Ford isn’t an expert in transmissions, but it is becoming an expert in getting sued because of them. The latest involves manual transmissions on model years 2011-2019 Mustangs.
You can read the whole lawsuit, filed by Mustang owners, here, and I’ve also embedded it at the end of this post. The meaty parts, emphasis mine:
Plaintiffs are informed and believe and based thereon allege that the MT82 Transmission is defective. These transmissions have a common defect.The defect, which was latent, but existed at the time that the Class Vehicles left Ford’s possession and control, manifests itself over time. The Transmission is defective in its design, manufacturing, and or materials in that, among other problems, the transmission slips, jerks, clashes gears, and harshly engages; has premature internal wear, increased shift efforts, inability to drive, and eventually suffers a catastrophic failure (the “Transmission Defect”).The Transmission Defect does not merely result in an uncomfortable driving condition. The slips, jerks, gear clashes, harsh, difficult and inability to shift are related to internal issues within the transmission and clutch components causing hydraulic systems and gears not to function properly, resulting in decomposition/failure of parts throughout the transmission. This damage to the transmission imposes escalating repairs on consumers, including having to replace the defective transmission with a new transmission. Based on Ford’s inability to resolve the Defect, it appears all consumers will need replacement of transmission components including the shift forks, shift shaft, synchronizers, clutch assembly, or even the entire transmission.
The suit goes on to allege that the Chinese-made MT82 transmissions were designed to be mated with lower-powered engines than what came in the Mustangs, and for this reason claims that replacing it with another MT82 does nothing to solve the issue.
The suit also notes that Ford has issued seven different service messages and bulletins about the transmission, and accuses Ford of concealing the defects. Ford told Automotive News that it “typically [doesn’t] comment on pending litigation. The suit, which seeks to be class action, was transferred to federal court in Michigan in late May from California.
If you’re the owner of these Mustangs with a manual let me know your experience with them in the comments. The full suit: