Ford has settled claims with multiple attorney generals over allegations the automaker “falsely advertised the real-world fuel economy of its C-Max hybrid vehicles and the payload capacity of its Super Duty pickup trucks.”

In a press release, acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said an investigation found Ford made “deceptive and misleading” claims about the 2011–2014 F-Series Super Duty having a best-in-class payload capacity. They allege that competitors surpassed Ford’s payload rating, so the automaker came up with a “deceptive methodology” to reclaim the title.

Also Read: 2022 Ford Super Duty Revealed With Less Chrome, New 12-Inch Infotainment System

Methodology might be stretching things a bit as Ford reportedly used a decontented truck that lacked basic items such as a spare wheel, tire and jack as well as a radio. The center console was also reportedly replaced by a “mini-console” to save weight and “add additional pounds to the maximum advertisable payload capacity of its Super Duty truck – just enough for Ford to reclaim the title of ‘best-in-class’ for payload.”

The attorney generals allege Ford never had any intentions to sell such a decontented truck to customers and only used the “deceptive calculation for advertising purposes … and did not use it for calculating the actual payload capacity of individual Super Duty trucks earmarked for sale to consumers.” In essence, Ford reportedly lost the payload crown so they came up with a ‘creative’ workaround.

On the fuel economy side, the ghost of the C-Max is making a cameo. The group of attorney generals alleged Ford made “several misleading representations” about the fuel economy of the 2013 and 2014 C-Max in order to claim a “competitive advantage over other vehicles in the same class.” Among their claims were Ford misrepresented the distance consumers could drive on one tank of gas, asserted driving style would not influence the vehicles’ real-world fuel economy, and claimed superior real-world fuel economy compared to other hybrids.

They pointed to a series of C-Max videos known as the “Hybrid Games,” which depicted the model besting the Toyota Prius / Prius V. The problem was that these ads “deceptively implied that C-Max vehicles offered superior real-world fuel economy and driving performance, which was not the case.”

The attorney generals also pointed out that Ford had to reduce the fuel economy rating of the C-Max. The model was “initially touted” as getting 47 mpg city and 47 mpg highway, but those numbers were eventually lowered to 42 mpg city and 37 mpg highway. However, as Reuters noted, Ford compensated owners $550 (£440 / €513) for the drop.

Ford didn’t admit wrongdoing and settled the issue for $19.2 (£15.3 / €17.9) million. While that’s not much, Attorney General Platkin said “Misleading claims by manufacturers about their vehicles’ fuel economy can result in consumers paying more than expected at the pump. Today’s settlement sends the important message that we will hold accountable any vehicle manufacturer that deceives consumers about the real-world affordability of driving one of their vehicles.”