Ford Hit with Class Action Over Alleged Backup Camera Defect Plaguing 2020-2023 Explorer, Lincoln Models

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Ford faces a proposed class action that alleges the automaker has equipped 2020-2023 model year Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Lincoln Corsair vehicles with a defective 360-degree camera system prone to glitch, display a blue or black screen, or otherwise fail.

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The 87-page suit stresses that the Ford camera defect, over which the company recalled 462,000 vehicles worldwide earlier this year, poses a serious safety hazard to drivers and passengers given that the loss of a vehicle’s backup camera while in reverse increases the risk of an accident and injury. The filing shares that Ford has yet to offer an effective fix for the apparent backup camera problem and has not disclosed the issue to drivers at the time of sale or lease. 

Per the suit, Ford advertises that buyers or lessees can add to their Explorer, Aviator or Corsair a 360-degree camera with a split-view display to “help[] you navigate tight spots with ease.” Further, Ford touts its Co-Pilot360 system as able to help drivers “[g]et a clear picture of your surroundings” and allow them to “see around the [vehicle], from every side,” a feature particularly helpful while parking or driving through tight areas, the case relays. 

According to the lawsuit, however, the defect plaguing Ford’s 360-degree camera system can cause a vehicle’s rearview camera display to freeze on a blue or black screen or otherwise glitch or fail. Because the issue can cause an affected Ford or Lincoln’s backup camera image to not display properly when the vehicle is placed in reverse, the cars do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111, which establishes certain requirements for vehicles’ rear visibility, the complaint says. 

The case contends that Ford knew or should have known of the apparent camera defect as early as February 9, 2021, the date the first complaint about the problem was submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In fact, Ford likely knew about the issue “well before that” since, in March of that year, the automaker opened its own investigation into multiple reports of “intermittent loss of image on the rearview camera display,” the suit says. 

This year’s recall is the third such initiative by Ford over the alleged camera defect, the lawsuit notes. The first recall, affecting more than 228,000 vehicles, came on September 23, 2021 and involved Ford pushing out a software update to the cars’ image processing module software, the suit shares. 

A second recall was initiated in January 2023, by which time Ford was aware of 17 reported minor accidents linked to the camera defect, according to the case. The third Ford camera defect recall came in May 2023, affecting more than 422,000 vehicles equipped with a 360-degree camera, the suit continues. Per the case, the most recent recall, for which proposed class members received a notice in July, “supersedes” the previous two yet still offers only “an interim repair prior to the availability of the permanent fix.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons or entities in the United States, or any of its territories, who bought or leased a model year 2020-2023 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator or Lincoln Corsair equipped with a 360-degree camera. 

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