Faulty Ford Kuga

[jman]

So my old man bought himself a 2nd hand Ford Kuga from Lazarus Centurion around a month ago - 2013 model, +-40000km.

As he was driving it out of the dealership, an engine warning light came on. So he took it in - they said it was just a flat battery from it not being started enough while on the floor. Makes sense I guess.

In the subsequent weeks, a warning has come up in the car - I'm not exactly sure what it is, I haven't been in the car, but he says it's on a "limp home mode", running on 3 cylinders and what not. If you simply turn the ignition off and back on again, the problem goes away.

My question - what are the options going forward? He doesn't actually live in Centurion, he lives in Polokwane, and the garage there has been known to be very shady - not replacing parts when they claim from warranty and the like. Is it too late to simply return the vehicle? Because this doesn't sound like the most minor of problems. The car is still under warranty/service plan

 

[Drifter]

He will have to return it. Oh, and which model is it?

 

[Necropolis]

He should return it.

And they must either fix it or refund him.

 

[jman]

The 1.6 petrol model (Titanium)

 

[FiestaST]

Titanium is top spec full of toys.

But yeah take it back.

 

[jman]

Titanium is top spec full of toys.

But yeah take it back.

The toys are awesome btw.

He's just worried about having to drive it the 250km's up there

 

[killerbyte]

Limp mode usually kicks in when the ECU wants to save the engine. I doubt anything is broken but the ECU is not happy.

 

[jman]

Limp mode usually kicks in when the ECU wants to save the engine. I doubt anything is broken but the ECU is not happy.

The car drives perfectly well when not in limp mode, have driven it myself. Maybe the ECU has some type of fault

 

[Drifter]

The car drives perfectly well when not in limp mode, have driven it myself. Maybe the ECU has some type of fault

No, the ECU work in cycles. It will have pending fault codes, and after a cycle of 30 faults triggered, it will go into limp mode.

 

[yebocan]

Limp mode usually kicks in when the ECU wants to save the engine. I doubt anything is broken but the ECU is not happy.

Generally this is not an acceptable mode..especially on date night..

 

[Trokmeteenwiel]

Could very well just be a faulty sensor misinforming the ECU, but it's designed to save the engine. Thankfully it doesn't power off completely. Just call the dealership and tell them you are 250km away and not happy to drive it all the way to them - perhaps they can tow it.

 

[laven]

Hi.

I'm not sure if the Kuga has a turbo engine.
I have a 2013 Ford Fiesta with a turbo engine. A few weeks after i bought the car, new, had a similar problem. Took it to my closest dealership and they told me that the boost pipe on the turbo was loose and have never had the problem again.

 

[jman]

Hi.

I'm not sure if the Kuga has a turbo engine.
I have a 2013 Ford Fiesta with a turbo engine. A few weeks after i bought the car, new, had a similar problem. Took it to my closest dealership and they told me that the boost pipe on the turbo was loose and have never had the problem again.

It does have a turbo - that could be it. Thanks

 

[Trokmeteenwiel]

It does have a turbo - that could be it. Thanks

Let us know - would be interesting to hear!

 

[Colin62]

No, the ECU work in cycles. It will have pending fault codes, and after a cycle of 30 faults triggered, it will go into limp mode.

This.

The ECU will be picking up errors somewhere. You need to read the codes and, much as we all hate the agents, they're in the best position to read the codes and make an assessment of what will be causing that particular combination of error codes.

 

[jman]

Thanks guys - will try get the old man to take it to the place he bought it, instead of our shady dealer. Just hope they don't keep the car for longer than a day

 

[Drifter]

Thanks guys - will try get the old man to take it to the place he bought it, instead of our shady dealer. Just hope they don't keep the car for longer than a day

If they have to replace the ECU, they will need to order one from Germany, 28 working days turn around time.

 

[jman]

If they have to replace the ECU, they will need to order one from Germany, 28 working days turn around time.

Good lord. surely a spare car should be provided in that case

 

[Drifter]

Good lord. surely a spare car should be provided in that case

In Theory yes. When I waited for my ECU, they gave me a car off the used car stand.

 

[furpile]

I had a Fiesta ST that also went into limp mode with the engine warning light. Problem is the limp mode became progressively worse and the dealer could not find the fault. Eventually the car became undriveable and had to be towed to a different dealer. Turns out it was the cable from the throttle sensor to the ecu that was damaged. After a bit of driving the signal got lost or interrupted and the ecu didn't know what to do. So limp mode is not necessarily a big problem, but the dealer will have to check it out. Apparently some dealers also have better technicians and fault finding equipment than others (according to the dealership that sorted my problem out).