I was left feeling in the danger zone after Ford’s safety recall

Photograph: Peter Titmuss/Alamy

I received a letter from the Ford Motor Company advising of a safety recall on my vehicle. It told me “urgent action” was required on the engine coolant sensor system. I immediately booked my car into the local dealer and was told that the work might take up to two days.

But I was subsequently informed that Ford was unable to supply the parts to fix it. After four days without my car, there is no date in sight as to when it will be fixed.

It is clear that Ford has not prepared the necessary parts for the emergency recall. I am going on holiday in a week and had already booked my car for the Dart crossing and the car park at Stansted airport before learning of the recall.

I now do not have a car to get me there.

MF, Croydon

You finally ended up spending 10 days without your car or a courtesy vehicle while parts were shipped in from Germany.

Ford’s suggestion to me that you could take your car to the airport provided you top up the coolant level was not reassuring, given the urgency of the recall notice and the implications if the coolant pipes failed.

In the US last year Ford undertook to pay for replacement engines after leaking coolant pipes caused overheating damage.

Ford says that the recall letters had been sent in waves throughout 2018 and 2019 to ensure sufficient parts were available, potentially leaving drivers at risk of engine failure for up to 12 months.

You were finally reunited with your car the day before your holiday and, as you drove it home a warning light signalled an engine malfunction.

When you took it back to the dealer it was found that, after replacing the pipes, mechanics had forgotten to top up the coolant! The dealer eventually offered £200 in goodwill.

In a way you were lucky. This month the BBC Watchdog programme discovered that 3.4 million cars that had been issued with a safety recall were still awaiting repairs, and that UK drivers are not alerted to some urgent problems that prompt a recall overseas.

The UK car recall system relies on manufacturers reporting issues, but there are no standard rules on how serious the problem has to be before it triggers a recall.

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