The experienced trial attorneys at Wirtz Law are dedicated to protecting your lemon law rights from manufacturers like Ford. Our proven success record speaks for itself. Contact a Ford lemon law attorney today to begin pursuing your claim at no cost to you.

At Wirtz Law APC, our experienced trial teams are dedicated to fighting for our clients and getting maximum damages, including civil penalties. Over the past 6 years, Wirtz Law APC has recovered more than $27,500,000 for consumers like you.

Common Defects

If you’ve had to bring your Ford in for repair two times or more for any of the following concerns, you may have a lemon. Call 1 (833) 4MY – LEMON to speak with a Ford lemon law attorney and get our team of experienced trial attorneys fighting on your behalf today.

Transmission Failure

The transmission or gearbox ensures that the correct amount of power reaches your wheels to drive at a given speed. The transmission ensures that the gear ratio between the engine and drive wheels adjusts to accommodate the desired speed of the car.

Common symptoms of transmission failures include:

• Whining and clunking
• Burning smell
• Lack of response, hesitation,
• Lunging, or jerking
• Noisy in neutral
• Leaking fluid
• Premature clutch replacements

Ignition or Spark Plug Failures

Sparks plugs ignite the air-fuel mixture within an engine’s cylinders, creating the explosion required to power to the engine. While failures can be caused by improper heat ranges or chemical contamination, the most common cause of damage to spark plugs results from improper torque instillation.

Common symptoms of a spark plug failures include:

• Slow acceleration
• Poor fuel economy
• Misfires
• Difficulty starting the vehicle.

Emissions System Malfunctions

The exhaust system is made up of many parts: manifolds, oxygen sensors, catalytic converters, resonators, exhaust pipes, mufflers, and tailpipes. The exhaust system controls noise, directs fumes away from passengers, improves performance and fuel consumption, and is one of the most heavily regulated systems in vehicles today. California and Federal emissions warranties even require extended coverage of many emissions system components, even if a car’s basic warranties have expired.

Common symptoms of exhaust system failures include:

• Loud hissing sounds from the exhaust
• The smell of raw gasoline
• Decrease in power
• Lack of acceleration
• Loss of fuel efficiency
• Detached, hanging, or dragging exhaust pipe

Swollen Lug Nuts

Lug nuts are fasteners used to secure a wheel to a vehicle. This problem is simply the result of cheap lug nuts beings used on wheels.

Common symptoms of lug nut defects include:

• Difficulty removing lug nuts
• Repeated replacement of lug nuts
• Inability to remove the wheel from the car

Steering System Defects

Steering system defects cause serious safety problems since a vehicle’s steering system is responsible for a driver’s ability to direct the vehicle and avoid a collision.

General steering defects can cause symptoms such as:

• Difficulty turning the wheel
• Loose steering
• Unresponsive steering
• Grinding, rattling, screeching, or other noise while turning the wheel
• Steering wheel slipping
• Excessive vibration

Death Wobble Defect

Since at least 2005, Ford’s trucks have been prone to a specifically dangerous steering system defect, known as the “Death Wobble.” The death wobble defect can result from abnormal wearing and/or loosening of the track bar bushing, steering damper, ball joints, control arms, shock absorbers, and/or struts. Most concerning, this defect usually occurs at speeds above 50 miles per hour, subjecting the driver, passengers, and others on the road to extreme danger.

Common Symptoms of the death wobble defect include:

• Sudden loss of steering control
• Violent front end shaking, vibration, swaying
• Inability to regain steering control

*Note that your Ford may still be a lemon even if the issue is not listed above. Call 1 (833) 4MY – LEMON today to describe your unique issues and get a free case evaluation.

Is My Ford Model a Lemon?

Think you might have a lemon? If your Ford is on the list below and has required repeated repairs for the same issue, contact a Ford Lemon Law Attorney at 1 (833) 4MY – LEMON.

• Ford Bronco
• Ford E-Series
• Ford EcoSport
• Ford Edge
• Ford Escape
• Ford Escape Kuga
• Ford Escape PHEV
• Ford Expedition
• Ford Expedition Max
• Ford Explorer
• Ford F-150
• Ford F-250
• Ford F-350
• Ford F-450
• Ford Fiesta
• Ford Fiesta ST
• Ford Flex
• Ford Focus
• Ford Focus ST
• Ford Fusion
• Ford Fusion Energi
• Ford Fusion Hybrid
• Ford Galaxy
• Ford GT
• Ford Ka
• Ford Mondeo Fusion
• Ford Mustang
• Ford Mustang Mach-E
• Ford Puma
• Ford Ranger
• Ford Ranger Raptor
• Ford S-Max
• Ford Shelby GT350
• Ford Shelby GT500
• Ford Super Duty
• Ford Taurus
• Ford Transit
• Ford Transit-150 Crew
• Ford Transit Connect
• Ford Transit Courier
• Ford Transit-150 Cargo
• Ford Transit-250 Cargo
• Ford Transit-250 Crew
• Ford Transit-350 Cargo
• Ford Transit-350 Crew
• Ford-150 Raptor
• Forde Edge

*Note that your Ford may still be a lemon even if not listed above.

Notable Recent Ford Recalls

Ford F-150 – Brake Master Cylinder (Safety Recall No. 20S31)

• In June 2020, the Ford Motor Company recalled more than 290,000 Ford-150s, including the 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 models. The recall was the result of reports that door latches were likely to crack and fail in warm weather. Drivers may notice a warning light on the dashboard or a loss of the ability to brake properly.
• According to Ford, “the driver may experience a change in brake pedal travel and feel… [and a] reduc[tion in] brake function in the front wheels [which] can extend stopping distance, increasing the risk of crash.” NHTSA’s Recall Report identifies the cause of the brake fluid leak to “be brake fluid contamination that could interfere with rear cup seal function.”

Ford Expedition – Pre-Collision Assist Configuration (Safety Recall No. 20S20)

• In May 2020, the Ford Motor Company recalled more than 25,000 of the 2020 Ford Expeditions. The recall was the result of a software error rendering the Pre-Collision Assist (PCA) feature inoperable. As a result, several features including the Forward Collision Warning, Dynamic Break support, Automatic Emergency Braking, and Auto High Beam Control also failed posing serious risk of injury to drivers relying on these features.
• According to Ford, “An inoperative PCA system may not detect or reduce the risk or severity of a frontal collision, increasing the risk of an injury or crash if the driver is relying on assistance from the system.” According to NHTSA’s Recall Report, the issues was the result of “incorrect software programming in the modules that control the camera-only version of the Pre-Collision Assist System…[and can] increase the risk of injury or crash.”

Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion – Door Latch (Safety Recall No. 20S15)

• In March 2020, the Ford Motor Company recalled nearly 250,000 Ford Fiestas and Ford Fusions, including the 2014, 2015, and 2016 models. The recall was the result of reports that door latches were likely to crack and fail in warm weather. Drivers reported having difficulty closing doors and even doors opening while being driven.
• According to Ford, “the door latches have a pawl spring tab that may break… there is [also] potential the door may unlatch while driving, increasing the risk of injury.” NHTSA’s Recall Report identifies the cause of the door failure with “the latch pawl spring tab design [being] susceptible to cracking and failure in areas with high ambient temperatures.”

Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Superduty, Explorer, Aviator, Expedition, and Escape – Manual Recliner Seat (Safety Recall No. 19C07)

• In August 2019, the Ford Motor Company recalled more than 480,000 F-150s, F-250s, F-350s, F-450s, F-550s, Super Dutys, Explorers, Aviators, Expeditions, and Escapes including the 2018, 2019, and 2020 models. The recall was the result of defective seatbacks which might not be strong enough to properly hold a passenger during crash. The defect is mostly undetectable by drivers until a crash and can result in severe injury during crash.
• According to Ford, the affected vehicles do “not conform to requirements specified by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.” NHTSA’s Recall Report identifies the cause of the seat defect with “improper machine setup on an assembly line at the seat recliner supplier.” The report notes that the defect “may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.”

 

 

About Ford

At Wirtz Law APC, we are dedicated to protecting consumers from large automakers like Ford. Officially operating in the United States as the Ford Motor Company, the company is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Ford Image

Incorporated in 1903, Ford has more than 100 years of car manufacturing experience. Best known for revolutionizing the car manufacturing process with the assembly line, Ford prides itself on making “the first vehicle built for everyone.”

While Ford focuses on creating cars with economical price tags for the average American consumer, a host of problems and defects often drive up the cost of owning a Ford to be much higher than the sticker price. Sadly, not all Fords are the Le Mans-winning GT40. Nor are they always the perfect cars that Ford’s marketing depicts.

History of Recalls

The company could also win a trophy for the vast amount of recalls issued for Ford’s defective and dangerous vehicles driven on American roads. Of the ten biggest auto recalls in history, Ford takes first and second place, with the most and second-most number of cars recalled in a single recall. Ford also consistently holds a top spot as an automaker with one of the highest number of recalls issued. The infamous Ford Pinto fires of the 1970s and Cruise Control explosions of the ’90s and early 2000s are only the tip of the iceberg. Ford vehicles continue to suffer from serious defects.

I think I have a lemon. What do I do now?

Under California’s Lemon Law, if you’ve given an automaker a “reasonable number of attempts” to repair your vehicle but the problems persist, your car might qualify for repurchase or replacement.

Big automakers like Ford often try to muddy the water and re-define the analysis of Lemon Law qualification to their benefit – which is why consumers should never fight the big automakers alone! Generally speaking, as few as two (2) repair opportunities can be enough for your car to qualify. Don’t rely on Ford’s evaluation of your repair history, contact the professionals at Wirtz Law today.

How Wirtz Law Can Help

Over the past 6 years, Wirtz Law has recovered more than $27,500,000 for clients like you. On average, Wirtz Law APC fights for its clients in ten jury trials a year and settles many more cases at all stages of the litigation. We consistently recover more than just a buyback for our clients, recovering both actual damages and civil penalties against the automakers and distributors. We are the firm other lawyers hire when it’s time to go to trial, and consumers hire when they want their case handled right. We are ready to fight for your rights, today!

If you have a lemon, call 1(833) 4MY – LEMON to speak with a Ford lemon law attorney about your case for free.