Ford is having sort of an embarrassing problem at the moment, and it's not particularly technically complicated. The technology is not new. Far from it. No, the problem is with its nuts, specifically lug nuts. Automotive News reports that several hundred Ford owners are suing the automaker over defective lug nuts. The class action suit states that lug nuts "on millions of Ford Fusion, Escape, Flex, Focus, F-150 and F-350 vehicles can swell and delaminate, making it difficult to remove the wheels without paying for repairs and new lug nuts."

The suit was filed last week in Michigan, and so far Ford has not made an official response. The law firm representing the Ford owners, Hagens Berman, had this to say: "We're not talking about breakthrough technology or computerized aspects of the auto world. We're talking about possibly the simplest part of the car – the lug nuts. Ford chose to make its lug nuts with an inferior design that puts cosmetics ahead of safety and directly led to harm consumers." The lug nuts themselves are two-part units, with a steel core and a chrome, aluminum or stainless steel cap. Sounds simple enough, only it's not in this case.

"At best this defect leads to consumers paying more than $30 per wheel at a repair shop just to get their tire off, and then have to buy new lug nuts," the lawyer continued. "At worst, Ford owners could quickly end up in an emergency situation on a busy roadway, stranded with a flat tire and no way to change it." Most owners pay little to no attention to their car's (lug) nuts, but in the case of these Ford models, some of the most popular cars on the road today, the nuts are clearly a problem. Should be interesting to see how Ford responds to this awkward situation.