A week after Ford South Africa announced its Phase 2 Kuga recall, another SUV has burst into flames along the N12 East in Jet Park, Boksburg.
Ford said, “We are launching a full investigation of the incident and have placed the customer in a courtesy vehicle. We are however still trying to gain access to the vehicle to find out what has happened.
“We’ve will soon included what Phase 2 entails and advice affected customers in South Africa.”
Ford recalled 4556 Kuga 1.6-litre Ecoboost models, produced from December 2012 to February 2014, in January following several reports of the utility vehicles bursting into flames.
The company attributed the flare ups to excessively low coolant levels, which reduce the ability to keep the engine of the car cool, which in turn, leads to overheating.
“The system will now warn the driver well in advance if there is a risk of overheating due to insufficient coolant in the system,” the company said.
“In addition, the vehicle’s updated software introduced as part of Phase 2’s action has the ability to reduce engine power, and notifies the driver to safely pull over if coolant levels drop below the minimum required level.”
To accommodate the enhanced system, Ford has made changes to the routing of the coolant pipes. They have fitted it with an electrical harness and configured the software to monitor this new coolant level sensor. An additional coolant pipe will also be replaced for added robustness and durability of the cooling system.
What you should know
Customers are being asked to schedule an appointment with their dealer; this will ensure the dealer is able to perform the recall action quickly and efficiently, says Ford. Should the customer wish, their dealer will also pre-arrange alternative transport upon scheduling an appointment.
Continuing the customer support measures introduced after the initial Kuga 1.6 safety recall announcement in January 2017, all Kuga models benefit from the Ford Kuga PremiumCare Extended Plan, backed by Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa.
This plan provides additional cover beyond the new vehicle warranty, and now covers the repairs of more than 1 000 vehicle components up to a maximum of six years or 200 000km, whichever comes first.
Ford says the PremiumCare Extended Plan applies to all Kuga models, including the affected 1.6-litre models, as well as the 1.5-litre petrol, 2.0-litre diesel and 2.0-litre petrol sold between 2012 and 2017. It also applies to the previous-generation Kuga 2.5 models registered as new in 2012.
Additionally, Ford Roadside Assistance is available to all Kuga owners, beyond the standard three-year/unlimited mileage cover.
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