Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa says it is “aware” of potential security system problems with “certain older” EcoSport and Fiesta vehicles, and that it plans to implement solutions soon.
In a video shared on the firm’s various social media accounts, Craig von Essen, corporate transformation and strategy manager, said the local arm of the Blue Oval brand would soon launch various “enhancements” to some security systems.
The response comes after Ford SA faced a barrage of complaints on social media, with users sharing videos of the brand’s vehicles being broken into.
“We at Ford take vehicle security very seriously. While newer vehicles are not affected, we are aware of certain older EcoSport and Fiesta vehicles that are being targeted by criminals,” Von Essen said.
“In some break-ins, we find that the alarm does not sound, although the immobiliser is still active,” he said, adding “we really regret the inconvenience to our customers”.
Von Essen went on to explain Ford would “soon be launching” three “enhancements”.
“Firstly, if a vehicle already has an alarm, we’ll make sure that it sounds when the key lock is tampered with. If a vehicle does not have a standard alarm, we will offer one as an accessory, which will go off if the lock is tampered with. The third option is, we’ll replace the lock with a new remote and a high-security key.”
He said Ford was “busy finalising these solutions” and would contact customers directly.
“We are also looking at the security systems in our other Ford models and if our customers have any concerns we do encourage them to contact us through our Facebook and Twitter social media platforms,” Von Essen concluded.
At Ford we take vehicle security very seriously.
While newer EcoSport & Fiesta vehicles are not affected, we are aware of older models being targeted.
We are finalising solutions which we will be communicating to customers as a matter of urgency. Watch below for more. pic.twitter.com/WtGWPwqTrb— Ford South Africa (@FordSouthAfrica) April 24, 2019
