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Might I suggest closing on the house, then telling the car finance people to come get their car (as not to wreck your credit until you have the house).
Then you might have to get a bike to ride to work, much greener way of getting there.
Here's the narrative:
My buddy Darrin owns a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. Recently, his wife experienced an error message while driving that ultimately lead to a fault with the battery cooling fans in the rear of the vehicle. These two fans actually live inside the large (220 pound) battery pack under the rear cargo floor. For this vehicle the fans are not under the battery warranty and the dealer wanted more than $800 to replace them. Darrin and I decided to give it a try ourselves. The fans cost Darrin around $250 from the dealership and the part number for the replacement kit is: 5M6Z-10C659-A. Inside the kit you get the two fans, some ty-raps, and a couple other small items. Detailed instructions are also included. We read the instructions but ultimately didn't follow them word for word.
We saw that the instructions called for removing the battery assy from the vehicle but we did find a way that the battery fans could be replaced without taking the whole assy out.
Notice the top of the battery. It has two separate top covers. The rear cover is above the two fans and can be removed with the battery in the vehicle. The first thing you will want to do is turn the orange switch to the off position which disables the battery power. Then you can lift straight up on the switch now and rotate it further CCW to the shipping position.
There is an exhaust duct on the aft left side of the battery that needs to be removed before the rear cover comes off.
Now you'll need to remove several self tapping screws from the top rear cover. They are T30 tamper resistant torx screws
Once you get the top rear cover off you'll find that it is attached by two grounding cables. Remove these so that you have better access.
Now you should see that two fans and their top cover. Remove the top cover from the fans.
The two fans are mounted the same on each side. You'll find 4 nuts holding them down. Remove the nuts with a 10mm socket. Looking at the forward part of the fan you'll see a thin top cover held down by two small self tapping screws. Remove this cover. Cut several ty-raps securing the wires and then disconnect the quick plug for the fan. Each fan also has a green ground wire you'll want to remove as well.
Now, here's the tricky part (it's not that bad). You're at the point where you want to pull the fans out but they won't come aft because in front of the fan exhaust is a 4 inch tall black plastic stanchion that supports the top lid. Simply grab the stanchion with some channel lock pliers and pull it loose to get it out of the way.
The fans should now come out of the battery assembly. Installation is the reverse. If you need help or have more questions you can email me at [email protected]
The fans ARE covered under the hybrid warranty. Ford dealers were inputting the wrong codes for the repair, and it was coming up as unauthorized. In fact, Ford lists the fans as a part of the battery pack, and their manuals say to treat them as one item. When that is input into the Ford system, it comes up as a covered item. I believe that Ford has updated the information to dealers, but I have some doubts; they would rather have the customer pay than to cover the repair. Anyway, if the dealer input the battery pack (which includes the fan), then it was covered, if they just listed the fan assembly, it was not covered.
FORD will give you a diagnostic saying your fans need work, but watch out.
We started a road trip and the STOP SAFELY message appeared. We'd wait a while and restart and drive like 20 miles and it would reappear. We turned around and limped back home...about ~20-30~ miles each time we let it rest for a while and restarted.
I slightly suspected maybe it was a water cooling/pumping problem...due to touching some rubber hoses under the hood. Anyhow, we got him home and morning of next day I drove it to Dealer (with no incident).
The gave me report that we needed water pump and fans needed replace.
The estimate was astounding! $1,400.00 I couldn't believe it. I took the vehicle home and did some internet research. Found in another hybrid forum discussions about this phenomena and made decision that the lack of coolant caused system to overheat, thus I think the computer listed cooling fans not working - replace.
Made several attempts to try and get the fans performed under warranty - no dice. Like above, the computer does not want to recognize the fans as Hybrid unique. (but they are really).
Well, I bought the water pump ($125) and installed it. It is an electric pump unit and bolts on to body under the radiator. A 12 yr. old could replace it with proper tools.
After replacing h2O pump everything has been okay. I hear the fans whirr and we have had no more STOP SAFELY messages for a year and a half since then. Everything seems to be okay, even in these hot summers.
Ford Service people should be reminded about the post above this. The fans are inside the Hybrid Component (battery pack) and are suppose to be covered, but it's like pulling teeth to convince a Service Dept. whose never come across how to look it up properly. They think the computer is always right.
1) Electric coolant pump (by radiator)
2) The cooling fans (thanks for the pics)
3) The cooling door actuator (known as blend door actuator)
If anyone else needs to change the door actuator. Here are the steps (sorry forgot pics):
a) Pop off the lower rear hatch plastic (no screws, just pull up)
b) Pry the driver rear plastic towards the inside (no screws, just pull)
c) Use block to hold plastic covers back
You'll need a 7/32" or 5.5mm wrench to get to the small screw in the back (there are 3 altogether). The last one (top left, towards the exterior) is tricky, not really enough room to work.
Anyway, once screws are out, pull the actuator motor out (again, tight squeeze but it will come out). The white keyed plastic lever will fall out, this is OK. Now, here are the 2 "tricks" to get it back together.
1) Turn interior positioner fully counter-clockwise with screwdriver
2) Reposition the white lever in the down position (about 8 oclock) against the positioner. TRICK: Use a small piece of scotch tape to hold it
Now you'll be able to put it back together. Without the tape to temporarily hold it in place, it will never work.
I got a salvage battery and installed. no difference in function of ford 2009 escape. I am learning. Anyone know is there a procedure to enable battery modules. It had a click when i first moved fuse block to lock/unlock... but not now... charge traction battery??? 12/hv invertere???
To even try to help you the first things that I would need to know is what are you using for service information? What scan tool are you using (be very specific here). Do you have proper PPE? (1000v gloves, face shield etc) Do you have a class III voltmeter and leads (1000v range and shielding) Have you had formal training for working with hybrid systems? How much real experience do you have as a technician?
The O.E. replacement battery is quite expensive. ($9176.99) There are cheaper alternatives but they often fall short of consumers expectations for quality and longevity so there is little to be gained for the dealer to try to go that route and serious potential to lose if they tried, so they usually just don't do anything but the O.E. battery pack. That doesn't make them thieves, it shows that they have learned from experience. https://www.oemford.parts/oem-parts/ford-drive-motor-battery-pack-9m6z10b759d?c=Zz1lbGVjdHJpY2FsJnM9YmF0dGVyeSZsPTkmbj1TZWFyY2ggUmVzdWx0cyZhPWZvcmQmbz1lc2NhcGUmeT0yMDA5JnQ9aHlicmlkJmU9Mi01bC1sNC1lbGVjdHJpYy1nYXM=
There are some things that I can help you with, but specific points that may not be suitable for you to go beyond. As long as we don't venture into any of the higher risk tasks I can offer some help. What exactly is the vehicle doing/not doing? What codes are being set in which modules?
A dealer had the engine running but after 15 minutes it stopped ( i was told ).
collision disable switch was off (out). service disk (pdf) i bought show connectors (C4227a,b,c) to trace wiring, but they are not there (@driver wall @battery a/c).... any help do i need FORD main frame service computer?????