Quick News About Ford Focus Problems

Most lug nuts are one piece of hardened steel, but Ford chose a design that puts an aluminum cap over a steel core.

The cap is notorious for swelling and delaminating when it gets hot. It’s also a great place to trap moisture and encourage corrosion. The end result? A lug nut that’s either too big for a standard wrench or fused so tight you need a drill, welding torch, and 7 Hail Marys to remove it.

A 2017 class-action lawsuit accused Ford of cost-cutting when switching to the two-piece design. It also said the automaker is aware of the problems, but won’t honor its warranty by denying any lug nut related claims.…

Ford wants the lug nut lawsuit tossed because "the plaintiffs never allege the swollen lug nuts have ever caused physical injuries to any person or damage to any property."

Ford also says the plaintiffs talk about swollen lug nuts as if the lug nuts should be indestructible and the warranties should last forever, then wrongly "attempt to cast their product-defect allegations as warranty, fraud and unjust-enrichment claims."

Should lug nuts last forever? Of course not. But they also shouldn't fuse into something harder than a diamond after 10,000 miles on the road.…

Ford has been sued for switching to a 2-piece lug nut design that features an aluminum cap.

When exposed to the elements, the cap swells in the heat, cracks and delaminates, and corrodes from moisture. This leaves owners and lessees who get flat tires often stranded on the roads without the ability for even tow truck drivers to remove the swollen lug nuts. This means a tow to the shop just to have the lug nuts removed and the tire replaced.

The two-piece capped lug nuts are cheaper than a one-piece stainless plug, but they look nice because of the cap. Most owners never think twice about the lug nut when buying a vehicle, only to be met with this headache down the road.

After a series of PowerShift class-actions and years of complaints, a lawsuit settlement is on the horizon.

The settlement, once approved by a federal judge, will include about 1.5 million model year 2011-2016 Ford Fiesta and 2012-2016 Ford Focus cars with automatic transmissions that caused Ford to issue two customer satisfaction programs.

The full settlement details are complex, but will provide owners with options such as cash payments, reimbursements, or credits towards the purchase of a new car with a arbitration-monitored buyback from Ford.…

Ford's "best of both worlds" PowerShift transmission is facing more leagl heat, this time by 28 named plaintiffs in Texas.

The dual-clutch lawsuit alleges the vehicles suffer from a long list of problems including shuddering, slipping, bucking, jerking, hesitation while changing gears, premature internal wear, delays in downshifting and sudden or delayed acceleration.

Where have we heard that before? Oh that's right, California and Illinois have similar class-action lawsuits on the docket.

This case, however, is the first to add the EcoSport to the list of affected models.

Power steering is one of those things you don't think about until it's gone.

And owners of Ford cars with electronic power assisted steering (EPAS) are thinking about it all the damn time, if you catch my drift. But it's been a tough year for an EPAS lawsuit that claimed the system is defective. After a promising start, it was denied class-action certification and then dismissed by a judge entirely. Womp, womp.

The lawsuit didn't even cover all the models or years affected by this problem. And now that it's going away, the complaints seem to be picking up as more cars exit their warranty period (because life is fun like that).

And oh, by the way, an out-of-warranty repair costs about $2,000.

Each car has an EVAP system that traps fuel vapors before they escape the gas tank.

Those vapors are stored in a charcoal canister and then, in certain situations, a purge valve opens and allows some of the vapors out to be burned off by the engine. But what happens when the purge valve sticks open?

According to a proposed class-action lawsuit, a stuck purge valve is causing the 2012-15 Ford Focus engine to run rough and sometimes even stall. Additionally, the valve is causing problems with the gas gauge.…

Ford is doing its best to steer clear of an EPAS lawsuit

, saying the plaintiff's claims don't merit class-action certification because the steering problems are too widespread to prove any "common defect." Nothing says confidence in your product like saying there's too many defects to prove one, singular defect.

"In addition to denying the electromechanical relays are defective, Ford says the claims should be dismissed because the alleged defects, if they exist, occurred during manufacturing at different times and with different models. Due to this, the plaintiffs cannot claim a "common defect" is associated with the Focus and Fusion cars."…

keep reading article "Ford Tries to Steer Around EPAS Lawsuit"

MyFord Touch intended to bring sophisticated technological control to your vehicle’s center console.

Emphasis on intended because the system is well-known for failures. While a glitchy navigation system is an inconvenience, a proposed class-action lawsuit says the system can be dangerous in how it limits access to basic vehicle functions.

“Ford is on the receiving end of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in a California court. The lawsuit claims the system is a safety hazard because it often fails and can cause serious problems with the defroster and rear-view camera.”

Common complaints about MyFord Touch include a terrible navigation experience, rear-view camera failure, issues controlling the temperature, no way to turn on the defroster, and more.

A Ford Focus door latch lawsuit might be forthcoming as attorneys investigate failures of the door latches that allow the doors to open while driving.

The legal investigation includes the 2012-2013 Ford Focus, the same model currently under a safety investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

This isn't surprising.

If the current investigation determines that the Focus uses the same defective pawl springs that were recalled last year, and Ford knew about it, then that's potentially a criminal offense. Or, at the very least, really crappy of them.

A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed in Illinois on behalf on all US consumers that purchased or leased a 2011-2015 Ford Fiesta or 2012-2015 Ford Focus and have had to endure the terrible driving experience of the PowerShift dual-clutch transmission.

The plaintiffs list similar complaints to another class-action filed last year, namely that the transmission "slips, bucks, kicks, jerks, gets hot, stutters, harshly engages, has premature internal wear, sudden acceleration, delay in downshifts, delayed acceleration, and difficulty stopping the vehicle." Other than that, how is it though?…

A class-action lawsuit says that Ford's new dual-clutch transmissions are a defective bucket of bolts.

The lawsuit alleges the transmission was manufactured defective and is causing Fiesta and Focus owners nothing but headaches. Owners complain about vehicles that lurch forward, experience delayed acceleration, delayed downshifting and vehicles that have trouble stopping.

The lawsuit says that all the shuddering leads to premature failure and costly repairs. Repairs that Ford, allegedly, isn't covering under its standard warranty.

PowerShift transmissions are supposed to provide the efficiency of a manual, with the ease on an automatic. Unlike other automatic transmissions with torque converters, PowerShift uses two clutches that hand off responsibility to one another. And if this lawsuit is any indication, they're doing a terrible job.