The Herald has reported that a Port Elizabeth family has become the latest victim of the US car brand bursting into flames unexpectedly.
The owner can be heard exclaiming, “Isn’t there something leaking there?” before the fire starts.
Last month, a Kuga burnt in Durban, and another went up in flames in Wilderness a year ago.
A Facebook site created by apparently angry Kuga owners lists nearly 40 alleged burnout incidents so far.
Over the weekend, Maria Daniels, 47, her boyfriend Alton Jantjies, 46, her two children and a friend narrowly escaped after the vehicle stalled and flames erupted from the bonnet.
Daniels had bought the car second-hand from a Ford dealer who assured her that the car had been assessed and found to be perfectly safe.
She told the Herald: “It’s a beautiful car, but there seems to be something seriously wrong with it.”
TimesLive quoted Rella Bernardes last year as saying the the 1.6-litre EcoBoost is the model most likely to overheat and encouraged the owners cars to take them in to assess their cooling systems.