Another Ford Kuga goes up in flames

Another Ford Kuga has gone up in flames. The incident occurred in Ekurhuleni on Monday morning.

“Our members received an emergency call about 8.45am this morning. A male was driving in a Ford Kuga on the N12 Jet Park off when he saw the fire coming from his engine. By the time emergency personnel arrived‚ the vehicle was on fire‚” said William Ntladi spokesperson of the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services.

The driver managed to escape without any harm‚ Ntladi said.

Ford faced a backlash after nearly 50 of its Kuga SUVs reportedly caught fire. Investigations revealed the fires were caused by overheating‚ which led to engine cylinder heads cracking and oil leaking.

Last month‚ Ford SA announced another fire-risk-related recall - this time on its entry-level Figo and Ikon models.

Owners of 15‚600 petrol-engine Figos and Ikons‚ built in India between August 2004 and March 2012 and sold here‚ received e-mails asking them to "immediately" contact a Ford dealership to replace their vehicle's power-steering high-pressure hose.

Diesel models were not affected.

Ford said there would be no charge for the replacement hose and labour costs.

Ford has invited 4‚556 Kuga owners whose vehicles were part of the recall announced in January to return their cars to dealerships for Phase 2 of the recall‚ the installation of a sensor to alert the driver when the coolant level drops.