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Just in case anyone has already got, or is awaiting a Ford Kuga PHEV, Ford has temporarily halted delivery of them and are advising owners not to charge them due to potential battery fires in the high voltage batteries:
Info here from Autocar:
However, Ford has released a statement admitting the sale of Kuga PHEVs built prior to 26 June 2020 has been suspended “temporarily”. The statement also says “information from the field indicates that four vehicle fires are likely to have been caused by the overheating of the high-voltage batteries”.
The “potential concern” has not only led to deliveries and sales of new models being stopped; buyers who have received their cars have also been contacted and told not to charge their high-voltage battery “until further notice”. They have been asked to keep the car in its “EV Auto” drive mode.
The brand has now issued a safety recall for all affected models, and is writing to customers to book vehicles in for remedial work from later this month once the required parts are available.
It’s not yet known how difficult the problem will be to resolve, with unverified suggestions claiming it’s related to the battery’s charging module overheating. Ford admits that this overheating can occur “when the vehicle is parked and unattended or is charged”.
Although it’s not believed that any injuries have been reported as a result of the fires, the fact that multiple fires have been reported on a relatively new car is cause for concern.
Also unclear is why the problem affects only Kugas built prior to the end of June. It’s believed that up to 27,000 cars globally are affected.
Fires in combustion-engined vehicles are nothing new, but they’re rarer in EVs, due to their relatively small numbers. EV fires can be volatile, however, with first responders and firefighters now provided specific EV training to ensure the high-voltage power system is switched off as a priority.
It applies to Kuga Phev’s built before 26th June 2020 and a recall has been issued.
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Four cars catch fire , and its a ‘potential concern’.
wonderful understatement from Fords
Anyone remember when the hamster crashed that Rimac electric super car on the grand tour and the car was still on fire 4 days later.
EV’s come with electric heaters as standard just like Ford then
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
It’s not that uncommon, loads of the early tesla vehicles caught fire, and once on fire them batteries can stay ablaze for several hours and even days. Plenty of evidence of utube.
However, I am very surprised that modern electric cars are having such problems.
The only reason the Ford motors don’t attract lots of attention is they don’t burn for long because of the tiny batteries they just shoe-horned in to meet green status.
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