Ford has faced its fair share of water pump woes over the past few years, starting in 2019 when a class-action lawsuit was filed over defective units used on certain Duratec V6 engines. Just a few months later, that lawsuit was dismissed by a judge, but this past January, a similar class-action lawsuit was certified in Canada, and now, a new Ford water pump class-action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, according to Car Complaints.
This new Ford water pump lawsuit – Mark Militello v. Ford Motor Company – also pertains to vehicles equipped with various Duratec V6 engines, and alleges that FoMoCo has been aware of this problem for a decade, yet hasn’t issued a recall or attempted to help customers repair their faulty parts or compensate them for repairs. The problem reportedly stems from premature failure of the internal chain-driven water pump, which should last 150,000 miles but tends to stop working long before that in many cases.
According to the lawsuit, defective, unreinforced bearing oil seals used in the water pump allow coolant to leak across the mechanical seals and penetrate the bearing seals, which contaminates and washes out the bearing lubricant. Since the water pump is in line with the crankshaft and located over the main body of the engine, it reportedly allows coolant to leak from the water pump into the oil pan. Making matters worse, mixed coolant and oil can lead to engine failure, too.
This particular class-action lawsuit pertains to a variety of FoMoCo models built between 2007-2020, including the Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, Ford Flex, Ford Fusion, Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, and Lincoln MKX. It was originally filed by the owner of a 2016 Ford Explorer, whose water pump failed with just over 61k miles on the odometer due to a coolant leak, reportedly forcing them to spend $2,000 for a new unit due to labor costs associated with the replacement, as it’s located behind the timing cover and is difficult to access.
We’ll have more on this and all Ford-related lawsuits soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford lawsuit news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Definitely what you'd call "hot to trot."
It's reportedly only one of two driven by the late legend.
Closing the week at $12.67 per share.
Stellantis - which builds those models in Mexico - is lobbying against it.
Along with a couple of other Blue Oval models.
Potentially enabling owners to change all sorts of things.
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Bad design? Yes. Worthy of a lawsuit? No. All automakers have introduced bad designs throughout the years. There is always the chance with *any* vehicle that something could go wrong.
The 2016 Explorer had a 5yr/60K mile powertrain warranty. Shame on Ford for not performing a "good will" repair of this owner's car allegedly only 1,000 miles outside of warranty. That is the bigger issue here. If that were to happen to me, on a vehicle that was maintained to the letter according to the manual, then I would get it fixed and immediately trade it and never own another FoMoCo brand vehicle.
Customer Acquisition Cost in the auto industry for a new vehicle is approximately $650...that's how much it costs the average automaker to get a customer for a new vehicle purchase. Ford "paid" $650 to get this customer. Then they potentially lost them for being unwilling to cover a $2,000 repair. I guess they would rather use that $2,000 to acquire 3 new customers and let that one they already had go? Imagine the word of mouth marketing this owner would have given Ford had they simply fixed it. "I had an issue with my Explorer just after the warranty ended, but Ford covered it as a good will gesture! Ford and the dealer are great! I would totally buy another Ford!"
How do I get in on the lawsuit for ford water pump it's been a good car till now bUT I won't let them screw me and take my money looks like they owe me an egine
2015 Ford Edge Titanium just came out of the shop from a water pump replacement 3800 dollars later. I was told there were 3 model of this edge I had the one that cost the most to repair because of the placement of the water pump. Should be a recall on this model .
Unfortunately unless you can demonstrate to NHTSA how a defect makes a vehicle unsafe, or violates a FMVSS regulation etc., that defect is not recallable, it is a warranty or goodwill claim.
Just a guess, but you probably didnt change your coolant ever or not often at all.
Put in the newest ford coolant color for your vehicle and test for corrosion protection with strips for POAT style coolants
I have a 2015 explorer and it cost 3400.00 dollars to replace the water pump at the dealership. I drove the car one day and the engine failed.
The cause of the problem is NOT the water pump. I repeat. NOT THE WATER PUMP.
The seals fail due to corrosion, the corrosion happens due to the coolant failing to prevent it.
The COOLANT is the problem.
Ford used junk coolant and gave it unrealistic change intervals, no one checks their coolant for corrosion protection (only cooling performance) so when it falls to dangerous levels of protection it still COOLS the engine so goes un-noticed. Eats up the seals from pump side and also eats up the gasket from pump. Eventually one or other will fail
They sell strips for testing these modern coolants POAT ect. Get the correct ones, check your corrosion protection. I do every oil change. Most importantly upgrade to newest coolant color that offers much better protection from the corrosion protection dropping off.
I am about to service my 2017 MKT 3.5 GTDT V6 engine with 85K with a coolant change at a Lincoln dealer. What specific brand of anti-freeze / coolant should I be using ? I would assume that Mopar products would be best. Recommendations anyone ?
I have a 2011 mix 195000 no problems at all its a one owner since new. I would buy a new one in a minute.
Me and my wife owns 2 180000 plus on both. Change coolant once a year same for the transmission filter NO PROBLEMS .
Mechanic here with 50 years experience. Dumb ass design of water pump behind timing cover. The engineers that designed are dumb asses. Management that approved the design are even bigger dumb asses. Poor mechanic's that have to fix that garbage. Poor consumers that have to pay for their mistakes
as a mechanic myself ,, i agree totally for making the public pay for such a stupidity design, also having to work on one of these is not the greatest to work on,,, i believe the engineers should be made to work on these for a 40 hr work week, and see if they dont change their minds on where to put the water pump and the oil pump that are in the same place, and lets see if they dont change their tune,,,,,,
I agree so is there any recourse to get them to be liable for my repair issues seeking how I have the same stupid problem that they put on market knowing it was a shifty design
My ford 2017 Explorer faced same issue two weeks back at 63K miles and is now with Dealer. What a pain?
My 2011 Ford Flex only has 107,000 miles on it and it's sitting in my driveway and not being driven because my water pump failed... My oil pan has coolant in it and it's like a white pasty sticky substance... Just bought the car from the original owner in March 2022.. waiting to get enough $$$ to get it fixed... Going to cost around $2000.00 -$2500.00 to fix... Normal cars water pumps are on the outside and only about $400.00.... poor manufacturing
My water pump failed at 107,00 miles, and don't get me wrong we love ar Ford Flex ,but now it sits in the barn with coolant in the oil and the auto mechanic told me 3200.00 to fix this because it's inside the motor and is ran by the timing chain. What a bull$$$ design
I love the FLEX and the MKT, have you got to drop the engine to do a proper job, wouldn't be so bad if it was inline, what a stupid design.