The family was shocked when they discovered that the cost of replacing the electric car battery was more expensive than buying the car itself.

Rising fuel prices, with no sign of stopping, coupled with climate change concerns, are leading many people to opt for electric vehicles instead of internal combustion engine cars. The Siwinski family, who live in St. Petersburg, Florida, are one such example.

Accordingly, 17-year-old Avery Siwinski's parents decided to buy her a 2014 Ford Focus Electric – an electric vehicle – so Avery could drive herself to school. The car had already traveled over 96,000 km, and the Siwinski family only spent $11,000 to buy it.

Avery Siwinski was happy with his old electric car, but not for long. (Photo: WTTD).

Initially, everything went well; the car ran smoothly, had no problems, had low running costs, and the Siwinski family considered it a reasonable expense.

"I'm really excited and love this bike. It's compact and runs quietly, I adore it," Avery Siwinski shared about the electric bike his parents bought him.

However, six months later, the car began experiencing numerous problems, with warning lights constantly appearing on the dashboard, the car sometimes failing to start, or even stopping abruptly in the middle of the road.

After taking the car to the garage for inspection, the Siwinski family was informed that the problem stemmed from the car's battery and that it needed replacing.

However, the problem is that since Ford has stopped producing the Focus Electric, they have also stopped producing its batteries. Therefore, replacing the battery would cost Avery $14,000, not including labor costs, which is even more expensive than the car Avery currently drives.

"I know that Ford has discontinued this model, but it's frustrating that they've also stopped producing the battery that goes with it. This will cause inconvenience for thousands of owners who need to replace the battery after a long period of use," Avery said. "The Ford dealership advised us to use a different battery as a replacement, at a cost of up to $14,000."

Because Avery's father recently passed away from cancer, leaving the family financially strained and the cost of replacing the battery too expensive, Avery is currently leaving her car at a local garage. The garage owner offered to buy it back for $500, significantly less than the original price her family paid.

The Focus Electric is Ford's second electric vehicle model, with a production run spanning nearly seven years. (Image: CarBuzz).

Following the incident, Avery Swinski shared her story on social media and warned people to do their research before buying electric vehicles, especially older and discontinued models, because finding replacement parts or batteries is very difficult and much more expensive than replacing parts on vehicles with internal combustion engines.

The Focus Electric was the second electric vehicle (after the Ranger EV) produced by Ford. This electric vehicle was first sold in December 2011 and production ceased in May 2018. Ford sold its electric vehicle in all 50 US states and also in the European market. In the US alone, Ford sold over 9,200 Focus Electric vehicles during its nearly seven-year production run.