A national class action lawsuit has been commenced against Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited ("Ford"). The lawsuit alleges that certain Ford Focus and Fiesta vehicles are equipped with a defective PowerShift Dual-Clutch Automatic (DPS6) Transmission (“PowerShift Transmission”) that may slip, buck, kick, or jerk, and result in sudden or delayed vehicle acceleration. Ford denies that they have violated any laws, deny that they have engaged in any wrongdoing, and deny that there is any safety hazard or defect.
TopThe settlement has been approved by the Superior Court of Justice. The reasons can be found here. Justice Morgan's signed order approving the settlement and class counsel fees can be found here. An amendment to Justice Morgan's approval order can be found here.
TopAnyone in Canada who currently owns or leases or formerly owned or leased a Ford Fiesta for model years 2011 to 2016 equipped with a dual clutch transmission or a Ford Focus for model years 2012 to 2016 equipped with a dual clutch transmission.
TopTo receive benefits in the class action, you must submit a claim form. Click here to submit a claim.
TopSettlement Class Members are not personally liable to pay any legal fees or disbursements to Class Counsel or to the Defendants.
At the settlement approval hearing, the Court will also be asked to approve a contingency fee agreement for the payment of legal fees. It is proposed that Ford will pay $3 million in legal fees inclusive of HST plus disbursments directly to Class Counsel. Of the $3 million, $1 million is an advance payment repayable to Ford out of the benefits paid to Class Members. Class Counsel will seek 10% of the benefits payable to Class Members inclusive of HST. Of the 10% recovered, the first $1 million will be returned to Ford.
The Law Foundation of Ontario is also entitled to 10% of the benefits payable to Class Members.
TopIf the Settlement becomes final and you have not opted out, you will be eligible for the benefits described in this Notice. In exchange for having those benefits available to you, you will give up your right to sue Ford and related parties for claims based on problems with the PowerShift Transmission.
The Settlement does not resolve claims related to wrongful death, personal injury, or property damage unrelated to the Class Vehicle itself.
TopIf you purchased your Class Vehicle from a private owner, you are eligible for benefits just as you would be if you had purchased your vehicle directly from a Ford Dealer. This means that you are eligible for benefits under this Settlement whether you purchased your Class Vehicle from a private owner, a Ford Dealer, or a third-party dealership, as long as you meet the other Settlement requirements.
TopYou will need to provide supporting documentation for each Hardware Replacement or Software Flash your claim is based on. These can be repair orders or receipts/invoices that show:
You must also provide documentation showing that you were the owner or lessee at the time of each repair. If you are shown as the person requesting the repairs on all of the supporting documentation for your repairs, you do not need to provide further proof of ownership. If you are not identified on the repair records, you can provide a vehicle title/registration, purchase or lease agreement that shows you as the vehicle owner at the time of the first repair and a vehicle registration that shows you as the owner as of the latest repair date.
TopFor claims based on repairs done prior to June 26, 2019 – the deadline is December 23, 2019. For claims based on repairs that occur in the future, the deadline is 180 days from the service visit date.
For Alternative Benefits claims, the deadline is the later of December 23, 2019 or seven years /160,000 KM from the warranty start date.
TopIf you want to receive benefits from the Settlement but already have a pending individual lawsuit or CAMVAP proceeding against Ford based on alleged problems with your PowerShift Transmission and final judgment has not yet been entered in your lawsuit, then you must act to participate in the Settlement Class. Please consult your lawyer regarding the consequences to your pending lawsuit of opting in before you choose. By opting in, you will lose the right to continue with your own lawsuit.
To opt in, you must dismiss your lawsuit before final judgment and submit a written request to opt-in. That written request must include the following information:
You must mail your request to opt-in, postmarked no later than March 5, 2019, to:
Ford Transmission Class ActionTop
c/o RicePoint Administration Inc
PO Box 4454, Toronto Station A
25 The Esplanade
Toronto, ON M5W 4B1
Class Counsel is:
151 Bloor Street West, Suite 602
Toronto, ON. M5S 1S4
Phone: 1-844-529-4050 x 223
e-mail: info@charneylawyers.com
You may hire your own lawyer, at your own expense to represent you in the Settlement.
TopThe type of claim will depend on the repairs you have received
You may submit a claim for ‘Alternative Benefits’ if you are a current owner/lessee, have had 2 or more repairs where a qualifying hardware part in your transmission was replaced, and your vehicle is still malfunctioning.
TopYou may obtain cash payments or a Vehicle Discount Certificate (“Certificate”) toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle if, while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle, you made three (3) or more Service Visits to authorized Ford Dealers where during each visit a qualifying transmission part was replaced within seven (7) years or 160,000 kilometres from the vehicle’s delivery to the first retail customer, whichever occurs first.
Those qualifying parts are as follows:
(1) 7B546 Disc Asy-Clutch;
(2) 7Z369 Control Mod Trans (TCM);
(3) 7052 Oil Seal-Trans Rear;
(4) 7000 Transmission Asy-Aut;
(5) 7C604 Motor-Frt Clutch;
(6) 7A508 Rod-Cl/Slave Cyl Pus;
(7) 6K301 Seal/RetC/Shft Oil;
(8) 7060 Shaft/Bshg Asy-Out;
(9) 7048 Seal-Input Shaft Oil;
(10) 7515 Lever Asy-Clutch Rel.
Replacements of any of these parts, not performed as part of any recall program are known as “Transmission Hardware Replacements”. Please review your repair orders to match the part replaced, and be aware that your invoices may have a prefix and/or suffix surrounding the base part numbers identified above.
This benefit is available to you even if the services were performed under warranty, which means that you need not have paid out-of- pocket for the services or repairs. This benefit is to compensate you for the inconvenience of having to take your car in to a Ford Dealer for multiple repairs. The benefit is not available, however, for repairs performed as part of any safety or non-safety Recall Program.
TopYou are entitled to the following payments or Vehicle Discount Certificates (in lieu of cash) for each valid claim for a Transmission Hardware Replacement:
|
Number of Service Visits for Transmission Hardware Replacements |
Cash Payment |
Discount Certificate Value |
|
For the 3rd Visit |
$252 |
$504 |
|
For the 4th Visit |
$347 |
$694 |
|
For the 5th Visit |
$441 |
$882 |
|
For the 6th Visit |
$536 |
$1,072 |
|
For the 7th Visit |
$631 |
$1,262 |
|
For the 8th Visit |
$725 |
$1,450 |
Payments to Class Members are capped at a total of $2,932 for cash payments or $5,864 for the value of the Certificate(s). This means that Class Members cannot receive any further cash payments or Certificates beyond the eighth visit for a Transmission Hardware Replacement.
TopA Vehicle Discount Certificate is a discount coupon that you may apply toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle from an authorized Ford Dealer. The amount stated on the Certificate will be deducted from the vehicle’s purchase price.
You can apply multiple Certificates toward your purchase, so long as the Certificates have not expired. The Certificate cannot be redeemed for cash or used at a non-Ford Dealer. The Certificates may be used in conjunction with other discounts offered by Ford or a Ford Dealer.
A Vehicle Discount Certificate expires within twelve (12) months of issuance. If a new Certificate is later issued to you, the amount of the later Certificate will be increased by the amount of any expired and unused Certificates.
For example, say you submitted a valid claim and received a Certificate worth $400 that was issued on December 1, 2018, and that you let the certificate expire on December 1, 2019. In January 2020, you had another visit for a Transmission Hardware Replacement, submitted another valid claim, and the Claims Administrator issues you another Certificate. The new certificate will be worth $950 ($550 plus the value of the unused and expired certificate).
TopYou may obtain cash payments for Software Flashes if you made three (3) or more Service Visits to authorized Ford Dealers where a Software Flash was performed while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle and within seven (7) years or 160,000 kilometres from the vehicle’s delivery to the first retail customer, whichever comes first. A Software Flash may be a reflash, an update, a reset, a reboot, or a similar type of service performed on your vehicle’s software. Your repair order should indicate whether a Software Flash was performed, identified by one of the following labor codes:
| 110333A | 131102A | 150090M | 160109C | 14M01DD |
| 110405A | 131104A | 150090N | 160109D | 14M01E |
| 110513A | 131108A | 150090P | 160129A | 14M01EE |
| 110524A | 131109A | 150090Q | MT131102 | 14M01GG |
| 110902A | 131110A | 150120H | R08101 | 14M01H |
| 120104A | 140131A | 150120L | R08102 | 14M01L |
| 130405A | 140131B | 150120M | R11021 | 14M01M |
| 130405B | 140131C | 150120N | 14M01A | 14M01N |
| 130405C | 140131D | 150120P | 14M01AA | 14M01P |
| 130406A | 140131E | 150120Q | 14M01BB | 14M01Q |
| 130904A | 150017A | 150044A | 14M01C | 14M02B |
| 130904B | 150090H | 160109A | 14M01CC | 14M02C |
| 130904C | 150090L | 160109B | 14M01D | 14M02D |
You may obtain a cash payment of $65 for the third Service Visit at which a Software Flash was performed by a Ford Dealer while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle and within seven (7) years or 160,000 kilometres from the vehicle’s delivery to the first retail customer, whichever comes first. You may obtain an additional cash payment of $65 for each subsequent Service Visit at which a Software Flash was performed by a Ford Dealer while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle and within seven (7) years or 160,000 kilometres from the vehicle’s delivery to the first retail customer, whichever comes first, up to a total cumulative payment of $780.
TopIf you receive a cash payment or Vehicle Discount Certificate for a Transmission Hardware Replacement, you are not eligible also to collect a cash payment for a Software Flash, and you will not be eligible for future payments for Software Flashes. In addition, if you received a payment for three (3) or more Software Flashes and then (1) had an additional repair that qualifies for a Transmission Hardware Replacement payment, (2) you submit a claim for that payment, and (3) the claim is awarded, the Software Flash payment will be deducted from the Transmission Hardware Replacement award. See FAQ #19.
TopYou cannot get payments for Software Flashes if they were performed in the same Service Visits that qualify you for a Transmission Hardware Replacement. For example, you received a $65 payment for three Software Flashes and two of the Software Flashes were performed on the same Service Visit as a Transmission Hardware Replacement. You then have another Service Visit with a third Transmission Hardware Replacement that qualifies you for a Transmission Hardware Replacement payment. You can submit a claim for the third Transmission Hardware Replacement. For that claim, however, you would receive a total of $187 ($252 for the Transmission Hardware Replacement minus $65 for the prior Software Flash payment).
TopFor Class Vehicles manufactured after June 5, 2013, if (1) you had 2 clutch replacements performed by a Ford Dealer while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle and within 5 years or 100,000 kilometers powertrain warranty, (2) a Ford Dealer performs appropriate diagnostic procedures and determines you need an additional clutch replacement, and (3) you pay for the additional clutch replacement, then you are entitled to reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs for the additional clutch replacement if it is performed by a Ford Dealer while you owned or leased the Class Vehicle and within 7 years or 160,000 kilometers of the Warranty Start Date, whichever comes first.
TopAlternative benefits provide CURRENT owners and CURRENT lessees (who meet the eligibility criteria) with an opportunity to recover a partial refund for what you paid for your vehicle and/or for your lease payments, plus a limited refund for interest paid by owners who incurred interest payments, less a reduction for usage and a reduction for owners to account for the vehicle’s residual value, since owners will retain the car unless Ford exercises its right to make an offer to purchase the vehicle and the owner accepts the offer. Ford intends to buy back all the leased vehicles from current lessees who are eligible.
TopYour car has to have undergone at least two Transmission Hardware Replacements while you have owned it or leased it in circumstances where after the second THR, the transmission problems returned and are serious enough for your car to fail the Transmission Diagnostic Test. Ford then has one last chance to fix it (“Subsequent Repair”). If the problems return again, you can recover alternative benefits subject to meeting the deadlines and criteria set out in the term sheet. If your car has already undergone four THRs while you owned/leased it, then subject to meeting the deadlines including the limitation period and warranty period requirements which are set out in the term sheet, you are eligible for alternative benefits without Ford having another chance to fix it, assuming the transmission problem has returned and is serious enough for your car to again fail the Transmission Diagnostic Test.
Detailed information regarding Alternate Benefits can be found in question #41 in the “Understanding the Settlement” section of the Long-Form Notice.
Top“Transmission Diagnostic Test” means the diagnostic tests set out in Ford Technical Service Bulletins with respect to the DPS6 Transmission to diagnose (i) fluid leaks contaminating the clutches, (ii) excessive rpm fluctuations on each clutch and (iii) Transmission Control Module error codes.
If you agree to have a Transmission Diagnostic Test performed on your Class Vehicle in order to be eligible for the Alternative Benefits, then the Transmission Diagnostic Test shall be performed by a Ford Dealer. You will have the option of choosing which Ford Dealer will perform the Transmission Diagnostic Test.
You must notify the Claims Administrator of which Ford Dealer will be performing the Transmission Diagnostic Test performed. The Claims Administrator will provide you with a Transmission Diagnostic Test Form, which will be completed by the Ford Dealer.
The scheduling of the Transmission Diagnostic Test will be agreed upon by you and the Ford Dealer you’ve chosen to perform the test.
If the Transmission Diagnostic Test does not identify any fluid contamination of either clutch, does not measure the rpm fluctuations on either clutch in excess of 250 rpm, or does not identify any Transmission Control Module error codes, the Class Vehicle shall have passed the Transmission Diagnostic Test. If the Transmission Diagnostic Test identifies any fluid contamination of a clutch, rpm fluctuations on either clutch in excess of 250 rpm, or Transmission Control Module error codes, the Class Vehicle shall have failed the Transmission Diagnostic Test.
The Ford Dealer who performs the Transmission Diagnostic Test will provide a copy of the Transmission Diagnostic Test Form to you, to Ford and to the Claims Administrator. The Claims Administrator will determine whether the Class Vehicle has passed or failed the Transmission Diagnostic Test. The Ford Dealer shall certify that the Transmission Diagnostic Test was properly performed according to Ford’s Technical Service Bulletins and shall provide the Claims Administrator with verification of the results of the Transmission Diagnostic Test (e.g. photographic evidence of fluid contamination, print-out of the rpm fluctuations as measured by the Ford-approved diagnostic equipment and/or print-out of the Transmission Control Module error codes as measured by the Ford-approved diagnostic equipment).
If the Class Vehicle passes the Transmission Diagnostic Test but you are still experiencing an issue with his or her Class Vehicle, then you may elect to have a second Ford Dealership perform the Transmission Diagnostic Test on the Class Vehicle (the “Second Opinion Test”). You must follow the same procedure as you did with respect to the first Transmission Diagnostic Test of notifying the Claims Administrator and receiving the Transmission Diagnostic Test Form.
If the Class Vehicle is within seven (7) years or 160,000km of the Warranty Start Date (whichever occurs first), Ford will pay for the Transmission Diagnostic Test. If the Class Vehicle is outside seven (7) years or 160,000km of the Warranty Start Date (whichever occurs first), you must pay for the Transmission Diagnostic Test.
TopIf a Class Vehicle fails a Transmission Diagnostic Test and Ford elects to perform a Subsequent Repair, you must notify the Claims Administrator of which Ford Dealership you’d like to perform the Subsequent Repair. You must book an appointment and make the Class Vehicle available to the Ford Dealership to have the Subsequent Repair performed by the Ford Dealership.
Following the Subsequent Repair, you will have 1 year from the date the Class Vehicle was returned by the Ford Dealership to you following the Subsequent Repair to notify the Claims Administrator that the transmission is continuing to malfunction. At the same time of notifying the Claims Administrator that the transmission is continuing to malfunction, you must notify the Claims Administrator of which Ford Dealership you choose to perform the Transmission Diagnostic Test to confirm if the transmission continues to malfunction following the Subsequent Repair.
You may only inform the Claims Administrator on one (1) occasion within the one year following the Subsequent Repair that the transmission is continuing to malfunction.
Ford shall deliver the necessary service parts to the applicable Ford Dealer within 30 days of the Ford Dealer ordering such service parts.
Top(1) If you qualify, and you are the current and original owner of the Class Vehicle, then Ford will, subject to its right to make an offer to repurchase the Class Vehicle, make an Alternative Cash Payment (Original Owner) based on the following formula:
Alternative Cash Payment (Original Owner) = Purchase Price – ((mileage (in km) on the vehicle’s odometer at the time of the Subsequent Repair Failed Test /193,000) x Purchase Price) – Residual Value of vehicle.
(2) If you qualify, and you are the current but not the original owner of the Class Vehicle, then Ford will, subject to its right to make an offer to repurchase the Class Vehicle, make an Alternative Cash Payment (Subsequent Owner) based on the following formula:
Alternative Cash Payment (Subsequent Owner) = Purchase Price – ((mileage (in km) on the vehicle’s odometer from the date of the Subsequent Owner’s Purchase of the Class Vehicle to the time of the Subsequent Repair Failed Test /193,000) x Purchase Price) – Residual Value of vehicle.
Note: In all cases Ford may, in its sole discretion, elect to offer to repurchase the Class Vehicle from an eligible claimant on terms set by Ford. You may then elect to either accept such offer or demand the Alternative Cash Payment (Original Owner) or Alternative Cash Payment (Subsequent Owner), as the case may be. In the event that you accept Ford’s offer to repurchase the Class Vehicle, the gross amount (i.e. the amount before deducting the amount payable to Class Counsel and the Law Foundation) of the Alternative Cash Payment (Original Owner) or Alternative Cash Payment (Subsequent Owner) as the case may be will constitute a part of the repurchase price and Ford will make a direct payment to you to make up the balance of agreed to repurchase price. On payment of the repurchase price, you will deliver up your Class Vehicle to Ford. You will not be entitled to any other relief or benefits.
(3) If you qualify, and are a current lessee of the Class Vehicle, then Ford will repurchase the Class Vehicle from the lessor, pay off the amount to the lessor in accordance with the lease agreement and make an Alternative Cash Payment (Lessee) to you based on the following formula:
Alternative Cash Payment (Lessee) = Lease Payments – ((mileage (in km) on the vehicle’s odometer at the time of the Subsequent Repair Failed Test /193,000) x Lease Payments).
The Alternative Benefits will be reduced if you are paid a Cash Payment or receive an Owner Appreciation Certificate under a separate category of compensation.