Ford is set to release new safety software within 10-15 days that will provide early warnings to 2,850 Irish motorists affected by a potential battery defect in Kuga plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The automotive manufacturer issued an urgent recall in early March instructing owners not to charge their vehicle batteries due to a risk of short-circuiting that could potentially cause power loss or fire while driving. Currently, owners have been advised to rely solely on the petrol engine component of their hybrid vehicles.
Lisa Brankin, chair and managing director of Ford of Britain and Ireland, apologized to customers and detailed the upcoming solution: “A software update will give the Battery Energy Control Module enhanced capability to detect cell anomalies indicative of separator damage, providing advance warning to owners before thermal venting occurs.”
The new software is designed to automatically halt charging if an anomaly is detected while the vehicle is plugged in. If issues arise while driving, the system will switch to using only the conventional engine and display a “stop safely now” message. Affected vehicles will then be taken to Ford dealerships where batteries will be replaced if the problem relates to the recall issue.
Ford is offering concerned Kuga PHEV owners a complimentary vehicle check-up at local dealerships and has extended the warranty for high voltage components to 10 years or 240,000 kilometers. The company reports that no instances of battery short-circuiting have been documented in Ireland to date.
Sales of unsold new Kuga PHEVs manufactured before November 2023 were suspended in January. Owners seeking assistance can contact Ford’s customer relationship team at 1800 771 199 on weekdays between 9am and 5pm.