Texas Lemon Law Blog
If you’ve bought or leased a Ford F-150 or Bronco in the last few years and you’re already back at the dealership for the second or third time, you’re not alone. Ford builds some of the most popular vehicles in Texas, which also means our office fields a steady stream of calls from F-150 and Bronco owners asking the same question: is this a lemon?
First, what “lemon law” really covers
Most people picture the strict state statute when they hear “lemon law.” But your rights actually come from two overlapping sources: the Texas Lemon Law itself, and warranty law — the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Texas Uniform Commercial Code — which protects you any time a manufacturer sells a defective vehicle and can’t repair it under warranty. That second category is broader and helps far more people. As a general rule, if you have a vehicle up to five years old with three or more warranty repairs and/or more than 30 days out of service for warranty repairs, you may have a claim worth pursuing. Defective vehicle owners frequently resolve claims in three different ways: repurchase, replacement or more often cash-keep settlement, meaning you keep your truck and recover cash compensation — even if your situation doesn’t fit the narrow state lemon law thresholds.
The kinds of complaints we typically see
Every model year and every vehicle is different, but the recurring problems we hear about most from Ford owners tend to fall into a few buckets:
- Powertrain issues — rough shifting, hesitation, or stalling, particularly with newer turbocharged EcoBoost engines or 10-speed automatic transmissions.
- Electrical and infotainment glitches — SYNC system freezes, backup camera failures, and dashboard warning lights that appear with no diagnosable cause.
- Body and hardware problems — door latches that won’t lock or unlock properly (Bronco owners in particular have reported this), water leaks, and trim or seal issues.
- Suspension and steering complaints — clunking noises, alignment problems that return after service, or steering that feels loose.
This doesn’t mean your particular vehicle has any of these issues, and it doesn’t mean Ford builds bad trucks. It means that when a defect does show up, it tends to cluster in one of these systems — useful to know when you’re describing your problem to a service advisor or an attorney.
What actually drives your claim
The defect itself isn’t what triggers your rights — the repair history is. What matters most is how many times the vehicle has been repaired under warranty and how long it has been out of service. Three or more warranty repair attempts, or a cumulative 30 plus days in the shop, is the practical threshold we look for. If those repairs happened under the manufacturer’s warranty and the vehicle is five years old or newer, you likely have options — under the state lemon law, warranty law, or both. It is certainly worth having a reputable law firm specializing in defective vehicle claims review your potential claim. Submit your basic information and repair orders for a free case evaluation.
Why this matters more for trucks
F-150 and Bronco owners often use their vehicles for work — towing, hauling, job sites — so a truck that keeps going back to the shop isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s often lost income and lost utility. That’s why documenting every visit matters: not just the defect, but the dates, mileage, what the dealership said, and what they claim they fixed.
What to do if this sounds like your truck
- Make sure every repair visit produces a written repair order — even if the dealership says the problem “couldn’t be duplicated.”
- Keep a simple log: date, mileage, description, and what the dealership did.
- Don’t wait until some magic number of visits. Contact us — there’s no cost to find out where you stand.
If your Ford has been back to the dealership more than two times for warranty repairs (not including recalls), it costs nothing to have us evaluate your potential claim and tell you honestly whether we believe you have a case — and whether a cash-keep settlement or lemon law buyback is realistic. Call 1-888-LEMON-81 for a free case review or complete this claim form: Patrick Law Firm Free Claim Evaluation Form.