Dusevic & Garcha has filed the within proposed consumer product liability multi-jurisdictional class proceeding involves certain Affected Class Vehicles, as defined below, designed, manufactured, assembled, tested, marketed, advertised, distributed, supplied, sold and/or leased by the Defendants, FORD MOTOR COMPANY (“FORD US”) and FORD MOTOR COMPANY OF CANADA, LIMITED/FORD DU CANADA LIMITEE (“FORD CANADA”), in Canada, including the Province of British Columbia, containing a safety defect that creates a serious risk for spontaneous fire. Specifically, the Affected Class Vehicles contain a defective engine that can suffer a “block breach” and eject significant quantities of highly flammable oil fluids and fuel vapors (“Engine Defect”), which pool or accumulate near hot surfaces in the engine bay and exhaust system resulting in spontaneous stalling and/or under-hood smoke and fire during operation or while parked, all of which poses an imminent and substantial risk of harm or injury to vehicle occupants, bystanders, damage to Affected Class Vehicles and/or nearby property (“Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk”).

The “block breach”, occurs when the engine seizes and shatters the engine rods and connecting bearings, propelling through the engine block itself or the oil pan. In layman terms, this is a blown engine. The “block breach” or blown engine, however named, causes the engine to stall and highly flammable oil fluids and fuel vapors to escape, leading to under-hood fires and/or a serious risk of fire.

Affected Class Vehicles include, but are not limited to, the following model year Ford vehicles designed, manufactured, assembled, tested, marketed, advertised, distributed, supplied, sold and/or leased by the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, in Canada, including the Province of British Columbia, containing defective 2.5-liter hybrid electric vehicle (“HEV”) and 2.5- liter plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (“PHEV”) engines:

DEFENDANT/VEHICLE MANUFACTURER/MODEL/MODEL YEAR

FORD US - Escape (2020-2022 2023)

FORD US - Maverick (2022-2023)

FORD US - Lincoln Corsair (2021-2022 2023)

The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, knew or should have known of the Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk prior to launching the Affected Class Vehicles, but failed to promptly warn owners and/or lessees of such, rather waiting over a year to announce a safety recall. Although the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, are now implementing a “fix” to prevent these Affected Class Vehicles from catching on fire, they have chosen not to design or issue a bona fide fix or remedy that addresses the leaking engine blocks. Instead, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, have focused only on mitigating the risk that highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors leaked from the defective engines will ignite, while leaving the highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors themselves to run onto the roadways, or onto vehicle owners’ and/or lessees’ driveways and garages. The Defendants’, FORD US and FORD CANADA, perfunctory “fix” creates new safety, environmental, and performance issues that they have not addressed.

The Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk exposes putative class members to an unreasonable risk of accident, injury, death and/or property damage if their Affected Class Vehicle leaks such highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors or catches fire while in operation. The Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk also exposes passengers, other drivers on the road, and bystanders to an unreasonable risk of accident, injury, death, and/or property damage.

The Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk was known or should have been known to the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, and is still unremedied by them. Not only did the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, fail to disclose the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, to consumers both before and after their purchases and/or leases, of the Affected Class Vehicles, but they also misrepresented the vehicles’ safety, reliability, functionality, and quality by this omission. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD Canada, also omitted the consequences, including the serious safety hazards and monetary harm caused by the Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk—e.g., damage to a vehicle and injury or death to persons in the vehicle or another vehicle in proximity should the Affected Class Vehicle catch on fire and/or damage to property from highly flammable engine oil and fuel vapor leaking onto roadways and driveways, and into garages.

Warranty claims relating to the Engine Defect were made to the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, as early as April 5, 2021. Yet the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, continued to sell and/or lease the Affected Class Vehicles and did nothing to warn purchasers and/or lessees of the Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk until they issued a stop-sale order on June 8, 2022.

To date, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, have admitted that there have been at least 23 reports of under-hood fires or smoke in the recall vehicle population. The fires have all occurred in the engine compartment of the Affected Class Vehicles.

The Defendants , FORD US and FORD CANADA, have long known how to address the Engine Defect. In March 2022, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, issued a Safety Recall (Manufacturer Recall Number 22S10), which covered a subset of 2021 Ford Escape Vehicles equipped with the 2.5L HEV Engine. The issue was an improper crankshaft machining surface, which led to the exact failure here, a "block breach" caused by the connecting rods and bearings being expelled through the block and oil pan. In May 2022, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD Canada, issued a supplement to Safety Recall 22S10, instructing dealers to inspect the connecting rod bearings against a subjective instruction guide, and replace the engine long-block assembly if the defect is revealed. The Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, instructed that the service must be performed on all affected vehicles at no charge to the vehicle owner.

The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, could have easily implemented the same recall inspection and repair for the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk in the Affected Class Vehicles. Instead issuing a recall to inspect all the Affected Class Vehicles and replace the engine long-block assembly, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, issued an inadequate recall that, by design did not address the root cause of the Engine Defect.

In July 2022 the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, recalled the Affected Class Vehicles (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Recall Number 22V-484 and Transport Canada Recall Number 2022-366) and instituted a “fix,” however, the fix used to resolve the Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk did not address the manufacturing defect in the 2.5L HEV and PHEV engines. Rather, the Defendants’, FORD US and FORD CANADA, solution was to drill drainage holes in the Affected Class Vehicles’ under-engine shields and to remove four blinds from the vehicles’ active grille shutter systems to allow highly flammable pooled oil fluids and fuel vapors to escape from the Affected Class Vehicles’ engine compartments. A blind is a segment of the grille shutter system that opens and closes to change air flow through the engine. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, have not even attempted to resolve the underlying engine issue.

To enable their authorized dealers to perform this “fix,” the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, sent a detailed letter to their authorized dealers explaining the modifications required on all Affected Class Vehicles.

One half of the “fix,” as described in this letter, required authorized dealers to remove the under-engine shield, drill a series of five holes measuring one-and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and cut out one slightly larger section from near the center of the shield.

The other half of the “fix” required authorized dealers to remove four shutter blinds from the active grille shutter system by bending the blinds at the center, pulling them toward the front of the vehicle, and removing the side tabs to dislodge the blinds. The images below show an active shutter grille system before and after the four blinds are removed, as well as a closer view of the blinds removed from one Affected Class Vehicle

Aside from being an inadequate solution, the Defendants’, FORD US and FORD CANADA, “fix” creates new problems. First, allowing highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors to leak out of the Affected Class Vehicles creates an environmental hazard and sets the stage for future property damage and/or injury. Furthermore, removing several of the blinds from the active grille shutter increases aerodynamic drag on the vehicles, resulting in decreased fuel efficiency.

As the "fix" did not work, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, continued to receive reports of block breach fires, even in Affected Class Vehicles that had the recall repair correctly performed. The “fix” simply did not do anything to address the potential for an explosive block breach from defective engine machining.

In June 2023, nearly a year after they claimed to have resolved the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk with the "fix" set forth in the July 2022 Safety Recall, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD Canada, admitted that the July 2022 Safety Recall was ineffective when it initiated a further safety recall (NHTSA Safety Recall Number.23V-380 and Transport Canada Recall Number 2023-309) which expanded and replaced the July 2022 Safety Recall such that Affected Class Vehicles repaired under the July 2022 Safety Recall would need to have a new remedy completed. Yet, in announcing the June 2023 Safety Recall, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD Canada, also advised consumers that it did not have a remedy for the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk in the Affected Class Vehicles. Instead of providing an adequate remedy, i.e., an engine repair, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, merely advised customers to safely park and shut off the engine as promptly as possible upon hearing unexpected engine noises, or after experiencing an unexpected torque reduction, or seeing smoke from the engine compartment.

The June 2023 Safety Recall also expanded the previous July 2022 Safety Recall to add MY 2023 Escape, Corsair, and Maverick vehicles.

Nearly a year later, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, again notified consumers of a "fix" that once again did not address the root cause of the Engine Defect. In May 2024, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, notified owners of some of the Affected Class Vehicles - MY 2021-2022 Corsair, MY 2020-2022 Escape, and MY 2022-2023 Maverick vehicles-that a software "repair" was available for the June 2023 Safety Recall. The letter failed to address how the software update would remedy the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk. It merely noted that the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, had authorized dealers to update the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) free of charge. The software update was not available for the 2023 Escape and Corsair vehicles. Rather, the letter to owners notifying them of the software update stated that parts to support the 2023 Escape and Corsair vehicles should be available by the third quarter of 2024.

In June 2024, however, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, implemented a different repair for only the 2023 Escape and Corsair vehicles, authorizing dealers to replace the engine long-block assembly in those vehicles.

The Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, have not offered this same engine long-block assembly replacement to the remaining Affected Class Vehicles - MY 2021-2022 Corsair, MY 2020-2022 Escape, and MY 2022-2023 Maverick vehicles. As such, these Affected Class Vehicles still contain defective engines that are at risk of suffering a "block breach" or blown engine, as well as having their vehicles spontaneously catch on fire.

The June 2024 engine long-block assembly replacement for the 2023 Escape and Corsair illustrates that the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, know how to adequately remedy the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, but has chosen not to provide that remedy to all Affected Class Vehicles.

Instead of offering to replace the engine long-block assembly in all of the Affected Class Vehicles with the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, implemented Customer Satisfaction Program 23N06 in June 2024 for the MY 2021-2022 Corsair, MY 2020-2022 Escape, and MY 2022-2023 Maverick vehicles, that allows for a one-time engine long-block assembly replacement within 10 years or 100,000 miles of the warranty start date of the vehicle, but only if the vehicle is already experiencing symptoms of a "block breach”. In a letter to dealers, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, explained that after safety recall 23S27 has been performed, the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) may illuminate and store Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) P1061 and/or P032F. This could be due to a faulty connecting rod bearing that was detected by the PCM. The Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, further explained that dealers are only to replace the engine long-block assembly if these DTCs are present and diagnostics lead to engine replacement. The letter explains that only owners with affected vehicles that exhibit the covered condition will be directed to dealers.

The Customer Satisfaction Program does not adequately address the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk because, unlike the repair offered to owners of the 2023 Escape and Corsair vehicles, it is only after the vehicle exhibits symptoms of the defect that the Plaintiff and putative class members may receive an engine long-block assembly replacement. Moreover, there is no guarantee that a vehicle's MIL will illuminate with enough time (if it illuminates at all) to prevent the Plaintiff and putative class members' vehicles from suffering a catastrophic engine failure and fire. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, have failed to offer an adequate remedy to the entire class of Affected Class Vehicles with the resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk.

A vehicle that has a risk of spontaneously catching on fire while in operation is not fit for its intended and ordinary purpose. And a “fix” that does nothing to actually address an underlying issue, and in fact creates additional problems, is not a fix at all. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, are placing an unfair burden on putative class members whose Affected Class Vehicles are still powered by engines that may leak highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors, and who may now additionally face the risk of highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors leaking onto their garages or driveways. Moreover, putative class members must also contend with paying for additional gas to make up for the lost fuel efficiency from removing the active grille shutters.

The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, knew or should have known about the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Fire Risk, before the Affected Class Vehicles went to market. At the very least, the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA , certainly knew about the Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk well before it issued their July 2022 Safety Recall, as evidenced by: (1) the rigorous pre-launch testing of the Affected Class Vehicles; (2) direct and public reports of smoke or fires in 23 Affected Class Vehicles; and (3) their own internal investigation(s) of fires in the Affected Class Vehicles. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, also knew that their July 2022 Safety Recall "fix" would be ineffective. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, had already issued a recall for the same issue where they inspected the engines in the field and replaced those that had a machining defect that could lead to block breach and fires. The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, chose not to implement that inspection and replacement fix in July 2022 because it cost too much, even though the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, knew that they were not addressing the underlying issue of catastrophic engine failure leading to an engine block breach.

The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, waited until June 2024 to offer an adequate fix-the engine long-block assembly replacement-but limited it to only the 2023 Escape and Corsair vehicles. As such, the remaining Affected Class Vehicles are still at risk of suffering a spontaneous catastrophic engine failure and fire.

The Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, acknowledge the existence of the Engine Defect and the attendant fire safety risks, yet they advise putative class members that they can continue driving their vehicles even if a bona fide repair to the 2.5L HEV and PHEV engines is not being made. For their own vehicles, however, the Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, instruct their authorized dealerships not to use any new Affected Class Vehicles for demonstrations or to deliver them to customers until the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, is fixed pursuant to their stop-sale order.

The Defendants’, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, marketing of their vehicles as safe, dependable and reliable is pervasive across North America as characterized by their longstanding ubiquitous slogan: “Built Ford Tough”.

No reasonable consumer expects to purchase a vehicle with a concealed defect that presents a substantial and real catastrophic danger to vehicle occupants and/or property as a result of fire. The Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, is material to the Plaintiff and putative class members because when they purchased and/or leased their Affected Class Vehicle they reasonably relied on the reasonable expectation that the Affected Class Vehicles would be free from defects and the risk of fire. Had the Plaintiff and putative class members known of the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, at the time of purchase and/or lease of the Affected Class Vehicles, they would not have purchased and/or leased the Affected Class Vehicles or would have paid substantially less for them.

The Defendants, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, knowingly omitted, concealed and/or suppressed material facts regarding the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, and misrepresented the safety standard, quality, or grade of the Affected Class Vehicles, all at the time of purchase and/or lease or otherwise, which directly caused harm or loss to the Plaintiff and putative class members. As a direct result of the Defendants’, FORD US and/or FORD CANADA, unfair, deceptive and/or fraudulent business practices and wrongful conduct, the Plaintiff and putative class members have suffered ascertainable losses or damages, including, inter alia: (1) out-of-pocket expenses for repair of the Engine Defect; (2) costs for future repairs; (3) damage to property; (4) sale of their vehicles at a loss; and/or (5) diminished value of their vehicles.

The Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, have failed to provide a bona fide remedy for the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, and further, refused to provide putative class members with loaner vehicles or offer to reimburse owners and/or lessees of the Affected Class Vehicles for car payments, towing charges, rental vehicles, property damage, time off work, loss of use, and other miscellaneous costs while they wait for the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, to find a fix or remedy for the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk. And putative class members whose Affected Class Vehicles have undergone the Defendants, FORD US and FORD CANADA, “fix” may now additionally need to contend with property damage due to leaked highly flammable fluids and fuel vapors.

The Plaintiff seeks relief for all other owners and/or lessees of the Affected Class Vehicles with the Engine Defect, and resulting Spontaneous Stall/Fire Risk, including, inter alia, recovery of damages and/or repair under various provincial consumer protection legislation, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty or condition of merchantability, statutory and equitable claims and reimbursement of all expenses associated with the repair and/or replacement of the Affected Class Vehicles.