Kuga owners complain that dealers unprepared for recall

A day after Ford announced a recall of 4556 Ford Kuga 1.6l cars‚ some owners of the apparently fire-prone model reported that dealerships were unprepared to deal with it.

eNCA anchor Michelle Craig took to Twitter to complain that she had “waited weeks for Ford's decision‚ took our Kuga to @FordSouthAfrica Fury on William Nicol hours after the recall‚ and were turned away”.

“No courtesy cars available from @FordSouthAfrica Fury on William Nicol. Dealership totally unprepared following recall announcement‚” she added.

https://twitter.com/MichelleL_Craig/status/821233545515593728

https://twitter.com/MichelleL_Craig/status/821235866681090053

Ford Fury's dealer principal‚ Clem Sievers‚ had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication

Richard Spiers ‏@rich_spiers experienced similar problems‚ tweeting: “@Ford your dealers need to watch #FordKuga recall announcement! Just been told they haven't been informed of it when dropping off my kuga!”

https://twitter.com/rich_spiers/status/821242060070158336

Some aggrieved listeners contacted Radio 702 with the same complaint.

On Monday‚ the National Consumer Commissioner and Ford South Africa CEO Jeffrey Nemeth announced the recall at a media conference in Pretoria.

Recalled vehicles will be subjected to a software update and a check on the cylinder head‚ Nemeth said‚ although he added that there may be part shortages and said that affected owners would be provided with courtesy cars.

On Tuesday‚ the company SMSed customers to say: “Safety recall initiated for Kuga 1.6. Urgently contact your Ford Dealer or Ford Customer Service on 0860 011 022. Regards‚ Ford SA.”

At least 48 of the family SUVs burst into flames in South Africa and a motorist died while trapped inside his burning vehicle‚ and one motorist‚ Reshall Jimmy‚ had lost his life in December 2015.