Interview on Kuga recall with Neale Hill of Ford

 

Kuga  – Ford 's perspective on a burning issue 

By Stuart Johnston

At this week’s Kuga face lift launch,  AutoTrader had an exclusive interview with Ford South Africa’s Director of Sales, Marketing and Service,  Neale  Hill, on the current state of the Kuga recall, and compensation for owners affected by their cars being damaged, and in other cases, burning out completely, due to an overheating problem.

AutoTrader: How many cars were involved in the total recall, and how many caught fire, specifically?

Neale Hill: The total number of cars involved in the recall was 4 556. That’s the total number that went through Phase One and Phase Two of the recall. As far as cars that caught fire, we had approximately 30 vehicles that were affected in fires. And subsequently, after Phase One, we had six vehicles that caught fire.

AT: What exactly is Phase One?

NH: Phase One was where we brought the vehicles  back to the dealers, we replaced the coolant bottle, certain hoses, re-routed some of the piping, and on some of the vehicles we did a coolant upgrade and also did a cylinder head check to see that there were no signs of visible oil leak.

Phase Two was where we brought the vehicles back in, and replaced certain components and introduced a low-level coolant sensor to indicate when the coolant dropped below a certain level. If this happened, the car then switched to limp home mode to allow the customer to get home, or to a dealership, under reduced power conditions.

AT: So this problem was essentially caused by the engine running too hot?

NH: It was caused by a loss of coolant in the system, the coolant dropping below a certain level

AT: But this would normally be the result of the engine running too hot and the coolant evaporating, not so?

NH: Correct.

AT: Has that been addressed now (the engine running too hot), in terms of software? How else has Ford addressed the cause of the problem?

NH: In terms of the architecture of the vehicle we’ve looked at that extremely carefully. These incidents were specific to the 1,6-litre turbo engine. That was stopped in production at the end of 2014, and replaced by the new 1,5-litre turbo engine (in the petrol engine Kuga models).

AT: Have you had any incidence of overheating with the 1,5-litre petrol engine in the Kuga?

NH: No

AT: Has it got a more efficient cooling system?

NH: We do continuous tweaks and changes. Now,  with the 1,5-litre engine carried over to the new Kuga, with the redesigned front grille I would suspect we have more airflow over the radiator.

AT: In terms of the cars that did catch fire, or were damaged, have you made good on all the resultant claims?

NH: We’ve dealt with all of our customers, and there are some customers we continue to deal with. All of the customers who have had incidents, we have approached and taken care of them. We have supported our customers, and if they decided they’d like to trade out of their Kugas, we put a plan in place in conjunction with our dealers.

AT: At AutoTrader we have received reports of customers still not satisfied. Yesterday I read a mail where a customer complained he was still sitting with a R7000 a month payment, and no car to sow for it.

NH: We are still working through these incidents. If such incidences come to light, we’d like to know about that.

NH: So what is your advice to these owners who are still not satisfied?

NH: Go to your dealer, work through your dealer and in conjunction with the dealer and Ford Motor Company we will work to address the situation.

AT: Is that irrespective of whether it is in or out of warranty?

NH: Irrespective. There’s been absolutely no discrimination. There is a need to look after our customers. What we also did in January was an extension of the warranty on all Kugas, to extend the warranty to six years or 200 000 km. This applies to all cars up until the launch of this new model.

AT: Does this include the new, face-lifted model?

NH: No, this new car reverts back to the normal four-year/120 000 km warranty.

AT: So you are more confident of this new model?

NH: Yes we are.

AT: Is there any specific helpline customers can call?

NH: We have the normal Ford CRC number, our Customer Relationship Centre numbers, with dedicated agents there to provide assistance:

AT: Do you think the problem (of overheating and subsequently catching fire) was a result of the bulk of our vehicles in South Africa  being driven at high altitude, and these smaller turbo engines having to working hard?

NH: I think there were a number of related factors. High altitude, high ambient temperature, and probably a more aggressive driving style in some cases. I think in South Africa, because we have petrol attendants at service stations, owners don’t pay particular attention to what coolant is put into the system. What we found over time, with people constantly topping up, is that coolant becomes diluted compared to the desired 50-50 mix of water and coolant. And the result is a cooling system operating below par.