Ford owners have had an awfully rough time lately as they face what seems like an endless onslaught of recalls, but now some owners are pushing back. A recent class action lawsuit alleges that an early 2024 recall nullifies the supposedly ruggedized, short-lived Transit Trail all-terrain van’s all-terrain-ness, and that addressing the recall defeats the purpose of the $12,500 price premium they paid for the Trail trim over a standard Transit.
The Transit Trail never really made waves, so in case you forgot it was ever sold from the factory like me, it was introduced in late 2022 as an off-road ready version of Ford’s Transit van with more ground clearance, upgraded underbody protection, and beefy 30.5-inch Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse tires. It was introduced at the tail end of the early phases of the pandemic when overlanding and van life felt like the only thing that anyone in the automotive industry could talk about, and it competed with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4×4.
Too much tire on the Transit
The Transit Trail was originally sold with a relatively low minimum ground clearance of 6.7 inches, despite being advertised to the overlanding and van life crowds as an admittedly cool looking and easy starting point for a customized all-terrain overland rig. Ford ended up recalling all Transit Trails early last year because those big tires that gave the Trail trim its extra ground clearance could contact and rub on the van’s wheel arch liner in certain scenarios. When owners took their off-road van to get the recall addressed, their 30.5-inch tires were replaced with smaller 28.5-inch tires that decreased the Trail’s ground clearance to a mere 5.5 inches. The replacement tires are the same tires that are on regular, non-Trail Transits.
The lawsuit alleges the Trail trim cost an additional $12,500 over a standard Transit, and that Ford promised its “adventure-ready chassis is re-tuned and tested to meet the same BUILT FORD TOUGH durability standards as the rest of the Transit lineup,” but that was a false promise. It also alleges that Ford was aware of the tire rub issue and how the ground clearance–robbing fix nullifies the advertised abilities of the Transit Trail that they paid a price premium for.
We reached out to Ford for comment on the matter, and will update this article with any new information we receive.
