Kristine Kovacs of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is at her wits end with the Ford Motor Company. Soon after she purchased her brand new Ford Fiesta in October of 2013, she and her husband repeatedly returned to the dealership due to transmission problems. Sometimes the car hesitates when she tries to pull onto a road. Sometimes the car lurches. Kovacs says she has almost been involved in multiple accidents. “If I had another one to drive, this one would be parked. I won’t go on a highway with it.”

When Kovacs and her husband attempted to get the problem resolved through Ford’s corporate office in April, they were promised a rental car while Ford repaired the transmission, but calls to follow up on the offer were unreturned. The Kovacs family has since retained an attorney to file a claim under Pennsylvania’s lemon law. Lemon laws are designed to protect consumers who purchase or lease vehicles with quality issues.

The Kovacs’ experience is hardly unique. As of May 6, 2015, 231 complaints had been filed with the National Highway Safety Commission about 2013 Ford Fiestas. Almost 75% of the complaints concerned the transmission, which was the same issue the Kovacs family had. Ford has written letters to their dealers indicating that “some of the affected vehicles may exhibit intermittent symptoms of loss of transmission engagement while driving, no-start, or a lack of power,” but Ford is not issuing a recall for this issue.

Thousands of complaints are filed every year by consumers who claim that their vehicles are defective. If you have purchased a car that you believe is a lemon, contact a Lemon Law attorney today!

Timothy J. Abeel & Associates, P.C. represent clients throughout California, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Reviews can be seen on AVVO, Google, Glen Mills Yelp, Roseland Yelp, & Pittsburgh Yelp.