Ford Sued By 7,000 Owners Over Faulty Dual-Clutch Transmissions

As reported by Automotive News, almost 7,000 Ford Focus and Fiesta owners are suing the American automaker over faulty PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmissions. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that 2012-2016 model year Focuses (Foci?) and 2011-2016 model year Fiestas were equipped with gearboxes prone to "shuddering, slipping, bucking, jerking, hesitation while changing gears, premature internal wear, delays in downshifting and, in some cases, sudden or delayed acceleration."

"Ford must be held accountable for design and manufacturing defects of the PowerShift transmission that has compromised the safety of the vehicles and cost owners significant loss in vehicle value, reliable transportation and time," said Stern Law PLLC found and principal Ken Stern, in a statement. The mass action lawsuit was filed by Stern Law PLLC with the Wayne County Circuit Court on April 20th.

According to AutoNews, a Stern Law spokeswoman says that the plaintiffs are not seeking one large, collective lump sum, but rather customized and specific payouts dependent on each client's damages.

Back in 2011, a Fiesta technical service bulletin was issued to Ford dealers noting that the subcompact's PowerShift autobox could be susceptible to "a loss of power, hesitation, surge, or lack of throttle response while driving." Since then, twenty more related TSBs have been issued, but none has reliably delivered a consistent repair. In 2014, Ford had the cars' powertrain warranties extended from 5 years/60,000 miles to 7 years/100,000 miles. 

Reportedly, this is not the first Focus/Fiesta-transmission-related lawsuit to come Ford's way. Los Angeles-based Capstone Partners APC filed a lawsuit in 2012—the first of three—citing clients who "suffered repeated breakdowns." The parties in that suit allegedly settled last month.