Ford Settles Transit Trail Class Action Lawsuit By Paying Owners Less Than The Package Cost

By Logan K. Carter
front three-quarters shot of a white Ford Transit Trail driving down a dirt road past tall grass and trees in the background Ford
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The current trend of automakers "off-roadifying" their road cars has created a new breed of hiked up, black plastic-clad soft roaders that buyers can't seem to get enough of. Ford gave its Transit full-size van the treatment back in 2022 with the all-wheel-drive Transit Trail, but recalled all of them in early 2024 and replaced their 30.5-inch all-terrain tires that rubbed against the wheel wells with the same 28.5-inch tires on standard Transits, and owners were not pleased.

They were so displeased, in fact, that they filed a class action lawsuit that we first reported on last year. Ford finally reached a settlement with the plaintiffs last week, offering Transit Trail owners a $6,000 payout for the diminished off-road abilities of their vans. This is a pretty healthy payout from a class action lawsuit settlement, but it's still less than half of the original price of the Trail package that cost $12,500 when new.

The fine print

Close-up of the Transit Trail's gloss black wheels and Goodyear all-terrain tires while the van is parked on grass at dusk Ford

According to classaction.org, "Eligible for the settlement are all individuals who, as the original owner or lessee, bought or leased a model year 2023 or 2024 Ford Transit Trail before June 1, 2024 for personal, family or household use and who have not already received any compensation from Ford, including any settlement payment or repurchase, related to a covered vehicle or to any alleged defect of, or economic loss relating to, the vehicle." More fine print about how to prove membership in the settlement class is available on the Class Action site.

The Ford Transit Trail was marketed by Ford as having an "adventure-ready chassis is re-tuned and tested to meet the same BUILT FORD TOUGH durability standards as the rest of the Transit lineup," complete with 6.7-inches of ground clearance, upgraded underbody protection, and the 30.5-inch Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse tires that led to the recall. The 28.5-inch tires that Ford replaced the Wranglers with reduced the ground clearance of Transit Trails down to 5.5-inches, or the same as the standard Transit. Nearly 2,000 vehicles were included in the recall, but it's not immediately clear how many owners are eligible for this class action lawsuit settlement.

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