Ford Motor will recall 4,500 Kuga SUVs sold in South Africa after lots of reports of the automobiles catching fire spontaneously, the head of the business’s South Africa unit stated on Monday.
In a joint declaration with the National Consumer Commission (NCC), Ford’s Southern Africa President and CEO Jeff Nemeth stated the automaker could validate 39 incidents of the vehicles catching fire.
“We are not familiar with any injuries that have resulted from our engine compartment fires,” Nemeth informed media.
He stated early investigations informed that fires in the Kuga 1.6 liter model, imported from Spain, were possibly due to overheating triggered by an absence of coolant circulation which might cause a fracture in the cylinder head and oil leakages.
If oil reached a hot engine part it might catch fire, Nemeth stated. Ford authorities stated at the briefing that hot weather of the country could be a contributing factor.
The voluntary recall of the 4,500 vehicles is down from a previous price quote of 6,300, and will just impact Kuga models constructed in between December 2012 and February 2014.
Nemeth declined to talk about the expense of the recall to Ford, which will replace afflicted parts on the cooling system, upgrade software and conduct tests on cylinder heads.
In October, the automaker’s North American arm recalled 400,000 units of the Ford Escape – the United States variation of the Kuga – likewise due to engine issues.
“A product that poses any danger to our customers does not have a place in our market place,” NCC commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed stated at the briefing.
