Without looking it up, what would you guess the cost of a new battery for 2017 Ford Escape might be. I estimated high at $150 with the labor involved to remove all the stuff under the hood to even get to the battery.
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$350.00! Shut the front door!
My independent (certified Ford repair shop) service garage says her cost is $225.00. It's a GlassMatt battery. Whatever the heck that is. This is my daughter's car that I said I would handle the cost for her.
Since I have the same model only a 2018 year, I suppose I should open up special saving plan just for my battery replacement in a year or two.
I should've suspected something was up when AutoZone and Advanced Auto refused to even test it.

 

So I looked up Glass mat batteries.
"Are glass mat batteries better?
AGM offers better cycling performance, minimal gassing and acid leakage when compared with conventional lead-acid batteries. The result of all the features of AGM technology is superior life performance."

6 years worth of performance. That's just a little better than the old lead acid batteries at 5x's the cost. Geez.

 

I'd go to your local auto parts house and see what theirs cost.
Is a glass mat battery mandatory?

 

IDK. But I'm past the point of doing car repairs. It looked pretty intimidating to remove all the items just to get to the battery housing. Plus, I don't know what other items (electronics) might be affected.

 

Some auto parts stores still install their batteries for free ........ I think.

 

Apparently that is considered a "stop - start" vehicle and an AGM battery is OEM.
That will run $150 - $200.
Battery: Class 48 H6. AGM

Doesn't look too hard to do. You should be able to handle it Norm.
2017 Ford Escape battery replacement video

 

Yea, I just checked AutoZone and Advance Auto. They all range from $200 to $300. So, her price of $225 is not that bad. If one was to take a chance and order through Amazon you can get a price of $140. But who knows what quality?
BTW... I trust Nancy (the manager of Weiland automotive) explicitly.

 

Yeah, I just replaced the AGM battery in my 2019 Ranger. The battery was north of $250. Pretty much the same deal; lots of stuff mounted to the top of the battery. Watched a video or two and it was done in less than 15 minutes. As Pete said, AGM is the norm for the start/stop vehicles.

 

I hate when I get a start/stop rental vehicle. So annoying. I find myself letting off the brake for a quick second just to start the car at stoplights. I think it might be OCD or something.

 

would probably suggest walmart if your looking for a cheaper agm battery.

 

I dont know much about the details but my wife needed a battery for her '07 Yukon. You got to remove stuff, then its down in the back corner, kinda sorta partially under the windshield. I told her to just go to an auto parts store cause they install free & she'll get a good battery.
She came home with a receipt for almost $300.
1 - the battery was expensive
2 - they charged for an install. I guess cause its where it was located & they had to remove that stuff to change it out. ??????????

Recently, I needed a couple of batteries for two 4 wheelers (ATV's).
Just ATV battery so I'll go to Wal Mart, right?
$130! They were out so I went to 3 auto parts places..... $130. I could not believe it !! I was figuring half that much at worst. For those of you that don't know, these are like lawn mower batteries.

I went to Amazon &, most batteries were upwards of $100 plus, but a few batteries were lower priced. I ended up with 2 batteries for $50 each & they so far work fine. It said they were the best seller. So we'll see.

 

I get to shock people all the time over this. On jump starts, its usually an older battery that will obviously need replacement and they often ask how much I think it will be. And yes, the AGM batteries are considerably more.

Dixie, you're lucky it was mostly accessible on the Yukon. There are some vehicles (Chrysler mainly, I think) where they are mounted up under the front of the drivers side front fender. Has to go on a lift and have wheel removed to access. Those are ones the parts houses DEFINITELY won't do. Lots of trunk-mounted and under the back seat, too.

I suspect some of the higher costs are transportation-related. Batteries are HEAVY and a truck load of them costs a lot to move when the truckers are paying $5/gal for fuel.

 

Sams Club carries some AGM batteries so it's worth checking there if you have Sams in your area.

 

Is there any way to bypass the on/off feature and not use an AGM battery?
From the get-go I turned off the feature via dashboard option. And at this point if turned on the feature no longer works.
My S-I-L has a Dodge Durango and it has two batteries. One specific for the on/off feature that will maintain electronic items while the engine is turned off. The engine/alternator is unable to recharge the "extra" battery in a reasonable time. As a result, he cannot use the feature nor cares about it. Both batteries are located under passenger seat. Funny thing is under the driver seat is the same identical layout, fixtures and clips as if that area also needed a battery.
According to what I read, the typical "liquid" battery of the past would have a life span of 3 to 5 years (and would tend to give warning signs of end of life), while the new AGM batteries have an estimated life span of 5 to 10 years.???? What the heck does that mean? That's like saying at some point every mechanical or electrical item will fail at some point.
I equate the AGM batteries in the same stupid use of the tire TPMS system. Unnecessary item that fails and an unnecessary expensive that can't be avoided.

 

At least on my Ranger, you can shut off the start/stop function using a button on the console, but once the truck is shut off and restarted the function is enabled again. There's no way for a "user" to permanently disable. Maybe the dealer can do it. I personally don't mind the start stop; you get used to it soon enough and it does make about a 1 MPG difference, if you're doing a lot of city driving. When I first got the truck, it would shut off the engine as I was creeping the last few inches into the garage,which was annoying, but it doesn't do that now, so either it learns or they adjusted it during some firmware update.

One symptom (again, on my Ranger) that the AGM battery is on its last legs is the stop/start function stops working. The computer senses when the battery isn't at a full charge and disables the start/stop to minimize the chance of getting stuck with dead battery.

The AGM in my Ranger only lasted 4 years, so I don't know about the 5-10 years. Although, I do have two big AGM batteries that power my backup sump pump and they lasted close to 10 years before one of them stopped taking a charge.

 

I had to give $209.99 for a Diehard AGM battery at Advance Auto Parts January 2, 2022. With this new battery the 5.0 Ltr V-8 engine turns over faster even in single digit weather than it ever did with the original battery, I was really impressed. I am sure the AGM batteries are a little easier to find by now, but there weren't many available when I needed one.

The bonus was it was installed by a girl with green hair!

 

may not last longer but the higher cranking amp batteries agm or not typically have a longer life span since batteries typically fail by slowly degrading over time. the less expensive batteries with low cranking amps will likely fail to start the vehicle before the more expensive battery but this does not mean it will last twice as long more than likely you may gain another 1-2 years in a vehicle application.

 

Do you really need a "start stop" battery? Are there less expensive "ordinary" batteries that will fit?

I don't blame "them" when "they" charge for installation when you have to remove a lot of other stuff to get at the battery.

I was told that keeping the battery charge topped off is the best thing you can do to prolong the battery's life. After the car is warmed up enough to give heat into the passenger area it does not take much "juice" to restart it. Or, if you can and do override the stop start feature several minutes before the end of thee trip the battery will be topped off enough even for that night.

 

You can put the car in "manual" that temp bypasses the start stop but I don't believe there is any way permanently disable!