LISTEN: Wendy's take on 'Kugas on fire'

Listen to Wendy's on-air segment on Consumerwatch or read the full story below the podcast.

That’s a lot of flames, one loss of life, and many hefty insurance claims. Some have been settled and some not - much trauma for the car owners and a public relations disaster for Ford South Africa.

The siblings of Reshall Jimmy, who died in his Ford Kuga when it caught alight in the Wilderness area in December 2015, have documented those 44 Kuga fires, with first-hand accounts and photos, on the Facebook page they created in September in a bid to raise awareness of the Kugas on Fire issue.

There’s currently a massive dispute over where the fire in Reshall Jimmy’s Kuga started - the Jimmy camp and its investigators insist it started under the dashboard, while Ford is adamant that the burn pattern suggests it started at the back of the vehicle.

And both sides are accusing the other of withholding evidence. Ford has made a High Court application to force the Jimmy camp to hand over the two eyewitness statements and video of the fire which they say prove the fire started in the front of the Kuga. And to force the police to give them the inquest docket. 

Yesterday a Cape Town judge chastised the police for daily to co-operate with Ford and postponed the matter until next month.

But what about the other 43 Kuga fires - when did those happen and why are we only really hearing about them now?  

These cars have been bursting into flames all over the place for the past year, the fires starting in the engine compartments.  

Ford knew about those fires, I’ve discovered, because not only did the owners of the burnt out cars tell them, but so did some of the insurance companies, having identified a trend. 

Insurance companies do not like paying claims for vehicle damage caused by a manufacturing defect.

But Ford said nothing, not to the media and not to the owners of 1.6-litre Kugas.

That doesn’t sit well with Nivesh Sewpersadh of Reservoir Hills, who had his 2014 Kuga checked out by a Ford dealership in Pinetown when a service light flashed up before the vehicle’s service was due and was assured that it was safe to drive.

But two days later black smoke started pouring out of his exhaust, and then smoke started coming from the engine, followed by flames..

He stopped the car, leapt out and ran across the road.

Nivesh is astounded that, a year after Reshall Jimmy died in a Kuga fire, and dozens of fires since, a Ford dealership wasn’t aware of the warning signs.

Finally, on December 22, five days after Nivesh’s incident, Ford urged owners of 1.6-litre Kugas built between December 15, 2012, and October 20, 2014, to take their vehicles to a Ford dealer for a “safety check” of the coolant system, to avoid engine overheating.

But more Kugas have caught fire since then - about 10, I think.  Among them was that of Maria Daniels of Port Elizabeth - poor thing had only bought it a few weeks earlier, unaware of the fire issue - and it caught fire DESPITE her asking a Ford dealership to do that coolant check.

Ford says that unfortunately that dealership didn’t do a proper check, they just cleared the computer code. 

The big question many are asking Ford now is, why aren’t you recalling these cars?

Ford keeps saying they need to know what the problem is and how they can fix it before they go that route.

For now they don’t know why the 1.5 and 2.0-litre Kugas aren’t affected. The Kugas sold here are made in Europe, whereas the US recall of 2013 Ford Escapes - what the Kugas are badged in the US - were built in the Louisville Assembly Plant.

Interestingly, Ford says there have been no other reports of European-made Kugas catching alight in other countries.

That’s where we are in a nutshell. It’s the most extraordinary story, and it’s far from over.

If you drive one of these cars, do have the coolant system checked out, make sure its done properly, and know that if there’s a delay in getting the parts needed, Ford SA has undertaken to provide a courtesy car.