Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall

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Wed 22 Jul 2020 17:55
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - DirkThrust

So a work colleague of mine has a Ford Kuga with a 2.0 Duratorq engine. Last weekend it overheated to the extent that smoke was pouring from it. They pulled over and switched it off. A passing fire engine pulled over and doused the engine bay with water.

They had it towed to their usual garage. He jacked it up and had a look underneath. The under tray is completely melted and it's lost all it's engine oil so presumably the sump has cracked.

A relative told them that there's a recall out for the Kuga for exactly this problem so they contacted the Ford dealer they bought it from. After giving them the VIN number the dealer said that particular number isn't included in the recall so tough t**** basically.

Any suggestions what they could do next. They have the use of another car so aren't going to get the Kuga fixed yet until they can get some resolution.

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Thu 23 Jul 2020 09:03
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - craig-pd130

What year is the car?

The car-by-car reviews on this site do list a recall for the Kuga for overheating, but don't specify which engine: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/kuga-2013/good/

However the latest build date for cars affected is December 2014. If your colleague's car is that old, I seriously doubt they will get any help at all from Ford, unfortunately.

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Thu 23 Jul 2020 09:04
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - Bromptonaut

What year Kuga? The recall, which seems to be a software update regarding overheat detection, is detailed here:

https://www.vehicle-recall.co.uk/recall/R/2018/053

EDIT: Cross posted with Craig.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 23/07/2020 at 09:05

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 05:46
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - DirkThrust
It’s a 15 plate but could it have been manufactured during the affected period?

You’re probably right, it’s a long shot hoping for Ford to help.

Edited by DirkThrust on 24/07/2020 at 05:50

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 08:05
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - Bromptonaut
It’s a 15 plate but could it have been manufactured during the affected period? You’re probably right, it’s a long shot hoping for Ford to help.

15 plate was March to August 2015 and the end date for the recall is September 2015 by which time plate would have changed to 65. On that basis the vehicle appears potentially to be in the right age group.

Ford or VOSA should be able to fill in the blanks based on VIN etc.

Presumably the recall would be effected in the usual way with letters to the keeper's home address. Does your colleague remember receiving this?

Unless the vehicle was supplied and serviced through the Ford dealer network throughout then I don't think there's much hope. Even if it was I'd expect the dealer to try and wriggle off the hook.

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 09:29
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - John F

Odd story. How often during the past 20yrs have you ever seen a 'passing fire engine' when you pulled over? And if it wasn't actually on fire, why douse it with water? By the time the fire crew had stopped (why would they unless on a training excercise), reversed, alighted, assessed, pulled out hose etc., if it still wasn't on fire even less reason to soak it. And the driver must have been extraordinarily insensitive not to have noticed the oil loss (I think it was a dodgy sump plug problem, not sump cracking that affected this batch), the puddle underneath, the red warning light and the various signals and sensations an engine produces when it is about to expire.

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 10:01
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - Bromptonaut

@John F

A bit harsh I think.

While I take the point about passing fire engines I have a distant recollection of an incident it Chancery Lane, perhaps in the eighties. An appliance called to a false alarm at an office was to hand when a car turned in from Fleet Street with smoking detritus underneath; something around the exhaust?

I'm sure there are drivers who will try and 'wing it' with a warning light on. However, if you look at the detail of the recall on these Duratorq engined vehicles part of the issue is lack of a warning light for certain overheat conditions. The software that should detect the fault, illuminate a warning and invoke a limp mode for the engine fails to do so.

The consequence is more severe overheating with a cracked sump and oil loss as a consequence.

The fix, to be applied at recall, is an update to the software so it does what it was meant to in the first place.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 24/07/2020 at 14:18

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 15:49
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - John F

I'm sure there are drivers who will try and 'wing it' with a warning light on. However, if you look at the detail of the recall on these Duratorq engined vehicles part of the issue is lack of a warning light for certain overheat conditions. The software that should detect the fault, illuminate a warning and invoke a limp mode for the engine fails to do so.

The consequence is more severe overheating with a cracked sump and oil loss as a consequence.

All still seems odd to me. How can mere overheating causing the coolant to boil crack open a sump?

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 16:21
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - thunderbird

I'm sure there are drivers who will try and 'wing it' with a warning light on. However, if you look at the detail of the recall on these Duratorq engined vehicles part of the issue is lack of a warning light for certain overheat conditions. The software that should detect the fault, illuminate a warning and invoke a limp mode for the engine fails to do so.

The consequence is more severe overheating with a cracked sump and oil loss as a consequence.

All still seems odd to me. How can mere overheating causing the coolant to boil crack open a sump?

If the engine boiled, the head gasket failed and water got into the oil lubrication would be compromised. This could lead to main/bigend bearing failure and the resulting carnage in a severe case where the owner had ignored all the warning lights and signs could damage the sump as the rods etc tried to escape.

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 16:43
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - KB.

Odd story. How often during the past 20yrs have you ever seen a 'passing fire engine' when you pulled over? And if it wasn't actually on fire, why douse it with water? By the time the fire crew had stopped (why would they unless on a training excercise), reversed, alighted, assessed, pulled out hose etc.,

Apropos of nothing in particular, I'd say maybe you'd be surprised at what "passing fire engines" encounter when going to and from incidents.

For example you wouldn't normally expect to see a passing fire engine with a fully grown swan in the rear crew cab - but I can assure it's happened. We were returning from an incident when we alerted by a member of the public to a swan that had landed on a road having mistaken the road surface for a body of water (apparently not entirely uncommon). I was the only one of the crew who didn't seem averse to picking it up, putting in the cab and (with permission of the control room operator) we took it to a vet - who assured us they'd get it transferred to a place of swan safety.

So to encounter an overheated car engine by the roadside is, in the scheme of things, pretty run of the mill.

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Fri 24 Jul 2020 09:44
Ford Kuga - Overheating Engine Recall - thunderbird

Ford or VOSA should be able to fill in the blanks based on VIN etc.

Presumably the recall would be effected in the usual way with letters to the keeper's home address. Does your colleague remember receiving this?

VOSA only deal with safety recalls and I do not think that an overheating issue would fit under that category.

This type of recall is normally referred to as a "service recall" or "campaign update" and is identified and carried out when a car is taken in for service.

If the car is never serviced in the manufacturers network it will never get done.

Had it several times in the past, once on a Ford which was to fit an updated software for the ICE. Before the update the reception was poor, after it was brilliant. I do wonder how many cars drove round for years thinking poor was normal.

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