Ford is being accused of misleading and deceptive conduct in a class-action lawsuit. Picture: AP Photo/Hermann J. Knippertz

A class action involving thousands of disgruntled Ford customers began in the NSW Federal Court today. The company is accused of misleading and deceptive conduct in selling 22 different models of Fiesta, Focus and EcoSport vehicles between 2011 and this year.

The 70,000 affected models are equipped with the Ford PowerShift transmission, which promises to deliver “acceleration much smoother than a conventional automatic”.

The PowerShift transmission has some of the features of a manual gearbox and is supposed to drive like an automatic. But some customers say their PowerShift cars shudder and jerk unexpectedly, slow down suddenly or turn themselves off altogether.

While the class action already involves thousands of people, the court today heard that many more people could have been affected, but are unable to speak up due to “confidentiality constraints”.

News.com.au spoke to several unhappy Ford customers who were so fed up with their PowerShift transmission cars that they traded them in. “I wanted to be rid of that car because it was a lemon,” one man said.

But before the deal was finalised, some customers were asked to sign a document agreeing to never take legal action or make “disparaging comments” against Ford in the future.

“You agree that you will not take any actions ... which would have the effect of interfering with or preventing the normal trading activities of Ford Australia or any other authorised Ford dealer,” states the document, which news.com.au has obtained.

“This offer is subject to being kept strictly confidential between you and Ford Australia,” the document said.

This kind of agreement is highly unusual, says Diane Chapman from Bannister Law, the firm launching the class action.

The affected models have not been recalled.Source:Supplied

“Usually when you trade in a car you don’t have to sign an NDA,” Ms Chapman told news.com.au.

“It’s a bit of a threatening document for someone who doesn’t have any legal understanding. Most people wouldn’t know they need to get legal advice,” she said.

“That just indicates that there is a real problem with the vehicles and Ford don’t want anyone to know. We’re concerned that people are so desperate to get rid of these vehicles that they’ll sign anything they need to do in order to be safe.”

While she could not put a figure on the number of faulty PowerShift transmission cars currently on the road, Ms Chapman said Ford was yet to acknowledge the problem.

“They’re just putting them back in the lot and reselling them,” she said.

A Ford spokeswoman told news.com.au she couldn’t comment on ongoing litigation, but that the company “encourages customers to work with their local dealers on their individual circumstances.”

The class action case against Ford is built on the experience of a Victorian woman Billie Capic who was “frightened for her life” after a power loss while driving her 2012 Focus Sport in February this year.

The $29,000 car had already lost power a number of times in 2015. In October, she was unable to change gears or use reverse without difficulty. A fortnight later, she was unable to drive the vehicle faster than 80km/h. The vehicle was shaking. Then an error message showed on the dash: “Transmission overheating.”

Miss Capic also experienced uncontrolled movement of the car, sudden gear changes and gear-skipping.

The class action lawsuit alleges the cars are not of acceptable quality, as defined under Australian Consumer Law and that Ford knew of the problems. The vehicles have never been recalled.

The action seeks refunds or the difference between the purchase price and the true value of the vehicles, as well as aggravated damages.

The cost of refunding 70,000 cars at an average price of $25,000 would be $1.75 billion.

rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au