— A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Ford over alleged engine problems in hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
The plaintiff is Eric Nolan Clark, the owner of a 2005 Ford F-150 who started having engine problems when the truck had less than 80,000 miles. Clark claims he had to pay for the repairs even though Ford should have covered it under warranty.
The lawsuit alleges model year 2004-2008 Ford vehicles experience acceleration problems, decreased RPM, stalling, loss of power and other engine problems. The complaint says the engine problems are caused by the powertrain control module, the transmission control, the electronic throttle control and/or the throttle body assembly.
The Ford lawsuit says the automaker knew about the problems through customer complaints and acknowledged the engine problems by issuing technical service bulletins to dealers. Service bulletins inform dealers about how to fix problems if a customer complains, yet these bulletins aren't recalls and an automaker isn't required to notify the public about the problems.
The plaintiff claims Ford issued bulletins in 2006, 2007 and three times in 2008. However, Ford allegedly didn't tell its dealers the engine problems should have been covered under the express warranty as dictated by EPA regulations. The lawsuit alleges Ford concealed the engine problems to avoid contractual and legal duties.
The lawsuit seeks to represent all consumers who currently own or lease model year 2004-2008 Ford vehicles equipped with a 5.4L engine equipped with the original powertrain control module, the transmission control and the electronic throttle control and/or the throttle body assembly.
Those alleging a breach of express warranty must own or lease an affected Ford vehicle less than eight years old and has 80,000 miles or less.
The Ford engine defect lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - Eric Nolan Clark et. al., vs Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiff is represented by Anapol Schwartz.