Anne Bucher  |  June 22, 2020

Category: Auto News

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A Ford Ranger regarding the Ford cheat device class action lawsuits filed

Ford is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations it installed a mileage/kilometrage cheat device and misrepresented the fuel economy rating in some of its vehicles.

The emissions cheating device was reportedly installed in the 2019 Ford Rangers, which Ford marketed as: “All-New Ford Ranger Rated Most Fuel Efficient Gas-Powered Midsize Pickup in America.” Ford allegedly continues to misrepresent on its website that the 2019 Ford Ranger has a fuel efficiency of 11.8L/100km for city driving and 9.8L/100km for highway driving.

Plaintiff G. Sabourin says he leased a new 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat Supercrew 4W in February 2019 and soon noticed that the vehicle’s fuel consumption was far higher than he expected based on Ford’s representations about the vehicle’s fuel efficiency. He estimates the Ranger’s fuel consumption was closer to 16.5L/100km for city driving and 13L/100km for highway driving.

The emissions cheating devices may also be installed in F-150 series trucks and other Ford vehicles.

“Ford deliberately miscalculated and misrepresented certain road-testing factors during vehicle certification testing in order to report that the Subject Vehicles were more fuel efficient and emitted less pollution than they did in reality,” the plaintiff alleges in the Ford cheating devices class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff says Ford knew that customers had a preference for fuel efficient vehicles and are willing to pay a premium for them because of the savings on fuel costs.

The Ford cheat device class action lawsuit alleges Ford also deliberately misrepresented certain factors during vehicle certification testing to show that the vehicles were more fuel-efficient than they actually were.

Specifically, Ford is accused of cheating on the “Coast Down” testing and “Road Load” calculations.

Coast Down testing reportedly involves driving the vehicle up to speed, shifting it into neutral, then allowing the vehicle to coast down as it is slowed by forces such as resistance of the rolling tires, wind resistance, and other forms of resistance against the vehicle.

Road Load measures the forces against the vehicle while it drives at a constant speed over a smooth, level surface. Road load forces may include tire rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag and driveline losses.

The Ford cheat device class action lawsuit alleges Ford deceived consumers by declaring its vehicles to be fuel efficient even though the only way it could achieve the promised fuel economy and range was by manipulating its testing procedures and ignoring common road conditions.

“The measure of forces acting against the vehicle during real-world driving is essential to the simulation of actual driving when a vehicle is undergoing testing in the laboratory — without it, the testing would not yield real-world results,” the Ford cheat device class action lawsuit says.Engineers working on care regarding the Ford cheat device class action lawsuit filed

“In its internal lab tests, Ford intentionally did not account for these forces, which lead to better — and entirely inaccurate — fuel economy projections, and claims that the vehicles emitted less pollution than they emitted in reality.”

Some Ford vehicles also allegedly contain “mileage cheat devices” that misrepresent the vehicles’ poor kilometrage and conceal the reality from vehicle owners and lessees. According to the Ford cheat device class action lawsuit, Ford concealed the mileage cheat devices and lower fuel efficiency because the motor company knew that these factors would diminish the value of the vehicles and increase the fuel costs for vehicle owners and lessees.

Last year, the U.S. government reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Ford’s fuel-efficiency testing practices. That investigation is still ongoing.

Class Members of the proposed Ford fuel cheat device lawsuit include all Quebec residents who purchased and/or leased a Ford vehicle with fuel economies that were less than the rating produced by the applicable federal test.

The vehicles named in the Ford class action lawsuit include 2019 Ford Rangers and F-150 series trucks, but other Ford vehicles may also be included.

Class Members have allegedly overpaid for the vehicles which have a lower fuel efficiency than promised. They will also experience increased fuel expenditures and a diminished value of their vehicles, the plaintiff alleges.

The Ford cheat device class action lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to be paid to each eligible Class Members, as well as injunctive relief to prohibit Ford from continuing to engage in deceptive conduct with regard to the fuel efficiency representations and mileage cheat devices on its vehicles.

Do you own a Ford vehicle? Do you believe your vehicle is fuel efficient? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by Andrea Grass of Consumer Law Group Inc.

The Ford Cheat Device Class Action Lawsuit is G. Sabourin v. Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited, et al., Case No. 500-06-001001-193, in the Superior Court of Québec in Montreal, Canada.

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2 thoughts onFord Accused of Installing a Kilometrage Cheat Device in Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Sean H says:

    I own the 2019 ranger, and it uses way more gas than it should. Seems im filling it up more than the full size beast I replaced by buying the ranger.

  2. Kimberley Pollock says:

    I own f150 and it seems like burn through gas really fast as it would cost me $20 to travel 22kms return, where I use to own a Corolla and it would cost roughly $5

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