almost got me KILLED! It stopped in the middle of a busy highway! I was told it a throttle body problem. This car was $30K used. I can’t afford to pay for a car and car payments! Is it covered under the class action lawsuit?
I fought with multiple local Ford dealerships about the exact same issue. I purchased a used 2014 Ford Mustang (at 16k miles) in 2015. Less than a year later, my car would routinely stall and display an orange wrench icon on the dashboard. The gas pedal did not function when this occurred. The car would have just enough momentum in light traffic to make it to a shoulder or emergency lane. The brake could be used to make it to an emergency lane. I was stalled on multiple occasions on a busy, traffic intensive, high speed expressway and in construction zones. This happened to me once at the bottom of a hill on an expressway, where traffic traveling towards me behind me could not see that I was stalled until they almost hit me. Once the car lost momentum, the accelerator would not allow me to move the car any further. The vehicle was stalled but still on. The a/c, radio, horn, lights, blinkers, hazards, etc. still functioned. I would routinely travel in 70 mph highways only to have my car stall to an idle in seconds. I raised the issue with my local dealership which offered no remedy. They checked the powertrain control and transmission which was still under warranty. They claimed to have test driven the vehicle for 50+ miles to recreate the conditions I described. They claimed to have been unsuccessful in this attempt. I called corporate. They said many have reported similar issues. They collected my personal and vehicle information, and said they would put me on a list for notification if a recall was ever issued that pertained to my vehicle. After researching the issue on mustang forums online and discussing the issue with the South Texas Mustang Club (who reported to me that brand new 2019’s are being driven off the lot with the same issue), I decided to purchase an electronic throttle control from O’Reilly Auto Parts for about $100. I replaced the part myself in my drive way with the guidance of a YouTuber who performed the same replacement on his daughter’s mustang. I recalibrated the vehicle which basically flushes the vehicle of old electronic information from the stock electronic throttle body to make a clean slate for the new part. This process took about 20 minutes. The vehicle has not since stalled or displayed the wrench icon. I called corporate again to ask for monetary compensation of the faulty stock electronic throttle control. They obviously declined, which I anticipated, but I asked anyway because I wanted the issue and request to be recorded. Ford is aware of the faulty part and hasn’t fixed it. I read that an “extended Customer Satisfaction guarantee” was issued to cover the electronic throttle control, which is BS. This should have been a full blown recall. Ford vehicles are going from 75 to zero in a matter of seconds on busy streets. This is putting people’s lives in danger (both drivers/occupants of the vehicle and others on the roadway). There’s no reason why a dealership full of professionals couldn’t diagnose or resolve a mechanical problem with a vehicle they manufactured. I’m a 22 year old female. I diagnosed and solved the problem by myself. I did the research by myself. I purchased the part by myself. I installed and recalibrated the part by myself. I fought with the dealership by myself. This is BS. I suggest you repair your vehicle by replacing the electronic throttle control, and keep the stock part and receipt for the new part in case a successful class action or recall ensues.