Ford Faces $1.2B Lawsuit for Allegedly Falsifying MPG Ratings

Ford Motor Co. was slapped with a federal lawsuit amounting to $1.2 billion for allegedly misrepresenting the mileage ratings of its new Ranger and 2018-2019 F-150 models.

The F-150 truck is the bestselling vehicle in the world with fuel economy being one of its main selling points. But according to the lawsuit filed by Seattle law firm Hagens Berman, Ford placed a “mileage cheat device” in its vehicles so they would display seemingly optimistic economy figures.

The plaintiff is seeking $1.3 billion from the Blue Oval, saying the falsified mileage ratings could have cost owners about $2,000 a year in additional fuel costs compared to what the company advertised.

“Ford’s lies about the F-150 are masking the truth: Consumers are paying far more for these trucks than meets the eye. Over the lifetime of the vehicle, we believe F-150 owners are paying more than $2,000 more for fuel,” said Hagens Berman managing partner Steve Berman.

The law firm claims that Ford overstated the fuel economy of its trucks by 15% for highway mileage and 10% for city mileage.

The misrepresentation is likely rooted in a change made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017 in the way emissions tests were administered. More specifically, there was a change in calculating a vehicle’s “road load”. Road load pertains to a resistance figure used on a dynamometer to simulate the effects of resistance from rolling tires, wind resistance, as well as loss of energy through the drivetrain.

The lawsuit isn’t the first one faced by the company as there have been other cases in the past with similar claims. But what makes this recent suit more interesting is the fact that Ford employees were the first to report about Ford’s questionable road load calculation process back in February.

Representatives of Ford, meanwhile, refused to comment on the issue.