Last week, a federal judge approved a class action settlement between Ford Motor Co. (F 1.66%) and owners of defective Fiesta and Focus models. Ford will repurchase thousands of defective vehicles from customers at what lawyers estimate could be up to $22,000 each, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A July 2019 investigation by the newspaper found that Ford knew about the faulty Powershift transmissions, but continued selling the low-priced Focus and Fiesta models as it tried to find a fix over a five-year period.
Image source: Getty Images.
Owners of cars with these transmissions reported sudden or delayed acceleration, losing power while driving, and other unanticipated situations.
In January, Ford proposed a minimum $30 million settlement for the class action lawsuit, which represents approximately 2 million current or former car owners. The Free Press quoted Michael Kirkpatrick, a lawyer at the nonprofit Public Citizen consumer advocacy group, as saying the settlement could end up costing a total of up to $500 million for the company.
Also according to the Free Press, a Ford company spokesman said in a prepared statement, "We are pleased with the court's ruling and look forward to the final implementation of the settlement."
