Ford Kuga

2014 Ford Kuga Trend (Diesel) – The transmission in my 2014 Kuga Trend (diesel engine) which I purchased as a demo model & had just ticked over 100k km’s, has failed, 5 days after my last service!! My car was serviced every year by the Ford dealer I’d purchased it from & allegedly they checked the transmission every service & never once did they mention any issue or potential… Read more

problems with my transmission. Ford are now quoting me between $8500 & $11k to fit a reconditioned transmission & clutch!! I tried going to Ford Australia & they didn’t want to know me saying it was “older than 8yrs & outside of their criteria for assistance”. It just doesn’t make sense that a car, in excellent condition inside & out, worth about $15k, is essentially an economical total loss!! If I can’t find the money to repair it, it would seem my car is now worth scrap value only. I am beyond devastated & don’t know where to turn now.

Good until it's not – Bought a Ford Kuga 2015 Titanium 2.0 Diesel second hand from a dealer, driven approximately 80k km. Car was great with lots of handy little features, e.g. powered boot, heated seats etc. Downsides started appearing few months in with the sunroof not closing - it would reach the end and appear to lose power and then fully open again. I'd then have… Read more

to reset the controls for it every time. Then one day the transmission just gave out. Informed by mechanic that the dual clutch is known problem with all Fords and there's nothing I can do but replace the gear box with a second hand at a cost of $7k. The strange thing is that the exact same thing happened to my colleague with a Ford Ranger 2 weeks earlier. Would not recommend anyone getting for this simple reason - just not worth the expensive risk.

Money pit – Brought second hand just over a year ago, 2014 diesel auto. 114000 on clock. Clear paint coming off around front wheel guards, told car been repeated. Transmission giving no reverse intermittently, gear changing was shuddering, rough taking off. Ford service centre relearned and said it will right itself within a week. Didn't only got worse, went… Read more

back and they looked again and said it was my fault l had not done a 120000 service with them and that the transmission engine oil had not been changed. My gearbox needed replacement and it was going to cost me $8000 around about for a second hand one.

I emailed Ford and they paid over half cost and so they should've. Car seat in workshop for two weeks due to understaffing. Anyway the car continued to get stuck in reverse and took some jigging and brake work to get it into drive. This would happen intermittently, so took it back, they could find nothing wrong and said it drive fine. Got worse over a period off two weeks. Again back to dealership and they actually took the console apart and looked and said nothing wrong again . But this time it what ever he did all gears went smoothly into place.

Next been 3mths since that trouble and now the compressor has gone in air conditioner, works intermittently, but not on long trips in 40° heat or more. They sent me a quote for $1000 alone for compressor and total costing is $1750. Got to wait 3-4 weeks for a part thou. So now l'm waiting for Ford head office to get back to me to see whether l can get them to pay for this trouble. Compressor should last at least 10years not 4 years.

My husband's 2013 Ford Ranger is also up for new automatic gearbox at cost to us.

So we both will not buy a Ford again. As far as we're concerned there a money pit. Spend more money on this top.of the range car then any of my old bombs.

Thought buying a new model car would cost me less in repairs. I think Ford seen me coming.

cant live without one! – Previously we had the 2012 version Kuga Trend and was delighted. Then this one which is even better, we do lots of kilometres on lond bush drives from the central coast to Dubbo and back in one day! the Car is a gem. Turbo a dream! Ist one made in Belgium and this one in Madrid, Question is? where is the replacement Kuga? There was talk of a… Read more

replacement for 2018 but it is Diesel, NO way will we have a deisel vehicle! don't like the noise or smell and in the bush, cant get a refined diesil. So, I have looked around, other brands just don't cut it with me so looks like we keep this Kuga till she drops? The next model up is only a 4 x 4 and we want all wheel drive and it is too tall to get into the garage and I don't want the noisy 20 inch wheels. I already swap the 18inch tyres that the kuga comes with for a much better and silent Dunlop tyre! when driving 10 hour round trips a noise from the tyres really bugs you! Keep the front seats wide please, Those wings on the seat section really make our bottoms sore on long trips. The model in between these two were so narrow we didnt bother buying one. Waited for this model but could be a little wider again! Best seats are on my 1985 Ford fairmont Station wagon!

Great car, expensive repairs – Purchased as a demo (2013 model) in 2014 from a Ford dealer. We were tossing up between a Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Focus and found the Kuga by accident and have not regretted our decision. The Kuga had much more room in the boot, has all wheel drive and a raised ride height, it is also has a conventional gearbox as apposed to a CVT gearbox. … Read more

The good:

All wheel drive has been great to meet the requirements for driving to the Snowy Mountains / extra security in the rain.

Plenty of room in the boot, plus the addition to fold the rear seats down. The rear seats also tilt backwards so you aren't sitting straight up.

If driven carefully, 7.7L/100km is achievable with two people and a full boot.

The bad:

It could do with more power, the updated 2.0L petrol engine would be the way to go.

Recalls. We have so far had recalls for faulty fuel gauge, repairs to upper trim pillar, air bag warning and two of three coolant recalls completed. When the second stage of the coolant recall had been competed we noticed a check engine warning came on some days later. Ford diagnosed the issue as a coolant error and said we would need pay for it to be fixed as it's out of warranty. The local Ford dealer would not accept that they had broken an item during the recall and in the end we lodged a complaint with Ford Australia with little movement. It wasn't until we mentioned we were lodging an application with the ACCC that Ford Australia agreed to cover the cost of fixing the coolant issue. The cruise control failed with Ford clearing the clock spring under warranty, the fixed the issue for a couple of months and again failed. This time the cruise control module required replacement at a cost of $500 - out of warranty.

Regarding parts, Ford have been hit and miss. A replacement battery was quoted at $220 installed, which in the Kuga is a bit of a mess around due to it's location. To replace the front wiper blades we were quoted $140 for a pair - no thanks.

The high beam is crap. 55w globes are to blame here and are some funky style so finding upgraded globes is almost impossible.

Overall we have been happy with the vehicle and have driven roughly 90,000 since purchasing. We would most likely purchase a Kuga again albeit the Trend model, the Titanium is just too expensive and you're almost looking at Everest money. It's a great car, but being European based means spare parts are hard to find and expensive.

Love it looks big but its so compact – Drive to work family transport its a mums taxi. Use my car every day. Love driving it. Service car regularly either the months its due or reach the kms what ever comes first. Show details

Very Good Car - Can't Really Fault It – I bought my Ford Kuga 2016 Diesel brand new in 2016 from Peter Warren Ford. All my services have been done through the dealership, and I can honestly say, its been very good. I've done 109,000km on it, and it does a fairly healthy mix of freeway, and driving around in the suburbs. I previously had a Volkswagen Golf Diesel, which I traded for the… Read more

Ford. To me, the Kuga trumps the VW in so many areas. The VW transmission and clutches both died at the same time, and I was quoted $10,500 to repair! Uh, no thanks, so it was traded for the Kuga.

The Kuga was making a wierd squeaking rattling noise, and when assessed by Ford, turned out to the the alternator. Whilst I question why an alternator would die in a car that is under 5 years old, it was replaced under extended warranty without any arguement. I just had to pay for a new battery and drive belt. Personally, I can stomache paying $800 better than $4400! They even covered the pre-tensioners under the alternator warranty which is great for me.

Pros:

* Easy to drive, park and so on * Not too bad on fuel, just a bit thirsty than I would expect when around town * It has got hard plastics inside, so not as refined as it could be, BUT, with a child that likes to eat, drink, kick things etc, so much easier to keep clean. A few mins with a damp cloth or baby wipe, good as new! * I've done 109,000km, and on my second battery, replaced alternator (as explained above), and ORIGINAL brake disks and pads. Yes, they are probably due soon, but still impressive they haven't needed changing yet. * Contrary to what I've been reading with the experience some have had with the service departments, I can't say I've had any issues. Fingers crossed it stays that way! * Yes it is a dual clutch, but it is a "wet clutch" which fares better than the "dry clutch" equivalent that there were so many problems with.

Cons:

Not that many, but:

* Would benefit with an extra gear. This could probably help immensely with improving the fuel economy. * Seats are quite hard, but you get used to it * Leather on the steering wheel isn't perfect, but again, I drive alot so wear and tear to be expected

The best SUV money can buy – We bought a 2014 model Ford Kuga 6 years ago. Used daily, it's been nothing short of excellent - Fun to drive, great economy, plenty of power for a 1.6 turbo engine, massive overtaking torque, comfortable seating. We only do the regular annual logbook service. In the 6 years we have had to replace the battery in year-4, and replaced about 3… Read more

blown bulbs, and off course new tyres - that's it - far less issues than any other car that we have owned.

A great buy!

The best car ever till it was the worst car ever!!!!!!!! – Purchased September 2015 MY2016 Ford Kuga Titanium Diesel. Beautiful car to drive. Then, March 2021, six months out of warranty, the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation valve) packs it in, car keeps going into "limp mode", maximum speed 40kmh. After $2,500 repair it runs beautifully till October 2022 then goes into "limp mode" when having to go… Read more

up steep hills. Verdict, entire fuel system disintegrating, $8,500 repair bill to get the car going. They checked for other issues before I let them repair the fuel system. Slow leak in cooling pump and rear gearbox needs dismantling and reassembling, another $5,000. Got them to fix the fuel system, picked up the car and drove straight to the Nissan dealer and traded it in on a Nissan Qashqai!! VERY SAD.

Not Reliable. New Transmission Needed @ 36,000 Kms – I submitted a complaint with the ACCC and other consumer bodies. Yes consumers have rights but you have to engage a lawyer to get any assistance. I purchased new a 2014 Ford Kuga Trend, auto, diesel from Jackson Motor Company, Launceston Tas, for $39,690. It has done 36,000 kms and JMC have told me it needs a new transmission. Yes a new… Read more

transmission at 36,000 kms at a cost of $8182. WHOOPS, now they tell me they hadn't added labour costs to that price and it is actually $10,520. They then offered to take $1500 off that. Seriously ! Neither Ford nor JMC Launceston are prepared to rectify the problem. Which I believe to be a faulty product, the transmission.

They claim that car is out of warranty, so not their problem. FORD "GO FURTHER" is their slogan, mine didn't go very far at all. In fact the second hand cars I have owned during my life all went further than my new car purchase. Modern cars are not designed to last, some are in fact dangerous and are just expensive rubbish designed for a throw away world.

I believe the true measure of a business is how they perform when customers have an issue. Some are brilliant at before and after sale, others have no idea at all. Everyone I tell is gobsmacked. I am stunned by the response from what I thought was a reputable company. I also wrongly believed I was purchasing a quality product. I should have saved my $. Feel ripped off big time. Poor form FORD AND JMC. Will never purchase from either again.

There just no good – Uncomfortable seats Terrible auto Super expensive wheel bearings in the awd $1300 each Numb steering Ultra sensitive breaks when tapped or lightly pressed but then spongey when pressed hard when you really want to stop The worst headlights I’ve ever had on a car and I’ve had over 15 vehicle some over 40 years old yes they are that bad. Good… Read more

points easy to park Would suit someone who only travels short distances or doesn’t need a car everyday

Good car for towing a small caravan – Purchased a 2016 TF2 Diesel Titanium with the safety pack in Dec 2017 with 13K on the clock. It now has 90K. Towed a Karakampa van to Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney a few times, and it has performed flawlessly.. Under normal conditions the gearbox seems to want to use the lowest grear and seems to be under reeving. With the van it detects the load… Read more

and revs higher thus not labouring the gearbox..safety pack is great and a good long distance car... The only thing is if you have a big frame, then the cabin space might seem a bit small..

Rubbish – Badly built , to many recalls , blown transmission drive shaft in first year of ownership, Ford service team useless, bought to replace a lemon craptiva but ford was no better I wish ford would join Holden and disappear as there is so many better cars out there to buy please stay away from ford cars Bought a Honda CR-V hopefully have better luck with this one Show details

Rev up and down while driving – When reversing or driving forward I notice the car revving up and down, but it doesn't while idle. Any idea on what it could be. Just had service not long ago and mechanic said nothing Show details

Good car when it works!! – Brought new 2013 model Kuga, had serviced by Ford dealer as per log book and many recalls. Last recall I had done was for coolant over heating, replaced hoses, heater fan, reservoir and what ever else. Coolant Recall was done not once but 3 times and many returns to dealership with overheating issues (no warning lights ect, only found out by hot… Read more

engine smell, lift bonnet no coolant) to be told it has a blown head and repair bill of $3k. Rang Ford Aust informed them this issue only started when recall was done and asked for them to cover the costs, they told me ( I of all people who is not a mechanic) to prove it was done due to the recall. My car has been in the dealership 16 times due to the coolant problem! My loyalty with Ford is 23 years, loyalty to me by Ford NIL now considering other brands.

Great to drive but heap of crap! – Bought 2014 model from Victory Ford, Tweed Heads in April and was very happy with the vehicle. Got after market warranty but when I took it in for first service, was told the vehicle has been recalled with an overheating problem. Asked why recall was not mentioned to me or done before I bought the vehicle, Ford advise they did not know although… Read more

the recall was in Nov 2017! Took the Kuga to another Ford dealer who advised all the damage had been done and Ford had to replace the motor. Car off the road for three weeks.

One has a loud bang every now and then from somewhere behind the driver. This fault also causes static through the radio at the time. Have vehicle booked in with Ford on Tuesday and if nothing done, it will be for sale.

Definitely not worth the problems.

I would NEVER buy a Ford again.

Big space good enough for me and the family love it – Big car very spacious I do commute to work everyday 25mins each way I use the many functions and handsfree device Bluetooth my dog has the extra space in the wide open boot where he can lie down or stand up love this car it doesn’t last long on petrol but it’s good enough for me  Show details

Coolant leaks after recall mods – So disappointed with my Kuga... after the so called recalls my car has never been the same. Constant loss of coolant, warning messages, etc. And every time racq had to tow it back to the dealer. No wonder you get free racq membership. This is just an ongoing inconvenience, first the water pump then seals, etc and airlock ( every excuse you can… Read more

think of) . The vehicle has only done 60k and all services done by ford . Definitely not buying a Ford ever again. Hello Mazda....

GREAT SUV – My Kuga is the 1.6 Ecoboost 6 speed manual. I use the Kuga as my daily drive into Adelaide and a country drive on most weekends. I find it be extremely fuel efficient. I average 7.3L per 100kms whether it be city or country driving. I have no problems overtaking on the open road. It has plenty of power. I am really happy with my Ford Kuga  Show details

Downsized from a Territory – I love driving my Kuga. It has great performance and handling. It does have a noticeable amount of road noise in comparison to my territory. I love the technology especially with my Samsung phone options. We get around 9lt to 100k. The trend didn’t come with sat nav which was a little disappointing. I love the park pilot. The speed limiter… Read more

function is awesome. I use it always, no speeding fines for me! the rain sensing wipers and headlight sensors make driving so easy.

recall – performance is great.. interior excellent.. seat height excellent dashboard easy to reach ..fuel running cost is not too bad road handling is great as i expected previously owning a ford xr6 perfect female car to drive ,love the saftey equipment an gadgets its got. highly recommend as I bought it due to had an baby at the time , all the safety for my family is what counts  Show details

Over heating motor and blown transmission – Reliable ,not good,fuel costs good And it up have to replace the motor on on thousand Kilometres and the gearbox blew up three weeks after the motor was put in an absolute disappointment of a car Ford or a bad company And I would never buy another Ford again and I have been buying for is for 28 years thanks for for your bad workmanship you need to… Read more

have better supervision at your factories when making cars your car is only have a two year expectancy

Nice car with a lot of problems – Purchased the Diesel Kuga brand new after driving around I noticed the power shift engaging on its own and in second gear on its own.when I told ford about this they said it must be pressing it .The service could not fault it... this was doing this fault intermittently for 14 months and sure enough the service dept said nothing was wrong. After … Read more

hearing all the issues with the Ford Kuga on the news with transmission issues and this model catching fire all over the world,I decided to get rid of this crap made Spanish car.

When it did drive it was okay,the turbo lag was noticeable on hill acceleration also whoever designed the spacing and size of the accelerator and brake should be fired,the amount of times the foot gets caught in between the pedals is dangerous.

Best thing I did is sell this car....they gave it a crap name as it was a bad seller now they changed it to escape....It’s still a Kuga and it’s a bad seller.

bought second hand...pleased with the design and features.. only worried how the previous owner used – performance is great.. interior excellent.. seat height excellent dashboard easy to reach ..diesel running cost is low.. road handling is great as i expected previously owning a ford escort..the wife loves to drive it..  Show details

I love this car! – I have only had my Kuga for a couple of months now and it’s perfect for me. Drives well. Smooth. Comfortable. There is only one thing that I wish was different and that’s the petrol usage. They advertise the petrol usage at 8litres per 100km however this is untrue. There is an electronic gage in the dash which adverages out your fuel… Read more

consumption and mine constantly is over 10 litres although usually sits between 11 and 14 litres .

No, I have kids and I’m a mum, my foot is not heavy at all.

I spoke to a service technician for Ford and he told me that “It will never only use 8 litres because the way they test the petrol usage is in a controlled unrealistic environment.

Wish I had of known that earlier because I would’ve chosen a Focus, as the petrol usage was a big thing for me when it came to choosing the right car for me.

glad I purchased – Test drove heaps of cars in this class before I decided on the trend. Love the leg room & the fact I can fit 3 car seats in the back. The extra wide dash was off-putting at first but soon got used to it. Only issue it has is sometimes the reverse camera in the mirror flickers. Great drive with power to spare. I do find it abit more thirsty than it states in the stats but not overly expensive. Love the look of the car overall.  Show details

Perfect SUV – New Escape Trend with hands free and technology pack 2 litre AWD is as good as it gets for this type of SUV and is equal or better than it's rivals. Very powerful turbo engine and can be heavy on petrol unless you use a light foot. Very plush inside with every possible feature needed. So far perfect but need more time to update this review.  Show details

Great mid size car – Love this car, it is our second Kuga, great to drive, quiet on the road and plenty of tech, easy to get in and out, you don't climb up into it or have to bend, just the right height, we have the two liter turbo petrol which has more than enough horses on open road or around town, fuel economy - open road 8.5 liter per 100 km easy and around 11… Read more

if in town all the time, I think that's pretty good for a medium sized suv, all in all a great car. The new model has been renamed the escape, we will be looking at one of those in about two years, cheers

Lemon – A quite car with guts, great interior with user friendly layout features. I found the Kuga Ambiente to be fuel efficient. Love performance & handling until going up hill. On a steep hill this car would lose power with service alert on dash. I was told dirty fuel was the problem. Now it is in getting an engine. Someone told me last week tjis was… Read more

the second engine. I do not know if this is factual, however I was told that the last owners had it for 3 months, lived in a hilly area. In workshop twice and each time it was for a month, they had the vehicle replaced.

Fun to drive – average fuel about 7.2/100km, 680km for full tank. only thing is that missing side step my son has to climb up, window buttons are little bit further than normal car. Diesel engine sound very small while driving, not sure about the maintenance capped service for 5 years including load side assistance.  Show details

Excellent small family SUV – This SUV/CUV has been a breeze to drive, excellent road handling and grip. Not to mention the fuel efficiency of the diesel engine which has been incredible. You also get the dual clutch mechanism unlike the previous generation on focus petrol which is different as this is a wet type and has a very smooth shifts. This along with good power and… Read more

torque rating comparable to few higher up the notch including Ford Ranger 2.2 ltr/Territory 2.5 ltrs shows how good this car has been selling in US (top 10). Loved the 9 speaker sony audio and small nifty features on the car - rain sensing wipers, excellent thigh support and rear recline and rear ac vents. Enough boot space and towing capabilities considering it has got an active AWD which has been superb. My next car would still be an Escape which is just a name change and few minor freshening. Considering this is not a heavy SUV and you dont need that extra weight to be chugged along with fuel efficiency on the diesel. On the whole a good family package considering the safety with torque vectoring and knee airbag included as standard.

Brought 6/5/2017 Titanium 2016 Diesel with tech pack – Drove back from Sydney (live Korora NSW), very impressed so far with how drives, power, very muted diesel ⛽ Safety Tech like Adaptive Cruise Control....nice little touches e.g. drop down tables rear seats recline, although space is just ok once front seats back. Has 6 cup holders for 3 people in rear! Still learning tech (buttons all over place… Read more

for lights etc) and fords take on things like no power option on passenger seat, doesn't lock when walk away & non electronic park brake. Voice control while works well for information (once spell out exactly what want) can't just roll off tongue ...have to say destination, then wait ....address then wait ... But initial impressions = very happy as believe price paid is excellent (6 month old ex ford execs car e.g. insured for12k more ☺)

Just hit 15,000 km (had 8000k b4 owners) average diesel use shows 7.3 l/100km... Found auto can seem to get caught in low gear (motor revs) when not using much throttle (going slow) but otherwise drives fine. Will check when in for service) Fitted slim windshields on all 4 windows and mud flaps (all genuine parts faction of price off ebay) plus fitted DOD Rc500s dash cameras. Wheels are easy to clean and drives well = happy with purchase