2023 ford kuga plug in hybrid warning light

[Stevemr]

Hi,
Hoping someone can help. My brother in law has just bought a 2023 kuga hybrid.
The engine warning light is on white when the car is running. When you take your foot off the accelerator and coast it goes out. Soon as you are back on the throttle the light cones in.
It doesn’t flash and it’s only white.
The handbook seems to say it’s a fault.
But online seems to say it’s only a fault if it’s red or orange.
So is it a fault or not?

[Actual]

I have a 2021 Ford Kuga PHEV and there are many many dashboard lights and I know what a few of them do but I don't know which dashboard light you are referring to. Can you post up a picture of the light in question?

[RotorRambler]

Stevemr said:

Hi,
Hoping someone can help. My brother in law has just bought a 2023 kuga hybrid.
The engine warning light is on white when the car is running. When you take your foot off the accelerator and coast it goes out. Soon as you are back on the throttle the light cones in.
It doesn t flash and it s only white.
The handbook seems to say it s a fault.
But online seems to say it s only a fault if it s red or orange.
So is it a fault or not?

Sounds normal:-

What the White Engine Light Likely Means (on a 2023 Ford Kuga Hybrid):
• White warning lights on most modern vehicles — especially Ford — are generally informational, not faults.
• In this case, the white engine light likely indicates the petrol engine is running (not necessarily that there’s a fault).
• It goes off when coasting because the hybrid switches to electric-only mode.
• When you press the throttle, the petrol engine restarts, so the white engine icon comes back on.

[Stevemr]

Sorry this is the light. We were thinking it may be on normal. Just a bit confused by what’s in the manual which simply says when it’s illuminated that it’s a fault, with all the usual dire warnings. If it said it’s normal for it to be on white but it’s an issue if it’s orange or red, it would make more sense.

[RotorRambler]

Hi

That s not a warning light though, it s under power gauge in the manual.
It’s not very clear..

[Actual]

For me that engine light is pointless.

The battery light usefully changes colour when electric driving but the engine light doesn't change colour when ICE driving. This is significant because the EV Modes are Normal for combined electric and engine and EV Now which is all EV but the Kuga has a mind of its own and often refuses to use EV Now properly so more information from the car would be useful.

Also...

Are you aware of the 24S79 Battery Product Safety Recall where you are not allowed to charge your PHEV because it will catch fire. Don't worry because the software update announced toady fixes everything by warning you with a Stop Safely Now message which will pop up when the battery catches fire?

[RotorRambler]

Actual said:

For me that engine light is pointless.

The battery light usefully changes colour when electric driving but the engine light doesn't change colour when ICE driving. This is significant because the EV Modes are Normal for combined electric and engine and EV Now which is all EV but the Kuga has a mind of its own and often refuses to use EV Now properly so more information from the car would be useful.

Also...

Are you aware of the 24S79 Battery Product Safety Recall where you are not allowed to charge your PHEV because it will catch fire. Don't worry because the software update announced toady fixes everything by warning you with a Stop Safely Now message which will pop up when the battery catches fire?

My wife s is being updated on Wednesday.
Received the letter today, but read about it a couple of weeks ago & booked it in.
Only affects the phev model.
Ford have extended the battery warranty to 10 years i ve read, also got some petrol money from Ford customer services!

[Stevemr]

He only bought it two days ago.
Apparently he was told about recall and it already been done.

[Tractor Driver]

As others have said, the white engine symbol in the power gauge just means that the petrol engine is running.

The engine management light is over on the left hand side of the instrument panel and illuminates in yellow if there’s an engine fault.

[georgeyboy12345]

It just means the ICE is running. It’s not a warning light

[RotorRambler]

Actual said:

..

Also...

Are you aware of the 24S79 Battery Product Safety Recall where you are not allowed to charge your PHEV because it will catch fire. Don't worry because the software update announced toady fixes everything by warning you with a Stop Safely Now message which will pop up when the battery catches fire?

It s a little more than that according to AI:-

Dealers reprogram the BECM with updated software that can detect abnormal behaviour in the high-voltage battery. If it finds a cell starting to fail, it triggers alerts and error codes early.

Battery Replacement Only If Necessary
After updating the software, the system performs a diagnostic on the battery pack.
If it identifies a defect (usually flagged via codes like P0B24 or similar), the high-voltage battery pack is replaced under warranty. If everything checks out, no replacement is needed

Edited by RotorRambler on Sunday 15th June 06:59

[charltjr]

RotorRambler said:

It s a little more than that according to AI:-

Dealers reprogram the BECM with updated software that can detect abnormal behaviour in the high-voltage battery. If it finds a cell starting to fail, it triggers alerts and error codes early.

Battery Replacement Only If Necessary
After updating the software, the system performs a diagnostic on the battery pack.
If it identifies a defect (usually flagged via codes like P0B24 or similar), the high-voltage battery pack is replaced under warranty. If everything checks out, no replacement is needed

Edited by RotorRambler on Sunday 15th June 06:59

Never trust AI, it makes stuff up. Find a reliable source. That might be right, or it might be thrown together from information about other cars.

[normalbloke]

charltjr said:

RotorRambler said:

It s a little more than that according to AI:-

Dealers reprogram the BECM with updated software that can detect abnormal behaviour in the high-voltage battery. If it finds a cell starting to fail, it triggers alerts and error codes early.

Battery Replacement Only If Necessary
After updating the software, the system performs a diagnostic on the battery pack.
If it identifies a defect (usually flagged via codes like P0B24 or similar), the high-voltage battery pack is replaced under warranty. If everything checks out, no replacement is needed

Edited by RotorRambler on Sunday 15th June 06:59

Never trust AI, it makes stuff up. Find a reliable source. That might be right, or it might be thrown together from information about other cars.

Arbitrarily incorrect. I really find posts that just quote some tosh from AI are pointless. Actually, it does work in allowing you to register the post as useless and skip forward without further ado!