The bad news for the major German carmakers does not stop. Ford, which recently had to admit that it had gotten into serious difficulties due to the sales problems of the electric models, now also has to cope with a mega recall. Of all things, the exhaust fumes of the diesel engines force almost 770,000 Ford drivers to make an unplanned visit to the workshop. Whew...
Ford has announced a recall of 768,927 diesel models worldwide due to possible problems with the exhaust gas purification system. In Germany, 164,168 vehicles of the B-Max, C-Max, Eco Sport, Fiesta, Focus, Galaxy, Grand C-Max, Kuga, Mondeo, Ranger, S-Max, Tourneo Connect, Transit Connect and Transit Courier series from 2014 to 2020 are affected.
This was announced by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) to the online edition of the magazine "Auto Motor und Sport". According to KBA, the design of Ford diesel models leads to increased particulate pollution in the exhaust gas with increasing service life.
In the workshops, the diesel particulate filter regeneration is recalibrated, the particulate filters are checked and replaced if necessary. All affected vehicle owners will be notified by the KBA. The recall is being carried out by the KBA under the reference number 14555R, and the manufacturer has assigned the code 24E06. Ford has set up a hotline at 0221 / 9999 2999 for affected customers. The increased particulate emissions in Ford diesel models were discovered in mid-2023 through an improved measurement method, and more and more Ford models no longer passed the emissions test.
Defective diesel particulate filters are replaced if necessary to ensure the long-term function of the exhaust gas aftertreatment, according to a Ford spokesman. After examining a diesel particulate filter, the ADAC suspected that the active and passive filter regeneration were not optimally coordinated on the software side. Ford has now specified that hairline cracks, which are not visible to the naked eye, are the cause of the failed emission tests.
Ford plans to write to all affected owners by the end of 2024. Starting with the Ford Kuga with a 2.0 Eco-Blue diesel engine, the individual model series will be convened in a staggered manner. Interesting: Owners who have already had to replace the particulate filter at their own expense can probably hope for goodwill. However, the amount of the refunds has not been communicated and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Ford has also introduced a warranty extension to ten years or 160,000 km for the replacement of defective diesel particulate filters with original parts for all affected vehicles.