This is topic Ford TFI Module Litigation Settlement in forum General Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by BCINGUU (Member # 2397) on :
 
How many people responded to Ford's settlement claim letter, and got denied or paid? I know several people got the letter and there were some discussions on this board, but I don't know who tried to put in a claim.

I put in a legitimate claim with documentation, but Ford denied it claiming it was "not supported by documentation". I supplied all repair receipts, so I appealed but haven't heard anything now for 4 months. Basically it looks like Ford agreed to the settlement but doesn't want to pay up. Thanks Ford.

Anybody else have any experiences with this?
 

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Posted by two-gun kid (Member # 5891) on :
 
didnt even know there was a lawsuit about the tfi module
 

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Posted by BCINGUU (Member # 2397) on :
 
Ford TFI Module Failure

On December 9, 2002, after five years of litigation, a settlement was reached in a national class action in California, Howard v. Ford Motor Co., that reimbursed owners for ignition module failures that occurred within the first 100,000 miles, and extended the warranty to 100,000 miles for any vehicle still under this mileage.

Twenty-two million Ford vehicles made from 1983 through 1995 have defective ignition modules that may cause the vehicle to stall and die on the highway at any time. When its temperature goes above 257 degrees Fahrenheit, the module is likely to cut out and cause the vehicle to die on the road. When the vehicle cools down, it can be restarted and will run until it again exceeds the design temperature. This is a hard problem to diagnose because by the time the vehicle gets towed to the dealer or sits in the shop waiting for repair, it has cooled down and no cause can be found for the stalling.

Ford Motor Company has known about this problem since it began, yet concealed it from consumers and government regulators for well over a decade. Just as in Firestone tires on Ford Explorers, a prime instrument in Ford's cover up was secrecy agreements in product liability lawsuits. Over 900 product liability lawsuits have been filed against Ford on these vehicles with protective orders and confidential settlement agreements entered in many.

The problem is caused by the thick film ignition ("TFI") modules, a key ignition-system component that Ford installed in more than 22 million vehicles it manufactured and sold in the 1983 through 1995 mode years. The TFI module regulates the electrical current that fires the air-fuel mixture in each of the engine's cylinders. To reduce costs, Ford installed the TFI on the distributor, one of the hottest locations under the hood. But because the TFI module is sensitive to heat, its mounting location creates an inordinate propensity for the TFI module to fail due to thermal stress. Making the problem even more insidious is its phantom nature. A TFI module can fail on an intermittent basis when hot, then function again when the engine cools, without leaving a trace of physical evidence that the TFI module had failed.

Rather than bearing the expense of moving the TFI module to a cooler location away from the engine—a solution that Ford engineers recommended to management for years—Ford decided to employ a less costly solution: to leave the module on the distributor, but make it last long enough to function during the warranty period, thereby forcing consumers to bear the cost of post-warranty failures that Ford knew would continue to occur in large numbers. As a result, over 13 million replacement TFI modules (which are designed to last for the life of the vehicle without maintenance or repair) have been sold to consumers at a cost of nearly $2 billion.

[ March 14, 2006, 06:03 PM: Message edited by: BCINGUU ]
 

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Posted by cvr 5.0 (Member # 2962) on :
 
my mom got $10,000 from it....
 

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Posted by 88DroptopGT (Member # 2535) on :
 
They should have made some sort of remote-located TFI module years ago. If this is even possible.

If the aftermarket can put out a functional remote TFI module adaptable to the OEM distributor, they would make millions.
 

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Posted by two-gun kid (Member # 5891) on :
 
so what does it me for us? ive never heard of that lawsuit, only the manifold lawsuit. so do you we in and have them check it?
 

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Posted by Hozr (Member # 6196) on :
 
Fuck. I had an 88 Bronco that had 2 of these go bad. Fuck. Paid on my dime twice. Fuck. I wonder if I still have the paperwork. Fuck. Do you know what its like to have a Skyjacked Bronco just shut off at 75mph on the ramp from 85 to 101 South???? I do....
 

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Posted by 66 AC COBRA (Member # 904) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by two-gun kid:
so what does it me for us? ive never heard of that lawsuit, only the manifold lawsuit. so do you we in and have them check it?

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WTF!!!!!, what does that say
 

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Posted by BCINGUU (Member # 2397) on :
 
We got a letter from Ford about the settlement claim process in December 2004. I don't recall what the deadline was. If I can find the letter I'll check it out.
 

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Posted by BlueOvalRacing (Member # 1531) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by 88DroptopGT:
They should have made some sort of remote-located TFI module years ago. If this is even possible.

If the aftermarket can put out a functional remote TFI module adaptable to the OEM distributor, they would make millions.

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quote:

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Originally posted by 66 AC COBRA:

quote:

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Originally posted by two-gun kid:
so what does it me for us? ive never heard of that lawsuit, only the manifold lawsuit. so do you we in and have them check it?

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WTF!!!!!, what does that say

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lmao.. yeah slow down there sparky..
 

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Posted by picuplouie (Member # 5948) on :
 
I was having some issues also with the TFI and did alittle websurfing on it. Found this site with links: http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/tfi.html
 

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Posted by two-gun kid (Member # 5891) on :
 
sorry guys about the shity grammar and sentence structure.
i ment to say, do we go into a dealership and have then check the vin or tfi moduale?
 

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Posted by 95GTConvtACE (Member # 6399) on :
 
Those sons of bitches....Maybe that is what caused my 94 to stop working. Those sons of bitches.
 

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Posted by BCINGUU (Member # 2397) on :
 
Hey, good news! The independent claims reviewer granted my appeal and overturned Ford's denial of my claim! I'm getting $350 bucks back from Ford.
 

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