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Ford Escape Hybrid Battery Pack Questions

56 messages,  Last post on Aug 10, 2011 at 5:43 PM

You are in the Ford Escape Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Ford Escape Hybrid, Electrical, Hybrid Cars, SUV

Messages Page 4 of 6

#31 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [alice612] by bow45

Mar 31, 2009 (10:37 am)

Replying to: alice612 (Mar 30, 2009 12:51 pm)
Hello~ alice612.
 
Before I read your post I was considering 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid for my wife’s next car but after I read your post, I think Volkswagen Jetta TDI is the way to go.
 
I currently drive a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid AWD with 42,000 miles on it and am having a Reverse Sensing System problem. I also had a Wrench Light issue because of a bad Aux Mode Door Actuator. I’m little disappointed with the quality of my Escape.
 
Please keep post what ‘s happening.
 
Thank you and good luck.

#32 of 56 Battery life on hi mileage vehicle by imcookn

Apr 03, 2009 (3:51 am)

I just bought a '07 FEH with 90K on it under the theory that the mileage was done on highway travel and the HV battery had minimal charging during this period. What can I estimate the battery life? This car was driven in southern climates.
 
 

#33 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [alice612] by bow45

Apr 07, 2009 (11:37 pm)

Replying to: alice612 (Mar 30, 2009 12:51 pm)
Recently I read an article about the Prius batteries in Car and Driver, May 09, Vol. 54, No.11.
 
It says "Toyota sells replacement Prius batteries for about $2,300 and the company pays a $200 "bounty" for the goopy old dead ones."
 
FYI.

#34 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [bow45] by imcookn

Apr 08, 2009 (6:37 am)

Replying to: bow45 (Apr 07, 2009 11:37 pm)
That is very interesting. Did you know that Ford is demo testing Escape Hybrids with an additional battery for plug-in operation? I did find that Flex fuel models have also been evaluated I think in California. Now if they could include operation with Natural Gas that would be great!

#35 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [alice612] by mseitz1

Jun 17, 2009 (6:30 pm)

Replying to: alice612 (Mar 30, 2009 12:51 pm)
Did you ever get any resolution to this problem? I have an '06 Escape Hybrid and it is doing the same kind of thing you described. My local mechanic has punted and is passing the buck to a nearby Ford dealer. My local mechanic 'thinks its either the battery or the computer' but after reading all this on the Escape Hybrid I'm thinking it's the battery. My only hope at this point is that the mileage is only 96,000 and we're supposed to be under extended warranty. I don't want to think about Ford coping out and telling me I have an $8,000-$10,000 repair ahead.
 
How was your situation handled?

#36 of 56 Lifetime of Nickel-metal-hydride batteries by imcookn

Jun 18, 2009 (8:02 am)

Please take a look at Wikipedia's article about nickel-metal-hydride batteries. It notes that virtually all the hybrid vehicles are using NMH batteries. I have not heard of any major problems with Toyota, Honda, etc.
 
As I suspected the article points out that the life of the battery is largely dependent on how it is charged and the handling of their temperature. Most of us probably thought that the job of the computer was to handle the balance between the electric and gasoline power sources. While it does do that, more importantly with regard to the batteries, it handles the recharging of the batteries and control of temperature. That said, there should be a method to check to see if the CPU is doing a correct job. There may even be a monitoring program with history that could be viewed.
 
I will spend some time to see what the IEEE publications report about this since I am a lifetime member.

#37 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [alice612] by escapeforever

Jun 19, 2009 (7:54 am)

Replying to: alice612 (Mar 30, 2009 12:51 pm)
You might check a TSB for this (battery problem msg on dash display). I found out about one that fixes a false positive with a battery problem. It seems that something is wrong with the harness (they replace it for free up until August 09) and, if not repaired, can give the exact same symptoms that you describe even tho there is not really any problem. This TSB is not one that notifies owners -- you have to find out about it yourself.
Check it out.

#38 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [escapeforever] by ajspark

Jun 20, 2009 (10:27 am)

Replying to: escapeforever (Jun 19, 2009 7:54 am)
This reply is re: alice612's post:
 
   "according to FORD PR people - I am the first consumer to have a ford escape hybrid battery die on me- I have 120 thousand miles on my car. Its 4 years old. One day last week a triangle with an exclamation mark popped up and the message was- pull over safely- I turned off the car and when I turned it on again the message disappeared- this happened 4 more times for the next 50 miles till I got to my Ford dealer- 165 dollars and an hour later I was told the battery was going and it would cost $8,000.00 to replace."
 
I second both the last post and the one before it, regarding the recall for the HV battery harness and the necessity for temperature control.
 
I purchased a 2005 FEH with 37K this past December (becoming its 3rd owner) and it now has just over 40K. Within a month of buying it, I got the message "Stop Safely Now" on the display, and one morning it just plain wouldn't start. We replaced the regular battery (which is a special "low voltage" battery, available only from Ford dealers for over $100). That fixed the problem (but I sure I wish I'd known about the DC-to-DC downconverter that's covered by the 100K warranty - that may have been the problem, and will have it checked Monday to make sure it's working).
 
Anyway -- two days ago, while driving on (Thank God) a deserted 2-lane freeway with shoulders, 30 miles from my destination, the engine stalled with the aforementioned red triangle and exclamation mark. I coasted off to the shoulder, switched off the engine, sat for 10 seconds, turned the key, it started. 5 minutes later, same thing. Every five minutes, or even less, I was pulling off, turning off, turning on, continuing. SAME SYMPTOMS AS ALICE612.
 
I noticed that my HV battery charge was pretty low, however. So I decided to try just driving on the shoulder at a lower speed to charge the HV battery, but then the engine got too hot. So I let it cool, went back onto the freeway at normal speed. I made it to my destination after 6 or 8 pullovers, and called the local Ford dealership.
 
The Ford dealer immediately said, "Were you aware that THERE'S A RECALL for your FEH? STALLING ISSUES ALMOST ALWAYS INDICATE THAT THE RECALL WORK HASN'T BEEN DONE YET." They apparently notified the original owner (see link below), but he either didn't tell the 2nd owner, or 2nd owner failed to inform me.
 
I made arrangements to take it in the next day (i.e. yesterday), with the understanding that, if the recall work hadn't been done yet, it would take a half-day to do that (they need to pull out the HV battery to replace the harness). The diagnostics would cost about $150, and if my problem was JUST the harness, I wouldn't even have to pay that.
 
He called me a few hours after I took it in, with "good news and bad news". Good news, the recall work hadn't been done yet, but was done now. Bad news, that wasn't my only problem. I had 2 other issues: 1) the HV battery needs to be vented to keep the temperature down, and the pump wasn't working. 2) there's an "actuator" that senses the system's status and controls the various components, and it wasn't working, either.
 
So my problem was multi-faceted, maybe more complex than yours.
 
There's more info and good discussion here:
      http://tinyurl.com/l9s3p4
 
Bottom line: FIND A FORD DEALER THAT KNOWS HYBRIDS, and can give you a knowledgeable analysis of your $165 diagnostic readout. And make sure you get that recall work done ASAP. Good luck!

#39 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [alice612] by bow45

Jul 04, 2009 (11:44 pm)

Replying to: alice612 (Mar 30, 2009 12:51 pm)
I recently found out that Ford Extended Service Plan (ESP), even with the most expensive plan (PremiumCARE), doesn't cover high-voltage battery (it does cover other hybrid engine components though). So Ford ESP is useless in this regard.
 
Does anyone know the aftermarket extended warranties that cover high-voltage battery?
 
Thanks.

#40 of 56 Re: ford hybrid escape battery [bow45] by stevedebi

Jul 06, 2009 (3:44 pm)

Replying to: bow45 (Jul 04, 2009 11:44 pm)
"I recently found out that Ford Extended Service Plan (ESP), even with the most expensive plan (PremiumCARE), doesn't cover high-voltage battery (it does cover other hybrid engine components though). So Ford ESP is useless in this regard.
  
Does anyone know the aftermarket extended warranties that cover high-voltage battery? "
 
The traction battery carries a federal warranty of a minimum of 8yr/100K, and 10 yr/150K in CARB states. That is longer than the ESP runs under most circumstances. So there is no point in having it covered under ESP.

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