How do you know the Hybrid Battery has failed - Escape

escaped08

Was driving down the expressway about 60mph. The tachometer jumped a bit then dropped to zero. The dreaded "STOP SAFELY NOW" light came on and I was lucky it was 3am and no one was on the road. Coasted to a stop. Tried and tried but every time I would start the car, tachometer would hit 1500 then the car would just die again with the Stop Safely Light on. Had to call a tow truck. The car has 259,000 miles on it. The shop is telling me the Hybrid Battery has failed.

The dreaded Stop Safely Now light has come on many times before. For the faulty coolant pumps. But in those cases the car would start back up after a few minutes. This time I was stranded.

Just want to know what happens to the car when the hybrid battery fails and if its consistent with what happened to my car.

thecardoc3

For one thing if the battery was totally dead, the engine would not start. So it could be weak, or depleted, but it isn't totally dead, at least not yet. What codes have been retrieved from what computers? (need the whole list) Plus where is the car now, at a hybrid specialty shop or a dealer?

If the battery has suffered some type of a failure, there are a lot of things that can be done to effect repairs and you might not need an entire battery. If you do need a battery this is one time when a used/reconditioned one can be a very reasonable option. All things considered 259K isn't anything to be disappointed about but again that doesn't mean the end of the line, at least not yet. I have found issues with the wiring harness between the invertor assembly and the battery underneath the car that have tricked people into thinking a battery had failed. Not saying that is what is going on with yours, but until there is more data nothing is ruled out from my POV.

stevedebi

escaped08 said:

Was driving down the expressway about 60mph. The tachometer jumped a bit then dropped to zero. The dreaded "STOP SAFELY NOW" light came on and I was lucky it was 3am and no one was on the road. Coasted to a stop. Tried and tried but every time I would start the car, tachometer would hit 1500 then the car would just die again with the Stop Safely Light on. Had to call a tow truck. The car has 259,000 miles on it. The shop is telling me the Hybrid Battery has failed.

The dreaded Stop Safely Now light has come on many times before. For the faulty coolant pumps. But in those cases the car would start back up after a few minutes. This time I was stranded.

Just want to know what happens to the car when the hybrid battery fails and if its consistent with what happened to my car.

You need to take it to a dealer and pay the 99 bucks or so to diagnose it. The computer will have put a code into the system that will determine the problem.

I've not yet heard of anyone where the battery failed, although I've read some where it was replaced because it was losing capacity. It is more likely that some of the control electronics have failed.