So after all my ballyhooing of the Hybrid system and the HV battery during all the recent cold weather, last night I go out to the FEH, hit the key to unlock the vehicle and something very strange happens: The turn signals try to blink, the headlights come on but very dim and they're blinking at a high rate, and the doors won't unlock. I use the key, and inside I can hear relays clicking under and across the dashboard at a high rate of speed. The interior lights won't come on, and when I put the key in the ignition and try to start the car, I get bupkis. Negatory. Denied.

12V battery died. It's probably the only thing on the car that wasn't done in the past several years, from the looks of it has at least 6 years on it and I think it's actually the original Ford battery. I didn't want the relays to keep clicking and wear out, they were fairly buzzy, so I popped the hood and disconnected the positive terminal for the night (8 mm nuts on both terminals). Nothing was going to happen until the morning.

I was astounded at the cost of a new 96R form factor battery! This is not a huge battery! It's only 590 CCA! Some places want more than $200.

I found what I think is a pretty good deal at a NAPA auto parts near me, I bought a NAPA Legend Premium:

NAPA Battery BCI No. 96R 600 A Wet

for only $132.99 +$5 core charge (which I got back). At some NAPA stores this battery is $154, but I got lucky with my nearby store.

Right now they're also running a $20 rebate on many of their batteries, with the receipt you can do it on the NAPA website or print a form and mail it in to get $20 bucks back until February 28th. So the battery cost just $112.99. It's probably not as good as a Die Hard Platinum or whatever, but it does have a 24-month Total Replacement / 60-Month Prorated Warranty.

Getting it out wasn't bad, remove terminals, and then you have to get to the 10mm bolt in the back of the battery on the bottom toward the firewall with an extension, and when you put it back in that bolt is a bit of a pain to get started. It took about 15 minutes.

The FEH fired right up and I followed the recommended idle and fuel trim procedure from Page 299 of the manual. Basically you let it warm up all the way, shift to Neutral, let it keep running for another minute, restarting it with the pedal if necessary, and then drive it 10-15 miles around town to relearn the fuel trim. Strangely enough, even after sitting all night long with no 12V power, the clock and the SYNC/NAV system including the radio and my presets and cellphone connection woke up and remembered everything. I didn't have to reset or reprogram any of my settings! They must have some internal nonvolatile storage or a battery back up of their own on the 2010s. I put that down to the SYNC/NAV system.

So, moral to the story: You can have a garaged, dealer-maintained vehicle with 60,000 miles after more than 10 years but you should check that battery! The NAPA unit seems like a good deal for the price with the rebate. I'll report back if it conks out. All is well. No damage to whatever relays were clicking and clacking, the climate control works perfectly, no warning lights or messages whatsoever.

 

Thanks for the report. Glad yours was an easy fix. Not sure who supplies NAPA these days, but they always pick quality over price.

In 2019 I bought batteries for my FEH and also my Shelby Mustang at the same time, same battery. I bought a name brand aftermarket battery for the FEH, and a Motorcraft from the Ford dealer for the Mustang - to keep it original. Same battery size, same specs, except the Motorcraft had a much better warranty. it was 120 months, 3 years no charge, after that it's a straight 120-month pro-rate. And they only sell one grade, which is their top grade, all at the same price which was $129,95 at the time.

I've sold batteries retail and wholesale all my life. This is the best overall deal for a battery I have seen. I'll be buying mine from Ford in the future.

 

That's a good deal, thanks for the info. I didn't check any Ford parts because I had to get the car running pronto. the next morning. The next alternative down the price ladder was something super-cheap from Walmart at $98 (EverStart) or something like that, almost a joke: "Like, does this thing EVER START the car?" Lol. So I thought the NAPA with the 2YR/5YR prorated for $112 with the rebate wasn't too bad. But it's good to know Ford still has good deals on real replacements.

 

great deal for the battery but what also caught my eye was 5 for the core (that's out of line);
and the prorated that is offered
most of the national auto parts stores do not have the prorated allowance anymore;
but i wonder if walmart has gone back to that (then i can see napa following the leader)

 

wow! 120 month - that is 10 years
(did you mean 60 month (5 years))?
the total warranty does not start after the free replacement (i dont think),
but it is inclusive of that time period (at least what i have known about warranties on batteries)

 

Yeah it was strange, I thought so too. When I looked up that battery with Google, I was getting prices in the $150-159 range from most of the NAPA auto parts stores, with higher core charges. I'm close to the border between two states and decided to look "over the border" 15 miles and found a NAPA that was selling it (and still is) for $132.99 + $5.00 core, $20 rebate eligible. The NAPA Part Number is BAT 8496R. So at least at some NAPA stores, it appears the individual store can set the final price and the core charge, so it paid to check a few different ones. This was the "buy online and pick up in store" option. I paid over the web, waited for the email and picked up the battery 1/2 hour later.

And now that I look closely at the purchase page on the website (with the store locked in) they say: "Warranty: 84 Months/24 Months Free Replacement" !!! I'm going to make a PDF screenshot of that page.

Thanks! You may have just extended my warranty by 24 months!

Here is the NAPA page comparing their battery tiers. Scroll down to see the warranties. It says 60-month prorated for the Legend Premium. Then, on the actual purchase page for the store, it says "84 Months/24 Months Free Replacement!" So obviously I will take my PDF of their page and try to get them to honor it as an 84 month warranty if/when the time comes.

Save on NAPA Batteries

 

Nope, 10 years/120 months.

First 36 months is a straight exchange if it fails.
Failure in the 37th month it will cost you 37 x $129.95/120 to get a new one.
(Replace the $129.95 with the current retail price)

 

$5 core deposit? Last time I looked the price of lead had driven cores to about $15. May have dropped, but $5 is like a baseline.

I don't understand the 2nd part. You mean they no longer prorate anything, they just guarantee X months and it's a free exchange anytime within that period?

 

No, I think what happens is: Battery fails in the first 24 months after purchase, they replace with the same battery. Battery fails 24-60 months, they prorate the purchase price on a new one.

I do not know why this particular NAPA had a low price + such a low core charge. They were unique, cheaper than everyone else with the same battery, so I went there. I don't know what Walmart does, at this point I've never bought a battery from them.

 

correct - the parts stores were only giving 1 year or 2 year or 3 year warranties. i think there may be the very high dollar battery prorated (autozone and advance).
not for sure though..
they are often led by what wal mart does (and i think they may offer prorated now (but not for sure))