On Monday, the National Consumer Commission of South Africa hosted a press briefing in Pretoria, where Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa announced that it would finally implement a recall of certain Ford Kuga models.
Jeff Nemeth, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company Southern Africa, was present at the briefing and announced the “voluntary recall” of the 1,6-litre EcoBoost Kuga models, after more reports of Kuga SUVs bursting into flames hit social media.
He said that the fires were “extremely unfortunate and concerning for our customers and for ourselves. I want to assure you that at Ford the safety of our customers is our number one priority”.
Nemeth added that 39 incidents had been reported to Ford, despite media reports putting the figure at 48. He said that the number of affected vehicles had been narrowed down from 6 300 to 4 556, built in Valencia, Spain, between December 2012 and February 2014.
He revealed that all affected vehicles, including those that had already been checked, should be taken to Ford dealerships as part of the safety recall. The CEO added that courtesy cars would be provided to drivers if their vehicles needed to be repaired.
Nemeth confirmed that Ford’s investigations pointed to an overheating problem that could lead to cracked cylinder heads, which in turn could leak oil onto hot exhaust manifolds, causing the fires.
“This issue has dragged on for far too long,” said commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed of the NCC.
Late last year, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa released a statement revealing a possible cause of the fires, but at the time stopped short of recalling the vehicle.
Back then, the local arm of the US automaker confirmed that it was “investigating reports of engine fires in Kugas equipped with the 1,6-litre EcoBoost engine in South Africa”.
The 1,6-litre EcoBoost mill at the centre of the investigation was replaced in the local line-up by a 1,5-litre unit at the end of 2014.
“While our investigations into the incidents are not complete at this time, we have found that the fires may be a result of engine overheating,” Ford said in a statement in December 2016.
“To help reduce the risk of engine overheating, we are advising affected customers to contact their Ford dealer to request a further check of the maintenance items, especially to check coolant system condition and integrity.”
