Ford PZEV Vehicles and California Emissions Warranty Coverage Class Action

Since 2009, Ford has sold Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles (PZEVs), for which it has received Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) credits from the state of California. In exchange for the credits, Ford is required to extend the terms of California’s required emissions warranty to 15 years or 150,000 miles. But the complaint for this class action alleges that Ford failed “to properly identify and pay for all of the parts and labor that should correctly be covered” under the extended warranty for its 2009-2017 PZEV vehicles.

The class for this action is all persons in California who, between July 9, 2017 and the present, have owned or leased 2009-2017 Ford PZEV vehicles, and who have paid for diagnosis, labor, and parts in connection with repairs that should have been covered under the California emissions warranty for 15 years or 150,000 miles. A subclass has also been defined for those whose repairs were connected with transmission defects that should have been covered.

The California Code of Regulations (CCR) sets forth requirements for the California emissions warranty. Under the CCR, the complaint says, “for PZEV Vehicles, all defects in materials or workmanship that would cause the vehicle’s on-board diagnostic malfunction indictor light to illuminate…, all defects in materials or workmanship that would increase emissions, and all defects in materials or workmanship that would result in a vehicle not being able to pass a California smog check are warranted for 15[ ]years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. Only a few parts are excepted, the complaint says, such as batteries.

Despite this, the complaint claims that the Ford emissions warranty for the vehicles in question “identifies only a handful of emissions parts that Ford contends qualify” for the 15-year, 150,000-mile coverage. The complaint alleges that the list is “woefully inadequate” and does not include all the parts that should qualify for the coverage. It adds that Ford is doing this so that it pays less for warranty repairs.

The plaintiff in this case, Curtis Ward, bought a used 2014 Ford Fusion SE hybrid which was still under the emissions warranty. When it had over 125,000 miles on it, he noticed the vehicle was making a noise while idling. He took it in for repairs on December 29, 2020. The dealership diagnosed it as having an internal transmission failure. Ford refused to provide warranty coverage for the repair.

On April 26, 2021, when the vehicle had over 131,000 miles on it, Ward took it in for repair again. The dealership said it was an internal failure, citing fault codes that included a speed sensor fault, a hybrid powertrain control module – engine disabled, and generator inverter performance. Ford refused coverage for these repairs as well.

The complaint alleges, “By failing to provide a 15-year[,] 150,000-mile warranty for repairs that are by operation of law covered under the California Emissions Warranty, Ford has violated” California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and its Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA).

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Automobile or Auto Parts, Emissions, Refusal to Honor Warranty, Warranty