Class action suit against Ford Motor Company

[assayer]

I am a Ford Ecosport owner who should have been included into the class action suit against Ford last year. But, it was kept as quiet as possible and neither my Thai wife or me knew about the suit. Had we know in time we would have gladly joined the group and added to their stories with our own about the autos.

If there is anyone who knows of anything related to this suit that we can do too or the way to contact other owners who are also experiencing problems with their Fords would you please advise me.

We have had the clutches in our auto changed three time and it only has 46000 kilometers on it. We were driving down a major highway when the transmission shifted into neutral by itself. I shudder to think of what could have happened had it shifted into reverse or park.

If there are others, and I know there are, out there experiencing similar issues with the transmissions or with the engines in their Fords please contact me. As can be seen from the suit which was ruled on in favor of the consumers, Thailand is now trying to help some people with the fights against some of the GIANT companies.

Again, please contact me if you can be of help in any way.

[mike324]

It was kept quiet by Ford, but if you read the news regularly it has been popping up fore more than 2 years regularly. It was even on Thai news multiple times with protest and even owners smashing their own cars.

 

The lawsuit has closed, so I believe its too late for you to get anything. Why not contact the consumer protection board. They are actually pretty good at helping. I've seen a facebook page in Thai before, you should ask your wife Thai wife to search for it, there were many owners posting on the page.

[connda]

Somebody smells money!  <sharks circling>

[Nanaplaza666]

11 minutes ago, connda said:

Somebody smells money!  <sharks circling>

Somebody heard about the smell of money , but was to late to get a chance to smell it himself . 

[eisfeld]

connda and Nanaplaza666: really? How much do claimants in a class action lawsuit usually get? Since the suit was already completed, it should be easy to see that those people get. I'll spare you the effort: they get between 20k and 200k depending on each case. That's probably barely enough to cover the costs that they suffered because a faulty gearbox can be a big (and expensive) issue and from what one can read, these things will likely break again and again. Consider the depreciation because noone wants to buy Ford in Thailand anymore and the customers are still in the red even after the compensation.

[alfieconn]

37 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

connda and Nanaplaza666: really? How much do claimants in a class action lawsuit usually get? Since the suit was already completed, it should be easy to see that those people get. I'll spare you the effort: they get between 20k and 200k depending on each case. That's probably barely enough to cover the costs that they suffered because a faulty gearbox can be a big (and expensive) issue and from what one can read, these things will likely break again and again. Consider the depreciation because noone wants to buy Ford in Thailand anymore and the customers are still in the red even after the compensation.

To be fair, the cost of repairs etc have been covered by Ford well certainly in my daughters case, but like you say, the cost of future repairs and depreciation needs to be taken into consideration.

Reading between the lines i think a lot of people wanted Ford to take back the cars and reimburse them but that obviously didn't happen.

Anyway, my daughter being a stubborn thing that she is ses that she want's the group to appeal against the award.

P.s. I am not sure that due to the compensation being awarded if this negates any future repairs for free !

[4MyEgo]

22 hours ago, assayer said:

We have had the clutches in our auto changed three time and it only has 46000 kilometers on it.

I take it the 100,000km warranty is now lapsed, if not, I would be going straight back to Ford and telling them to replace the gearbox before it blows up, if they say no, then in about a weeks time, do what you gotta do and then they cannot say you didn't warn them.

[rayinkrabi]

All very interesting. I told ford (krabi) there was a problem with the clutch/gearbox within weeks of taking delivery of my Dec 2013 fiesta...They denied there was a problem at all, saying it was 'normal' ...they continued to ignore me again at the service periods thereafter. 

 

The high revving between gear changes got increasingly worse and at one time the car refused to change up from second.  Over a year later when they eventually conceded that there was a problem.  They had the car for a whole week but it was only slightly improved when I got it back.

 

Some time later (can't remember how long but within 6 mths) the problem recurred and they had the car for another week, all damned inconvenient and laughed yet again when I asked for a courtesy vehicle! (They did eventually give us a ride home in their works truck).

 

Over a year ago, at a routine service, I pointed out that the car was losing coolant, not too much but it was a concern to me.  Their response to my Thai wife was that I had failed to fasten the expansion tank cap properly.  At this point of the story I have to say I had lost all faith in them completely.

 

Ford have had many attempts since to 're-program' the onboard computer thingy but although I felt a slight improvement each time it was never good and forever high revving.

 

Returned to ford again last week for a service, also horrible noises coming from the water pump for the past few days, plus I asked them yet again to deal with the gear changing problem.  Turned out the water pump had shattered, causing other damage, (total 12k)...they said it was because I had left it too long !!  They also said the bad gear changing was because of the water pump but is now ok!!!   I could not accept that and took it (with the service mgr) for a test drive.   

 

Sure enough, the car was as reluctant as ever to change gears so the mgr (a decent bloke) told the mechanic to (yet again)  re-program the software, took about 20 minutes.  Success at last, the car now changes gear quite nicely...so far at least.

 

True story...I wrote this to inform and hopefully benefit fellow TV members so please don't reply by slagging me off for the way I 'handled' this saga, positive comments welcome of course.   Cheers, Ray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[transam]

34 minutes ago, rayinkrabi said:

All very interesting. I told ford (krabi) there was a problem with the clutch/gearbox within weeks of taking delivery of my Dec 2013 fiesta...They denied there was a problem at all, saying it was 'normal' ...they continued to ignore me again at the service periods thereafter. 

 

The high revving between gear changes got increasingly worse and at one time the car refused to change up from second.  Over a year later when they eventually conceded that there was a problem.  They had the car for a whole week but it was only slightly improved when I got it back.

 

Some time later (can't remember how long but within 6 mths) the problem recurred and they had the car for another week, all damned inconvenient and laughed yet again when I asked for a courtesy vehicle! (They did eventually give us a ride home in their works truck).

 

Over a year ago, at a routine service, I pointed out that the car was losing coolant, not too much but it was a concern to me.  Their response to my Thai wife was that I had failed to fasten the expansion tank cap properly.  At this point of the story I have to say I had lost all faith in them completely.

 

Ford have had many attempts since to 're-program' the onboard computer thingy but although I felt a slight improvement each time it was never good and forever high revving.

 

Returned to ford again last week for a service, also horrible noises coming from the water pump for the past few days, plus I asked them yet again to deal with the gear changing problem.  Turned out the water pump had shattered, causing other damage, (total 12k)...they said it was because I had left it too long !!  They also said the bad gear changing was because of the water pump but is now ok!!!   I could not accept that and took it (with the service mgr) for a test drive.   

 

Sure enough, the car was as reluctant as ever to change gears so the mgr (a decent bloke) told the mechanic to (yet again)  re-program the software, took about 20 minutes.  Success at last, the car now changes gear quite nicely...so far at least.

 

True story...I wrote this to inform and hopefully benefit fellow TV members so please don't reply by slagging me off for the way I 'handled' this saga, positive comments welcome of course.   Cheers, Ray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't even think about buying Fords new bi-turbo thingy...

[rayinkrabi]

27 minutes ago, transam said:

Don't even think about buying Fords new bi-turbo thingy...

Hey Trans, how u doing?  And no, I would never even dream of buying another ford anything ????  (note I always use lower case when spelling their name).

 

[eisfeld]

3 hours ago, alfieconn said:

To be fair, the cost of repairs etc have been covered by Ford well certainly in my daughters case, but like you say, the cost of future repairs and depreciation needs to be taken into consideration.

Reading between the lines i think a lot of people wanted Ford to take back the cars and reimburse them but that obviously didn't happen.

Anyway, my daughter being a stubborn thing that she is ses that she want's the group to appeal against the award.

P.s. I am not sure that due to the compensation being awarded if this negates any future repairs for free !

Fully agree. The costs I mention are future costs (and past lost time etc) after warranty expires. BTW a friend of mine got an offer from Ford to buy back his Focus, I don't remember the amount offered though. This was a while back, before this case concluded.

[dadey]

I too have had major issues with my 2013 Fiesta 1.5 Sport clutch and gearbox. I have made 3 or 4 visits to 're-program' and ultimately replace the clutch and gearbox.

 

Does anyone have the contact details for the law firm involved with the class action claim?

 

Surely, if Ford have accepted responsibility for the faulty product, then anyone who has had suffered the problem, including high depreciation, will be 'eligible' for compensation.

 

[assayer]

4 hours ago, connda said:

Somebody smells money!  <sharks circling>

I don't know who you are, AND you don't know me. I suspect that if you were involved in this in anyway you would also be looking for some satisfaction from a car manufacturer that won't stand behind their warranty issues. We have had the car into the shop many times for transmission work, three sets of clutches, and they continue to tell us there is nothing wrong with the car. I am not looking for money, I only want the car to be as expected.

Again, we don't know each other, so why think of me as a shark, JERK?

[assayer]

29 minutes ago, dadey said:

I too have had major issues with my 2013 Fiesta 1.5 Sport clutch and gearbox. I have made 3 or 4 visits to 're-program' and ultimately replace the clutch and gearbox.

 

Does anyone have the contact details for the law firm involved with the class action claim?

 

Surely, if Ford have accepted responsibility for the faulty product, then anyone who has had suffered the problem, including high depreciation, will be 'eligible' for compensation.

 

Please pm me

[assayer]

3 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I take it the 100,000km warranty is now lapsed, if not, I would be going straight back to Ford and telling them to replace the gearbox before it blows up, if they say no, then in about a weeks time, do what you gotta do and then they cannot say you didn't warn them.

No the 100,000 warranty is not expired yet, and yes I did tell them to change the gearbox. The service manager veery happily told us he had never put in a work order to change a gear box on any vehicle and was not going to on ours as well.

[alfieconn]

33 minutes ago, assayer said:

I don't know who you are, AND you don't know me. I suspect that if you were involved in this in anyway you would also be looking for some satisfaction from a car manufacturer that won't stand behind their warranty issues. We have had the car into the shop many times for transmission work, three sets of clutches, and they continue to tell us there is nothing wrong with the car. I am not looking for money, I only want the car to be as expected.

Again, we don't know each other, so why think of me as a shark, JERK?

All Ford Franchises know that there is a problem with the Powershift, tell them to speak to Head Office in Bangrak, Bangkok 02686 4145.

[assayer]

6 minutes ago, alfieconn said:

All Ford Franchises know that there is a problem with the Powershift, tell them to speak to Head Office in Bangrak, Bangkok 02686 4145.

Been there done that, They say to take it back to local distributor. But thanks anyway.

[4MyEgo]

48 minutes ago, assayer said:

No the 100,000 warranty is not expired yet, and yes I did tell them to change the gearbox. The service manager veery happily told us he had never put in a work order to change a gear box on any vehicle and was not going to on ours as well.

A few ideas perhaps, oh and always cover your tracks, depending on the course of action you take.

 

https://www.mistertransmission.com/best-ways-to-destroy-your-transmission/

 

I dare say the manager at Ford will then have to put in an order for a new gearbox won't he, guaranteed to blow out his monthly target vs commission cheque....lol 

[EddieBaBaBoBo]

Found

On

Road

Dead

 

Fix

Or

Repair

Daily

 

F**ked

On

Race

Day

 

 ...etc

[dallen52]

On 9/25/2018 at 12:41 PM, 4MyEgo said:

I take it the 100,000km warranty is now lapsed, if not, I would be going straight back to Ford and telling them to replace the gearbox before it blows up, if they say no, then in about a weeks time, do what you gotta do and then they cannot say you didn't warn them.

Doesn't work this way.

You will not get a Servis replacement code to cover gearbox replacement out of warranty. 

The clutches assembly is an add on to the transmission. 

The TCM is an add on to this,  and performs the shift functions. 

 

Two item numbers were created to cover the extended warranty.

14M01 clutch seven years additional warranty 

14M02 Transmission control module. 10 years additional warranty. 

These are what the repair work is billed against.

No limit on the number of times it can be taken back.

No restrictions on being original owner only.

It was a Field service action. 

Then was released on a Technical Service Bulletin. 

USA was 10 years 150,000 miles.

 

It's the add on guesswork that costs.

Plus towing. 

Mines been done several times, 58000km. 2012 Fiesta.

Still shudders and selection shaft slap in low gears.

But has not failed recently. 

I lost about 20 days off road to date.

They guessed that the Clutch selection lever needed replacement. 

Wrong.

But cost me 19,000 baht.

Ford Thailand mechs have no idea how to silence the noise. 

You can reset and allow it to learn.

You can use a clutch stripping process and blow the low speed memory, and hopefully shudders away too.

[dallen52]

On 9/25/2018 at 12:25 PM, alfieconn said:

To be fair, the cost of repairs etc have been covered by Ford well certainly in my daughters case, but like you say, the cost of future repairs and depreciation needs to be taken into consideration.

Reading between the lines i think a lot of people wanted Ford to take back the cars and reimburse them but that obviously didn't happen.

Anyway, my daughter being a stubborn thing that she is ses that she want's the group to appeal against the award.

P.s. I am not sure that due to the compensation being awarded if this negates any future repairs for free !

Only original owner would have been contacted,  same for recalls.

The letter will only go to the person who is shown on Ford record as being so.

Passenger door lock and doors flying open is another outstanding action. 

[dallen52]

On 9/25/2018 at 1:23 PM, rayinkrabi said:

All very interesting. I told ford (krabi) there was a problem with the clutch/gearbox within weeks of taking delivery of my Dec 2013 fiesta...They denied there was a problem at all, saying it was 'normal' ...they continued to ignore me again at the service periods thereafter. 

 

The high revving between gear changes got increasingly worse and at one time the car refused to change up from second.  Over a year later when they eventually conceded that there was a problem.  They had the car for a whole week but it was only slightly improved when I got it back.

 

Some time later (can't remember how long but within 6 mths) the problem recurred and they had the car for another week, all damned inconvenient and laughed yet again when I asked for a courtesy vehicle! (They did eventually give us a ride home in their works truck).

 

Over a year ago, at a routine service, I pointed out that the car was losing coolant, not too much but it was a concern to me.  Their response to my Thai wife was that I had failed to fasten the expansion tank cap properly.  At this point of the story I have to say I had lost all faith in them completely.

 

Ford have had many attempts since to 're-program' the onboard computer thingy but although I felt a slight improvement each time it was never good and forever high revving.

 

Returned to ford again last week for a service, also horrible noises coming from the water pump for the past few days, plus I asked them yet again to deal with the gear changing problem.  Turned out the water pump had shattered, causing other damage, (total 12k)...they said it was because I had left it too long !!  They also said the bad gear changing was because of the water pump but is now ok!!!   I could not accept that and took it (with the service mgr) for a test drive.   

 

Sure enough, the car was as reluctant as ever to change gears so the mgr (a decent bloke) told the mechanic to (yet again)  re-program the software, took about 20 minutes.  Success at last, the car now changes gear quite nicely...so far at least.

 

True story...I wrote this to inform and hopefully benefit fellow TV members so please don't reply by slagging me off for the way I 'handled' this saga, positive comments welcome of course.   Cheers, Ray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well Done.

There is little tea and sympathy on this site.

I like you also try to offer my experience to benefit others. 

Mine clunks and rattles in 1st and reverse. 

All the warranty action has been done several times now.

It MIGHT be a imput shaft? 

After all the shudders and low gears changes?

 

They changed the Clutch selection forks. 19,000 baht.

No different. What about my 19,000 baht?

Sorry.. No refund. 

 

I demand to go into the work shops to see what they are doing.

I also requests a quote. 

Basically because of the exorbitant prices of parts here.

Plus things they find totally irrelevant to the job you took it in for.

[dallen52]

On 9/25/2018 at 4:29 PM, assayer said:

No the 100,000 warranty is not expired yet, and yes I did tell them to change the gearbox. The service manager veery happily told us he had never put in a work order to change a gear box on any vehicle and was not going to on ours as well.

Nor will they.

The two actions are specifically aligned to the two parts.

Clutch and TCM. Transmission control module. 

Work is billed against the items.

If the gearbox clags out, because of the issues? 

Interesting to see what they do..

Like it changing from forward to reverse while going.!!

 

Mine left me without and gears several times in Bangkok. 

Scary stuff being recovered by towtruck at peak hour.

 

It would probably be a complete new legal action. 

[dallen52]

On 9/25/2018 at 5:19 PM, 4MyEgo said:

A few ideas perhaps, oh and always cover your tracks, depending on the course of action you take.

 

https://www.mistertransmission.com/best-ways-to-destroy-your-transmission/

 

I dare say the manager at Ford will then have to put in an order for a new gearbox won't he, guaranteed to blow out his monthly target vs commission cheque....lol 

Interesting read.

But this is actually a manual transmission. 

Two stage clutch and selectors.

One does 1 3 and 5

The other does 2 4 6 and reverse. 

Dry.

With an electronic control module that simulates automatic shifts.

 

[fullcave]

On 9/25/2018 at 1:23 PM, rayinkrabi said:

All very interesting. I told ford (krabi) there was a problem with the clutch/gearbox within weeks of taking delivery of my Dec 2013 fiesta...They denied there was a problem at all, saying it was 'normal' ...they continued to ignore me again at the service periods thereafter. 

 

Ford Thailand is special. That's why I would never deal with them. Never met a ford customer that didn't hate their service. It's a pity.

[dallen52]

3 minutes ago, fullcave said:

 

Ford Thailand is special. That's why I would never deal with them. Never met a ford customer that didn't hate their service. It's a pity.

Special is a great word.

I use it in a nice way for intellectually and physically challenged people. 

 

I came off the tools a long time ago, and graduated engineering multiple disciplines.

Even setting up workshops and service facilities. 

They certainly look flashy here, but seem to be sadly lacking in their abilities and responsibilities as dealer and car company representatives. 

A lot of guess work. 

Expensive guesswork too.

[rayinkrabi]

I'm sure the warranty sates '3 yrs/100,000 Km, whichever comes first' so I guess most of us are well beyond that time period. 

 

Obviously ford have extended this for their clutch problem, which is simply not good enough imo.  They have also clearly shown their complete disregard (worldwide) for us Customers.

 

 

[assayer]

3 hours ago, rayinkrabi said:

I'm sure the warranty sates '3 yrs/100,000 Km, whichever comes first' so I guess most of us are well beyond that time period. 

 

Obviously ford have extended this for their clutch problem, which is simply not good enough imo.  They have also clearly shown their complete disregard (worldwide) for us Customers.

 

 

The drivetrain warranty is for 5 years, and the transmission is a vital part of the drivetrain.

[dallen52]

7 hours ago, assayer said:

The drivetrain warranty is for 5 years, and the transmission is a vital part of the drivetrain.

The extension of warranty is 7 years and 10 years respectively for 2011 to 2015 DCT vehicles. 

Check your VIN and it will indicate the outstanding action required. 

Mine does.

Plus there is a Ford Thailand recall site.

https://www.ford.co.th/en/owner/recalls/

 

Much information out there.

Sadly you have to dig for it.

Plus a couple of tech fixes you can try.

I was amazed that the service garage didn't know this...

 

[maake55555]

I purchased a used 2010 Ford Fiesta a couple of years ago and within 3 weeks the transmission stopped, but would go into a lower gear to move forward.  I got it to the Ford shop on Suhkumvit and they stated they could repair it so I left it there and later got a call from Ford shop saying that Ford would replace the transmission on an extended warranty that had just been approved.  They did the replacement and have had no problems since.  I really like the car and it is a joy to drive.  By the way it had low miles and is still like new.  I must be a little lucky to have gotten it fixed for free, I did have to pay labor to replace it which was not that much.