[Gregs24]

Exactly my point. Ford have created a problem by not sharing information in the UK, so we've resorted to passing an American PDF around a forum.

Less than ideal!

What more do you need to know?

 

[NigelB]

We’ve all seen the glossy ads for legal firms leading group actions against major motor manufacturers for providing misleading fuel economy figures. Seems to me that we have a very strong case to take a group legal action against Ford for our vehicles being ‘Not Fit For Purpose’. Simply the threat of legal action may give Ford the jolt they need to take our dissatisfaction seriously and prioritise getting the fix done sooner and offering some real form of compensation for our loss.

Compensation will be low hundreds if at all.

Class action lawyers normally take 50-60% already compensation offered if you engage them. So basically 1/2 of 2/3 of 4/5 of not very much.

 

[Cookey62]

Yes, I have had this letter too. Very disappointed with Ford not planning any kind of compensation as most of my journeys are short so it will cost me far more to drive a 2.5l engine locally and I was trying to do my bit for the planet

I have the same letter and it is very frustrating not being able to plug my car in.
I did wonder whether to ignore it and keep on charging as there has only been 4 cars affected and none in the UK!
I suppose you shouldn’t take the chance as the insurance companies may take a dim view if the worst did happen.
On the plus side I am still achieving 30% electric driving in the auto HV mode, local driving.
It’s a shame that a fix isn’t going to be available until later in the year!

 

[chrispy108]

It would be pretty hard to get any more extreme! I suspect 99% of people with a PHEV don't do that. EVERY day over 30 miles, EVERY day charged!

If you don't then you won't save any money compared to buying the FHEV, so why get a PHEV?

What more do you need to know?

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the information to come direct from Ford UK, instead of people piecing it together from a forum? Dozens of people asking the same questions here shows a failure on Ford UKs part.

 

[Gregs24]

I have the same letter and it is very frustrating not being able to plug my car in.
I did wonder whether to ignore it and keep on charging as there has only been 4 cars affected and none in the UK!
I suppose you shouldn’t take the chance as the insurance companies may take a dim view if the worst did happen.
On the plus side I am still achieving 30% electric driving in the auto HV mode, local driving.
It’s a shame that a fix isn’t going to be available until later in the year!

It is not later in the year for the fix it is Q2 which is April - June. It will take a while for dealers to complete the update because of the volume of vehicles concerned.

 

[Gregs24]

If you don't then you won't save any money compared to buying the FHEV, so why get a PHEV?



I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the information to come direct from Ford UK, instead of people piecing it together from a forum? Dozens of people asking the same questions here shows a failure on Ford UKs part.

Well it is pretty common knowledge that a lot of PHEV's are bought by companies for tax reasons and are never plugged in. Those drivers will be completely unaffected by this recall.

Use will vary but plugging in EVERY day and driving 30 miles+ EVERY day is pretty unusual. Most people don't work 7 days a week every week for example. The average car in the UK does 7000 miles per year, doing 30+ miles per day would be 50% more than that. I'm not saying nobody does it, just most people don't.

I don't know what more information you need? You have been told not to charge the car by Ford for the reasons stated in the letter and that you will be notified when an update is available. What more is there? An awful lot of those questions are answered in the letter?

As to the hyperbole about burning to death in cars, instantly selling them and risking lives every time you get near it that have been posted on here - well they are just that - hyperbole.

 

[chrispy108]

Yes - I'm aware of the company car loophole.

And yes, I'd bet decent money the vast majority of PHEV Kugas do more than UK average miles. It doesn't make sense to buy one if you don't.

I'd expect Ford UK to have shared a bit more detail on the problem, the scale of it, and explain to Joe public how a software fix will fix this problem.

I've engaged in no hyperbole here. Not sure what you're accusing me of here. Again, Ford UK could have minimised the fear by explaining the scale of the problem in the letter.

I'm the opposite it anything, I've got no real idea why Ford have issued a stop charging instruction given the number of cases. They didn't issue a stop/minimising using the petrol engine instruction last summer.

Clearly you aren't bothered by the recall - but that doesn't mean those of us that are bothered are wrong.

 

[Cod]

The recall for my phev was on Fords website and the .gov web site the other day and I received the letter,but now there's no mention on either website about a recall on my phev,has anyone else had the same situation? Is there a recall on some and not others now? any ideas

 

[Vini]

I'd expect Ford UK to have shared a bit more detail on the problem, the scale of it, and explain to Joe public how a software fix will fix this problem.

Again, Ford UK could have minimised the fear by explaining the scale of the problem in the letter.

The US PDF covers that, all be it with American references to Escape and Lincoln vehicles. Unsure where the UK banded 26000 comes from, but I’m sure it was official wording.

Most major companies are slow to release information. Most companies will release as little detail as possible to avoid scaremongering.

So far I’ve seen mentioned;

20500 US cars.
26000 UK? Or European cars.

46500 cars, of which 4 vehicles have ‘vented’.

4 is 0.01% of 46500… this is probably why information is sparse.

The more I think about this, the more I think people are peeved because Ford hasn’t offered anything as a way of compensation.

Sure, they don’t have to. There’ll have been some discussions whether to offer compensation or take the hit… and I guess they’ve gone for the latter…

If you’re prepared to drop all things Ford, for what appears to be a maximum ‘out of pocket expense’ of ~£300-500 depending on your utility rates and usage… then you’re probably not going to generate Ford much revenue anyway.

and… you’re going to spend/lose more than £300-500 swapping.

 

[Cookey62]

I looked at swapping my Kuga today via Cinch and their offer for my car was the same even after highlighting the recall.
They checked the .gov website and my car wasn’t there!
They didn’t seem too worried.

 

[chrispy108]

The US PDF covers that, all be it with American references to Escape and Lincoln vehicles. Unsure where the UK banded 26000 comes from, but I’m sure it was official wording.

Most major companies are slow to release information. Most companies will release as little detail as possible to avoid scaremongering.

So far I’ve seen mentioned;

20500 US cars.
26000 UK? Or European cars.

46500 cars, of which 4 vehicles have ‘vented’.

4 is 0.01% of 46500… this is probably why information is sparse.

The more I think about this, the more I think people are peeved because Ford hasn’t offered anything as a way of compensation.

Sure, they don’t have to. There’ll have been some discussions whether to offer compensation or take the hit… and I guess they’ve gone for the latter…

If you’re prepared to drop all things Ford, for what appears to be a maximum ‘out of pocket expense’ of ~£300-500 depending on your utility rates and usage… then you’re probably not going to generate Ford much revenue anyway.

and… you’re going to spend/lose more than £300-500 swapping.

We shouldn't have to find a US PDF to try and piece together some technical details. The letter they've sent is poor. No apology until the very end, no real detail or facts.

Yes I am peeved Ford have offered no compensation. They've reduced the tiny chance they'll have to pay out for an issue at my expense.

I understand your arguments against offering compensation - I'm sure Ford have reached this decision with a group of lawyers and accountants and reckon it works out for the best overall.

Personally it's left a real sour taste and I'm going to explore other options against my current Capri order, whereas before I didn't really look at any other brand.

 

[HybridPaul]

Compensation will be low hundreds if at all.

Class action lawyers normally take 50-60% already compensation offered if you engage them. So basically 1/2 of 2/3 of 4/5 of not very much.

Unless we show Ford UK that owners are not willing just to lay down and accept Ford lack of customer care a class action might just force them to pay members compensation ,Do nothing and we all end up loosing money Not fit for purpose as PHEV should do what it says on the tin Plug In Hybrid vehicle

 

[HybridPaul]

I received the letter last week and could drive in eco mode, but just noticed yesterday that Ford has disabled all other EV driving modes on my car, leave only Auto EV available. They did it (software updating by air?) without any onboard notifications or warnings to me.

Is this only for 2022 cars as i have not received any updates over the air which disable driving modes i only can get updates for maps and sync using usb stick
Has anyone else experienced this ?

 

[Derek pheysey]

Is this only for 2022 cars as i have not received any updates over the air which disable driving modes i only can get updates for maps and sync using usb stick
Has anyone else experienced this ?

When I put car details onto the web page it said NO recall, but I have the letter. I spoke to Ford customer support and they said mine was on recall and it was incorrect on the web page.
72plate ST line blue 2.5 PHEV

 

[Bazzer1899]

Is this only for 2022 cars as i have not received any updates over the air which disable driving modes i only can get updates for maps and sync using usb stick
Has anyone else experienced this ?

If you've no elec range then obviously there will be no option for things like EV Now.

No such thing as over air update to disable these.

 

[Vini]

We shouldn't have to find a US PDF to try and piece together some technical details. The letter they've sent is poor. No apology until the very end, no real detail or facts.

26000 Kuga. ~350 posts in this forum. Probably close to another 0.01% figure.

Ford probably calculated that 99% of folks would just roll over.

All the disgruntled folk can really do is moan online, talk to CAB, financiers and really, there’s not a lot else.

Having calculated it’s potentially a loss of £300 to me, it’s not really worth the effort.

Yes I’m annoyed. Yes I’m peeved there’s no up front compensation of gesture of good will offered, but what can we do. All we can do is what I’ve listed above, and really how many of us have done anything in addition to moaning here? Probably 0.01%.

Big corps always win.

Or… we can continue to charge… knowing 0.01% have had issues. [Which Ford advise us not to do, so this is not an action a random internet user is endorsing].

 

[Gregs24]

Yes - I'm aware of the company car loophole.

And yes, I'd bet decent money the vast majority of PHEV Kugas do more than UK average miles. It doesn't make sense to buy one if you don't.

I'd expect Ford UK to have shared a bit more detail on the problem, the scale of it, and explain to Joe public how a software fix will fix this problem.

I've engaged in no hyperbole here. Not sure what you're accusing me of here. Again, Ford UK could have minimised the fear by explaining the scale of the problem in the letter.

I'm the opposite it anything, I've got no real idea why Ford have issued a stop charging instruction given the number of cases. They didn't issue a stop/minimising using the petrol engine instruction last summer.

Clearly you aren't bothered by the recall - but that doesn't mean those of us that are bothered are wrong.

I did not accuse you of hyperbole - read my post carefully!

No idea what you are on about minimising engine use last year - not possible anyway.

The reason for the stop charging is VERY clear and explained. Vehicle safety and recalls are tightly governed - I posted a link to this earlier in the thread.

Your guess about Kuga drivers mileage is just that - a guess, an incorrect one as it turns out.

Analysis of anonymised data from Kuga Plug-In Hybrid customers across Europe showed the average annual distance travelled was just over 10,000 km - this is about 6000 miles so below average.

Ford Kuga Plug-In Hybrid Drivers Skip the Fuel Stops to Slash Their CO2 Emissions in Europe’s Best-Selling PHEV | Great Britain | Ford Media Center

 

[Hooliopaulio]

Analysis of anonymised data from Kuga Plug-In Hybrid customers across Europe showed the average annual distance travelled was just over 10,000 km - this is about 6000 miles so below average.

Probably about right for me. Had mine 17 months, just about to hit 9,500 miles. Did my first run to work with no battery charge (after doing some short runs over the weekend getting about 25mpg). I did 7.6 total miles, 2.2 electric, 39.9mpg. The last trip measurement before I 0'd when the battery had run out I was on 228.1 total miles, 214.1 electric, 737.3mpg. Gonna be a rough few months, but I'll wait to see the impact before complaining to Ford. The fix is "expected" in Q2, and though its unlikely it may begin rolling out in 3 or 4 weeks. I'll be waiting to see how long it takes and how much out of pocket I'll end up.

 

[chrispy108]

Big corps always win.

The defeatism from some people in this thread is just wild to me.

This stuff is exactly why companies get away with crappy customer service - because people aren't demanding better.

If a company mess up they should be footing the bill, not the customer. I didn't think this was a controversial statement a few years ago, but now it seems to be!

And no, big corps don't always win. Between poor customer service and shrinking their range of cars sadly Ford will be the next Kodak or Blockbuster.

 

[CDubbs]

The defeatism from some people in this thread is just wild to me.

This stuff is exactly why companies get away with crappy customer service - because people aren't demanding better.

If a company mess up they should be footing the bill, not the customer. I didn't think this was a controversial statement a few years ago, but now it seems to be!

And no, big corps don't always win. Between poor customer service and shrinking their range of cars sadly Ford will be the next Kodak or Blockbuster.

All depends on your perspective Chrispy , I would suggest not defeatism, but pragmatism.
Complex electric/mechanical machines, computers on wheels, things can and do go wrong.

The majority just get on with it, a portion of the rest get upset, and from my reading since the start of this thread, they are more intrested in compo, than why/how the manufacturer has identified the issue and is progressing to a solution. Fixes to issues like this don’t happen overnight, it takes much analysis and engineering effort to identify root cause, identification, action required and implementation through to resolution.

If it takes a bit of extra money of fuel to get through the situation to stay safe, then it’s upto to each owner how they approach that, personally I‘m more interested in the footie results than a few quid of unleaded.