Ford Underreporting of Emissions-Related Parts California Class Action

The California Code of Regulations (CCR) requires that car makers identify to the California Air Resources Board all high-cost emissions-related parts, as part of its Emission Control System Warranty Requirements, and to warrant those parts for seven years or 70,000 miles. The complaint alleges that Ford Motor Company, Inc. tries to minimize its warranty obligations by limiting the parts it reports as included under the state’s Emissions Warranty.

According to the complaint, “the CCR very clearly defines the methodology that Ford is required to use” to identify the parts that should be covered as emissions parts as well as the parts that should be covered by the 7-year 70,000-mile warranty.

The complaint alleges that a “warranted part” under this law is “any part that either [affects] a vehicle’s emissions, or causes a vehicles on-board diagnostic malfunction indicator light to illuminate…” Such parts must have a 3-year, 50,000 mile warranty, unless they are “high-priced” warranted parts, which must have a 7-year, 70,000-mile warranty.

However, the complaint claims, “Ford has engaged in a systematic business practice of omitting from the Ford warranty booklet provided to owners and lessees…, and in resources provided by Ford to its dealerships…, all of the parts that should be identified as emissions[-]related warranty parts covered under the 3-year 50,000-mile warranty and the ‘high-priced’ warranted parts [] that should be covered under the 7-year 70,000-mile California High-Cost Emissions-Related Parts Warranty.”

This practice, the complaint claims, “is intended to minimize the amount of money that Ford has to pay out in warranty claims.”

The complaint alleges that the plaintiff in this case presented his 2016 Ford Focus to a dealership for repairs, “complain[ing] that the coolant reservoir was going low while driving and that there was smoke [] coming from the rear exhaust.” The dealership, the complaint alleges, “diagnosed the Vehicle as having a cracked cylinder head and a scored wall at cylinder #3” and told him he would have to pay for the repairs. The complaint alleges that the repairs should have been covered “because the cylinder head and cylinder wall as located in the engine block are emissions[-]related parts.”

Three classes have been proposed for this action:

• The Cylinder Head Class is all persons in California who have been owners or lessees of Ford vehicles and who have paid for repairs and parts pertaining to defective cylinder heads and cylinder walls that should have been covered under Ford’s “high-priced warranted parts” 7-year, 70,000-mile California Emission Warranty.
• The Cylinder Wall Class is all persons in California who have been owners or lessees of Ford vehicles and who have paid for repairs and parts pertaining to defective cylinder heads and cylinder walls that should have been covered under Ford’s “high-priced warranted parts” 7-year, 70,000-mile California Emission Warranty.
• The High-Cost Class is all persons in California who have been owners or lessees of Ford vehicles and who have paid for repairs and parts that should have been covered under Ford’s “high-priced warranted parts” 7-year, 70,000-mile California Emission Warranty.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Breach of warranty, Emissions