Ford Sued for Alleged Fuel Tank Defect
Suit claims automaker knew of problems with F-Series, E-Series fuel tanks and told dealers, but not customers.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey accuses Ford Motor Co. of fraud, breach of warranty and unjust enrichment, alleging that the Detroit automaker knowingly sold trucks with defective fuel-tank linings over 10 years. The suit says that fuel linings on the F-Series trucks and E-Series vans built from 1999 to 2008 would "separate and flake off," leading to debris and rust entering the fuel system and eventually resulting in stalling, bucking and kicking from the vehicle.Lawyers for the plaintiff, New Jersey-based Coba Landscaping and Construction Inc., are seeking class-action status for the suit, saying that "hundreds if not thousands" of E- and F-Series vehicle owners had experienced the problem. The suit also claims Ford knew about the problem, sending dealers a "secret technical-service bulletin" warning them of the issue while keeping the alleged defect hidden from customers.
A Ford representative declined to comment to Automotive News, noting that the automaker had yet to be served with notice of the suit.
The Ford F-Series is the best-selling truck in the U.S.
Do you think that Ford didn't know about the unintended acceleration issues in the 2,000,000 vehicles that just got recalled? Fat chance. They waited until the pressure was such that they HAD to create the recall.
I think you can find some reluctance in all manufacturers to create a recall. Ford is no better than Toyota or any other manufacturer. By the way, no other manufacturer's recall issues have caused more deaths than Ford's (over 6,000), GM's combined brands came in right behind them and both have six times the number of deaths related to recalls than Toyota. That may have been a few decades ago but a death is a death regardless of the date.
I had a VERY dangerous issue with a brand new F-250 that Ford could not fix and tried to tell me it was an isolated incident. I Googled the problem, printed HUNDREDS of complaints of the same issues from other owners and plopped them onto the Ford service managers desk. They bought the truck back, but lied about the issue until they no longer could.
They all lie, they all have recalls, they all are responsible for some deaths.
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