I’m looking at getting an '08 Ford Escape Hybrid for my next car. My dad told me with the previous model I looked at ('06 Escape Hybrid that sold before I could come look at it) that I’d need to have the battery pack replaced within a year, but when I inquired with the dealer (yes, I know, that’s why I’m trying to verify it) they told me that the Escape uses the same parts for the hybrid portions as the Prius and that they’ve seen them go 200k miles or more without needing a battery pack change.
My question is, which is true? If I buy the '08 Escape, am I in for an expensive repair in a couple years?
It is true that Ford purchased their hybrid technology from Toyota, rather than developing it themselves. However, that does not mean that they use identical batteries and other components.
Perhaps one of our regulars–@ken green, who is a Ford parts man–can tell us whether the Escape hybrid uses the same electronic components as a Prius.
The batteries in a hybrid car are held at about 50% charge, they are neither charged up or discharged completely, this greatly increases the life of the battery over a product that uses the full cycle of the battery. In cars, they have lasted quite a long time, longer than I would have thought based on rechargeable batteries used in computers and cell phones.
Not enough data on my end about short battery life…this is a good thing…I have never had to sell one
This small town might have a whopping- six- in town. but even still , the Ford chat room has no ill will toward these Escapes. My own 06 is still on its original.
The Prius an Escape systems are not interchangeable. the shape and dimensions of the space available for the parts is different.
I have a friend with a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. It has gone well over 100,000 miles,with no problems with the hybrid battery. I ride in the car once a month when it is his tern to drive to our band rehearsal which is a 30 mile round trip. The university from which I retired 4 years ago had some Escape hybrids in its fleet. I drove it to a conference (300 mile,round trip). I think it was a 2008. I thought it rode and drove very well
What I’ve read is that Ford largely developed their hybrid systems on their own, but at a certain point realized that their hybrid system was getting uncomfortably close to some patents Toyota owned, and that the simplest solution was just to license the Toyota technology, which Toyota was willing to do. The basic idea behind both the Toyota and Ford hybrids was developed many years ago, just never used in a vehicle. Because they were developed independently for very different vehicles I doubt they share much at all.
Only Honda seems to be having with poor battery life in their hybrids, probably because the batteries are smaller and they are not able to manage the charging and discharging as carefully. I haven’t heard of any particular problems with Escapes, and don’t know how anyone could predict that the batteries will need replacement at some specific future date.
A 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid is for sale for $3000. 184,000 miles on it, well kept, drives very good.Just very minor repairs need it. Now,I have NO EXPERIENCE whatsoever with Hybrid vehicles.The original warranty for the Hybrid/Electric Components is 8yrs/100,000 miles.
Does ANYONE here had an experience needing to replace the battery pack on this type of vehicle,2008 Ford Escape Hybrid?
How much was the repair?
Why would you even consider a 10 year complex hybrid that could cost you a small fortune and not even be worth what you have in it. I wouldn’t . Do you really need a hybrid ? As for cost since we don’t know where you are you need to call around and see if you could even get a replacement battery pack and the price.
@jj9111_142740 … use the forum search feature, you’ll probably get some info on that question. Posters here have asked (and complained) about the cost of hybrid battery replacements quite a few times here. Click the icon upper right that looks like a magnifying glass. On some vehicles and model years the manufacturer has extended the battery warranty and/or has reduced the replacement cost, so that’s something to check too. Personally I wouldn’t pay $3000 for that vehicle myself. But that’s just me. I like the way manual transmissions & gasoline engines feel to drive. And the ease of finding replacement parts and a shop who has the experience to work on them. For a $3000 used car, I’d rather buy that configuration.
@jj9111_142740
Will this Escape Hybrid be your only vehicle? Will you have to depend on it for daily transportation? If your answer to either of these questions is “yes”, I think you should buy something else. What I posted on.this thread back in 2015 doesn’t apply to this vehicle. Ford no longer makes an Escape Hybrid, so you are buying an orphan vehicle, and being 10 years old, parts may no.longer be available.
On the other hand, if this won’t.be your primary vehicle and you want to explore how a hybrid.vehicle drives and can risk.$3000, it might be worth it.
As an analogy, four years ago I bought a used Black and Decker rechargeable battery mower from a friend. I wanted to see how well it worked. Also, my wife likes to mow ( I hate mowing), and I thought she might like not having to mess with gasoline. This was an experiment that failed. The second season I had to put new batteries in the mower. These batteries only lasted two years. I put new batteries in at the beginning of this season. I mowed for five minutes and it stopped. Mrs. Triedaq didn’t like the mower because it was heavier to push because of the batteries than the 18" old Toro mower we have with a cast aluminium deck and a gasoline engine. I also found that many parts are no longer available for a Black and Decker CMM 1000 mower.
Now I did learn from this experiment: 1) I like the quiet operation of a.battery powered mower; 2) a rechargeable battery mower with the lighter weight lithium ion batteries instead of the sealed lead acid batteries of the Black and Decker CMM 1000 would make the mower easier to.push.
I bought the mower as an experiment. I can afford the loss as I will let Good Will have it.
If you want to try hybrid technology and can risk $3000, it might be worth it.
I still believe Toyota’s hybrid technology is the most reliable, and everybody else is a distant second place
I would be more comfortable buying a used Toyota hybrid . . . but I can almost guarantee the equivalent 10-year old used Toyota hybrid suv will fetch more than $3000
+1
Even Honda has had a pretty sorry record with their hybrids. Toyota is clearly the leader in this technology, and everyone else takes a back seat to them in this area.
