— Alleged Ford Focus purge valve problems have caused a Focus owner to file a proposed class-action lawsuit that alleges the cars stall while driving.
The proposed class-action lawsuit seeks to include all former and current 2012-2015 Ford Focus owners, including plaintiff Jon Rivera who says he purchased his Ford Focus in 2013.
The plaintiff says that by October 2016, he was experiencing stalling problems and issues with an inaccurate gas gauge. Rivera says the car stalled while driving at highway speeds and did it without providing any warning.
The Ford Focus lawsuit describes alleged problems caused by the purge valve that is used for the emissions system. The plaintiff says the EVAP system (evaporative emission control system) is used to store fuel vapors in the charcoal canister when the engine is running. Those vapors are supposed to be sent to the engine, if the system works as intended.
However, the plaintiff claims the purge valve can stick open and allow liquid gas to enter the EVAP system. The alleged purge valve problem will cause the gas gauge to give a driver false fuel level estimates and cause the Focus to stall while driving.
The plaintiff isn't alone in his complaint, as other Ford Focus owners say their cars stalled at highway speeds while giving random inaccurate fuel levels on the gauge.
"My vehicle's fuel tank is compressing due to a faulty vacuum purge valve requiring a new tank, fuel pump and purge valve. This issue has caused my vehicle to stall in freeway traffic @ approx 60 mph and to stall in stop and go traffic. My RPM will fluctuate when at a stop and my fuel gauge is completely inaccurate registering full to 1/2 at random." - 2012 Ford Focus owner / Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Another Focus owner experienced the problem at very slow speeds, to the tune of about $2,000.
"My 2012 Ford Focus has started to idle rough and stalls occasionally when slowing or stopped. After taking it to the dealer for service they informed me that the canister purge valve had stuck open causing suction in the tank and resulting in the top of the fuel tank to cave in. They said that I needed to have the fuel tank, fuel pump, purge valve and canister replaced for around $2000." - 2012 Ford Focus owner / Bonaire, Georgia
The lawsuit alleges that although Ford knows about the stalling problem, the automaker refuses to pay for the repairs and leaves that expensive chore to customers.
In addition, the plaintiff claims owners of 2012-2015 Ford Focus cars wouldn't have purchased the cars if Ford would have admitted the cars were susceptible to stalling, or at the least those consumers wouldn't have paid what they did.
According to court documents, the plaintiff claims his car isn't worth what it should be because of the alleged defect with the purge valve.
The Ford Focus purge valve lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan - Jon Rivera v. Ford Motor Company.