The latest in the long history of class-action lawsuits against Ford follows the January 2025 recall of nearly 273,000 Bronco Sport and Ford Maverick models equipped with 12-volt batteries supplied by Camel Group. The 27-page complaint brings up how the Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Maverick batteries have an internal weld and cast-on-strap that’s susceptible to failure and, when it does, it leads to sudden power loss or the vehicle stalling. The original plaintiff states his Ford Bronco Sport’s battery failed multiple times and the battery had to be replaced after around 34,000 miles. It reached the point where he couldn’t use the automatic start/stop feature as he couldn’t be sure the vehicle would start again, and had to carry a battery booster.

The Lawsuit Claims That Ford’s Efforts Have Been Ineffective And Costly

Recall notices for the issue are due this month (February 2025), but the plaintiff and lawyers aren’t happy with that. “The result of Defendants’ recall, which includes a free fix and repair clause, will cost Plaintiff hours of his time,” the suit claims. “In all, Defendants’ Recall amounts to tens of thousands of hours and dollars needlessly taken from Plaintiff and other Class Vehicle owners,” the complaint contends. It also says that the plaintiff has not been informed of a Ford battery recall, only hearing of the battery defects through social media and news reports.

Furthermore, the lawsuit suggests that if the recall fix is effective, the owners are still burdened with a “devalued” vehicle due to a “known history of faulty design.” Words also used are that Ford’s recall “leaves more questions than answers” about the vehicle’s safety and that the affected Ford Bronco Sport and Maverick models will fail again unless Ford issues a “more comprehensive recall.” It goes on to claim Ford is guilty of unjust enrichment and negligence, and is in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

The Issue Could Be A Simple One, But It’s Still Frustrating

The recall filed by Ford in January covers 2022 through 2023 model years and includes vehicles previously recalled in April 2024 due to an issue with Body Control Module and Powertrain Control Module calibrations that could allow them to overuse the 12-volt batteries, which explains some of the lawsuits claims, including customers time and expense and vehicle safety – according to the recall, the 12-volt starter batteries can stall at low speeds, could fail to restart when the engine’s start/stop system restarts, and that the vehicles’ hazard lights may not operate.

It could be a case that the two issues are separate from each other, or that Ford wasted a lot of time and money on fixing the module calibrations by not spotting that the battery was the problem. Either way, it’s not a good look for Ford and invites this kind of lawsuit.

Source: CarScoops