Ford News: Lawsuit Accuses Ford of Spiking Fuel Economy Ratings

[Drew Dowdell]

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Ford is accused of falsifying fuel economy numbers in the Ford F-150 and Ford Ranger. The suit is seeking class-action status and aims to collect $1.2 Billion in damages.  The law firm, Hagens Berman, says that consumers are spending up to $2,000 more in fuel over the lifetime of the truck due to misleading EPA numbers.

Back in February of this year, Ford launched an investigation into its own EPA emissions and fuel economy certification process after an anonymous tip line at Ford received concerns that there were issues with the test. The concern surrounds Road Load, a vehicle-specific resistance level used in dynamometer testing. Too much or too little resistance will alter the results of the emissions and fuel economy. Road load is determined through engineering estimates that are then validated on the track.

Ford already hired an outside firm to investigate their testing, with the Ranger the first to go through re-testing.   The suit alleges that the F-150, by far Ford's best selling vehicle, is also subject to the same issue as the Ranger.

Ford is declining to comment on the lawsuit at this time. 

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