Dartmouth resident Brandon Morgan purchased a new 2018 Ford Mustang over the summer. He then took his vehicle to Krown Rust Control on Main Street in Dartmouth for an undercoating, and Morgan says that is when he problem first started.
“Shortly thereafter the check engine light came on,” he said.
So he took it into Ford, as his vehicle was still under warranty.
“They informed me that one of the sensors had been clogged by the undercoating,” he said, adding that because the undercoating was done by a third party, it was not covered by the warranty.
After that, Morgan brought the vehicle back to Krown Rust Control but was told by them the issue is with the sensor itself and it’s a Ford problem, so Morgan took both Krown and Ford to small claims court.
“This was an argument between the two companies essentially for fault,” he said.
According to court documents, the judge accepted testimony and analysis of Ford and found “that the undercoating did indeed fog the sensor. Krown is liable to Mr. Morgan.”
The court ordered Krown Rust Control to pay Morgan $859.65 for the repair and court costs.
“I was thinking, ‘the legal system works, that’s great,'” said Morgan. “‘I’m not on the hook for hundreds of dollars.'”
The decision is dated on Oct. 15, 2019 but Morgan says Krown is still refusing to pay him.
“They insisted they would pay the amount but it had to be under their conditions,” said Morgan. Who says the conditions including picking where the work was done, and having the manager from Krown watch everything, then, if anything was owed after that they would give him a cheque.
“I found (that) invasive and overbearing,” said Morgan who also noted that the court had no such conditions.
The manager of Krown, who identified himself only as Robin, declined an on-camera interview but did say that he maintains the issue lies with Ford, and that they’ve consistently had issues with sensors.
He says they are considering appealing the court decision and that it’s unfair Ford is placing the blame on them.
In court documents, Krown outlined its dispute of the claim, writing, “this is an ongoing Ford Issue that has been going on for over 6 years” and “the problem or defect of the fuel sensor and/ or purge valve is well documented in the industry.”
Last year, Ford recalled over a million Ford Focus cars in Norther America over a defective canister purge valve, affecting 2012-2018 Focus’ with 2-liter GDI and 2 liter GTDI engines.
There was another recall dealing with the fuel pressure sensor for some 2018 Ford Explorer vehicles due to an assembly error, but Morgan says none of the recalls affect his 2018 Ford Mustang.
“It’s for diesel,” he said, “So it had no relevance.”
Krown told Global News on Tuesday that the company would likely pay Morgan as per the court order, but they want the sensor so they can further investigate exactly what the problem is, and possibly look into further legal action.
Morgan says while he’s willing to give them the sensor after it’s replaced, he just wants Krown to pay him what’s owed so he can fix his car and move on. Morgan also says that this whole process has shed light on some problems within the justice system and he would like to see more in place to help individuals going through small claims court to be able to enforce court orders.
“Laws and rules need to hold weight or they serve no purpose,” Morgan said.
Global has reached out to Ford multiple times on Tuesday, but none of the calls were returned.