Class action settlement, water pumps, Ford 3.5 V6...I missed the boat???

[MFE]

Cliffs: I had to pay $900 out of pocket in 2021 to repair a 3.5 water pump with a bullshit design, and I find out today doing some digging that there was a class action settlement and I missed the very short claim window. Anything I can do?

Story: I know it's not SVT related, but there's some knowledgeable Ford folk here. In March of 2021, the water pump failed on my wife's 2016 Explorer and its 3.5L V6. Horrible ****ing design lets coolant dump right into the oil pan when the pump seal fails, and presto-change-o, you wipe out the engine bearings and need a new/rebuilt engine. The lawsuit alleged that Ford knew it was defective and didn't do anything about making it good, either in production or after people were victimized.

By some grace of God, I caught it starting to happen before it got to the coolant/oil mixing stage. I tried every ****ing ploy I could to get Ford to give me some relief on it, including the fact that my dad worked for Ford for 33 years. Nothing.

We bought the car used but I got the local Ford dealership to cover "half" the repair thanks to having a friend in a relatively high place there, and I was out of pocket for $900.

I remembered hearing some time ago that there was a class action lawsuit against Ford about it, so I looked into it today, and get this:

• The deadline to submit claims is September 6, 2021 for repairs done before June 28, 2021. Repairs after that date have 18 months to submit claims.

What the **** is a 3-month claims window? And we never got notified!

Any ideas of how to go about getting reimbursed for this POS?

 

[BlackStang00]

My Taurus has the same issue. Last I checked there was no settlement. Link?

 

[MFE]

I had to use an AI chat because info was so hard to find otherwise:

Here are some details on the disposition of the Ford water pump class action lawsuit:

• In January 2021, the lawsuit was granted class action status by a federal judge in Michigan, allowing it to proceed as a class action.
• By April 2021, Ford and the plaintiffs had agreed to a settlement to resolve the class action.
• The settlement was approved by the court in June 2021.
• Under the settlement terms, Ford agreed to reimburse owners of affected vehicles who paid to replace defective water pumps, up to $675 for repair costs.
• Ford also agreed to extend the warranty coverage for the water pumps on affected vehicles up to 7 years/100,000 miles from the initial sale date.
• The settlement applied to owners of over 3 million affected Ford vehicles from the 2010-2017 model years.
• Ford also agreed to reimburse owners for other damage caused by the water pump failure if it occurred before the extended warranty period.
• The total value of the settlement was estimated to be over $20 million in reimbursed repair costs for Ford.
• Ford did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.

So in summary, after being granted class action status in 2021, the lawsuit ultimately settled with Ford agreeing to reimburse repair costs and extend warranties on millions of vehicles with defective water pumps. The settlement provided relief to owners of affected Ford vehicles.

- How do I get reimbursed for water pump repair expenses following that settlement?

Here are some key steps to get reimbursed for water pump repairs under the Ford settlement:

• First, make sure your vehicle is included in the settlement. It must be a 2010-2017 Ford model with a Cyclone V6 engine, such as F-150, Edge, Explorer, etc.
• Gather your repair receipts and documentation showing you paid to replace a failed water pump. The reimbursement covers up to $675 of repair costs.
• Go to the official settlement website (www.fordwaterpumpsettlement.com) and download the claim form.
• Fill out the claim form with your contact details, vehicle VIN, repair date/costs, and attach documentation.
• Claims can be submitted by mail or email to the settlement administrator.
• The deadline to submit claims is September 6, 2021 for repairs done before June 28, 2021. Repairs after that date have 18 months to submit claims.
• Processing takes 60-90 days. Reimbursements will be sent by check or PayPal.
• Call the settlement hotline at 1-888-565-1064 if you have any questions about eligibility or the claims process.
• Claims may be denied if incomplete, missing proof of repair, or for modified/salvaged vehicles.

So in summary, gather repair documents, fill out the claim form, submit to the settlement administrator, and you can get reimbursed up to $675 for replacing those faulty Ford water pumps. Just make sure to check eligibility and provide complete documentation.

The link and the phone number are dead.

 

[BlackStang00]

It looks like Ford quietly swept it under the rug. Nice.

 

[BlueSnake01]

Top 3 reasons why I got rid of our 18 Explorer

 

[Crimson2v]

I doubt you can do anything about it. We buy quite a bit of Fords for the fleet and they tell us to pound sand when we are out of warranty.

 

[derklug]

We have told our customers to get it done at 100k, and one customer told us we were FOS. When his sisters Explorer needed a new motor at 120k, he apologized and had his done.

 

[CobraBob]

I know this is painful to hear, but I believe you're not going to get any satisfaction from Ford on this one. You missed the sliver of time window on the Class Action suit, so Ford wins and the unnotified customer loses. You should at least demand an answer as to why you were never notified since you own a vehicle affected. That isn't going to get you a reimbursement, but you should be entitled to know how and why you, as a customer, got bypassed. Don't be surprised if you get a B.S. excuse on that one. "Sir, we are sorry you missed the windows of opportunity, but it is likely that either the email we sent went into your Spam folder, or the letter we sent got lost before delivery." Or some other lame reason. Sucks!

 

[RosieCap]

Cliffs: I had to pay $900 out of pocket in 2021 to repair a 3.5 water pump with a bullshit design, and I find out today doing some digging that there was a class action settlement and I missed the very short claim window. Anything I can do?

Story: I know it's not SVT related, but there's some knowledgeable Ford folk here. In March of 2021, the water pump failed on my wife's 2016 Explorer and its 3.5L V6. Horrible ****ing design lets coolant dump right into the oil pan when the pump seal fails, and presto-change-o, you wipe out the engine bearings and need a new/rebuilt engine. The lawsuit alleged that Ford knew it was defective and didn't do anything about making it good, either in production or after people were victimized.

By some grace of God, I caught it starting to happen before it got to the coolant/oil mixing stage. I tried every ****ing ploy I could to get Ford to give me some relief on it, including the fact that my dad worked for Ford for 33 years. Nothing.

We bought the car used but I got the local Ford dealership to cover "half" the repair thanks to having a friend in a relatively high place there, and I was out of pocket for $900.

I remembered hearing some time ago that there was a class action lawsuit against Ford about it, so I looked into it today, and get this:

What the **** is a 3-month claims window? And we never got notified!

Any ideas of how to go about getting reimbursed for this POS?

Wow, I have a 2017 ford explorer the water pump went bad, and got it fixed for $3700 by some local shop, we also got the timing belt changed out because of t was r recommended and well when I got my car back it was worst than before. This shop gave me back my car with a horrible loud noise and the whole car shaking and sputtering. We call and they said they did not do a test drive before fixing the car and after fixing the car they did notice all the things I’ve listed but to them it’s was a fuel pump and not something they did. Well they wouldn’t return all my calls so a couple weeks later the check engine light came on and we took it back to them and they wanted $1500 to change a coil lol. We said no took the car to our trust mechanic ( who couldn’t do the water pump because it was too big of a job so he sent us to someone, that someone was booked till 3 weeks later so sent us to the shop that screwed up our car Hillmuth in laurel Md) and after having our car for a hour called and said the check engine was for a rpm hitting at 400 at 67 mph so that wasn’t a huge concern but the noise and the way the car was shaking was a huge concern and it was all coming from the area Hillmuth repaired (the water pump and timing belt) and we have tried so many time to tell this company about this but there have this sick snub nose guy at the front who alighted at us when we told him what our mechanic said and told us basically we don’t know what we are talking about, also kept talking about the check engine and not about what was the issues with my car after they supposedly fixed it. This has been a horrible experience, $5000 to get your car back in worst shape, and it’s my only way to get 3 kids around and this company refused to take responsibility. They will lose a lot of money to open back up the engine to see what they did wrong, my timing belt is definitely shaking and they do not care, or especially care if my only vehicle I have that my kids are supposed to be safe in blows up on us. Hillmuth is a family first business but it’s bullshit and lies.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Be glad you didn't get a focus with the POS DCT transmission. Currently running on clutch #4, first three replaced under warranty.

It's getting ready to be gone, and I'll never be so glad to see a vehicle gone from my fleet.

But yeah, you are SOL being out of the window for reimbursement. Even if you have a dealer pulling for you hard, their hands are tied.

 

[01yellercobra]

Be glad you didn't get a focus with the POS DCT transmission. Currently running on clutch #4, first three replaced under warranty.

It's getting ready to be gone, and I'll never be so glad to see a vehicle gone from my fleet.

But yeah, you are SOL being out of the window for reimbursement. Even if you have a dealer pulling for you hard, their hands are tied.

Friend of mine had one of those. He ended up being able to sell it back to Ford. I think he got almost what be paid for it too. After he put around 100K on it.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Even if you were still within the “window” of the CA suit, what would you actually gain from it? Ford points? An Amazon gift card for $25? Some type of “future” $250 discount off a new Ford? A hideeho “we’re sorry chump”?

Those CA’s are never good for the consumer, they only make “headlines”, the Manufacturer gets a slap, the lawyers get paid, and everything fades away while everyone forgets…. But the vehicles are still on the road being sold used, most likely with many never repaired, so the next unsuspecting buyer gets the unexpected whammy…

All I can say is anyone buying used (or even new), do your due diligence and research BEFORE paying or signing any docs for that vehicle… especially used. There’s plenty of info online with real reviews/complaints from actual owners, or even hit the NHTSA site and review all of the Manufacturer’s communications section to see what problems lurk for that specific year/make/model. Plus there’s multiple forums too for nearly any vehicle where one can find the pros/cons of XYZ platform.

EDIT:
MFE from Corral?

And there’s the Ford Explorer forum that has a ton of info.

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/

I belong to that forum as well; a few years back I researched some Explorers in the affected year range (retired Police units), and when I came across the info over there about the water pumps - said hell no, and passed (even though a PIU would be very maintained while in service).

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Friend of mine had one of those. He ended up being able to sell it back to Ford. I think he got almost what be paid for it too. After he put around 100K on it.

Ford ended up making up for it - the last time it went in, the TCM was bad. The dealer went to bat for me and ended up getting Ford to pay for a rental as the parts were on national back order. We had a rental for 4 months and maybe 6000 miles until the the TCM finally made it in. That extended the time frame to get a replacement, as I really wanted it to last another year.