Ford E-Series Cutaway Trucks Can’t Handle Advertised Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, Class Action Says

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Ford Motor Company faces a proposed class action that alleges the automaker has failed to disclose that its E-Series Cutaway trucks are equipped with a suspension system that cannot handle the advertised gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). 

According to the 29-page lawsuit, the “incomplete” cutaway trucks, which are advertised by Ford to be used for commercial and recreational purposes, including as RVs, box trucks and ambulances, have a stated GVWR, i.e., the heaviest weight the vehicle can safely carry, of anywhere from 10,050 to 14,500 pounds, depending on the model. 

The case says, however, that the E-Series Cutaway cannot accommodate its stated GVWR because the vehicle, critically, cannot be aligned after it has been built out into its final use, meaning it may be extremely difficult to keep the vehicle straight while driving. Once a Ford Cutaway has been built into its final form, there is no way to adjust its caster or camber, and therefore the suspension cannot accommodate its stated GVWR, the complaint says. The vehicle will thus “not track the road,” and safe steering becomes difficult given the vehicle will “pull to one side of the road due to its weight,” the lawsuit states. 

“The driver, while operating at highway speed, must constantly compensate for the vehicle’s inability to be driven straight,” the filing contends.

The complaint says that to remediate the situation, and to make the Cutaway not only “tolerate” its stated GVWR but also drive safe on the road, a consumer must buy and have installed “various aftermarket parts” to fix the truck’s suspension. Per the case, the plaintiff, a Florida resident who purchased a 2021 Ford E-Series Cutaway that was fitted as a recreational vehicle, paid $855 to “add parts” to his RV to remediate the suspension problems at issue.

According to the case, Ford has acknowledged that the Cutaways’ suspension “could become problematic,” and has offered a limited warranty that provides for wheel alignments and tire balancing for the first 12 months or 12,000 miles in service. Despite this promise, the lawsuit alleges, Ford “rejects, as it did with Plaintiff, any such warranty claims” on the grounds that a consumer’s Cutaway was modified due to its final build out, voiding the warranty. 

“Ford knows the entire point of the Cutaway is to use it to build out a final vehicle (e.g., recreational vehicle, box truck, ambulance),” the suit reads. “Ford’s limited warranty is entirely illusory and deceptive.” 

The case looks to cover all persons who bought or leased in Florida a new completed vehicle utilizing a Ford E-Series Cutaway between 2018 and the date of class certification that required adjustment and/or modification to correct alignment within the first 12,000 miles after purchase. 

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.