Ford repairs 63% of affected Kuga 1.6 models

The company emphasised, however, that a number of the affected vehicles have not yet been brought into Ford dealers across the country for the required repair. Ford urges all customers who haven't yet participated in the recall to prioritise it.

Said Jeff Nemeth, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa: “By Thursday, 2 March 2017, the safety recall action had been completed on almost 2,800 vehicles, with this number increasing daily. Ford and our dealers continue to do everything we can to minimise inconvenience for our customers, and to ensure their driving safety and satisfaction."

Two-phased process

A total of 4,556 1.6-litre Ford Kugas, built between December 2012 and February 2014, are affected by the safety recall in South Africa. The recall is a two-phased process.

The second stage of the recall will be a further product enhancement. Currently, Ford is ensuring that the changes to be made are thoroughly tested, and will communicate with customers about stage two as soon as the process is ready.

Ford South Africa has taken the following steps to minimise any inconvenience its customers may have experienced:

1. It announced that Ford has extended the cover on all Kuga models sold in Southern Africa to a total of six years or 200,000km, whichever comes first. The Ford Kuga PremiumCare Extended Plan will be automatically added to all Kuga models in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, including the Kuga 1.6 petrol, the 1.5-litre petrol, the 2.5-litre petrol, and 2.0-litre diesel and petrol derivatives. It will be loaded against each Kuga's vehicle identification number (VIN), giving the vehicle a total of six years or 200,000km cover, whichever occurs first, based on the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty start date.
   
2. It expanded its current partnership with the AA for extended Ford Roadside Assistance for all 1.6 Kuga vehicles, including those out of the standard three-year cover period, to ensure customer reassurance and peace-of-mind.
   
3. Parts have been delivered to dealers, ensuring that the replacement of parts, testing and verifying the integrity of the cooling system and updating the vehicle software are completed as soon as possible.
   
4. Courtesy vehicles are being provided to affected Kuga 1.6 customers to keep them mobile while the safety recall action is completed.
   

The company encourages customers to raise any questions or concerns directly through Ford Customer Service at 0860 011 022 or email moc.drof@3CRC, so that they may be addressed as quickly as possible.