Three owners of 2021 Ford Expedition and 2021 Lincoln Navigator vehicles have filed a national class-action lawsuit against Ford Motor Co., claiming the Dearborn automaker failed to disclose to customers a defect causing spontaneous fires in the engine compartment, and there is no fix.
Ford has reported to federal safety regulators 16 fires under the hood and one burn injury, the lawsuit says.
These vehicles, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan “were dangerously defective and prone to catching fire, including while driving, while parked but (turned) on, and while parked and (turned) off. Then, though Ford knew or should have known of the fire risk prior to launching the vehicles, it did nothing to warn owners and lessees until very recently.”
A Ford customer recall is dated May 17, 2022, on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site. Under “remedy,” it says, “Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is performed. The remedy is still under development.”
The company mailed owners a letter about the safety risk May 25. A second letter will be sent “once the remedy is available.”
Up to 39,013 vehicle owners may be affected, according to the safety website. This is the latest of three recalls on the vehicles that also include potentially failing windshield wipers and passenger airbags that don’t deploy.
The federal agency states inside a red box: “URGENT: FIRE RISK WHEN PARKED. An urgent safety recall has been issued for this vehicle due to the risk of a fire.”
These premium vehicles have base prices that exceed $50,000.
16 fires
The affected vehicles include 32,711 Expeditions and 6,302 Lincoln Navigators built between Dec. 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021. The law firm representing the class, Hagens Berman Sobol and Shapiro based in Seattle, said it’s investigating model years beyond 2021.
Twelve of the reported fires occurred while the vehicle was parked and turned off, one fire occurred while the vehicle was parked and turned on, and three fires occurred while the vehicle was being driven, with occupants reporting a burning smell and smoke from the engine compartment, the lawsuit says.
Ford’s report to federal officials confirms that 14 of the fires were in rental vehicles, which suggests the fire defect may be related to mileage or use, thereby increasing the risk to owners if they continue to use their vehicles.
Why sue
“The fire risk exposes vehicle owners, passengers, other drivers on the road and neighbors to an unreasonable risk of accident, injury, death, or property damage if the vehicle catches fire while in operation or, perhaps more commonly, spontaneously ignites while the vehicle is parked at … home, on a public street, or in a public parking lot,” the legal document filed by Hagens Berman Sobol and Shapiro says.
The vehicle owners from Florida, New York and North Carolina named in the lawsuit claim the “catastrophic fire risk is the direct result of a defect that was known or should have been known to Ford” and the company “misrepresented the vehicles’ safety, reliability, functionality and quality by this omission.”
“To date, there have been 16 fires in a vehicle population of just 39,000, a number that Ford acknowledges is statistically significant,” the lawsuit says.
Smell, smoke warning
Ford spokesman Said Deep declined to comment to the Free Press on pending litigation Wednesday, citing company policy.
In these situations, Ford has noted that the problem is usually progressive with signs of malfunction that include an unusual odor or smoke.
Deep said, “We are absolutely committed to addressing potential vehicle issues and responding quickly for our customers. We proactively monitor all potential customer concerns in the field. More than ever, we are looking at all sources of information, including connected vehicle data to identify potential concerns so we can resolve them even sooner for our customers.”
He added, “For our customers who are concerned, our safety team has been working around the clock to determine a repair. If a customer has unique circumstances and is unable to park outside away from structures (such as a high-rise condo with attached parking garage) they should contact their dealer, Ford Customer Relationship Center or Lincoln Concierge.”
Not enough
Asking consumers to park the potentially flammable vehicles away from the home is an unreasonable recommendation, the lawsuit says.
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, said in a statement, “To this day, long after Ford knew or should have known that its vehicles were spontaneously bursting into flames, Ford has failed to … even instruct owners to stop driving the vehicles, leaving its own customers in danger.”
Ford offers no reimbursement to these vehicle owners and lessees for out-of-pocket expenses, loss of use, and loss of value, the lawsuit says.
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“Rather than do the right thing and globally offer every consumer a buy back … or at least offer to provide a comparable loaner or large rental SUV while storing the dangerous fire defect vehicles until such time as it is able to repair them, Ford has done nothing of the sort,” the lawsuit says
However, Ford spokesman Deep said the company does offer a rental option, if needed.
Buyer experiences
The lawsuit names three vehicle owners who said they made their purchases based on Ford’s “pervasive marketing messages of dependability and safety.”
These are their experiences according to the lawsuit, which requests a jury trial:
- Jessica Stahlman of Mount Dora, Florida, purchased a 2021 Ford Expedition in March 2021 from Mullinax Ford in Apopka. She and her husband purchased this vehicle through their jointly owned dry-cleaning company for use by employees on delivery routes. Stahlman has stopped using the Expedition because they do not want to risk endangering the safety of their employees. However, she continues to pay for and insure a vehicle she’s owned for only a year while it sits unused. Stahlman cannot park the vehicle away from her business property for insurance purposes, so the potentially dangerous vehicle sits parked behind her business.
- Jeremy Sessler of Seaford, New York, and his wife leased a 2021 Lincoln Navigator in March 2021 from Hassett Ford in Wantagh. Sessler has three young children who all ride in car seats and “extracting them all safely and quickly in the event of an engine fire would be difficult if not impossible.” Parking on the street is not an option since loading small children is done daily in close proximity to the home.
- RJ Smith of Raleigh, North Carolina, and his wife leased a 2021 Lincoln Navigator in July 2021 from Leith Inc. in Raleigh for use with their three young children. Parking outside the family garage and away from structures is not feasible because no such space exists near the home. The driveway is steeply sloped and parking outside also risks damaging the vehicle given the surrounding trees and climate. Moreover, if Smith switches vehicles with his wife, he’ll spend more than double the fuel cost to commute to work.
Reducing warranty costs has been a top priority for Ford CEO Jim Farley since before he took the helm in October 2020. He brought in expert this year to try and fix these chronic recall issues.
2022-06-07-Class-Action-Complaint-v-Ford
The Hagens Berman law firm negotiated a $1.3 billion settlement with Hyundai and Kia for an engine fire defect and has a pending class-action lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler for spontaneous fires affecting its Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans.
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at313-618-1034orphoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.