Shelby GT350 Mustang Owners File New Class Action Lawsuit Against Ford for Fraud

[icormba]

I posted this on the facebook thread and I'll post it here, which I have several times in the past:

"I was one of many early buyers, Sept 2015, who knew what we where getting buying a tech car. However, what I am most angry about was that Ford made it sound like an easy "add on later part" by just adding a cooler or two only to find out... oh, you need to buy a new $4000 transmission or you might not be covered under warranty and don't even think about adding a diff cooler!"

I bought this car as a good weather daily driver and hoped to learn to, one day soon, drive it on a race track. I had hoped to get "hooked" on track driving and once I did that maybe it would be time to install the needed coolers. Leap forward to when folks first started hitting limp mode with light track duty, as they reported, in their Tech packs... you guys bought a $60k car that can't even make it 1 track session??? Now I have to live with the fact that I "bought the wrong car silly head" every time I attend a Cars & Coffee with the kids stating their Corolla S's & Honda Civic's can last longer on a track than my piece of crap. I actually get this same vibe when I run into some Mustang GT and GT350 Track Pak owners (not you Jessie!! ;) )


:ford:

What would I like out of this? A dream $4000 transmission including the labor to install it. Ford can have my transmission and it's low 9820 miles. ;)

I'd gladly pay for the trans cooler, parts, and labor for installation. :cheers:

Fat chance!!! :doh: :frusty:

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[raiderjatt02]

Now I have to live with the fact that I "bought the wrong car silly head" every time I attend a Cars & Coffee with the kids stating their Corolla S's & Honda Civic's can last longer on a track than my piece of crap. I actually get this same vibe when I run into some Mustang GT and GT350 Track Pak owners (not you Jessie!! ;) )

Ha! Scared me there for a sec. While I don't expect Tech cars to last as long as the Track Pack or R's on a track, it's just doesn't make sense for any GT350 to overheat before a GT/PP.

Hope something gets done for you guys but remember, if you guys get free coolers, I want Sync 3! :cheers:

 

[Moderator]

Thread cleaned. Stop with the insults or this thread will be closed.

 

[Tank]

Please pardon the interruption....
If there's about an estimated 4,000 potential class members...
About a fraction of them will actually pursue a fix..
ACTUAL cost to Ford of componants to fix trans and diff est. @ $3500 = $14,000,000
Couple of days to switch out components @$50 bucks an hour- 16 hours = $800 x4,000 = $3,200,000
$17,200,000 if all 4,000 pursue the fix...
Estimated difference in '16 Tech and '17 Convenience estimated at $3,000....
If all 4,000 agree to pay the difference, as I proposed earlier (Base Folks slightly higher, not estimated)= $12,000,000
Goodwill garnered by Ford for avoiding furtherance of lawsuit and recapturing the reputation of the Shelby name and GT350 moniker..priceless.
Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Lexluther]

I cant speak for Rogue. But anyone who a limp mode issue on the street has my sympathy and should probably get a buy back.

I think we need to separate the people who hit limp on the street from those who are upset they limp on the track

My issue with 3 is if you chose to not get the track pack and then over heated on the track. What are you suing for ? You did not pay for the coolers. Every Track owner did.

I think ford should extend the power train warranty as a matter of good faith.

A law suit can potentially hurt every GT350 owner, ive already gotten messages from my friends tell me to get a new car because they think it effects everyone Gt350. The articles to date are very vaguely written.

Lastly there is a possibility that if Ford couldnt get to the 50k price point they wouldnt of made the car at all

Edit: Even after the retrofit I think you are like 2K ahead..bank it in case the tranny dies.

Not sure if your familiar with my car in particular but at 2,400- miles the trans went out with only street driving. I haven't seen my car in 4-5months...

On this type of performance car and considering the extremely very limited possibilities to drive anywhere near the limits on the street a blown trans is not a normal situation I should concern myself with on this car and at this stage of ownership.

The car has never been tracked and I have no intention to but yet I am caught up in this cooler issue. I just wanted the best equipped car I could buy period. Getting power seats shouldn't mean they should remove the coolers off and make the car weaker. The base car should be just that and everything else is in addition. There was nothing presented to me at the time I put a deposit down and ordered mine nor at closing regarding the diminished performance. Some of us tech owners due to timing got screwed we had no idea we were getting the bastard child of the bunch.

I mentioned previously case law COLONIAL DODGE v. MILLER, about a guy buying a car with no spare tire. Because he was not advised it was not there and other cars had it The Uniform Commercial Code was violated nullifying the sales contract. Thats what I feel has happened here on tech cars.

False advertising of the performance aspects of the car being track ready on tech cars perhaps is another issue.

The issue if you buy the track trans and cooler and have an authorized Ford dealer install it will either get you a rejection of service or voiding of your powertrain warranty is unacceptable and Ford should correct it.

 

[essque]

This is supposed to be the era of transparency with an open line of customer/company communication but instead Ford chose to fuck with customers dropping $50-70k for a track ready Stang. They could have easily owned up and addressed it head on but nah, they try to pinch pennies for profits. I don't care about disclaimers or fine print. From the top down to the base model, these cars should be track ready. Maybe pads, fluid and tires swapped and that's it. Limp mode on the street is beyond absurd and a downright abomination. Now they have millions in irreparable PR damage and have pissed off one of the most loyal collective groups of customers in automotive history.

What a fiasco. I feel for anyone who waited months for their car and spent that much money only to get dicked around and drowned out in "read the fine print" b.s. I'm sorry, that's trash. Each and every single publication web or print touted this car as a godsend for racing aficionados as did Ford themselves. For them to hide behind their lackluster dealer network and legal jargon is infuriating and unacceptable. Sync is another issue entirely. Just my .02 cents from a humble base GT owner.

 

[icormba]

Ha! Scared me there for a sec. While I don't expect Tech cars to last as long as the Track Pack or R's on a track, it's just doesn't make sense for any GT350 to overheat before a GT/PP.

Hope something gets done for you guys but remember, if you guys get free coolers, I want Sync 3! :cheers:

Ha-ha!!

p.s.
I'm not asking for free coolers as I'd gladly pay for those... I'm asking for a tranny swap! ;)

P.s. the only things I care about on the radio are the Big screen (w/ my old eyes), awesome back up camera view, Nav w/traffic (again, nice BIG screen). :eyebulge: oh, and the Giant Snake at start up looks way cooler!!

I was driving my wife's Jeep yesterday with my iphone as my traffic guide... couldn't see $hit!

 

[VUDUGT350]

Look, I get the whole "you should have known the track pack has coolers for a reason" argument but keep this in mind: some of us had to buy off show room floors and weren't able to get dealers to take orders for us. Also, I didn't plan on tracking the car heavily, hence not being particular about getting only a track pack. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a GT 350 tech car to be able to run in a HPDE. I haven't hit limp mode yet and I've pushed it hard on the street in 100+ ambient temps. I have my first HPDE coming up and if my car hits limp mode before my session ends I'll be pretty pissed. So hopefully I don't have the problem at all.

But can't we all agree that if the base and tech models can't run a 30 minute HPDE session without hitting limp mode something is wrong? It also says something that ford added coolers to all 17 models. I really don't like that it's come to a class action law suit but can understand the frustration of some. Come on Ford, just offer us a reasonable, affordable option to upgrade the transmission!

 

[Cobra Jet]

Hmmm...

Maybe that same law firm should and will be contacted for a suit against Ford for all of the driveline vibration clients - again, Ford and the Engineering team KNEW of the very issue that now persists from 2015 into the 2017 models - that very driveline concern was even mentioned in the documentary "A Faster Horse", and Ford still sold the car to the public, FULLY KNOWING of the issue.

Ford's warranty fix: let's throw hose clamps at it and call it a day.

The issue: even after throwing hose clamps at it, owners have reported the driveline vibe returns, which confirms the fix is not a fix by any means.

Many of these vehicles suffering from the driveline vibe have been Lemon'd and it affects all platforms, whether someone paid $30k or someone who's vested up to $70k....

Here's the problem with a Lemon'd Ford:
It's not crushed. It's returned to a Dealer inventory and IS resold to the next unsuspecting customer. Sure the car is supposed to be labeled a Lemon, but do you all really believe Ford IS putting that label out there in an obvious location for a Buyer to see? That's why anyone on here who has Lemon'd ANY S550 should record their VIN # into the Lemon Law thread in the TSB section on here. Reason is, if a potential buyer is smart enough to research a VIN, it will pull in the lemon law thread in a search (thank you Internet).

Ford 'Quality is Job 1' is seriously lacking. I even wrote to Ford Corporate, which included Bill Ford, and two of his other top level people - no response at all, not even a response from anyone who would field those emails.

Ford Employees who post on Blue Oval even agree that the Quality of the product and vendor supplied parts being used is garbage, as well as the actual working conditions at the plants... Those complaints go up high too, where no one at the higher levels pays attention to the Employee concerns.

Thanks for this posting, it's not only informative but it definitely shows the lack of respect Ford has for its LARGEST consumer base which revolves around one of its most iconic vehicles...

 

[Tank]

This is supposed to be the era of transparency with an open line of customer/company communication but instead Ford chose to fuck with customers dropping $50-70k for a track ready Stang. They could have easily owned up and addressed it head on but nah, they try to pinch pennies for profits. I don't care about disclaimers or fine print. From the top down to the base model, these cars should be track ready. Maybe pads, fluid and tires swapped and that's it. Limp mode on the street is beyond absurd and a downright abomination. Now they have millions in irreparable PR damage and have pissed off one of the most loyal collective groups of customers in automotive history.

What a fiasco. I feel for anyone who waited months for their car and spent that much money only to get dicked around and drowned out in "read the fine print" b.s. I'm sorry, that's trash. Each and every single publication web or print touted this car as a godsend for racing aficionados as did Ford themselves. For them to hide behind their lackluster dealer network and legal jargon is infuriating and unacceptable. Sync is another issue entirely. Just my .02 cents from a humble base GT owner.

[MENTION=9746]essque[/MENTION],
Thanks for posting this. One of the clearest and succinct statements in the whole freaking forum :cheers:

 

[montreal ponies]

[MENTION=9746]essque[/MENTION],
Thanks for posting this. One of the clearest and succinct statements in the whole freaking forum :cheers:

[MENTION=9746]essque[/MENTION] for President. Well said.

 

[enzo101]

Probably going to get laughed out of this thread but here's my two cents.
Ford obviously knew the coolers were an issue and ignored it. This was verified for the 17 MY as the track pack became standard. When the order guide was released, the main issue I read from members was not being able to opt for the track and tech pack. We Tech pack owners made our choices for specific reasons such as the Recaros not fitting certain individuals, dislike for the track pack interior (center display), not tracking the car often so wanting more creature comforts, or just because that's what was available at the dealership. I was asked by a friend what would I do if ford bought my car back. My response, buy a 17MY 350 under sticker (they are out there) or wait for a 18MY 350. In a perfect world my solution is Ford buys back the Tech pack cars that have the limp mode issues for what MSRP on that particular vehicle is and offers a credit on a new Ford vehicle. Ford retains its customers, makes us Tech pack owners much happier and restores the broken bond we are starting to have with Ford. Am I upset at the issue, I wasn't until experiencing limp mode while driving with my friends through the mountains, one of which was in a base GT and had no issues whatsoever.

Now what Chevy needs to do is offer an extra discount on a Camaro or Corvette if you trade in a GT350. That would really entice current 350 owners to try another brand...

 

[stanglife]

I think a lot of people are reading things the way they want to read them.

- I'm from the camp that thinks it's obvious that one is called Track for a reason.
- People keep saying that the 17 is some kind of admission of guilt...you don't know that. It could easily be for other reasons...in fact, I say it's MUCH more likely that they did it because it's cheaper for them to build fewer configurations. Remember, the raised the price, too - so it's not like they were just sneaking it in there. Think about it, people are blaming Ford for being cheap and ripping people off by not including the coolers (even though they told everyone they they were not for 16) but then you really thing that the same company that you think is super cheap decided to put coolers on all 17s because they knew it was a problem for 16s? I think they did it for the same reason they do everything - profit - they make more money by supporting one config (and charging you for it).
- People knew everything about this car - hunted every little bit of literature - brake compounds, wheel offsets, oil separators, part numbers for everything but not one person thought it was a bad idea to choose the car without the track package coolers?

I do hope everyone gets what they want but I really doubt a class action suit is going to pay they way people think it will.

 

[rushca01]

The issue is the cars going into limp mode on the street while not on the track. Track a non track car and live with the possibility of it going into limp mode. If you take a GT and tech pack GT350 and on the same street road the GT350 goes into limp, that's a problem.

 

[stanglife]

The issue is the cars going into limp mode on the street while not on the track. Track a non track car and live with the possibility of it going into limp mode. If you take a GT and tech pack GT350 and on the same street road the GT350 goes into limp, that's a problem.

That's a different car. It's been argued that the GT could be cooking the fluid due to not having temp sensors.

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