Transmission Issues in Focus and Fiesta Result in a Lawsuit

Regardless of how hard automakers try and all the advancements in today’s technology, cars still come from the factory with some issues. For Ford, one of its recurring issues is its PowerShift transmissions in the Fiesta and Focus. Now, a new lawsuit is seeking damages from the American automaker because of these faulty cog-swappers.

According to 7,000 plaintiffs – all represented by Stern Law PLLC – 2012 through 2016 Focus and 2011 through 2016 Fiesta models with this transmission experience “shuddering, slipping, bucking, jerking, hesitation while changing gears, premature internal wear, delays in downshifting and, in some cases, sudden or delayed acceleration,” a report from Automobile News says.

While the number of plaintiffs may make some assume this is a class-action lawsuit, where they plaintiffs are looking for one big settlement to split, they are all suing Ford individually. As such, the potential payouts would vary by severity of the issue and losses each plaintiff sustains.

Ford, of course, refused to comment on the issue, standing behind the boilerplate we-can’t-comment-on-ongoing-litigation comment. But it did say, “Ford is committed to providing our customers with top-quality vehicles.”

Ford is, however, aware of the issues with the PowerShift transmission, as it dealt with a lawsuit in 2012, extended the powertrain warranty on models with this transmission from five years or 60,000 miles to seven years or 100,000 miles and issued a technical service bulletin in 2011 notating this transmission’s “hesitation, surge, or lack of throttle response while driving.”

We’ll continue monitoring this situation and bring you updates when they become available.