Lawsuit Alleges Unintended Acceleration In Ford Vehicles

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

March 30, 2013

A group of Ford customers have filed a class action lawsuit in West Virginia alleging that vehicles were not equipped with the proper safety equipment to prevent unintended acceleration.

According to Reuters, the suit lists thirty vehicles built between 2002 and 2010 with electronic throttle control systems but without a brake override system. The vehicles in the suit include 2004-2012 F-Series pickups and the 2005-2009 Lincoln Town Car. (A full list of vehicles in the suit will be at the end of the article.)

"They're trying to be compensated for their economic losses by having overpaid for cars that contained defects," said Adam Levitt, a partner at Grant & Eisenhofer and head of the law firm's consumer practice group. "Had they and the other class members been aware of these defects, they either wouldn't have bought the cars or would have paid a lot less for them."

In response to the suit, Ford issued a statement that points towards studies done by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that state unintended acceleration is mostly caused by driver error.

"NHTSA's work is far more scientific and trustworthy than work done by personal injury lawyers and their paid experts," Ford said in a statement. "In rare situations, vehicle factors, such as floor mats or broken mechanical components, can interfere with proper throttle operation, and manufacturers have addressed these rare events in field service actions.

Vehicles named in the suit:

Ford:

• 2005-2007 500
  
• 2005-2009 Crown Victoria
  
• 2005-2010 Econoline
  
• 2007-2010 Edge
  
• 2009-2010 Escape
  
• 2005-2010 Escape Hybrid
  
• 2005-2010 Expedition
  
• 2004-2010 Explorer
  
• 2007-2010 Explorer Sport Trac
  
• 2004-2010 F-Series
  
• 2009-2010 Flex
  
• 2008-2010 Focus
  
• 2005-2007 Freestyle
  
• 2006-2010 Fusion
  
• 2005-2010 Mustang
  
• 2008-2010 Taurus
  
• 2008-2009 Taurus X
  
• 2002-2005 Thunderbird
  
• 2010 Transit Connect
  

Lincoln:

• 2003-2006 LS
  
• 2006-2008 Mark LT
  
• 2009-2010 MKS
  
• 2010 MKT
  
• 2007-2010 MKX
  
• 2006-2010 MKZ
  
• 2005-2009 Town Car
  
• 2006-2010 Zephyr
  

Mercury:

• 2002-2005 Cougar
  
• 2005-2009 Grand Marquis
  
• 2009-2010 Mariner
  
• 2005-2010 Mariner Hybrid
  
• 2006-2010 Milan
  
• 2005-2007 Montego
  
• 2004-2010 Mountaineer
  
• 2008-2010 Sable
  

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.