A category motion against Ford over faulty Powershift dual-clutch automatic transmissions has reached the High Court of Australia, with owners searching for greater compensation.
In Australia, greater than 70,000 Ford vehicles across the Focus, Fiesta, and EcoSport model lines were fitted with the Powershift six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission between January 2011 and November 2018.
Shortly after the vehicles entered production it was discovered the gearbox’s input shaft seals, clutch lining, and control module were liable to failure, resulting in hesitation upon shifting gears, unexpected deceleration, and sometimes a whole lack of drive.
Despite Ford Australia extending the warranty period of roughly 47,000 examples of the affected vehicles in 2014, the carmaker soon drew the ire of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
In 2016, the buyer watchdog and Ford reached a settlement which resulted within the carmaker paying a $10 million effective for failing to accurately handle Powershift-related complaints between May 2015 and February 2016.
A category motion lawsuit was subsequently filed against the carmaker in Australia by Biljana Capic – the owner of a 2012 Ford Focus – in 2016.
The lawsuit alleged the carmaker had failed “to comply with the statutory guarantee as set out by Australian Consumer Law” by providing a vehicle with component and design deficiencies.
The Federal Court agreed with this assessment in June 2021, ordering Ford to pay Ms Capic a complete of $17,248.19 in damages.
In 2022, Ford appealed the judgements for Ms Capic and other class motion group members to be awarded damages. The judgement was subsequently upheld in November 2023 when the Full Court (a panel of three or more Federal Court judges) found the affected cars weren’t of an appropriate quality.
Though the Full Court said the affected cars had a “superadded propensity to experience troubling vehicle behaviours”, it also found certain aspects weren’t considered when determining the damages Ford would must pay to Ms Capic.
A final figure for damages incurred by each Ms Capic and the broader class motion group members is yet to be determined.
CarExpert has contacted Ford Australia for comment in regards to the hearing.
The High Court’s hearing for Ford and people engaged in the category motion is attributable to happen tomorrow (April 11) following today’s hearing on a lawsuit against Toyota Australia.
The Toyota class motion is said to the circa-260,000 HiLux, Prado, and Fortuner vehicles fitted with faulty diesel particulate filters, with the automobile giant attempting to have the lawsuit dropped while owners of the affected vehicles want greater compensation.
MORE: All the things Ford
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
