Kuga owners complain that dealers unprepared for recall

17 January 2017 - 12:24 By Neo Goba
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The Ford Kuga now comes with 1.6- and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, rather than just the 2.5-litre five-cylinder found in the outgoing model
The Ford Kuga now comes with 1.6- and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, rather than just the 2.5-litre five-cylinder found in the outgoing model

A day after Ford announced a recall of 4556 Ford Kuga 1.6l cars‚ some owners of the apparently fire-prone model reported that dealerships were unprepared to deal with it.

Via twitter  

eNCA anchor Michelle Craig took to Twitter to complain that she had

  • READ: Ford’s court application in battle with policeExperts are divided about whether the fires are being caused by a combination of electrical faults and a plastic fuel line, or by problems with the vehicles' cooling systems.

Ford Fury's dealer principal‚ Clem Sievers‚ had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication

Richard Spiers ‏@rich_spiers experienced similar problems‚ tweeting: 

Some aggrieved listeners contacted Radio 702 with the same complaint. On Monday‚ the National Consumer Commissioner and Ford South Africa CEO Jeffrey Nemeth announced the recall at a media conference in Pretoria.

Recalled vehicles will be subjected to a software update and a check on the cylinder head‚ Nemeth said‚ although he added that there may be part shortages and said that affected owners would be provided with courtesy cars.

On Tuesday‚ the company SMSed customers to say: “Safety recall initiated for Kuga 1.6. Urgently contact your Ford Dealer or Ford Customer Service on 0860 011 022. Regards‚ Ford SA.”

At least 48 of the family SUVs burst into flames in South Africa and a motorist died while trapped inside his burning vehicle‚ and one motorist‚ Reshall Jimmy‚ had lost his life in December 2015.

- TMG Digital

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