Ford Sued in Class Action for Defective Truck Fuel Tanks

Ford Motor Co. has been sued in a federal class action lawsuit for allegedly selling E and F series trucks, including its popular F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks, with a defect in their fuel tanks known of since 2007, a complaint filed in federal court said.

The complaint by Galo Coba Landscaping and Construction, Inc., Chester, NJ, alleges that Dearborn-based Ford knew of numerous distinct and serious latent design and/or manufacturing defects that cause the inner fuel tank lining to separate and flake off, clogging the fuel systems with tank lining debris and rust, resulting in sudden loss of power to the engine and other critical systems.

The class action lawsuit includes the claims of at least 100 individuals and claims in excess of $5 million.

The suit also alleges that Ford sought to actively conceal the defect from drivers. The suit claims that Ford in 2007 issued a secret technical service bulletin to only their dealers, acknowledging the manufacturing and/or design defects.

The gas tank lining flaw allegedly affected certain trucks purchased as far back as 1999 and as recently as 2008.

The complaint originated with a 2006 Ford F-350 Super Duty truck owned by Galo Coba and Coba Landscaping. The suit claims that the truck was taken in to a Ford dealer in Morristown, N.J., in March 2009 because it had no power, after only 24,824 miles. The dealer replaced the fuel tank, which was rusted, but Coba brought the truck in for repairs allegedly related to flaws in the fuel tank another four times between 2009 and 2011.

The case is Coba et al v. Ford Motor Co., U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey.

The following models of Ford truck were affected by the flaw in the gas tank lining, the lawsuit alleges: 2004-2007 Ford E-150; 2004-2007 Ford E-250; 2004-2007 Ford E-350; 2004-2007 Ford E-450; 1999-2008 Ford F-250 SD; 1999-2008 Ford F-350 SD; 2003, 2005-2008 Ford F-440 SD; 2005-2008 F-550 SD; 2004-2008 F-650 SD; or 2004-2008 F-750 SD.