Ford Mustang Mach-E Shutdown Defect

Owners of 2021-2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles have filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker in relation to a defective high voltage main battery contactor that can reportedly suddenly and unexpectedly cause the vehicle to lose power, disabling the engine and key safety features. According to the lawsuit, the defect presents a high risk of crash, injury and death. The complaint states that Ford’s remedies have so far been unsuccessful and may decrease the value of your vehicle by increasing charging times and decreasing the engine power. If you own a Mach-E, please fill out the form for email updates about the case.

WHAT FORD VEHICLES AND MODEL YEARS ARE AFFECTED?

• Mustang Mach-E manufactured between May 2020 – May 2022

WHAT WAS FORD’S “FIX”?

According to the firm’s investigation and what Ford provided to NHTSA, the purported “fix” issued by Ford only served to degrade the charging and motive power of the Mustang Mach-E so that its allegedly ill-designed high-voltage battery main contactors do not overheat and fail. Attorneys say it does not actually fix the inadequate high-voltage battery contactors. Ford’s own description of the process states, the “fix” will “reduce battery power to prevent damage to the contactor” and it will “reduce vehicle power to prevent further damage."

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY MACH-E BATTERY IS DEFECTIVE?

Ford has notified owners of Mustang Mach-E vehicles designed and manufactured between May 2021 and May 2022 in an official recall affecting nearly 50,000 cars. The automaker also instructed its dealerships to temporarily stop delivering Mustang Mach-E vehicles until the recall was deployed, yet according to the lawsuit, Ford has done nothing to fix the defective contactors in those Mach-Es already on the road.

If you took delivery of your Mustang Mach-E anytime in or after May 2021, your vehicle may have been recalled by Ford and likely contains the shutdown defect. The shutdown defect may also manifest in the car’s failure to start.

WHAT MUSTANG MACH-E OWNERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DEFECT

Owners of affected Mustang Mach-E vehicles have reported complaints pertaining to this defect via NHTSA (the National Highway Transit Safety Administration) as well as other online news outlets:

• “While driving at full highway speed, I received "Stop safely now" followed by an immediate, complete loss of throttle - not any kind of limp mode, it seemed like the motor turned off completely.“

• “…incredibly glitchy… fast forward to this past weekend and.. it broke down. …error message: ‘Steering assist fault. Service required.’ Power steering no longer works which makes the car dangerous to drive (IMO). My brand new almost $60k car is not drivable.”

• “I was attempting to pass slower traffic (they were doing 30 in a 50) and as a clearing appeared, I hit the accelerator and changed lanes. But, there was no power when I hit the go pedal, in fact there was a total loss of power.”

• “This week, I lost all power to my car, I was at 90% charge. …About 30 minutes later, I went to let my liftgate down to leave and it wouldn't close. I took my keyfob and pressed the lock/unlock buttons... nothing. I manually pressed the button on the liftgate... nothing. I got in my car and attempted to push start... nothing. Then it gave a little jerk and every possible error code available came up on my screen.”

• “Between many dealers not being prepared or caring to be prepared for Mach-E service, and just general delays with getting the parts for repairs, things are moving at a snail’s pace.”

FORD MUSTANG MACH-E SHUTDOWN DEFECT EXPLAINED

Ford has stated that its 2021-2022 Mustang Mach-E vehicles contain defective high voltage main battery contractors. The contractors are prone to overheating, causing the subsequent total loss of vehicle power, loss of safety features and/or failure to start. The high-voltage main battery contactors in the Ford Mustang Mach-E are prone to failure during ordinary vehicle operation. A 2022 Mach-E reportedly costs from $44,000 for a basic model, up to $64,000 for a GT model, depending on additional features.

Ford’s remedy has been to issue an over-the-air software update that allegedly does nothing to solve the hardware defect of the high voltage main battery contactors and may have unintended consequences of increasing charging time and decreasing engine power as it derates the function of the charger and electric motor to avoid overheating the high voltage main battery contactors, but fails to fix the defective contactors.

YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS

According to the lawsuit, Ford has not issued instructions to stop driving the vehicles and offered comparable replacement transportation. We believe that Ford’s response to this defect places its customers and the public in danger. The lawsuit claims that Ford has failed to remedy this issue in a safe and timely manner, choosing instead to save money by decreasing vehicle performance instead of fixing the defective high voltage contactors.

HOW CAN A CLASS ACTION HELP?

In an auto defect case, a class-action lawsuit often seeks repayment for vehicle owners and lessees for related losses, including loss of vehicle value due to the defect. Class members may have other claims to repayment as well under the law. The lawsuit may seek to create a fund paid for by the automaker to compensate those affected for out-of-pocket costs incurred when trying to fix the effects of the defect, including attempted repairs, replacements, damage to property and other losses. The lawsuit will also seek to uncover a full picture of what Ford knew about the battery defect and when it was made fully aware of the details of the defect.

TOP AUTO LITIGATION FIRM

Hagens Berman is one of the most successful auto litigation law firms in the U.S. and is presently leading nationwide cases against major automakers for emissions-cheating, safety defects and negligence, and your claim will be handled by attorneys experienced in automotive consumer law.

NO COST TO YOU

In no case will any class member ever be asked to pay any out-of-pocket sum. In the event Hagens Berman or any other firm obtains a settlement that provides benefits to class members, the court will decide a reasonable fee to be awarded to the class’s legal team.