Kuga owner warns others of ‘death trap’
Shaken EC woman escapes unharmed
AN EASTERN Cape businesswoman who escaped unharmed from her fiery Ford Kuga has warned other owners to refrain from using their Kugas.
The King William’s Town-based woman, 38, who asked not to be named, had to stop and abandon her car after it caught alight on the R63 between King William’s Town and Dimbaza on Friday January 6.
“I am very lucky to be alive, and I would like to warn people not to drive the car because it is a death trap.”
Traffic officials and police closed both lanes for more than an hour while waiting for the fire department to arrive.
Buffalo City Metro spokeswoman Batandwa Diamond said the fire station received a call at 1.26pm and the fire was put out at 2.15pm during a rainy Friday afternoon.
More than 40 Ford Kugas have caught alight countrywide amid mounting pressure from consumers that the company recall the vehicles. Complaints have also been filed with the National Consumer Commission.
Speaking to the Dispatch on Friday, the woman said she had noticed signs that something was wrong with the car in the days leading up to the fire and made an appointment with Ford to get it checked.
“I couldn’t take the car immediately because I was very busy so I told them I would take it in the following week.”
While driving on the R63, she said she had heard a knock and decided to pull over to inspect the noise.
“Smoke had started coming from the bonnet so I quickly grabbed my bag, keys and documents from the car. Two minutes after exiting the car, I saw fire coming out of the bonnet and it just grew bigger and bigger.”
She said other motorists had tried to extinguish the blaze with fire extinguishers but it was too ferocious.
“[Ford King William’s Town] responded to the scene and gave me a courtesy car the same day.”
The businesswoman said she bought the car in 2014. At the time of the fire, it had 82 000km on the clock and had its last service in December at 80 000km.
Following mounting pressure from the public and consumers, Ford SA has called on Ford Kuga owners to bring their cars in for a free inspection. The company said the problem was with Kugas equipped with the 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine models of 2012 to 2014.
About 6 300 1.6 litre Kugas were built between December 15 2012 and October 20 2014.
More than 40 of them have caught alight across South Africa.
In a statement to the Daily Dispatch, Ford spokesman Minesh Bhagaloo said the company was investigating the incidents.
“While our investigations into the incidents are not complete at this time, we have found that the fires may be a result of engine overheating.
“We also have agreed with the National Consumer Commission that we will report back to them voluntarily by the end of February, and we will keep you updated on any developments.”
He said the dealer check was free of charge and took approximately one hour to complete.
“Affected customers can also contact Ford Customer Service directly at 0860-011-022.”
Although no similar incidences were reported on Kugas with 1.5litre and 2.0-litre engines, Bhagaloo said it was strongly recommend that customers of all Ford vehicles follow regular maintenance checks.