Ford to Give Owners of Recalled Kugas £500 In Fuel as Compensation

In a gesture of goodwill for drivers’ troubles, Ford is giving £500 for fuel to drivers of vehicles affected by the Kuga recall.

Ford is awarding Kuga recall-affected drivers a £500 fuel card to compensate them for having to drive a less fuel-efficient vehicle, according to WhatCar. Ford Kuga owners likely purchased the vehicle due to its cleaner electric driving mode, so a £500 fuel card is the carmaker’s attempt at settling the inconvenience and making up for having to consume fuel.

For the troubles caused by the Kuga recall, Ford also gifted drivers with a three-year service and maintenance plan free of charge. 

In August 2020, Ford issued the global Kuga recall for 27,000 Kuga PHEV vehicles in which overheating batteries had the potential to catch vehicles on fire. Ford Kuga sales were stopped, and owners were advised to not charge their high-voltage batteries. 

Ford confirmed the Kuga recall was issued after four vehicle fires due to the batteries getting too hot. No reports of injuries were made.

“Despite an extensive testing regime in the run up to the launch of the Kuga PHEV, we discovered an isolated number of cases of customer cars that faced issues related to the operation of the battery and in particular, in the way that the car dissipates the heat from the battery,” Ford explained on its website.

Ford’s statement continued: “In a handful of cases, this led to overheating resulting from the venting of the battery that had the knock-on effect of causing a fire. As soon as we knew about this, we started to take action leading to the communication with our affected customers to not charge the battery and to only operate the car in EV Auto mode. With these actions the vehicle remains safe to drive.”

Due to the Kuga recall, drivers were cautioned to only drive the cars in EV Auto drive mode rather than its electric driving mode.

The Kuga recall was issued only a few months after the hybrid SUV went on sale. Orders for the Ford Kuga were stopped as the issue was investigated by Ford.

About 5,046 U.K. drivers are thought to have been affected by the Kuga recall, according to Which.

The carmaker is working “with urgency to develop a complete and approved service solution for your vehicle,” Ford’s most recent statement to affected Kuga owners said, according to WhatCar. “The reality is this solution may take longer to resolve for you than we had initially anticipated… this may be a matter of months rather than weeks.”

The Ford statement continued, saying Kuga drivers would be individually contacted for a “rework by a Ford dealer once a complete and approved update is in place.”

WhatCar reported Kuga PHEV models made up half of the model’s sales in Europe earlier this year, making them significant for the carmaker in the European car market.

The Kuga recall was concerning for many because the SUV had just come onto the market and its engine was not a typical combustion engine, which can commonly catch on fire. Electric vehicles usually do not have fires as seen in the Kuga recall.

Are you a Ford Kuga driver? Do you think a £500 fuel card was appropriate compensation for the Kuga recall? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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