Ford Australia’s record $10 million fine for “unconscionable conduct” over dodgy transmissions

[LeadFoot81]

"FORD has been handed a record fine for failing to fix faulty gearboxes after earlier insisting the problem was caused by the way people were driving their cars."

http://www.news.com.au/technology/in...716d768627c7d6

[Adamz Ghia]

They have burned many bridges over this whole fiasco and it will take them a long time to recover from it. Good on the ACCC for going after them.

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

They have burned many bridges over this whole fiasco and it will take them a long time to recover from it. Good on the ACCC for going after them.

Personally, I feel Ford is still recovering from the Pinto incident:

https://users.wfu.edu/palmitar/Law&V...ett-pinto.html

Although Ford had access to a new design which would decrease the possibility of the Ford Pinto from exploding, the company chose not to implement the design, which would have cost $11 per car, even though it had done an analysis showing that the new design would result in 180 less deaths. The company defended itself on the grounds that it used the accepted risk/benefit analysis to determine if the monetary costs of making the change were greater than the societal benefit. Based on the numbers Ford used, the cost would have been $137 million versus the $49.5 million price tag put on the deaths, injuries, and car damages, and thus Ford felt justified not implementing the design change.

[russellw]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Personally, I feel Ford is still recovering from the Pinto incident:

https://users.wfu.edu/palmitar/Law&V...ett-pinto.html

Although Ford had access to a new design which would decrease the possibility of the Ford Pinto from exploding, the company chose not to implement the design, which would have cost $11 per car, even though it had done an analysis showing that the new design would result in 180 less deaths. The company defended itself on the grounds that it used the accepted risk/benefit analysis to determine if the monetary costs of making the change were greater than the societal benefit. Based on the numbers Ford used, the cost would have been $137 million versus the $49.5 million price tag put on the deaths, injuries, and car damages, and thus Ford felt justified not implementing the design change.

It certainly didn't earn them any friends at the time although the legal precedent for PBL based CBA was well entrenched before the Pinto case and GM, VW and SAAB all faced similar moral liability issues during the 70's in USA courts.

Such harm as is done typically lasts a decade or so and in these cases probably a lot less in reality.

Powershift did significant damage to the reputation of Kuga, Fiesta and Focus in this country and it's not hard to see what the sales impact has been.

Fiesta, for example, had been selling an average of 839 / month over the 3 years prior to the Powershift model going on sale and continued to sell ~900 / month for the next three years and it wasn't until the latter part of 2014 that those numbers dropped to ~800 / month. Since the publicity started in earnest during late 2014, the average has been ~249 / month and the last 12 months has seen that fall to just over 100 / month. So, and not all the blame should be pointed at the transmission issues, Fiesta sales have dropped by 87%.

Likewise, Focus had a 3 year average of 1,100 / month prior to Powershift; improved that to 1,357 / month for the first 4 years on sale; has averaged 529 / month since media coverage began and only 475 / month this last year for a 65% drop.

There was no comparison vehicle for EcoSport but it hardly set the world on fire with only a 158 / month sales average since it went on sale in this country.

Some of that will be down to shifts away from passenger models toward SUV's and some because the change in models at various times didn't meet consumer tastes but a decent percentage of the sales dive has to be blamed on the transmission issues.

We'll probably never know if these issues were identified during testing and an economic decision was made to release rather than remediate but either way the decision was made a long way from FoA HQ and their only blame (apart from toeing the corporate line) has been their poor handling of the customer issues which will be the more damaging in the long term.

Oh, the early promise:

When it comes to transmissions, people are generally either manual or automatic fans. But what if you could get the best of both worlds in the one gearbox? The sporty feel and efficiency of a manual, with the ease of an automatic. The dual-clutch design of the 6-speed PowerShift automatic transmission has two individual 3-speed transmissions working together in parallel. Each clutch controls three of the forward gears. The transmission automatically engages the next gear in the sequence in anticipation of the shift, so gear changes are quick and power delivery is seamless, whether accelerating or slowing down.

... and what might have been.

Cheers
Russ

[Itsme]

Does not do much for the owners who got burnt and out of pocket for expenses.
Ford is still being arrogant with customers concerning warranty.

[Wretched]

Good, hopefully sends a message to Ford.
For too long they have been inconsistent with their approach to warranty issues across the board.

[JG33]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Good, hopefully sends a message to Ford.
For too long they have been inconsistent with their approach to warranty issues across the board.

Doubtful, 10 million is probably chicken feed to them, should have been $100 million, kick em where it hurts.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Good, hopefully sends a message to Ford.
For too long they have been inconsistent with their approach to warranty issues across the board.

Hopefully this sends a message and a precedent to all car manufacturers. Hopefully if this rubbish happens again the same result occurs.

[Electrolyte Burns]

What models were affected?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Electrolyte Burns

What models were affected?

It's in the article.

"The models affected include the Ford Fiesta and Focus small cars and EcoSport SUVs made between 2011 and 2015 equipped with the six-speed “Powershift” transmission."

[cheap]

The fine will be financially re-engineered to become a tax write-off for Ford. Meanwhile the owners-consumers get? The sooner Lemon Laws get introduced the better.

[jpd80]

As bad as this is, the 1.5 Ecoboost and proper 6-speed auto has done much to recover Focus's reputation.

What is most disappointing is how Ford has treated those owners, they know damned well that there's
a serious problem with the dry clutch Powershift and they should have made those owners whole
with a new vehicle.

A $10 million fine is chicken feed to a major corporate, if they really wanted to stick a bomb under Ford,
make them buy back all those crap Focus and offer owners a killer deal on a new fault free unit.

[GTP534]

The Powershift destroyed what was otherwise a very good vehicle. Wife was scared to drive it in the end. We got out of it with a great deal on an Escape demonstrator, which she loves driving.

[olds]

There is still a massive class action to come . This finding will give the suits plenty of ammo.

[DFB FGXR6]

https://www.caradvice.com.au/642610/...nt-powershift/

From article -

“We are committed to making right with these customers.”

The ruling means PowerShift-equipped Focus, Fiesta and EcoSport owners who asked for, but didn’t receive a refund or no-cost replacement between May 1 2015 and November 1 2016 can have their case independently reviewed – and Ford has committed to compensating affected customers based on the results of that review.

That process starts in July this year, and will run for 12 months.

[DFB FGXR6]

Being a Ford man, I would defend the brand to the end of the earth, BUT they brought this upon themselves and deserve every single dollar of that fine. The damage the Powershift fiasco has done to the brand will take decades to recover from.

[polkgs]

My elderly parents had a Fiesta and went through all the 'it's the way you drive' stuff, multiple trips to the dealer etc. Buying that Fiesta was a big deal for them and in the end my Mum was afraid to drive it and it brought stress into their lives they didn't need. They fire saled that car just to get out of it as they felt no-one was helping them or understanding. It cost them thousands. It's not just a news story.....real people paid an emotional and financial price.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by polkgs

My elderly parents had a Fiesta and went through all the 'it's the way you drive' stuff, multiple trips to the dealer etc. Buying that Fiesta was a big deal for them and in the end my Mum was afraid to drive it and it brought stress into their lives they didn't need. They fire saled that car just to get out of it as they felt no-one was helping them or understanding. It cost them thousands. It's not just a news story.....real people paid an emotional and financial price.

What is the problem with the automatic transmission, why would one be scared to drive it ?

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by polkgs

My elderly parents had a Fiesta and went through all the 'it's the way you drive' stuff, multiple trips to the dealer etc. Buying that Fiesta was a big deal for them and in the end my Mum was afraid to drive it and it brought stress into their lives they didn't need. They fire saled that car just to get out of it as they felt no-one was helping them or understanding. It cost them thousands. It's not just a news story.....real people paid an emotional and financial price.

^^ This. Mum and Dad sold their agricultural Mazda 3 for a 2014 Fiesta and they're just about to put it in for its second transmission. I drove it a few months ago after the new transmission had been installed and it was just woeful - it held onto 3rd up to 90 kmph. At least now there's no questions asked by the dealership.

[andymcgill]

I have a 2010 MB Mondeo Titanium which I have had since new. It has had all the symptoms that were mentioned in the court case. Several times I went back to the dealer under warranty with no luck. The problem now is much worse. It surges every couple of seconds and occasionally stalls. This was the first DSG brought to Australia. Next week I will take it back to the dealer and then the ACCC. Never again will I buy a car with DSG.

[danzvtil]

With this latest news, I would be demanding, full purchase price back, plus the extra some people paid out of pocket to get out of the original car, plus a brand new car provided free of charge. If those aholes want to quibble, then I’d be hitting them up for pain and suffering. 10 mill is a rounding error to a company like ford, they need to feel pain.

[Ashdaw]

Pay back is a bitch.

[OzJavelin]

A great example of how NOT to handle a problem.
They knew there was an issue with this, and just kept telling customers it was their fault; i.e. you are not driving it properly.
Friend of mine who has been into hotrods (mostly Fords) most of his life and knows a lot about driving "unusual" vehicles was told this by the dealership numerous times.
Sold his Focus and bought a Subaru.
He's looking for another Ford but it won't be serviced by Ford Australia; likely pre-48 roadster .. probably more reliable and drives better.

[93EB_SXR6]

10 million would have been a lot of money to Ford 100 years ago when they were manufacturing the model t at the rouge plant but in our current day... Its inconsequential to the company.

[blueoval]

I heard it was $10m + a payout and compensation to current and previous owners who made a complaint? Im not sure on the details, but this will cost them more than the fine. Should have kept the Falcon

[csv8]

Why wasn't the fault found during testing before it went on sale? Surely, for many kms of testing ? Or did Ford just ignore it and now the sxxt has hit the fan.? Makes the CAPTIVA look good !!!

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by csv8

Why wasn't the fault found during testing before it went on sale? Surely, for many kms of testing ? Or did Ford just ignore it and now the sxxt has hit the fan.? Makes the CAPTIVA look good !!!

Agreed with the first part of that post, but this doesnt make the captiva good

Such a shame that these cars have been tarnished by the rubbish gearbox as they are both pretty good cars, hopefully the new drivetrain will regain some faith with the brand and models.

Guessing the issues with these cars 'werent with in specification'

[EBSXR6]

[QUOTE=csv8;6124210]Why wasn't the fault found during testing before it went on sale? Surely, for many kms of testing ?/QUOTE]

I don't think they do the testing like they like they did in previous years.

How many recalls do we see today? Australian cars have had mandatory setbelts for around 50 years, ZB on sale for a couple of months and a recalll for seatblets. ACCC lists 2393 car recalls Toyota 189, Holden 179, Ford 169, Mercedes Benz 156 etc

[vztrt]

[QUOTE=EBSXR6;6124796]

Originally Posted by csv8

Why wasn't the fault found during testing before it went on sale? Surely, for many kms of testing ?/QUOTE]

I don't think they do the testing like they like they did in previous years. Also I'd say they let a lot more go in previous years.

How many recalls do we see today? Australian cars have had mandatory setbelts for around 50 years, ZB on sale for a couple of months and a recalll for seatblets. ACCC lists 2393 car recalls Toyota 189, Holden 179, Ford 169, Mercedes Benz 156 etc

There is a lot more to go wrong then in previous years.

This particular issue was the wrong choice for the car. Just remember vw ran the same rubbish box but they got away with it.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by csv8

Why wasn't the fault found during testing before it went on sale? Surely, for many kms of testing ? Or did Ford just ignore it and now the sxxt has hit the fan.? Makes the CAPTIVA look good !!!

The problem was well known. That is why there was no warranty agreement between Ford and ZF.