Johannesburg - Another Ford Kuga has caught fire and been burned out, and this time an Alberton man was lucky to escape unharmed.
Warren Krog was driving on the Voortrekker on-ramp to Alberton from the N12 when he suddenly saw thick smoke coming from the rear of his car.
"I noticed smoke coming out," he said, " and I remembered the Kuga fires that were reported."
He'd become the latest victim of the spontaneous engine-compartment fires that have destroyed an estimated 50 Ford Kuga SUVs fitted with the 1.6-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol engine and claimed the life of former KwaZulu-Natal resident Reshall Jimmy in December 2015.
Ford has launched an investigation of engine fires in Kugas with the 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine, which is being monitored by the National Consumer Commission. The carmaker has also offered an hour long free checkup.
Krog said his Kuga caught fire just a week before its free checkup, which was due on 19 January.
Demanding answers
A Facebook page – Ford Vehicles Burning– has been set up, dedicated to tracking down victims of the reported technical fault to force Ford SA to recall the Kuga.
The page was started by former KwaZulu-Natal residents Renisha and Kaveen Jimmy, whose brother Reshall was killed in December 2015 when his Kuga burst into flames near George in the Southern Cape.
The Jimmy family is demanding answers on the cause of the vehicle fire that claimed his life.