Ford Owners allege their lug nuts are defective.
According to an Automotive News report, law firm Hagens Berman filed thee complaint Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of the affected owners. The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and involves hundreds of Ford owners alleging their vehicles have defective lug nuts. The suit claims millions of Ford Fusion, Escape, Flex, Focus, F-150, and F-350 vehicles have lug nuts that can swell and delaminate, making it difficult to remove the wheels.
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The two-part lug nuts in question have a steel core with a chrome, aluminum, or stainless steel cap. Owners from Arizona, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia are part of the lawsuit, and the amount of money they are seeking varies individually depending on their out-of-pocket losses from having to pay for repairs and new lug nuts, and the value of the vehicle.
“At best this defect leads to consumers paying more than $30 per wheel at a repair shop just to get their tire off, and then have to buy new lug nuts,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “At worst, Ford owners could quickly end up in an emergency situation on a busy roadway, stranded with a flat tire and no way to change it.”