Earlier, the company suspended sales of the hybrid SUV due to concerns about battery overheating, advising owners to keep their vehicles in EV Auto mode and not plug them in. At the time, Ford stated that "information from the scene indicates that four vehicle fires were likely caused by overheating of high-voltage batteries" and halted sales of all Kuga PHEV models built before June 26, 2020.
Now the company has agreed on a fix and will carry out the necessary repairs on all affected vehicles between late December 2020 and March 2021. The process will involve replacing the battery and will be rolled out to vehicles in the order they were sold, with older models being recalled first, and undelivered models up to June 26 will remain in Ford's hands until this fix is implemented.
In an official statement, it says: "During our supplier's manufacturing process, the root cause of battery contamination was identified, and we determined that the best way to ensure the safety of our existing customers is to replace the drive battery."
Until affected customers have this done, they are advised to keep their vehicle in EV Auto mode and continue not to plug it in. Ford has provided extended warranties or fuel vouchers as compensation. It is believed that up to 27,000 vehicles worldwide are affected, but it remains unclear why this issue only affects vehicles built in this date range.
Fires in vehicles with internal combustion engines are nothing new, but in electric-drive vehicles they are rarer due to their relatively small numbers. There have been no reports of injuries in the four fires that alerted Ford to this issue.
