— Ford argues a class action lawsuit filed over a fuel injector recall should be entirely dismissed.
According to Ford, the class action lawsuit was filed about a "rare" under-hood fire risk that existed in 2020-2023 Ford Escapes and 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports.
But the fire risk allegedly related to two different problems which resulted in two separate recalls (here and here).
The plaintiffs allegedly attempt to blend the two, but they are suing about the second.
The 2020-2023 Ford Escapes and 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports are equipped with 1.5L engines, and the lawsuit alleges a Ford recall does nothing to fix the fuel injector problems.
The Ford fuel injector recall was necessary because the injectors could crack and leak fuel into the cylinder heads. From there the fuel could enter a drain hole and make contact with hot components, causing fires under the hoods.
At first, Ford believed the problem was caused by cracks at the edges of the oil separator housings.
A second Ford fuel injector recall was announced in November 2022 for more than 520,000 Ford Bronco Sports and Escapes.
Ford told federal safety regulators an estimated 1% percent of the 520,000 vehicles may have been affected by the fuel injector problem.
Motion to Dismiss the Ford Class Action Lawsuit
Ford told the judge the plaintiffs who sued claim the automaker concealed the risk of engine fires when in reality Ford had already disclosed the dangers to vehicle owners.
Ford also notes how the class action lawsuit was filed about an official recall, a recall overseen by federal safety regulators.
"Nonetheless, this lawsuit speculates that Ford’s recall may not effectively resolve the product concerns. But there are no factual allegations to support that speculation, and thus no remaining actual or imminent injury." — Ford
According to Ford, the class action lawsuit is more than 100 pages, yet the entire issue is simple.
Fors says it learned of a "small number of under-hood fires" in 2020-2023 Ford Escapes and 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports. Ford investigated and discovered leaking fuel caused the fires, so a formal recall was announced.
A recall overseen by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and one allegedly instituted before most consumers ever knew of a problem.
Recall repairs allegedly fix problems with leaking fuel hitting hot components, and Ford also offers a free fix for 150,000 miles on the fuel injector if it fails.
It was months after these actions that the plaintiffs filed the Ford class action lawsuit challenging the efficacy of the recall based on a "hypothetical risk that the recall is ineffective."
Ford also told the judge about a trend of class actions that are not filed until after vehicles have been recalled to be repaired.
"At bottom, this case is part of a misplaced trend of attempting to turn real-world automotive safety recalls into class action lawsuits by criticizing the proposed fix and alleging that manufacturers who disclose the risks to the safety regulator are engaged in fraud and deception. Ford learned of a risk, investigated the risk, disclosed the risk, and is addressing the risk." — Ford's motion to dismiss
The Ford class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan: Letson, et al., v. Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and The Miller Law Firm PC.
