Suit Claims Ford Failed to Protect Vehicles From Unintended Acceleration A class-action suit filed against the Ford Motor Company on Thursday asserted that the automaker knew its vehicles were "vulnerable to sudden unintended acceleration events," but failed to equip them with a system so that the brake pedal would always overrule the gas pedal. The suit asks to represent those who leased or bought Ford vehicles manufactured from 2002-10 "with an electronic throttle system but not equipped with adequate fail-safe systems to prevent incidents of sudden unintended acceleration." Kristina Adamski, a Ford spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview that the automaker would not comment on pending litigation. The suit does not claim "wrongful death or personal injury claims" or damages from any unintended acceleration incidents. Instead, the suit contended that buyers were misled by Ford's claims that the vehicles were safe. Consequently, the buyers either paid more than they should have or bought vehicles they would not have purchased had they known that brake-override systems were not installed. Such systems are sometimes called smart pedals. In 2009, when concerns about unintended acceleration with Toyota vehicles became a national issue, such systems were used primarily by the European automakers. For example, BMW made the system standard on its 2005 models. General Motors, Ford, Honda, Acura, Toyota, Lexus and Hyundai said in 2009 that their vehicles did not have smart pedals. Nissan said it would have such a system on its 2010 Infiniti M. The systems have since become far more common. Toyota said by late 2010 that it had installed a system the company called Smart Stop on 2.2 million vehicles. The case, Lance R. Belville v. Ford Motor Company, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia by 13 law firms.