Blue Oval Files Motion To Dismiss Ford Mustang Mach-E Door Lock Lawsuit

As Ford Authority reported back in January, some Ford Mustang Mach-E owners are experiencing issues where their EV crossover’s doors wouldn’t unlock, in some cases, leaving people trapped inside. This past March, a class action lawsuit was filed over this particular issue, and in June, The Blue Oval issued a recall addressing it, citing unexpected 12-volt battery discharge as the culprit. Now, Ford is asking a court to dismiss an amended version of that same lawsuit.

According to Car Complaints, a judge has already dismissed the class action in this case, but an amended lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California – John Salas, et al., v. Ford Motor Company – by plaintiffs represented by Kazerouni Law Group, APC, and Diab Chambers LLP. Ford is now asking the judge to dismiss this amended lawsuit based on the grounds that the plaintiffs are using the same arguments presented in the first case, which were already rejected by the court.

“Plaintiffs accuse Ford of admitting to the ‘defect’ in public articles and owners’ manuals while also (ii) concealing the ‘defect’ from consumers,” the automaker said. “The public articles and manuals describe everything Plaintiffs accuse Ford of concealing. What more would Plaintiffs have Ford do?” The automaker says that plaintiffs must answer that question as they claim that The Blue Oval “made some partial representations about the E-Latch system.”

The plaintiffs are arguing that the Ford Mustang Mach-E utilizes doors that are “designed to open electrically at the touch of a button, but unlike most cars with electronic door handles, the Mustang Mach-E does not have a fail-safe physical key that can be used should the battery fail; there’s no hidden physical slot to insert one.” Ford is countering by noting that it has made this feature quite clear to consumers. “Now regretting their decision, they blame Ford for ‘fraudulently concealing’ that their vehicles lack a physical key and keyhole,” it stated. “But that is something Ford neither promised as a vehicle feature nor concealed from Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ allegations still make no sense.”