In recent years, a number of recalls have been issued over faulty shifter bushings in Ford vehicles, including one for 2013-2016 Ford Fusion sedans and another for 2013-2021 Ford Transit Connect models. In those cases, the bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach, preventing the shifter from moving the transmission to the intended gear position. This could allow the driver to move the gear shift lever to park, turn the vehicle off, and exit the vehicle with no instrument panel warning message or warning chime indicating the vehicle is not secured in park. Now, a new Ford shifter bushing lawsuit has been filed, arguing that as many as three million vehicles could be affected by the problem and that the automaker doesn’t have an appropriate fix for it either, according to Car Complaints.
The lawsuit – Diaz, et al., v. Ford Motor Company – was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by New York plaintiff Sergio Diaz and Illinois plaintiff Retha Connors, who do not claim that they’ve experienced any issues with their shifter bushings, but rather, allege that the repairs offered by Ford are inadequate and won’t actually fix the problem.
The Ford shifter bushing lawsuit also applies to 2013-2019 Ford Escape, 2013-2018 Ford C-Max, and 2015-2018 Ford Edge models in addition to the aforementioned Fusion and Transit Connect. According to the lawsuit, Ford was aware of defects related to the Hilex Hytrel 4556 bushings used in these vehicles well before the first recall was issued back in July 2018.
To date, Ford has struggled to correct this particular problem, first applying a lubricant to the bushing before installing what it called “improved” parts. Then, it instructed dealers to install a protective cap over the shift cable bushing to protect against contaminants, as engineers pointed to heat and humidity as to potential culprits. “Remedy shift bushings are manufactured from a different grade material with a heat stabilizer,” the automaker previously stated. “Heat and humidity have the potential to contribute to the hydrological breakdown of the bushing material.”
We’ll have more on this and all pending Ford lawsuits soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford lawsuit news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comments
Fords are literally the WORST auto manufacturer existing today, literally. They are have more recalls than any other product on earth. They are poorly engineering and designing parts and components, while also using cheap materials and profiting so much as if they are selling QUALITY products. The question is, WHY PURCHASE A FORD????????????
Well Walter, maybe Ford has so many recalls because they produce more vehicles then other brands and you do realize, Ford doesn’t make all their own parts. Quality control can only go so far when you’re dealing with foreign manufactures.
We have a 2014 Fusion in our family fleet. It is joined by 3 F150s, 2 Edges, 1 Focus ST, 1 Bronco Sport, 1 Fox body Mustang, 1 Ecosport, 1 Escape and my Mach E.
Why buy a Ford……
1) because they make many vehicles people want,
2) vehicles that many people can afford,
3) they have a massive dealer presence around the world,
4) they work to fix mistakes so customers are safe and come back,
5) they employ hundreds of thousands of people worldwide (some possibly your neighbors or friends).
I could go on a lot more but the reality is, cars are designed and built by people. People are not perfect and neither are cars, but they keep improving. Vehicles are made of thousands of parts, made by many different suppliers around the world. The complexity of the supply and build process is mind numbing.
Walter, I suspect your statement is more opinion than factual and everyone here has an opinion.
Here is mine. Auto execs need to be car people, they need business advisors, good designers, accountants to manage the numbers and great salesmen to tell them what will sell, but mainly they need to be people who eat, sleep and breathe cars. Farley is one such guy and I respect his plan as far as I see it.
My best advice, if you see a problem, fix it or help someone who can. If all we can do is criticize and complain, we are part of the problem andnot part of the solution.
It’s an accessible part, easy to inspect or replace – like brake pads or accessory belts. That said, Ford’s cost cutting (under Jim Hackett?) has seemed too drastic.
My 2013 Ford C-Max has been the most reliable car I have owned. Maintaining a car and a little luck goes a long way.
“…who do not claim that they’ve experienced any issues with their shifter bushings, but rather, allege that the repairs offered by Ford are inadequate and won’t actually fix the problem.”
So they don’t have the problem, but are suing anyway because they don’t think the repair [for a problem they don’t have] will solve the problem they don’t even have. That’s a classic! The judge should throw them out of court.
Bogles me too Arcee. The USA is the most litigeous country in the world. Only the lawyers are going to benefit from this.
Do these folks figure they can make some easy money from a large corporation? There should be a legal test of case validity before such nutty lawsuits even get to registration.
I have to agree to a certain extent. Ford’s quality has been lacking since Hackett. Worse, under Farley. The board should be replaced and get the bean counters out – without golden parachute. Ford used to have the best castastrophic remedies the RAV – vehicle repurchase system. Now even their remedies are lacking. Having said that my 2008 MKX was the best vehicle I ever had, 187,000 miles over 11 years. Every Lincoln and ford lease (40,000 miles) each without an issue; 13 vehicles. But, ford seems to intro too early, engineering after job 1.
My 2006 Lincoln Mark LT with 70,000 miles just had that bushing disintegrate last year. So after 15 years of Florida heat I had to go and buy a Dorman replacement bushing which took all of 30 minutes to replace. I also just replaced the stabilizer bar bushings for the second time as they too disintegrated and vanished. I figure I’m way ahead of the game and I still love my stunning truck with custom whitewall tires!