Hybrid battery replacement in Ajo, Arizona

Ajo has hit 120°F, and the drive out is 43 miles of two-lane SR-85 with no towns. That combination is the worst place in Arizona for a hybrid to go into reduced power. We'd much rather come to Ajo than have you attempt that drive on a pack that's failing.

Every job starts with a test, not a quote: we load-test the pack where the car is parked in Ajo before anyone talks about a new one.

Ajo sits about 670 feet higher than Phoenix, at 1,760 feet. Ajo gets the same kind of sustained summer heat as Phoenix, and heat is what wears out a nickel-metal hydride pack. A replacement has to live with that. The pack is cooled by air drawn from the cabin, so as part of fitting one we inspect the connections and the cooling path — a new pack breathing through a blocked duct ages like an old one.

• Keep the cooling intake beside the rear seat clear — bags and car seats block it without anyone noticing.
• Shade or a garage is the cheapest thing that extends a new pack's life.
• A 12V battery that has been through a few low-desert summers is worth testing on the same visit.

Ajo is 2 hours 5 minutes from central Phoenix each way. We do make that drive — it's booked as a scheduled visit rather than a call-out, so call ahead rather than waiting for the car to strand you.

Tell us the year and model, the warning lights and whether the car holds READY. On the day we test it, quote in writing, and fit the pack where it's parked.