Kuga incident: Ford SA replies

Ford SA has responded to Sunday’s incident where an elderly couple’s Ford Kuga caught fire on CR Swart Road in West Rand, Roodepoort Record reports.

In the statement, spokesperson Alisea Chetty said: “We are aware of the incident in Roodepoort through the media and we are urgently in the process of investigating the cause of the fire. We have identified the known sources of coolant loss in vehicles in South Africa. The Phase One recall action of rerouting coolant lines, replacing the affected components, and confirming integrity of the cooling system addresses these issues. Phase Two will further upgrade the cooling and control systems along with adding a coolant-level sensor to address low coolant levels regardless of the cause. Once completed this action will prevent a critical overheat of the engine that could lead to a fire,” she explained.

READ MORE: Kuga burns out north of Joburg

She went on to say: “We also wish to reiterate that with this safety action and proper maintenance of the engine coolant system, including using the approved coolant at the required concentration level, the vehicles are safe to drive. To further provide reassurance for all Kuga 1.6 owners, once this safety recall action is complete, customers will receive documents from the dealership that include a description of the parts that have been replaced, along with a checklist that confirms all the safety recall actions have been completed.

“We can confirm that 80 per cent of the 4 556 customers have brought their vehicles in for Phase One of the recall, and again ask those who have not taken their 1.6 Kuga to a dealership for the recall action please to do so at their soonest convenience,” she said.

– Caxton News Service

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