Interesting if true: Per CHTGBT Under U.S. federal law (EPA regulations, 40 CFR § 85.2103): Hybrid and EV batteries (and related emissions-relevant systems) must be covered for at least 8 years or 100,000 miles. This federal warranty applies regardless of what the manufacturer voluntarily offers. Ferrari offering only 7 years / 70,000 miles for the hybrid system in the U.S. seems, on the surface, to fall short of the federal requirement—especially since the HV battery is explicitly included in the coverage. Possible Explanations Ferrari might offer a separate federally compliant warranty not listed in the owner’s booklet you photographed. It’s common for manufacturers to split regulatory and branded warranties in documentation. They may rely on carve-outs or treat some hybrid system elements as non-emissions-related, though this would be unusual given the EPA’s broad definition. This could be an oversight or outdated booklet content that hasn’t been updated for U.S. emissions law compliance. What You Can Do To confirm full compliance with U.S. law, especially if you own or are considering a 296: Ask your Ferrari dealer for the federally mandated hybrid/emissions warranty coverage letter or documentation. Request clarification on battery coverage beyond 7/70k, as this should legally extend to 8/100k minimum. If you’re in California or a ZEV state, coverage may be longer (10 years / 150k miles) for certain emissions-certified hybrids.
Interesting article on the cost of an electric battery for a fully electric Porsche… https://www.topspeed.com/how-much-costs-replace-porsche-ev-battery/
I want to believe you, but I’d prefer to see a real quote for replacing cells and the whole battery. If what you say is true (that it’s not a large cost), then is the reason Ferrari has come up with the 8-16 year replacement plan (which requires a continual expensive warranty for all those years) that they are addressing unfounded fears of owners, or just trying to extract more money from customers? Seems if it’s not a very expensive (relative term here) replacement, then they could say so and alleviate any owner fears. That leads me to either it’s expensive, or Ferrari is trying to capitalize on the fear. I’m not trying to pick a fight, rather I’m just try to figure out if I need to pay an extra $30,000 for an additional five year warranty or not. Ferrari isn’t the only manufacturer who is either addressing the concern or wanting to capitalize on the fear…Mac has announced it will have a replacement plan as well, but I haven’t seen details yet.
That illustrates the problem…replacement (assuming year 8, for example, well in many cases exceed the value of the vehicle. I also think that there’s a difference between degradation and failure. Failure within the first eight years should be covered and replaced. Degradation, not so much.
The cost to replace the main hybrid battery (drive battery) in the McLaren Artura is estimated to be around $6,000–$7,000 USD. This figure is derived from McLaren’s stated engineering target to keep Artura battery replacement costs in the $6,000–$7,000 range, making it significantly lower than many existing plug-in hybrid and EV battery replacements. I just need Ferrari to give a quote. If indeed it’s $7,000, like the Mac, then that changes the calculus for me in terms of spending the extra $30,000 for the Ferrari super-extended warranty. At $30,000 for battery replacement, the ext warranty is a financial benefit. At $7,000 for battery, the ext warranty is really buying more peace-of-mind/insurance.
In my opinion the Warranty Extension Hybrid Program, which costs approximately $6k a year is the safe option. This covers the entire car through Year 8 and a new battery at that time. It’s $30k plus taxes and inflationary costs, but is an effective insurance policy on these cars. Chet
I doubt that the cost of the replacement battery will be more than the car is worth. And anything is always possible. There are no guarantees. If the risk scares you- don’t play. From what I have read- Porsche appears to support the common industry threshold on degradation at 70%, but it’s not in writing and is discretionary.
$30k? For a car that most people rarely use that’s already covered under warranty for at least 7 years? Sounds like a very bad deal- and it actually more when accounting for the time value of the money from the upfront payments. If the battery goes in year 7 you would have already gotten a new battery at no extra cost. It’s also possible that Ferrari has to provide 8 years per federal law. It’s also possible the battery cost will be much lower in the future or there will be 3rd party alternatives at relatively reasonable prices. Risk adjusted- Self insurance may be the better investment.
I think you might have misunderstood. I'm not insinuating the replacement battery in a 296 would be more than the car is worth (at least if used as most of us would)...my point was that battery replacement cost is a real issue for several vehicles, like the tesla that I used as an example. The risk doesn't scare me (LOL), I've been around the block plenty, and I think anyone seriously considering buying a 296 probably isn't easily scared. I'm just asking the community if they have info on the extended battery warranty...it's not about being scared...it's about making an informed decision.
I think we are missing each other...the battery is covered for failure within 8 years (there's a mileage cap too, but it doesn't really apply here) or if it drops below a certain threshold (60 or 70%...I don't know Ferrari's specific threshold). The problem arrises when the battery charging drops to say 65% and you want to sell your 296. This is why Ferrari has the automatic 8-16 year replacement. This isn't for catastrophic failure (that's covered per the above); this is for degradation--that's not covered at all. That's the problem. Now, you can make a case and say "well, with such limited use, you're nit picking here and it won't ever really apply." To which I'd say that it does apply as this is new for Ferrari, Ferrari obviously feels necessity to address it (as does Mac), and it's is the single biggest factor to the depreciation of EVs today (whether real or perceived). I would have thought as you do, except my wife's EV has 4% degradation in the first six months, and cost to replace it is between $20,000 and $21,000. At this rate of degradation (maybe it stops or maybe it continues, IDK), at lease end, the battery will be down by 24%. This is above the magic 70% threshold for our manufacturer. At lease end, our EV has a residual of $50,000 (real number). Who will pay that if the battery holds 76% of its charge? Who will pay that and then pay another $20,000+ to replace the battery (that's 40% of the whole residual)! Answer is no one who's informed. So what happens? Well, the value that one can sell the vehicle for goes down a whole lot more from the $50,000 residual. These can be real problems. I'm not worried about failure (that's pretty covered by Federal law). I'm worried about the 30% between failure and full-charged, and hoping that Ferrari in the future has a replacement battery price lower price than Tesla, Porsche, Rivian, and Mac are quoting, doesn't seem like a wise idea. Again, just trying to make an informed decision, which so far it pushes me towards the ext warranty. I think I'll take the issue up with Ferrari and ask them directly so as to not over stay my welcome on this topic.
The $30k is battery insurance (full replacement at year 8) as well as continuation of the full warranty (years 4 through 8).
OK- I hear you. The only mistake I think you made was to compare the battery cost of an all electric car to the battery in a hybrid which is much smaller and much cheaper to manufacture. Additionally, batteries are made up of cells which can individually be replaced. It is not necessarily an all or nothing issue. Good discussion.
Good point. Good point. I still think it’s a bad deal. You are essentially agreeing to purchase a battery that may not need to be replaced or may have been just replaced under warranty. And there may be 3rd party resellers of these batteries in the future for much less. I think spending $3500 a year to insure the whole car makes sense considering how many different things can go wrong and how expensive they can be. The battery issue appears to present much less risk. IMO.
Ok, I hear you. So we agree $3,500/year is a good deal for an extended warranty for everything else that can go wrong. Then does an extra $2,500/year to have your battery guaranteed to be replaced at year 8 not worth it?
I asked CHTGBT about the durability of hybrid batteries. If this is accurate this will be much ado about nothing… “Hybrid vehicle batteries have generally proven to be quite durable and long-lasting, often exceeding expectations. Here’s a breakdown of the durability records and real-world performance of hybrid batteries over the years: Typical Lifespan of Hybrid Batteries Toyota/Lexus hybrids: 150,000 to 250,000+ miles is common. Honda hybrids: Generally 100,000 to 150,000 miles, with some reaching over 200,000 miles. Ford hybrids (e.g., Escape, Fusion): Often last over 150,000 miles. Hyundai/Kia hybrids: Newer to the market, but early data shows durability beyond 100,000 miles. Real-World Durability Records Toyota Prius (especially Gen II & III): Known to exceed 300,000 miles on the original battery. Taxis in places like NYC and Vancouver have reported Priuses running past 500,000 miles. Ford Escape Hybrid (early models like 2005–2008): Some used in taxi fleets also passed 300,000 miles on original batteries. Lexus RX 400h/450h: Many examples have passed 200,000 miles with no battery issues. Honda Insight (Gen 1): Battery issues were more common due to smaller capacity, but many lasted over 100,000 miles. Hybrid batteries have proven to be highly durable, with Toyota and Lexus hybrids setting the gold standard. Failures are uncommon under 150,000 miles, and in many cases, batteries last the life of the vehicle. Failures when they do occur can often be mitigated with reconditioning or module replacement, which is cheaper than a full battery swap.” Based on the number of miles Ferarri’s are driven- assuming the cars are properly plugged in- there really may be nothing here. In other words- life insurance may be a much better purchase.
I like it my friend…battle of the AI chatbots! Looks like avg degradation is 1.8%/year. So you may be right, it may be much ado about nothing. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You are very lucky in many ways in the US. Consumer laws and customer service are on your side more than here in the UK. For example car manufacturers can only be requested to recall vehicles, where as in the US it is 'ordered'. A number of range rover owners have dumped their vehicles outside the dealership after being pushed from pillar to post repeatedly, put signs on the car complaining about the dealer for people to take pics and publish on social media. They still don't care. Here in the U.K I am very sceptical and simply would not purchase a 296 or SF90 despite my love of the SF90 and reducing prices. I am not at the level of many Ferrari owners and do not wish to fall out with a dealer, especially after buying my first Ferrari, falling madly in love, being treated very well so far and wanting to stick with the brand after many years of driving various Porsches and generally having numerous issues with OPC's except Chiswick. I believe it would be fairly easy for Ferrari to wriggle out of warranty claims here in the UK by simply turning the truth upside down then inside out. I don't think Ferrari are interested in the 296 or SF90 as the technology will change. When it gets old prices will rise for new battery components, indeed there will be alternatives which should probably be explored when / if warranty is no longer required. I like to stick with the warranty though and would rather change cars every 2 - 4 years to stay within the first 7 year warranty period. The issue with the current battery technology is basically everything. Not driving / charging regularly, driving / charging regularly, using the trickle charger like a saint. It just matters very little as batteries are generally unreliable with the current technology so why should the manufacturer care. Ferrari are just not going to want to lose money and I don't blame them as it is the technology and not Ferrari. Of course, there are times when the batteries work very well for many years, but also common that they just don't, eventually they will fail. It does however allow them to circumvent the silly government wanting to ban petrol cars, though I also don't believe this will happen either. There are simply too many 'poor' people with too many cars using too much fuel according to their false data and false green agenda. Such hybrid tech is the perfect answer, small battery packs that recharge on the go and give added performance. When the technology gets better and cheaper then most 'poor' people will use electric cars for financial reasons. Maybe we can go back to just petrol engines in supercars as there are just so much less of them than standard cars. There does not seem to be an issue with planes, yachts and such that use huge amounts of fuel or planes taking off with only a few passengers rather than flights being cancelled. When electric cars become cheaper to buy and run the government will stop electric car grants and people will simply want to buy electric cars to save money. Some people on benefits have multiple cars, they also don't make many long trips, can buy a car for £1000 but maintenance hurts them. It will be interesting to see how all this works out in the years to come. Obviously this is my opinion and i'm sure many will disagree. I am not trying to be disrespectful using the word 'poor', this is the separation of how the government look down upon 99% of people and I am in that category. Though I am lucky to own an F8, I am not rich. I do believe the government want 80% of cars to be electric asap and are doing this to reach this figure at which point they will calm down. However, they may put certain restrictions on engine sizes and force more use of turbo engines. I do believe Ferrari have been very clever in their range of vehicles and engines. Sadly as a result 296 values have decreased rapidly which is why Ferrari have kindly 'requested' many youtubers to push the 296 as the market is saturated with them in order that they think they can climb up the Ferrari ladder so that Ferrari make enough performance hybrids to avoid the £15k fine per vehicle which interestingly was not applied in 2024! Almost like certain manufacturers (of supercars) knew this would be the case and made plenty performance hybrid cars instead but all the other much cheaper car manufacturers made full electric cars. I could have bought a 2024 296 but instead got a 2020 F8. Since my purchase 7 weeks ago the 296 has dropped below £200k and many are available between £199k - £200k. A £20k drop in 8 weeks. There is a 2021 SF90 available from a Ferrari dealer at £269k with 1,321 miles, the next cheapest is a 2020 non dealer with 12,854 which is £15k cheaper than 8 weeks ago when I was looking. I understand prices are also affected by the spec but still they have dropped a lot recently for summer when cars usually hold their value and drop for winter. F8 values are basically the same as when i made my purchase. It's almost like people who do look at mpg costs due to them doing so for many years take interest in the 296 3.0TT V6 hybrid but this also being slightly negated by the extra weight. In return many supercar buyers are just not interested in a 3.0 V6 Ferrari which also scuppers sales. Apologies for my story.
Key Durability Factors in the 296 Advanced cooling: Liquid cooling minimizes thermal degradation, a major threat to lithium-ion battery life. Limited EV range: The battery is not used in deep charge/discharge cycles like in a Tesla or Prius, reducing stress. Software-controlled usage: The 296’s electric motor assists more with torque fill than sustained EV driving, which is less harsh on the pack.
Becoming clear to me that when residing in my uk residence that’s where I should be buying my Ferraris….what a discount. I’ll ignore the lil issue of wrong side of road and then nowhere to drive. Would look nice cruising Mayfair though.
You can see the battery cost here: https://www.eurospares.com/Ferrari/296/296_GTB/PartDiagrams/0176/BATTERIES?ref=001 21k euros before tax
