My Fusion hybrid, 44,000 miles, has been a great car, but a few months ago, the electrical motor began coming on less & less; now it almost never comes on, even when going downhill. Had it checked out by Ford but they had no answers. Of course, mileage has gone way down.
You might try going to a different dealer. Maybe one with techs trained to service the hybrid.
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Similar thing happened on my 2010 Mercury Milan hybrid. After five trips to Ford dealer I finally got the story after talking to their mechanic for several minutes.
When I bought the car, it seems Ford failed to mention, that they put a timer in the high voltage system that restricts the amount of high voltage battery power you can get after 10 years. The mechanic was able to reset the clock to two years and then the car performed as it should, but he had to set it back to 10 years per fordâs instructions.
My milan has 90,000 miles, I was getting an average of 36mpg, but after 10 year clock started restricting high voltage power the mileage has dropped to 30.5mpg.
Mechanic said that they did this to prolong the life of the high voltage battery (HVB), because if the HVB fails the car will not run at all.
Thanks so much for your very informative letter! Weâll mull it over & maybe ask follow-up questions.
Really appreciate your input.
So how much is a new battery?
Hello, thanks so much for your email in July about the electrical motor in my 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid rarely coming on, which has gotten worse. I am finally following up about your suggestion of reseting the timer in the high-voltage system. Your Ford mechanic reset the timer back 10 years, per Fordâs instructions (although the car performed properly when he had reset it only 2 years).
Did the mechanic indicate what the probability is of the HVB quitting altogether? And if it does, what is the cost of replacing it? Your comments would be very helpful to me!
Thanks! Linda Moss
Hello Linda, The Ford dealer quoted about $7,000 for a new battery, but since Kelly blue book for trade-in is only about $2300, replacement doesnât make sense. Iâve checked with other after market batteries and they sell for about $2500 so that still doesnât make sense to replace. The service tech wouldnât say how long the battery would work if the timer was set back, but I believe this is the same battery technology that is used in the prius and I know they last well past 10 yrs. The risk is that if the HVB goes bad the car wonât run at all. Hope that helps. Jim S.
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@Fins2l2r_154900 - Do you have any links that discuss this timer issue? I have a 2011 MKZ hybrid, wondering if it applies to it.
I found this, I havenât tried it, so no guarantees:
Hello Jim,
Thank you so much for your help on this problem, which I am finally getting around to address.
Without your email in July, I never would have known about the HVB issue & the shut-off that Ford programmed in.
Your help motivated me to look further, & I discovered a lot of info available on the Web. In particular, there is a detailed account on a website called fordfusionforum.com (!) that tells exactly how to reprogram the HVB. It is written by allen84, & you might want to check it out (maybe I could send you a link, if needed). I also found a website called cargurus.com that has a lot of discussion of this issue.
We plan to visit an independent mechanic we know today & hope he might be able to take care of this for us!
Again, many thanks!
Linda Moss
Hi texases:
Sorry it took so long to respond. Iâve been communicating with another user on Car Talk about the problem and she found the following; In particular, there is a detailed account on a website called fordfusionforum.com (!) that tells exactly how to reprogram the HVB. It is written by allen84, & you might want to check it out.
Regards
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Thanks. I got the OBD plug, and Iâll be downloading the software shortly.
âHybridâ is misleading. Some people think of âhybrid vehiclesâ as vehicles that encompass the best of two worlds, an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle world, and an EV (electric vehicle world). They utilize both onboard systems for propulsion in order to enhance fuel economy.
However, I have never looked at them as âbest of 2 worlds vehiclesâ, but rather as overly-complicated vehicles that contain 2 worlds. In my opinion, any savings that results from improved fuel economy is off-set by complications, problems, and not much future for longevity.
I believe these vehicles should be used for probably a maximum of 7 or 8 years and then sold off before the problems start and continue until the pre-mature death of the vehicle. 10 years is pushing it, probably too far.
How much fuel savings could there possibly be in only 44,000 miles and 10 years? If this vehicle had been a conventional ICE vehicle it would just be getting broken-in at 10 years and 44,000 miles, not beginning breaking down. Since itâs not, Iâd get rid of it ASAP and consider an ICE vehicle.
CSA
There are countless Prius owners with high mileage on the original batteries who would probably disagree with much of what you just said
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Also, this is not a hybrid reliability problem, itâs a problem with how Ford did their programming.
Youâre clouding the issue. The intent of hybrids is not to save money, itâs to use less gasoline. Thereâs a difference.
The benefit to hybrid technology is not suited to all driving styles. It sounds like your driving styles are not what most hybrid owners do. On the other hand, a driver in the Seattle area who has a daily 2 1/2hour 80 mile round-trip stop and go commute is likely to see mpg in the mid-40âs and see a service life of 200,000 miles before any seeing any repairs outside of routine maintenance.
But if you want to throw money into the equation, think about this. Your average GM mid-size sedan would be lucky to go 30,000 miles before needing a brake job. I have personally serviced Priuses that have gone 200,000 miles of urban driving on the original pads. The cost of 6 brake jobs adds up.
Let me put it another way. I would buy an 8 or 10 year old ICE vehicle (and I have), but I would not consider a âhybridâ. Feeling lucky?
CSA
I generally get about 100,000 miles out of mine. Last brake job I did on the Grand Prix, all 4 rotors and pads was $200. It didnât even need them, but I bought the parts before checking, expecting to need them and put them on anyhow.
When I was in the rust belt during winters, rust was the enemy of brakes, not miles. Rust is an equal opportunity destroyer and ruins brakes on ICE cars and Hybrid cars, alike.
Here in Florida, everything seems to last a long time, except batteries.
CSA
I would have no problem buying a 8- or 10-year old Prius