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2015 - 2017 Ford Mustang Lawsuit Filed Over Allegedly Defective Wiring Harness

One investigation, seven recalls, and 108 manufacturer communications are currently listed on the NHTSA website for the 2015 Ford Mustang, the first year for the S550 generation. The Blue Oval isn’t quite done yet because 2015 to 2017 models are the subject of a class-action lawsuit over an allegedly defective wiring harness.
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Photo: Ford
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Filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Rodriguez v. Ford Motor Company lawsuit revolves around the plaintiff’s experience with his 2015 Mustang. Bought in October 2019, the car became a headache in November 2019 because the backup camera went kaput.

Represented by professional corporations Barnow and Associates as well as Ahdoot & Wolfson, the plaintiff alleges that Ford was aware of the defective wiring harness before the S550 went on sale and didn’t warn customers about the dangers presented by the inoperative camera. Backup cameras are standard on new vehicles sold in the United States of America since May 2018, which makes them critical safety equipment in the NHTSA’s eyes.

Enrique Rodriguez of Illinois further mentions technical service bulletin TSB 18-2362 from December 2018, which informs service technicians of a repair procedure for the wiring harness in the trunk lid. The problem with this repair procedure is adding solder joints for each wire replaced, solder joints that are inflexible and prone to wear out. The plaintiff claims that 2015 to 2017 Ford Mustangs will continue to exhibit this problem after they’re repaired, which is another way of saying that it’s a design issue.

According to the class-action lawsuit, dealers are telling owners that no problems could be found with their cars. Others were told that repairs aren’t cheap, which is very cheeky if you analyze the technical service bulletin.

To make a long story short, labor times are listed at 1.2 hours for the coupe and 2.8 hours for the convertible while the repair parts consist of a wiring harness and Coroplast electrical insulation tape. For reference, the wiring harness costs less than $50, insulation tape is $10 or thereabouts, and the labor can vary a lot depending on where you live.
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 Download: Technical service bulletin TSB 18-2362 (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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