• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Ford Superduty Owners

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
Ford sues Navistar on truck engines
Breach of supply contract alleged

By James P. Miller
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 12, 2007


A contract dispute between Ford Motor Co. and Navistar International Corp. became public Thursday when the automaker sued Navistar in state court in Michigan for allegedly refusing to live up to terms of a long-standing supply accord.

For a decade, Warrenville-based Navistar has been the sole supplier of the diesel engines that Ford puts into its heavy-duty pickup trucks.

Now, however, the automaker and its key supplier have locked horns over the price Navistar is charging Ford, and also over the extent of Navistar's financial obligations in warranty claims involving its engine.

Ford's claims are "totally without merit," a Navistar spokesman said, adding that the maker of trucks and diesel engines intends to "vigorously respond in court."

Navistar has been providing Ford with a 6-liter diesel engine for several years, Ford's lawsuit notes, and in late 2006 it also began supplying the automaker with a new 6.4-liter engine.

"The parties have previously been able to negotiate and reach agreement on the prices of the engines Navistar produced for Ford," the complaint says, but with regard to the 6.4-liter engine Navistar has altered its bargaining stance and "failed to act in good faith."

In fact, Ford's lawsuit says, Navistar has threatened that unless Ford pays the price Navistar is demanding, Navistar would refuse to ship the new engine to Ford. That move would breach the supply agreement, it contends.

In addition, Ford says, Navistar is not complying with its warranty-sharing obligations. Under the agreement, Navistar is supposed to pay a portion of the costs Ford encounters for engine-related warranty repairs. But Navistar has refused to pay the amounts Ford says it is owed, according to the lawsuit.

In response, Ford took the unusual step of "debiting" Navistar for a portion of those costs. In other words, Ford is withholding money it owes Navistar for engines, in order to recover the money Ford says Navistar owes it under the warranty agreement.

Ford is asking the court to rule that the "debit" is proper under the circumstances, and it also asks the judge to order Navistar to reimburse Ford for future warranty costs.

The automaker also asks the court to issue a declaratory judgment on what Navistar can charge for the 6.4-liter engine.

The debit "is simply a business transaction intended to resolve a dispute we have with [Navistar]," Ford said in a statement. "Regrettably," it said, because Navistar has not cooperated, "we have no other choice but to take the debit and file the lawsuit."

Ford and Navistar also have a joint venture that manufactures medium-duty Ford trucks for sale in North America.

----------
 

cowsense

Well-known member
Ford should have started the lawsuit when they got the 6.9 and quit IH then!:roll: :roll: .Those Navistar engines just aren't reliable enough and are expensive to fix and maintain. Would probably be driving a Ford if they would have put in a proper diesel ! :shock: :shock:
 

Cowpuncher

Well-known member
Mike wrote:
Ford uses Navistar engines and owns the majority interest in Cummins.

Are you sure about that? Cummins is listed on the NYSE and I owned their shares for years. Don't think Ford has any interest in Cummins.
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
We had a problem with our diesel engine. The air filter system was faulty, so dirt got sucked into the engine. We took it into the FORD DEALERSHIP in BILLINGS and they never found it. Took it into Roundup to a repair place and they found it right away. Engine had to be replaced. It was still on warranty, who picked up the tab? WE DID!!! Ford wouldn't cover it, NAVISTAR wouldn't either. They each said it was each other's fault. So WE had to pay for a new engine :mad: :mad: :mad:

Ours wasn't the only one with the same problem...seems like they had a WHOLE BUNCH OF DUSTED ENGINES!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

I WOULD LIKE TO GET IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR LAWSUIT!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Hanta, there is a place for you and your gripe.
It's called Arbitration. There was a woman in Missoula who
helped with this type of problem. She did it on her own,
wasn't hired by anyone. I'll see if I can find her name,
if you are interested.

She is/was an insurance agent there too.

I'm telling you, the auto lots hated to see her walk in with
a potential customer of theirs, or a disgruntled one. She helped a lot of folks, mostly women who get nowhere with a complaint.
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
Hanta, if that happened a lot I would imagine there will be a class action suit brewing.. Reminds me a bit of the Firestone Ford debacle of a few years ago....I would try the arbitration thing..
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
Hanta, there is a place for you and your gripe.
It's called Arbitration. There was a woman in Missoula who
helped with this type of problem. She did it on her own,
wasn't hired by anyone. I'll see if I can find her name,
if you are interested.

She is/was an insurance agent there too.

I'm telling you, the auto lots hated to see her walk in with
a potential customer of theirs, or a disgruntled one. She helped a lot of folks, mostly women who get nowhere with a complaint.

Thanks for the info!! I don't know if sw wants to move forward with this or not, it happened a couple years ago. At the time, we were working for an attorney, and he wouldn't move forward with it, even though he owned the pickup at the time. We own it now, I don't know if that would complicate matters or not.
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
IL Rancher said:
Hanta, if that happened a lot I would imagine there will be a class action suit brewing.. Reminds me a bit of the Firestone Ford debacle of a few years ago....I would try the arbitration thing..

We tried to get our boss, at the time, to move forward with it. He wouldn't. We had a guy call us, said his son just purchased a 99 ford diesel, same thing happened, engine got dusted, the son killed himself. It was awful talking to that grief stricken man and telling him our boss wouldn't move forward with it. :cry: I don't know if going against such a large company would cost a lot, I bet it would...I can call G&J Diesel, they are the ones who told us about other people having the same thing happen to them, maybe we can get us some people together...
 

Mike

Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
Cowpuncher said:
Mike wrote:
Ford uses Navistar engines and owns the majority interest in Cummins.

Are you sure about that? Cummins is listed on the NYSE and I owned their shares for years. Don't think Ford has any interest in Cummins.


Must be wishful thinking of the FORD owners. :wink:

Ford does own an interest in Cummins. I don't know exactly what percentage but I was reading it a while back in Forbes magazine.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
I have read that Ford does own a big interest in Cummins. There
was an article that told why Dodge got to use it instead of Ford.
Be nice to have a good memory.

Hanta, Arbitration isn't expensive and the matter can get solved
right there. There might be an Arbitration phone number in the back of your owners manual. Our Dodge has a number, but don't know if
it would be the same as Fords.
 
Top