Hybred Battery question

[72Charger72]

I know its not MOPAR but my daughter is looking at buying a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. Car is in good shape my concern is the life span of
those hybrid batteries which can be very very expensive to replace.
Have any of the pros on here dealt with these and know an average life expectancy?
Thanks!

[Troy]

I know that my boss' wife has one and it randomly leaves her stranded on the highway (ie it just shuts itself off in traffic for no reason). On the other hand, she's had it for years so apparently it must be a great vehicle other than that. It looks like Ford warranties the battery for 8 years/100k miles so it's already out of warranty. Apparently, there's a very low failure rate for most of these batteries so, warranty or not, it may be just fine for a while.

This is a site devoted to hybrids so they may sugar coat things a bit:
http://www.thehybridshop.com/media/blogs/cost-battery-ford-escape-hybrid/

I checked car-part.com (salvage yard inventory) and I see used as cheap as $800 and reman for about $3,300 (I'm not sure a new one from Ford even costs that much?). That's all over the US so local prices will vary.

Troy

[Aero426]

Common sense tells me that any ten year old hybrid (off warranty) is a bit of a gamble.       The Ford battery technology was licensed from Toyota.   You do not hear a lot of bad things about hybrid reliability, but the cars are now getting old.     

Used battery packs on Ebay are $500-$1000.    New ones from Ford I would expect to be very expensive.   The manufacturers want these cars to eventually be traded on new vehicles.    Call the dealer and talk to the service dept and see what they say about service life and the replacement cost.    

Myself, I think I would stick to looking for a conventional gas vehicle.    

[TommyGun]

Ive been a tech at a Toyota dealer for 13 years.  For the most part the hybrid batterys are pretty reliable.  Ive seen probably 20 get replaced in 13 years. I believe Dorman is making remanufactured batteries now, for Toyota's anyway and they are about half the price of new.

[Mike DC]

       

. . . but my daughter is looking at buying a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid

[72Charger72]

Thanks guys for the info.... I think I will be suggesting we keep looking....
and Mike DC You Would Never Catch ME Driving A Hybrid!  but shes a girl you know? haha

[myk]

Eh, nothing wrong with sensible transportation if you have a commute to deal with...

[odcics2]

Thanks guys for the info.... I think I will be suggesting we keep looking....
and Mike DC You Would Never Catch ME Driving A Hybrid!  but shes a girl you know? haha

My girl drives a '12 Challenger!   

[Mike DC]

Eh, nothing wrong with sensible transportation if you have a commute to deal with...

The truth is, I agree with you. 

But I just couldn't leave that joke unspoken once it occurred to me.

[72Charger72]

Never let a good joke go bye!