Car maker Ford's Australian business is facing legal action from the consumer watchdog over allegations it misled customers who bought faulty cars and blamed their driving for problems despite being aware of "systemic issues" in the vehicles.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has begun court action against Ford Motor Company of Australia over its handling of customers who had problems with Ford Focus, Fiesta and EcoSport vehicles with a PowerShift transmission bought between 2011 and 2016.
The watchdog has made allegations including that Ford refused to give refunds or replacement vehicles and onsold vehicles returned under an owner loyalty program without disclosing the issues encountered with them to the new buyers.
The ACCC has alleged that, from 2011 to May 2015, Ford refused to provide a refund or replacement vehicle to buyers even after multiple repairs had failed to fix the problem.
