Ford kuga hybrid recall 24579-Kuga-Battery Energy Control Module

goldenhoarde · 19-03-2025 07:44PM #1

Hi all

Just looking for advice on the below recall

What should i do as basically i use the car for about 45km about 6 days a week

Cost to charge is about 2 euro as its only an 11kwh battery as opposed to about 8 in petrol at 1.80 a liter as getting about 10km a liter.

Basically they are saying i should not use the battery as there is a risk so essentially rendering it a petrol only car for an unknown period.

Letter starts off in red why is this product dangerous but no fix timeline bar q2 anticipated and would be a software fix for essentially a hardware issue.

Not me driving it day to day

24579-Kuga-Battery Energy Control Module software update - Product Safety Recall
Dear

WHY IS THIS PRODUCT DANGEROUS?
Ford constantly monitors production processes and vehicles in service. While monitoring vehicles in
operation, we have become aware of a number of Kuga PHEV vehicles on which the high voltage
battery may have some cells that could potentially develop an internal short circuit.
In the event of a high voltage battery cell internal short circuit, you will experience a Stop Safely Now
message and warning icon in the instrument cluster. You may also experience a loss of motive power,
increasing the risk of an accident. You will continue to have 12-volt (V) accessories, steering, and
braking control. You may also experience battery thermal venting potentially resulting in a vehicle fire,
increasing the risk of injury.
Ford engineers are developing new software to remedy this potential condition. In the meantime,
please DO NOT PLUG YOUR VEHICLES IN TO CHARGE THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY and use
the drive mode "Auto EV" only. This will prevent the potential issue from occurring while charging or
driving.
When the remedy is available, Ford will send a letter to inform you to contact your Ford dealer as soon
as practicable to schedule an appointment for a software update. Ford has not issued instructions to
stop driving your vehicle.
Until a remedy is available, and if you experience a Stop Safely Now message in your vehicle's
instrument cluster, please do follow the advice and exit the vehicle as soon as it can be brought to a
safe stop.

REMEDY
Ford engineers are working with high priority to develop software to remedy this issue. When the
remedy becomes available, Ford will notify you via letter to schedule a service appointment with you dealer for repairs to be completed free of charge. The remedy is anticipated to be available in the second quarter of 2025.

CMOTDibbler · 19-03-2025 08:06PM

Well you're risking a HV battery fire if it short circuits.

Up to you.

GPoint · 20-03-2025 01:12AM

Eco boom , now this …

blindsider · 20-03-2025 06:29PM

Family member got the same letter - not impressed. I wonder how many cars there are in Ireland?

Would the CCPC have a view on this? Conor Pope in the IT, or a motoring journalist?

It wouldn't be worth it for one person to take legal action, but if the CCPC got involved, Ford might have to do something. Certainly worth investigating!

DayInTheBog · 20-03-2025 09:59PM

I've a Kuga as well . This update won't fix the problem , only monitor the battery for a fault. There's nothing to say that even with the update the battery won't go on fire while being charged.

From what I can see it's about 1% of cars have had this issue out of the thousands sold and charged every day for the last 5 years

kirving · 21-03-2025 10:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123282042#Comment_123282042

Ford are doing something, they're working on a fix. About 1430 registrations of Kuga PHEVs over the period. From stats.beepbeep.ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123282646#Comment_123282646

That's not what the message posted by the OP says, or the statement from Ford. The software update will presumably monitor the battery more closely, and Ford will replace the battery if necessary.

There's nothing to say that even with the update the battery won't go on fire while being charged.

Of course there's nothing to say that, Ford can't prove that something won't ever happen at any point in future. Any car can go on fire for any number of reasons. All they can do is address this particular issue in a timely and effective manner.

blindsider · 22-03-2025 12:36AM

@kirving Thanks for the stats.

By "doing something", I meant compensation - I thought that was obvious from the context. I know they're working on a fix, it said so in their letter. However, when you sell a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, you should be able to plug it in to charge the battery. If you can't, and you incur extra petrol costs, Ford should compensate you.

Again, thanks for the stats, and my family member will be taking it up with Ford.

B.

kirving · 22-03-2025 03:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123286137#Comment_123286137

Oh yah I agree - whatever the marginal extra Petrol cost is, they should be providing compensation. It could add up to a lot of money for some people if they specifically bought a PHEV as they were using the full battery daily.

goldenhoarde · 22-03-2025 10:33PM

Another issue with this is that (uk reports) that dealer's are refusing the car on trade-in or sales until this is resolved

Not that anyone would likely want to purchase one given the potential issue.

Now i am aware that the no of actual cars going on fire is low 4 i think but i do worry about the impact on resale etc.

Its the consequential loss - the effect on resale and the extra costs now that i can't charge it, the reports of dealers refusing the car for trade in , its a worry and the long wait for a fix

This was notified in the USA on the 6 jan but not this side of the pond until 2 months later.

Letter dated to the 4th March but not received until the 19th, given that it was described as a dangerous issue you would think they would have sent next day delivery

history 123 · 28-03-2025 02:04PM

Came across this topic, unfortunately your experience with Ford is all too familiar. We have a 212 Ford Focus (purchased new) that gave dashboard warnings to check brake system and all electric braking systems, except for electric handbrake, failed on startup end of December. 3 months later, the car is still in the garage (a registered dealer). Ford engineers are advising the mechanics to retry installing updated software, but it repeatedly fails to install. There is no end is sight - shocking that a nearly new car is undrivable and that Ford have no apparent solution to their software issue! Wondering how widespread this issue is?

urbanachiever1 · 31-03-2025 08:58PM

I bought a Kuga at the very end of February from a main Ford Dealer. Letters being sent out are dated 4th March so I'm guessing the Dealers knew this when selling me the car. They didn't inform me and they are still selling a range of Kugas on their website. Could they be held liable for selling me a car that is known to be a potential danger? (I know I'd have to prove that they knew).

goldenhoarde · 31-03-2025 09:27PM

Depends on date of manufacturing

For example the usa dates are below

select 2020-2024 Ford Escape PHEV models produced between July 10th, 2019, and April 17th, 2024, as well as select 2021-2024 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring models built between October 24th, 2019, and April 16th, 2024.

However ford knew in the usa late last year so not sure that helps you.

Issue is (in uk Kuga owners) that dealers are starting not to take them in as trade in etc as they cannot sell till they are fixed.

My main worries are

Current state of battery - has it issues or reduced capacity due to these issues
3 month+ not charging - what affect will this have on battery performance / capacity
Additional running costs given we can't plug in as we do avg of 45 to 50km 6 days a week
Consequential losses - value of car will be severely affected i would say and given there was a premium paid to have a phev at the time, it a double whammy.

kirving · 31-03-2025 11:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123306462#Comment_123306462

When you say "registered dealer", do you mean a Ford main dealer?

If so, the dealer is either not pushing Ford hard enough, or something else is going on. When all else fails, the protocol will be for them to start replacing modules one by one until it's fixed.

Given how modern cars are programmed, it's easy enough to tell what is causing a specific issue if you have access to the amount of information that the manufacturer does, so if it's not found quickly, they should be straight into replacing stuff.

blindsider · 24-04-2025 06:20PM

This story has hit the mainstream media now. Morning Ireland had the story, and it weas picked by the IT and II etc. Other media outlets have it too.

https://www.irishtimes.com/motors/2025/04/24/irish-car-owners-affected-by-fire-risk-from-ford-kuga-battery-defect-start-legal-actions/

A customer on a PCP has gone to the Circuit Court. The solicitor is in Ballyhaunis Co Mayo (not sure about posting his name etc)

It will be interesting to see how this plays out….

Atlantic Dawn · 24-04-2025 06:22PM

Being discussed on The Last Word on Today FM now.

GPoint · 25-04-2025 07:39AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123386254#Comment_123386254

article behind paywall

CMOTDibbler · 25-04-2025 09:28AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123387336#Comment_123387336

There are lots of other non-paywalled versions.

goldenhoarde · 25-04-2025 10:06AM

From the indo

Drivers who bought Ford Kuga plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in Ireland have begun suing the company over a fire risk from a battery defect, it has been reported.

Owners of the model have been warned not to plug their cars in, as they might catch fire due to a battery defect.

Ford issued an urgent recall in early March, in which it advised motorists who own the bestselling vehicle that charging the battery in vehicles could cause a short-circuit while on the road, leading to a possible loss of power or fire.

Ford Kuga

The American automobile manufacturer told drivers to exit their car immediately if the "stop safely now" warning is triggered while driving.

In a Circuit Court summons, which was issued in recent days, an Irish motorist, who owns a 2023 Ford Kuga, complained that the company has failed in providing “an adequate solution to deal with the potentially dangerous and life-threatening issues”, The Irish Times reports.

The issue affects 2,850 Irish drivers, and a Ford spokesperson confirmed that all affected customers have been contacted.

A spokesperson added that the Ford engineers are working on developing software aimed at resolving the issue, which is expected by July

Old diesel · 25-04-2025 10:34AM

Manufacturers need to do a much better job of explaining why a software update is a "fix" for the issue.

It's only because I'm into EVs that I (sort of) understand the logic of how a software update is intended to work.

Its about detecting a problem with a battery pack earlier.

Therefore reducing the risk vs no software update as the battery is being monitored more closely.

Even if the eventual fix ended up being a battery replacement for every Kuga PHEV.

A software update initially would make sense.

Because if say 2 percent of cars have the fault.

Then from a safety viewpoint you want to identify those specific cars as quickly as possible and make them a priority for the battery replacement.

On another note.

Where a battery has a fault - it's more likely to develop into a bad scenario if the battery is actually fully charged.

Hence why the likely reason why they say "don't charge it but it's safe to drive".

I'm not defending Ford here - the fact people are going legal is clear evidence that they've really messed up here.

Leaving customers with no confidence the issue gets sorted properly without legal pressure.

I think its VERY logical on a customer's part to question why a software fix "solves" a hardware problem.

The onus is on Ford to do right by the customer and not for the customer to have to understand a manufacturers poor attempts at communication.

Seth Brundle · 25-04-2025 11:10AM

The onus is on Ford to do right by the customer and not for the customer to have to understand a manufacturers poor attempts at communication.

Because Ford have always prioritised people's safety over all else: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto

blindsider · 25-04-2025 04:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123387336#Comment_123387336

Yes, I know the IT is paywalled - thanks.

DayInTheBog · 25-04-2025 06:50PM

Was onto ford Ireland today and went to a UK call centre. Offered my 120 payment but agent saying they weren't aware of when the fix would be. Very unimpressed with their lack of information on a fix.

Did feel sorry for the guy on the end. Endless calls from irate customers and he can only sit their and follow the script.

CMOTDibbler · 25-04-2025 07:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123389034#Comment_123389034

So you posted a link knowing it was paywalled and people wouldn't be able to read it. Good one.

horse7 · 25-04-2025 07:43PM

Is there a link to the 120 payment from Ford?

goldenhoarde · 26-04-2025 05:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123389523#Comment_123389523

If you call customer care ( 1800771199 or 0214329290) will likely offer it to you. Its a goodwill gesture.

I'm at 2100km since i last charged and at 6.1 litres per 100km which is about 220 in fuel as we do 40+ 6 days a week for work with some longer journeys outside that as its easter and still 2 months before a fix so 120 ain't near the extra costs.

Prior to this was about 1.2 litres per 100km

blindsider · 26-04-2025 11:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123389402#Comment_123389402

I posted a link to a story which people can read. An Irish Times subscription, like others, is not completely unheard of. Family and student subscriptions are good options for substantial discounts. Others may know an archived alternative - if you know, you know.

I also indicated that several other media outlets carried the story - I named one (free), and subsequent posters named others. A simple online search offers several alternatives.

I hope this thread can remain 'on-topic' now.

sligopaul · 28-04-2025 01:20PM

is the Mazda 2.5 hybrid the same engine

goldenhoarde · 28-04-2025 07:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123397202#Comment_123397202

I doubt it but they did have a partnership up to 2015 where they shared engines etc.

However as its a battery issue could be using the same battery config from Samsung

Ford kuga hybrid recall 24579-Kuga-Battery Energy Control Module

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