Rising fuel prices may have some Canadians considering buying a hybrid vehicle, but one Calgary man is actually reconsidering his purchase.
Gary Lambert, who considers himself environmentally-conscious, purchased a Ford Explorer Hybrid back in 2020.
“I’ve been a tree hugger for quite a while,” he told Global News. “This is the first vehicle designed specifically for pulling a trailer that’s a hybrid.”
Unfortunately, since he bought it, it has been parked a lot at the dealership.
“I picked it up in November (2020) and the first time I had a problem was January 2021,” he said. “I got an error message saying there was a power train failure and to check the engine.”
“I took it in and they reprogrammed the control module and a few other things and said, ‘It should be good to go.'”
But unfortunately he said the only place it ended up going was back to the shop.
“I got three more of those power train and check engine incidents in the last year or so,” he added.
After several fixes, the dealership diagnosed the issue as a problem with the vehicle’s lithium battery, Lambert said. The shop ordered a new one, which finally arrived about five months later.
“I brought the vehicle in on May 9,” he said. “They said it would be two days to replace the battery.”
“That’s the last time I’ve had my car. It’s been at the dealership ever since.”
Dealer, manufacturer try to make good
“We’re doing everything humanly possible to get Mr. Lambert’s vehicle to him,” Marlborough Ford service manager Gordon Goulding told Global News over the phone.
When questioned what the issue was, Goulding said the dealership “did have issues in getting the parts required.”
Lambert doesn’t dispute the growing concern of supply chain issues. But he does question Marlborough Ford’s knowledge and staff training when it comes to hybrid vehicles.
“They said in January that it’s the battery,” he said. “Then after nine months of testing, they turn around when I bring the car in and say we need to run more tests — it may not be the battery.”
Ford began manufacturing hybrid vehicles in 2009.
“I’d like them to find the problem and fix it. Replace the battery. Or else if they really want to keep testing it, take it back to Ford and give me a new vehicle.”
Ford Canada also responded to Global News queries.
In a statement, the auto manufacturer said: “In recent testing of the customer’s vehicle, it is running without issue.
“Due to the inconvenience, we have offered to make two months of payments for this customer and apologize for the time spent without their vehicle.”
Global News asked repeatedly about Lambert’s concerns that Ford may not be adequately prepared to deal with issues involving hybrid or electric vehicles, but did not get a response.
We also asked the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association the same question, but were referred back to Ford.
Lambert told Global News he has now heard from Ford. He said he was told the shop did not replace the battery, which he called “frustrating.” But he said they have replaced the battery controller module, which the manufacturer said seemed to fix the error code problem.
He is hoping for the best and is glad to have finally received an explanation.
As for choosing a hybrid, he told Global News despite this runaround, he does not regret it.
“I really like the fuel economy, I like the environmental effects,” he added. “I really love it, when it’s working.”