A poster on a Ford Escape forum purchased these Ni-MH battery sticks from Max Power in China. These are new, not refurbished, and are of higher capacity than the originals. The person who installed them seems to be quite happy with them after the install and then again after a 2 month/5,000 mile update.

At the time of his purchase the cells were $1800 with $680 shipping. FWIW: 3 year, 100,000 km (62,000+ miles) warranty.

Just thought I'd throw another option out there.

Max Power link

 

There are two cell manufacturers in China. MANY companies buy those cells and package them in different forms.

Both manufacturers are capable of making decent cells, but neither are as high quality as the Panasonic and Sanyo cells originally used in various hybrids. Both will readily pass off "bottom of the barrel" cells to single pack or low volume customers. They'll work fine for awhile, but they will never last anything like the originals.

No sticks ever test to their "rated" capacity.

Chinese company warranties don't mean much. When you try to collect them, the most common excuse is that the BMS/BCM damaged the cell(s), or you get ghosted, or they require you to ship the suspect cells back to China, which will cost you more than buying 2-3 replacement sticks.

IMHO, buy from a reputable company with a good history and a reliable warranty.

 

I think the problem is nobody reputable sells these cells anymore. Let's see how they do after a year. It's gotta be better than a used pack from the junkyard or paying $3k to greentec who probably buys these cells.

I've gotten hilariously bad things from Chinese companies but also good stuff that isn't available from US sources. The main fakery is for lithium cells. Even so, there are decent Chinese battery sellers in the solar space. There are way more than 2 factories for cells unless you are only counting these specific ones.

Getting warranty on any cells in a pack such as ours seems like a laugh. Its going to be 1-2 cells out what, a couple 100 deep inside the battery? After you exert all the labor to find them or rebuild the pack? Yay, you get a free cell that shows up in a month.

I looked at these guys 18650 offerings and they only go up to 2600mah, so they aren't some over 9000 cell maker that puts fake specs on everything at least.

 

Fixed. The issue isn't "sells." No one reputable MAKES them anymore.

It's NOT got to be better than a used pack from a junkyard.

There are only two "D" cell NiMH manufacturers.

 

When the time comes, my strong preference would be for cells from the original manufacturer, but as you indicated, they are no longer being made. Junkyard HVTBs are going to be between 10 and 17 years old...the same age range for cells in a refurbished HVTB if they are recycling used cells. Even with the Chinese sticks being of significantly lower quality, at some point they will be a better option.

I'm assuming based on your comments that EVERY company in the US that is offering a refurbished FEH HVTB with "new" cells is purchasing them directly or indirectly from one of the two Chinese manufacturers. I'm also assuming the increased warranty time is a function of the buyer purchasing an "insurance policy" for a longer period of time as opposed to any difference in the batteries themselves.

Curious: At what age would you use a new lesser quality China battery stick over a used, but properly maintained OE one?