Ford hits legal pothole over alleged reliability defects

The claim alleges that Ford Australia and Ford Motor Company marketed and sold defective vehicles that failed to meet company promises regarding safety, durability, and reliability.

It isn’t the first major class action filed by JGA Saddler this year, after the firm filed a class action against mining giant Fortescue over allegations regarding decades of systemic sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender discrimination and retaliation against female workers across its Australian operations between 2006 and 2025.

Just last year, Woodsford and JGA Saddler teamed up to file a suit against Tesla over allegations that the company sold defective Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with dangerous “phantom braking”, misleading battery-range estimates and unfulfilled self-driving capability promises.

In a combined release from Woodsford and JGA Saddler, Tristan Gaven, the latter’s director, noted that Ford had failed to fulfil promises over the safety of the vehicles being manufactured.

“Ford promised that its vehicles were tough, designed to thrive in brutal driving conditions,” Gaven said.

“In reality, customers have faced ongoing transmission issues that have left them out of pocket and with products of a significantly lower value and quality that they paid for.

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“Ford has not offered sufficient support to customers experiencing these issues.

“Despite its bold marketing, Ford has sold its customers vehicles which are neither enjoyable nor safe to drive.”

Last year, another class action was brought against Ford Australia on behalf of Ford vehicle owners over alleged defects in Ford’s PowerShift dual-clutch transmissions, which were said to cause problems, including shuddering, loss of power and premature transmission failure.

The Federal Court rejected Ford’s appeal against findings that a certain part of the vehicles was not of acceptable quality under Australian Consumer Law, leaving the case’s damages assessment to be reconsidered.

Gaven added that Ford would have been aware of the issues with its vehicles, and despite redesigns, issues are still occurring.

“Ford was aware of the issues with the 10R80 transmission, and as a result redesigned this component,” Gaven said.

“However, the defects have persisted, and Ford has not taken further action.

“It’s easier for large companies to ignore individual claims and to make it difficult for customers to get any kind of acknowledgement or compensation.

“This is an opportunity to show manufacturers that the promises they make are important, and need to be fulfilled.”

Alex Hickson, director of Woodsford Australia, indicated that customers are continuing to driving vehicles that are faulty, despite paying a large amount of money with the expectation that their car would be safe to drive.

“People pay a premium for vehicles marketed as tough and dependable, and they expect the transmission to keep working. Instead, owners say they’ve been left with persistent problems that Ford hasn’t resolved, and with vehicles worth less than what they paid,” Hickson said.

“Ford should put that right. Woodsford is proud to support this case so that ordinary Australians who bought these vehicles can hold a global manufacturer to the promises it made.

“Woodsford is proud to support this case so that ordinary Australians who bought these vehicles can hold a global manufacturer to the promises it made.”

Lawyers Weekly reached out to Ford Australia for further comment on the investigation, to which a representative responded with: “Ford Australia is aware that a class action was filed in the Federal Court of Australia on October 8, 2026. We have no further comment at this time.”

The statement of claim has been filed in the Federal Court of Australia and covers various Ford models manufactured between 2018 and 2026.

Australians who own or lease a Ford vehicle manufactured between 2018 and 2026 can register for the class action at ford-classaction.com.au to see if they are eligible.