With our 2008 FEH passing 140K miles I'm starting to consider options for keeping, selling / trading, or reinstating a warranty.

This car has been pretty good to us, but my concerns are for taking long trips with a 140K+ vehicle even with all regular maintenance up to date.

Looking at what is available on the market is pretty frightening - very little new that is comparable to the 2008 FEH in size, functionality, and mileage. I was considering a used low mileage 4x4 that we could use for travel and trailering our boat - a 2004 Toyota Tacoma with 100K is listed around here for $15K -19K on Craigs List. High mileage FEH's are listed in the $13-15K range even though the Kelly Blue book listed the value of an 2008 FEH at $8K trade in and $10K or less private sales.

Our FEH runs well an in very good condition: The MECS pump and the battery vent door (within the 1st month of delivery) have been replaced, we have experienced the steering issue on two occasions but has not occurred in months. When you read about FEH Taxi's going to 400K miles - you just wonder if this realistic for non-commercial use. I know the 1st time we extended the warranty 30K miles it cost about $2K through Ford and expired at 119K. There was a required $500 vehicle inspection - which in hindsight seems crazy since the vehicle was still under the original extended warranty.

Replacing it with a comparable vehicle is going to cost $30K plus, so from a financial sense it almost makes more sense to run it until it quits. When you consider the price of the transmission and batteries the extended warranty comes back into discussion. I'm sure I'm not the only one juggling these thoughts - thought I'd open it up for comments.

 

Great question. If I were in your position, I think I'd consider getting a used 2012 FEH. Since you have a functioning vehicle, you can take your time to find one. A 2012 should be new enough to not have suffered from neglect.

As you say, there's no comparable vehicle. The Highlander is much bigger and costly and doesn't have the off-road toughness. The new Subaru Crosstrek is much smaller. So I'll address FEH's.

Someone once told me that it takes a year to resolve all the deficiencies you'll find in a used car. Your 2008 sounds like you have kept things fixed as they broke. I do that also, and have only been stranded once (dead battery) during my years of ownership of cars from new to 22 years old. I was only a few blocks from home, so I just went and got our other car. So your 2008 should be dependable. In fact, it could be as dependable as many new cars.

Maintaining a used car is always much cheaper than buying a new one. And new ones need money spent on them anyway. The difference in cost between what you can get for your 2008 and a newer FEH will be perhaps 1/3 of a new car. That savings will pay for more repairs than you'll ever need.

Interesting to hear about the steering issue. I'd say that if you choose to keep running the 2008, get the steering column replacement done. You never know when this will happen again, and some might question your judgement letting others drive it, carrying passengers, or even using it yourself while knowing about this problem. Just try to make sure you have warranty coverage because it's a very expensive repair. Part of what makes a 2010-2012 FEH attractive is that the steering problem seems to be almost unknown on them.

In case you haven't already done it, you should record the steering issue at the safercars/NHTSA website. Every report helps compel the authorities to compel Ford to do a recall, a recall which may save lives and also give deserved compensation to those who have had to pay Ford the full fee for this repair.

 

When you consider the price of the transmission and batteries the extended warranty comes back into discussion. I'm sure I'm not the only one juggling these thoughts - thought I'd open it up for comments.

The e-CVT transmission isn't gong to fail. The hybrid battery might need a replacement set of internal fans--is it around $100?. Your not going to get a Ford warranty with a vehicle that has 140,000 miles on it. The 3rd party aftermarket warranties are useless.

If you are going on a long trip and concerns about breaking down away from home, it might be cheaper to just rent a vehicle for the trip and keep the FEH for local trips. Make a permanent change with a personal vehicle when you find just what you need and desire.

 

Exspirit: I did submit a report at the NHTSA website. My wife is aware of the issue, and we don't lend our vehicles - both times we saw this behavior was around the time the MECS pump failed, since the replacement it has not occurred (knock on wood). I'm hoping that somehow the issues were linked - I remember reading about an overheated sensor as a possible cause.

BillyK - All of those points have been on my mind... knowing how we have treated this vehicle vs. the unknown condition of a new us FEH. Renting has been on mind, and if we tow the boat it's on the rental. So who knows... Thanks for the remarks.

 

I'll give you my very subjective thoughts on this.

I have a 2007 FEH AWD, 58k miles, purchased new, lifetime mileage 31mpg per fuelly.com. The battery vent door failed under warranty and was repaired. MECS pump failed about 35k and I replaced it. Other than those two problems and various squeaks (lift gate) and rattles (passenger window) the FEH has been completely reliable. I had the brake rotors checked recently and only 10% wear, so looks like lifetime brakes.

But as reliable as the FEH has been, I don't trust it for the longterm. I'm concerned about failures in the expensive hybrid components like the $4500 HCU. I don't think the electronics will age well and I've had two incidents so far that concern me. Just a few weeks ago I turned the key to position 3 (RUN) and experienced a loud buzzing noise from under the hood that lasted about 5s before I turned the key off. I cycled the key several times and this has not occurred again. Then there was a cross country trip in the Phoenix summer heat where I experienced unintended forward acceleration while the FEH was in Reverse. This was repeatable at the time but has not occurred again in cooler temperatures.

But my biggest concern is being pretty much locked into Ford dealers for service on the hybrid. I don't have a local independent mechanic that will service this vehicle beyond oil changes. I've found Ford dealership service to be incompetent at best. The service department simply has no interest in understanding this vehicle and being able to service it. The very simplest tasks like retraining the TPMS sensors are just beyond their capabilities. I don't want to get screwed over by these fools if something big goes bad.

So I hope to be ordering a 2015 Subaru Forester in the spring and selling the FEH. But that's just talk so far. Meanwhile I'll keep enjoying the FEH and hoping for the best.

 

I have a similar apprehension as you. Don't know where you live but in my state the hybrid specific part warranty is 150K miles.
Alternatives are a little sparse now, but by the end of this calendar year, there will definitely be several more choices for hybrid SUVs. Besides the new Subaru XV Crosstrek, Honda has announced a Fit-based crossover, Lexus is about to announce a new NX compact crossover, Mitubishi promised to bring an Outlander PHEV, etc.
There are also some diesel SUVs and AWD wagons that present interesting alternatives to an FEH.
Good luck but I would suggest sitting tight for a little while.

 

the Subaru hybrid is a joke when one examines the specifications and finds the EV tops out at 11mph. One must read the specifications of these hybrids to find out if they are the "light" version or other.