A new proposed class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware is targeting Ford EcoBoost four-cylinder engines produced since 2010. The suit alleges that these Ford EcoBoost engines have an inherent defect that causes coolant to leak into the cylinders, which in turn leads to corrosion, misfires, engine failure, and fires.
The lawsuit alleges that Ford has known about this defect since 2010, based on pre-production testing, as well as numerous complaints filed by customers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, the automaker has supposedly not yet addressed the problem or provided any solutions for owners of affected vehicles, outside of offering to install coolant level sensors, which don’t actually keep the coolant from leaking.
This problem reportedly stems from a defect in the design of the engine block and cylinder head, as well as an inadequate seal on the head, which then allows coolant to seep into the combustion chambers. The problem reportedly affects Ford’s 1.5L EcoBoost, 1.6L EcoBoost, and 2.0L EcoBoost engines used in a variety of vehicles including the Ford Escape, Ford Fusion, Ford Edge, Lincoln MKC, and Lincoln MKZ.
Aside from the aforementioned problems this causes, low coolant levels can also lead to engines overheating and causing damage to pistons and other internal components, as well as cracked cylinder heads. Ford issued a number of technical service bulletins between 2018-2020 related to this problem, as well as a recall in 2017 to install the aforementioned coolant level sensors
Plaintiffs in the case also allege that damage caused by this issue is not covered under warranty, and many have been forced to pay for repairs out of pocket.
We’ll have more on this pending lawsuit as soon as it’s available, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford lawsuit news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
It will feature a full timeline of the van's lifecycle.
Providing loads of torque for the sporty pickup.
Not terribly surprising, given its past performance.
The two companies have pooled resources on numerous occasions.
It remained with the original owner until earlier this year.
It's one of several new carbon parts for the pony car.
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FORD has so much riding on their turbo charged engines. While there's no excuse for it, early versions of engines often have problems that are corrected over time. But that's not much consolation for someone who's car is sitting along the interstate because the engine turned into oatmeal. Takes a long time to win back people to a builder after that.
Crabby I totally agree with you. When a manufacturer has known for years about a defect. Why wouldn't they (Ford) do something to correct the problem. We have 2016 Ford Edge 2.0 Ecoboost with 48000 miles in the shop with a cracked engine block. Ford will not do anything to help. Ford says that it is past the warranty time frame. But like you said this has been an ongoing problem. Coolant is leaking into the cylinder and fouling the spark plugs and carbon is building up on the cylinder. How do I join this class action lawsuit against Ford? Sorry that you are dealing with this too. But thanks for any help to get something done. In our case we need a new engine
How do you join a class action suit? Both my daughter and I just recently had to replace our engines due to coolant leaking into the engine. We also had to replace the purge valve. We have a 2018 and 2019 Ford Escape Turbo engines.
We just had to have a ford dealer replace the engine in our 2018 Mustang with the 2.3 Ecoboost engine due to head gasket failure and coolant leaking into the crankcase causing the issue.
Ford has know. For over 15 years this motor is crap…Nissan has know their cvt transmissions are crap. These automakers take bailouts and then gouge us, the cars lose resale value quicker than any other vehicles I’ve seen other than a Yugo! They should care but they don’t. I have a 2013 Nissan Sentra with 113,000 miles sitting in driveway bad transmission, I have a 2016 Ford Fusion sitting in driveway bad engine. Both all the maintenance was done religiously. Both vehicles look better than 89% of all out there. They was well taken care of, and yet between the 2 can’t give the
away and to damn expensive to fix as we would have to drive to the wheels fell off because no one wants them. If they do they don’t want to pay anything for them afraid they will fail on them too…60000 dollars together new not worth 2 nickels. Shame on both of the manufacturers for taken advantage of consumers. Promise they will never get another dime of mine or anyone in my family, or for that case anyone who would take this advice. Steer clear and if you want a great vehicle, dependability and the best resale in the business. Buy Toyota!
I have a 2016 1.6L ecoboost. What a terrible POS. I had to replace the transmission at 89K. Had a gasket leak, $700. Now the wiper reservoir hose leaked coolan and car overheated. Repair shop wants to charge $1800 to replace the hose, flush the burnt coolant and reprogram the sensor. This seems so ridiculous. NEVER FORD.
The newer Escapes are now plagued with fuel injection issues. The injectors crack and leak gasoline on hot engines, creating a fire risk. Ford's fix? Reprogram the software--as if a hardware issue could be fixed by a reprogramming. The bottom line: Ford is a crap company and values its stockholders over its customers. To hell with them.
I am a loyal Ford customer. I have a 2015 Ford Transit 350 XLT that developed a bad vibration AFTER they fixed the recall on the driveshaft. Since the recall was addressed this vibration starts around 40 mph and last till you hit around 60 mph. So in other words the whole time you are driving around town. This van sucks now. They ruined my beautiful van. I have had it back so many times for the same issue. I tried escalating the complaint to Ford, but can't get any further. They have dismissed my complaint by calling what I am experiencing as a "Common Characteristic trait " of the vehicle. There's nothing wrong with it and there's nothing they can do about it. They refuse to entertain my complaint any longer. Meanwhile for the first three years of ownership there was NEVER a problem. Ford sucks! They are screwing this company up. I am a stock holder who has bought Ford exclusively since 1994 and this is the way they treat their customers.
Have you considered going to a drivetrain shop and having them put a driveshaft in it ? I know thats money out of your pocket, but why be miserable ? Save the bills and if there is a lawsuit down the road, request for pay
Thanks for the suggestion. I may give that a try. It does make me miserable.
I second having your current driveshaft checked and balanced at a driveshaft shop. On a second note, I have experienced similar issues in different vehicles and something to look into if the driveshaft balancing does not cure the vibration would be lateral and/or radial runout of the tires and or wheels.
I was under the impression this was largely associated with the 1.5/1.6 engines, not the 2.0. Our Escape with the 2.0 has been great, 60k and hasn't been back to the dealer other than tires/oil
My 1.5L engine has 65k on it and the check engine light came on AFTER the PCM recall (and the guys at the dealership joking that it would run worse AFTER the recall was done). New light (RED letters, high engine temp) and i had it towed. Had the call today that internal engine failure and new engine needed. Said they called Ford and they won't assist in the repair because it's over the PT warranty. I've got a call and case started with Ford. Will NEVER own another Ford. My last Ford was and Explorer and it blew the engine at 99k and the dealership said it was a fluke.
The Ecoboost engines are a disaster and Ford is going to lose hundreds of thousands of customers over them. My 1.6L Ecoboost in a 2015 Ford Escape blew within the powertrain warranty--otherwise I would have been looking at $12,000 for a new engine. This is Ford's worst engineering disaster after the Ford Pinto! These engines were designed with the sole purpose of boosting Ford's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) figures--Ford didn't care if they blew up just outside of warranty. Ford should be required to offer all Ecoboost engine owners an extended powertrain warranty to at least 100,000 miles. I'm praying my new engine won't blow for another few years--but if it does, I'm junking the car. And I will buy a Toyota next time!
Hi James, I'm a former Ford man, over 50 years of loyalty. My 2018 Escape 1.5 turbo loaded up with water at just 34K miles. Fortunately I got the engine replaced under warranty. I just traded it in (dumped it) for a Toyota RAV4. Strong 2.5 engine, get the XLE. You'll love it.
I have a2017 Ford Escape with 6100 miles I was losing coolant and took it in to the dealership and they said I needed a new block at the price of 5300 We called Ford motor and asked for help with the cost and was denied I signed up for a joint a lawsuit
Daniel, could you provide an update to the class action lawsuit, information for the attorneys filing this suit? What state do you live in? I am having similar issues with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine and would like to join any class action lawsuit. Thanks in advance.
How do I sign up to be part of the class action lawsuit against Ford ?
I have 2018 Lincoln MKC that needs a new engine due to coolant leaking into the cylinders. I replaced the spark plugs and the ignition coils at my expense….$1064.00
Ford won’t replace the engine. They said it would cost approx $10,000 to replace .
I live in Colorado.
Bought the car used from Holmes Tuttle Ford/Lincoln in July of 2021, with 38,000 miles on it.
124000 on Ford Fusion 2.0 Ecoboost. It is leaking coolant into cylinder 4, it started happening after the warranty was over and now I am looking at a new motor. I don't know what to do at this point in time. I still owe so much on my car and now I might be paying that money for a car which I can't drive.
I am having that same issue. My 2014 ford fusion which has 106,000 miles on it which it has coolant in the spark plugs misfire #4 . Towed it to MB ford , the stated there is coolant leaking. Said I need a new engine, 8-10,000 . I passed on that . I was still making payments on my original loan. I couldn't afford dishing out that amount . So I towed the car back home. Still in the driveway paid off but motor is done. I want to join the class action suit against Ford. I loved my card.
Try having a mechanic put the Bar's head gasket sealer solution with carbon fiber in it. You might get a few more months out of the engine--one guy who posted here has been driving his Ford a year after this treatment.
Our 2017 2.0 Escape just started to leak internally (head gasket area) with 52k while on a road trip, 1200 miles from home. We kept the coolant topped up and kept the cap loose for the drive home. If the cap is tight and you shut the car off, so much coolant leaks into cylinder #3 that it hydro-locks and cannot start.
You will get no more than 120000 then the motor has to be replaced. Can’t be rebuilt, has to be replaced. 120k is if your lucky as I’ve been seeing them mostly at the 80k. Good luck!
I got a recall notice on this problem and was informed it was a software issue that had to be performed at the dealership. Which it was. I have an 18 Escape SEL Ecoboost. This was about a year ago. Was this the same problem being described here? I have had No problems with my Escape since purchased.
As far as I know the promblem mostly related to the 1.6 eco boost and that engine has been replaced by the 1.5 ecoboost which was moddifed as a result of the 1.6 egine problems.
The 1.5s are affected as well, though it seems to be fewer than the preceding 1.6s. Ford has been replacing most all of the affected engines that are under warranty with either short or long blocks, out-of-warranty costs seem to run $7-$9600. Lotta info on Escape.org and Blue Oval Forums.com.
The 2020-2021 1.5L EcoBoost I-3 engine is a totally different three cylinder engine and is not affected...so far.
Can someone please tell me how these mistakes in auto manufacturing happen at all? Don't they have strict protocols? Is it just sloppiness? Bad management? People that don't care? Sheer stupidity? You would think with the amount of money recalls cost the auto industry it would be a rare thing.
They like all car makers try to make as many cars as possible and sometimes quality control isn’t as great. American car manufacturers tend to think short term while others try t think long term.
Quality control is nothing but a marketing term today. Also these vehicles are designed with planned obsolescence at the forefront. They want you to have to buy a new vehicle from them than to design a product that will last much beyond the loan payoff. Most major auto manufacturers would rather spend a few million dollars settling a class action lawsuit so they can make hundreds of millions designing and manufacturing a quality product that lasts. Sadly this includes such iconic brands such as Toyota, Honda and BMW.
Sorry, IO didn't proofread that. It should read
"Most major auto manufacturers would rather spend a few million dollars settling a class action lawsuit so they can make hundreds of millions designing and manufacturing a quality product that only lasts a long as the loan.
Sorry, I didn’t proofread that. It should read
“Most major auto manufacturers would rather spend a few tens of million of dollars settling a class action lawsuit so they can make hundreds of millions designing and manufacturing a product that only lasts a long as the loan.
Thought I was lucky in a way, when my Focus was totalled from behind. I wanted an Escape but saved money on the Focus. Of course, I had trans problems with the Focus. So now I have an Escape that could have a faulty engine? I think I'm done with Ford.
I had the same problem with my 2019 Fusion. I got a recall notice. They said they fixed. Then engine light came on. I am told engine is dead the day after the recall has been fixed. They replaced the engine in 50 days. The car was in service 5 times in 2 years due to engine light.
I have a 2013 Fusion with the 2 L Ecoboost. No problems regarding the engine. Only recalls for door latch springs and other small stuff
Ford knew about it from an engineering standpoint, they just choose to manufacturer an engine block that was faulty and use cheap gaskets hoping there wouldn't be a problem. Other manufacturers have done the same thing. If the proper engineering is done from the drawing board these auto manufactures wouldn't be faced with lawsuits. However, the profits from sales far exceed any payout from lawsuits they lose. It should be a federal crime to put the consumer through the troubles and sometimes danger, so the CEOs and engineers should be held accountable by having to pay monetary restitution as well as serve prison time, and just maybe, it would have the next generation straighten up and fly right.