Ford Motor Company has resolved a string of major legal disputes over the past three decades and continues to face new ones. The biggest Ford settlements on record include a PowerShift transmission class action affecting roughly 1.9 million Focus and Fiesta owners, a $365 million customs penalty tied to Transit Connect cargo vans, a $7.8 million Clean Air Act deal over Econoline emissions, a nationwide Explorer exhaust-leak agreement, and a 2026 California privacy fine. Alongside these resolved cases, active lawsuits in 2026 target EcoBoost engine coolant leaks, plug-in hybrid battery fires, Mustang Mach-E door latches, and other alleged defects.
PowerShift Transmission Class Action
The largest and most complex Ford settlement involves the DPS6 PowerShift dual-clutch transmission installed in 2011–2016 Fiesta and 2012–2016 Focus vehicles. Owners reported shuddering, jerky shifts, delayed throttle response, grinding noises, overheating, and vehicles dropping into “limp mode.” Ford issued more than 20 technical service bulletins and in 2014 extended the powertrain warranty on affected models to seven years or 100,000 miles.
The class action, Vargas v. Ford Motor Company (Case No. 2:12-cv-08388-AB-FFM), was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Andre Birotte Jr. gave final approval to the original settlement on October 18, 2017, but objectors appealed, arguing that the deal’s stated $35 million valuation assumed a claim rate the case would never actually see and that only about 6 percent of the 1.9 million class members qualified for any cash payment. On September 13, 2019, the Ninth Circuit vacated the trial court’s approval, finding the settlement may not have been “fair and adequate to class members.”
After mediation, the parties reached an amended agreement with materially better terms. Judge Birotte granted final approval on March 5, 2020. The revised deal included:
- A $30 million guaranteed minimum for cash payments, with any unclaimed residue going to a second distribution to claimants rather than reverting to Ford.
- A one-time $20 payment for owners whose dealers had refused to perform a transmission repair.
- Loosened arbitration buyback criteria for former owners and lessees, and removal of the requirement that owners with fewer than four repair attempts give Ford one more chance to fix the car before seeking a buyback.
- Authority for arbitrators to award civil penalties where state law permitted.
The court calculated minimum class benefits of $77.4 million, reflecting the $30 million guarantee plus $47.4 million Ford had already paid in buyback and cash claims by that point. Attorney fees were set at $8.85 million. The effective date was April 7, 2020, and most cash claims had to be filed within 180 days. Buyback arbitration deadlines varied by model year, with final cutoffs six years from each vehicle’s original delivery date.
Individual payout ceilings under the settlement structure included up to $2,325 for owners who had undergone multiple transmission hardware replacements and $50 per software reflash starting from the third visit, capped at $600.
Transit Connect Customs Settlement
In March 2024, Ford agreed to pay $365 million to resolve Department of Justice allegations that it evaded import duties on nearly 163,000 Transit Connect cargo vans brought in from Turkey between April 2009 and March 2013. The Justice Department described it as one of the largest customs penalty settlements in recent history.
The dispute centered on the so-called “chicken tax,” a 25 percent tariff on light-duty cargo vehicles dating to a 1960s trade dispute. According to the DOJ, Ford installed temporary rear seats and other features in the cargo vans so they would clear customs as passenger vehicles at the 2.5 percent duty rate. Once the vans were inside the United States, the seats were stripped out and the vehicles were sold as two-seat cargo vans. The government alleged the seats were cheaply designed, lacked head restraints and backrest reinforcement, and were never intended for actual use. The settlement also resolved allegations that Ford undervalued certain Transit Connect vehicles on customs declarations.
Ford admitted no liability. The company had faced potential penalties of up to $1.3 billion following a 2021 court ruling, after the Supreme Court declined in 2020 to hear Ford’s appeal on duty classification for earlier imports.
Econoline Clean Air Act Settlement
In June 1998, the Department of Justice and the EPA announced a $7.8 million settlement with Ford over a defeat device installed in approximately 60,000 model-year 1997 Ford Econoline vans. The device was an electronic control strategy that improved fuel economy but caused nitrogen oxide emissions to exceed Clean Air Act limits at highway speeds.
Under the consent decree, Ford was required to recall and deactivate the strategy from all affected Econolines, at an estimated cost of $1.3 million, with a mandate to recalibrate at least 70 percent of the vans or purchase additional emission offsets. Ford also paid $2.5 million in civil penalties, purchased 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxide credits valued at roughly $2.5 million, and funded $1.5 million in environmental projects to reduce future air pollutants.
Ford Explorer Exhaust Leak Settlement
Owners of 2011–2015 Ford Explorers filed a class action, Sanchez-Knutson v. Ford Motor Company (Case No. 0:14-cv-61344), in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging that exhaust fumes and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide could enter the passenger cabin through the air conditioning system. NHTSA had received thousands of complaints from consumers and police departments whose Explorer Interceptor fleets were affected.
A nationwide settlement was filed in Fort Lauderdale federal court in October 2016, reached after trial had already begun before Judge William Dimitrouleas. It provided a tiered repair process. Owners first received cabin sealing and air conditioning reprogramming. If problems persisted, Ford installed a redesigned exhaust pipe. If odors continued after that, the owner qualified for an expedited vehicle buyback. Owners who had paid for repairs out of pocket were eligible for reimbursement. An appeal delayed final approval, but the settlement went live on December 6, 2018, with most claims due by February 25, 2019. Ford denied it knew the vehicles were dangerous or had concealed the defect.
California Privacy Settlement
On March 5, 2026, the California Privacy Protection Agency announced a settlement with Ford over violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act. The agency found that between July 2023 and March 2024, Ford required consumers who submitted requests to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information to verify their identity via email before those requests would be processed. Under the CCPA, businesses cannot impose identity verification on opt-out requests. Consumers who did not complete the email step had their requests ignored, meaning their personal information continued to be sold or shared.
Ford agreed to pay a $375,703 administrative fine and to make several operational changes: simplifying its opt-out process to require minimal steps, ceasing to treat opt-out requests as “verifiable consumer requests,” honoring all opt-out requests within the timeframe mandated by law, and auditing tracking technologies on its websites to ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals like the Global Privacy Control. Ford also processed the backlog of previously unverified requests. The enforcement action grew out of a broader CPPA investigative sweep of connected-vehicle manufacturers.
Lawsuits Still Open in 2026
Beyond the resolved settlements, Ford faces a significant volume of active litigation. Several pending cases involve alleged vehicle defects that have not reached settlement.
EcoBoost Coolant Intrusion
Multiple lawsuits allege that Ford’s 1.5-liter, 1.6-liter, and 2.0-liter EcoBoost engines suffer internal coolant leaks caused by a design flaw in the engine’s open-deck cooling system. Plaintiffs say coolant seeps into engine cylinders, causing overheating, misfiring, white or blue exhaust smoke, and eventual engine failure. The consolidated federal case, Miller v. Ford Motor Company, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Affected vehicles include 2013–2019 Ford Escape, 2013–2019 Ford Fusion, 2015–2018 Ford Edge, and certain Lincoln MKC and MKZ models. Plaintiffs contend that Ford’s responses, such as installing coolant level sensors, amount to “Band-Aid remedies” rather than the engine block replacement that would actually fix the problem. Additional related suits have been filed in Delaware and Canada.
Plug-In Hybrid Battery Fire Risk
In April 2025, Hilburg v. Ford Motor Company (Case No. 2:25-cv-10970) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of owners of 2020–2024 Ford Escape and 2021–2024 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrids. The suit alleges that high-voltage lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI can spontaneously catch fire or explode, even when the vehicle is parked and off. Ford recalled the vehicles in December 2024 and advised owners in February 2025 to stop charging their high-voltage batteries, effectively disabling the electric driving capability. As of mid-2026, Ford has not provided a permanent fix. An amended complaint was filed in July 2025.
Mustang Mach-E Door Latches
A proposed class action filed in February 2025, Salas v. Ford Motor Company, alleges that the electronic “E-Latch” door system in 2022-and-newer Mustang Mach-E vehicles lacks a manual override accessible from outside the car. If the 12-volt battery dies, drivers can be locked out and passengers, including children, can be trapped inside. A judge dismissed the original complaint, but the plaintiffs filed an amended lawsuit, and as of September 2025, Ford had filed a fresh motion to dismiss. NHTSA announced a recall of approximately 197,000 Mach-E vehicles (model years 2021–2025) in June 2025 over the same door-latch issue.
Bronco Sport and Maverick Battery Defects
Two class actions, Benson v. Ford Motor Company (E.D. Pa., filed February 2025) and Ortega v. Ford Motor Company (filed May 2025 in Illinois), challenge Ford’s January 2025 recall of roughly 273,000 Bronco Sport (2021–2024) and Maverick (2022–2023) vehicles over faulty 12-volt batteries manufactured by Camel Group. The suits allege that the recall remedy, a software update, does not address the root cause of the defect: an internal weld and cast-on-strap failure that can cause sudden power loss and stalling.
F-150 Lightning Missing Safety Feature
In November 2025, Lunawadawala v. Ford Motor Company (Case No. 1:25-cv-01639) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California alleging that 2024 F-150 Lightning trucks were advertised with a standard “Forward Sensing System” on their window stickers but delivered without it. The suit contends that Ford’s $100 refund offer is far too low to cover the cost of installing the missing safety technology.
6F35 Transmission (Dismissed)
One case owners may expect to see on this list is not there. A mass action targeting the 6F35 transmission in 2009–2021 Ford Escape and 2010–2020 Ford Fusion models, Jones v. Ford Motor Company, was dismissed in December 2024 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Sean F. Cox ruled that the roughly 4,000 plaintiffs’ claims were improperly joined and unmanageable as a single action. The named plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her remaining claims. The court noted that individual owners are free to refile on their own, but no class-wide settlement resulted.