Ford Kuga Owners Club Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Recall Notice 24S79 Kuga PHEV Recall notice-Do not charge your car! Fire risk!

1 reading
Jump to Latest
621 - 640 of 1,285 Posts
#621 ·
I still have not received a letter from Ford. I had a 40 mile run today and now have 0% battery available.
I thought I’d ask ChatGPT a few questions. Here’s the conversation
Questions:
Ford Motors have issued an international recall for all Ford Kuga PHEV cars (plug in hybrid electric vehicles). The recall instructs owners and drivers not to charge the high voltage batteries installed in their cars because of a risk that in some cars a short circuit could occur in one or more battery cells and cause a fire. They hope to introduce a software update to the battery management system to enable early identification of problems. The update is hoped to be available for installation by dealers in the second quarter of 2025.
A similar problem occurred after the Kuga PHEV was first introduced in 2019/2020.
Can you advise how many battery fires have occurred in Ford Kugas, where and when they occurred and any information associating the fires with dates when the affected vehicles were built.
Any other relevant information will be appreciated

Chat GPT said..
Ford has issued recalls for the Kuga Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) due to battery-related fire risks. In 2020, approximately 1,800 UK vehicles (out of 27,000 globally) built between July 1, 2019, and September 7, 2020, were recalled after seven fires occurred during charging in mainland Europe. In 2022, another recall affected 760 UK vehicles produced between July 22, 2020, and April 15, 2021, due to potential internal battery faults leading to overheating. Recently, in March 2025, Ford issued a recall for all current-generation Kuga PHEVs with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, advising owners not to charge their vehicles to prevent battery issues. Ford plans to release a software update in the second quarter of 2025 to address this concern. Owners are advised to contact their local Ford dealership for further information and assistance.

So not much more added to my knowledge but an interesting exercise
 
#622 ·
I’m still not sure that:

“Recently, in March 2025, Ford issued a recall for all current-generation Kuga PHEVs with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, advising owners not to charge their vehicles to prevent battery issues”.

is factually correct?

As far as I can find out it’s all Kugas made in the period c. 2020 - April 2024 only.
 
#624 ·
Andrew the Kuga Owner said:
I’m still not sure that:

“Recently, in March 2025, Ford issued a recall for all current-generation Kuga PHEVs with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, advising owners not to charge their vehicles to prevent battery issues”.

is factually correct?

As far as I can find out it’s all Kugas made in the period c. 2020 - April 2024 only.
Click to expand...
Go back to post no. 95
 
#625 ·
CDubbs said:
Go back to post no. 95
Click to expand...
Thank you. I’d missed that.

That is the clearest communication of dates and models I’ve seen anywhere. But why is such key information buried away on a specialist forum chat site.

Ford should be far more transparent in their media communications so newspapers aren’t causing more concern that absolutely necessary.
 
#626 ·
Andrew the Kuga Owner said:
I’m still not sure that:

“Recently, in March 2025, Ford issued a recall for all current-generation Kuga PHEVs with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, advising owners not to charge their vehicles to prevent battery issues”.

is factually correct?

As far as I can find out it’s all Kugas made in the period c. 2020 - April 2024 only.
Click to expand...
You can't trust ChatGPT to even get basic facts right. Result accuracy often depends upon how the question is framed and its breadth. asking the same question in a different way can get different results. When it comes to finer details (in this case, the vehicle population affected) it's unlikely to be accurate in my experience of it. If you have traceable information from other sources, its probably more accurate. There was a problem with 2020 Kuga PHEV battery systems and clearly there was another from 2021. Whether they are aspects of the same problem, I'm not sure. there are good details elsewhere in this chat (as referred to above).
 
#627 ·
i Also have the plug in hybrid 2.5 st line. It’s the 2021 model. I purchased this last April and paid partly on finance but settled it one month in. I’m not upto speed with the section. 75 can you elaborate? How do I go about this? I paid 25k for a car that I use mostly on Ev and was bought for exactly that purpose. I think I’ve done around 8k miles and 6k has been on electric
 
#628 ·
Frome driver said:
I am no expert in software or batteries, but my logic tells me that the software can only look for faults that it is programmed to look for. A list of these potential faults and how to detect them will be supplied by Samsung to their clients. Clearly Samsung did not know about the faults which have occured in Audi, Jeep and Ford's batteries and there was therefore no software written to detect this at the time of sale. I do not think that it is possible to write software to detect unknown problems with unknown symptoms. We have to be realistic. Software is less flexible than humans are and while it will always be superior to humans in repeating the same action quickly and accurately with the same inputs and parameters, it will never be good at coping with something which falls outside the norm aka the "unknown".
Click to expand...
If you have a large or small sealed rechargeable battery with only two contacts then how can software help? You can monitor the rate of charge, and discharge and that's about it as far as I'm aware. If there were monitoring points between battery cells then a faulty cell could be highlighted and possibly be bypassed till replaced. Just my opinion.
 
#629 ·
@bevcra

Can you please fill in your signature with your Kuga details,,a step by step guide how to fill in your signature is with your welcome email along with site rules..Thank you.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#630 ·
foghorn leghorn said:
If you have a large or small sealed rechargeable battery with only two contacts then how can software help? You can monitor the rate of charge, and discharge and that's about it as far as I'm aware. If there were monitoring points between battery cells then a faulty cell could be highlighted and possibly be bypassed till replaced. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...
Really quite easy to explain, the path across the cells that form the battery will vary in resistance depending on the position of that cell within the battery. An anomalous charge reading can identify which cell and its position within the battery.
 
#631 ·
Called Ford Finance today, not interested as they no longer own part of the vehicle after I settled finance days before recall notice received.

Called Ford Customer support for update on my case logged after I refused the £100 goodwill payment. They closed it after I refused the goodwill payment.

Asked about escalation of case, was told to contact Home so I have logged a case there.
 
#632 ·
#633 ·
This is on a European website, reading this it seems Ford are already recalling vehicles. So why not in the UK.

"Ford is recalling 196,489 Kuga PHEV vehicles manufactured between 2019 and 2023 to authorized workshops worldwide. The reason for the recall is that a short circuit in the high-voltage battery can lead to a vehicle fire.
In an authorized workshop, dealers update the battery control module software and enable the module to recognise battery cell anomalies. If an anomaly is detected, the high-voltage battery pack will be replaced.
The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) monitors the recall under the reference number “14793R“. The internal manufacturer code is “24S79“."
 
#634 ·
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#636 ·
Duncan22 said:
Interesting they add do not leave it in your garage. Assume the Kuga is safer and ok in the garage or next to a building like your house?
Click to expand...
IIRC the Jeep recall last year was worded the same as this Volvo one.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#637 ·
c.haydock said:
This is on a European website, reading this it seems Ford are already recalling vehicles. So why not in the UK.

"Ford is recalling 196,489 Kuga PHEV vehicles manufactured between 2019 and 2023 to authorized workshops worldwide. The reason for the recall is that a short circuit in the high-voltage battery can lead to a vehicle fire.
In an authorized workshop, dealers update the battery control module software and enable the module to recognise battery cell anomalies. If an anomaly is detected, the high-voltage battery pack will be replaced.
The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) monitors the recall under the reference number “14793R“. The internal manufacturer code is “24S79“."
Click to expand...
Just poor journalism. Fix is not available yet
 
#638 ·
#639 ·
Duncan22 said:
Interesting they add do not leave it in your garage. Assume the Kuga is safer and ok in the garage or next to a building like your house?
Click to expand...
As long as the HV battery is not fully charged there is minimal risk. Now I know some smart Alec will say there is therefore some risk, but there is also some risk you will be hit by a meteorite tomorrow as well!
 
#640 ·
Received the letter a while ago, but still nothing showing on the ford recall website or ford app… is this the same for everyone, or has the website been updated for some?
 
621 - 640 of 1,285 Posts
About this Discussion
1.3K Replies
189 Participants
Last post:
parhelias
Ford Kuga Owners Club Forums
posts
342K
members
52K
Since
2008
A forum community dedicated to Ford Kuga owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, troubleshooting, reviews, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Mk2 General Discussion Mk2 Technical Mk1 Technical General Chat Welcome New Members.