Laurel Posted December 19, 2012 Report Share Posted December 19, 2012 Well indeed Tip is special, but I have to confess after I wrote about one kick I went out for a drive came back and had to kick twice LOL. But I swear that I was kicking once before --you all are hexing Tip. I hate to think I am experiencing early dementia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) I worked it out people.... There are 2 kicking styles. The manual says kick it forward while some people kick it sideways ala some of the CMax review demos. Now using the left-right or right-left side swing method try this: First, stand in the middle. Now, I normally kick right to left so....kick from right to left across the middle at a steady motion (not too quick) and then....swing back left to right in a steady motion. Make sure you swing out about a foot to the left and then back. The first swing across the middle unlocks the car and the second swing back and across starts the uplift of the gate. Laurel, no worries Tip is special but I think your kicking method is superior. Merry Christmas! Edited December 20, 2012 by Jus-A-CMax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 The first swing across the middle unlocks the car and the second swing back and across starts the uplift of the gate. This explains why it takes more than one kick sometimes and one kick other times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnTrigger Posted December 25, 2012 Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 2 kicks here. One to unlock and 1 to open. I can't get 1 kick to open unless it was unlocked beforehand. That is identical to what I found so far as well; everytime. It is not described that way in the manual, but I suspect that is how it is designed to work. Who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted December 25, 2012 Report Share Posted December 25, 2012 One slow and steady kick opens mine. If I kick too fast it will just unlock and need two kicks to open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnTrigger Posted December 26, 2012 Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 One slow and steady kick opens mine. If I kick too fast it will just unlock and need two kicks to open. I stand corrected to what I posted above about ALWAYS needing two kicks when CMAX is locked. I tried your "slow and steady" method when car was locked, and it worked for me. It is a fairly exaggerated "slow" kick to get it to work. I was evidently kicking "too fast". Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyMaxman Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 I have had similar trials getting the rear hatch to open. I think I have finally gotten the trick to the opening as others have stated. There certainly is a learning curve to such a simple sounding item. Last night the hatch actually would not lock closed despite multiple tries. Took to dealer today. They have it overnight to see why it will not lock down. The light stays on saying the hatch is open and it rattles when driving. I will let you know what is happening when I find out, hopefully tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyMaxman Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Got the Max back the next day. They found the electric locking mechanism was malfunctioning. They have it closed for now so I can feel secure and drive the car. They had to order a new locking mechanism from the factory as the parts depots do not have it yet. Should take about a week they say. I will let you know more as this unfolds. I had to actually explain to the female service writer how the lock worked as she wanted to send me to a body shop to have the hatch fixed. UGH They do not know much about these cars yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaRick Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 For any Seinfeld fans out there, we just need to make sure we have Elaine with us. ;) VR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresnoman Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Mine just started not locking completely for about three days now. Have to manually push it shut to have it lock right. The selling dealer checking it out as I type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWP Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I started a thread on this a while back. I was having the same problem. The verdict then was that if the car was locked, it took 2 kicks to open...one to unlock and one to lift. I took this for action and it's worked fine since. This sounds funny, but here it goes... You've probably seen the C-Max ad on TV with the blue and white guy activating the liftgate with his foot. Notice how he kicks straight into the car and then takes a step back. I wasn't doing that... I was swiping my foot side to side and not stepping back. I went to the blue guy's technique and no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wab Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I've tried ALL the methods mentioned (fast and slow) front to back, side to side + clockwise, 15* angle etc. etc.etc...Out of a couple of hundred tries it's opened twice.My son has tried a couple of dozen times, never works for him.My wife has opened the hatch 9 out of 10 tries, closer to 48 out of 50. I wonder if Ford or anyone has considered foot size?I'm a 13C, son is a 13D, I can't publish :worship: my wife's foot size but it's not large.... a little long for a woman, it's a AA. Note: I gave up a few days ago, now consider it a gimmick that will probably be gone in a couple of yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalebunker Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I've tried ALL the methods mentioned (fast and slow) front to back, side to side + clockwise, 15* angle etc. etc.etc...Out of a couple of hundred tries it's opened twice.My son has tried a couple of dozen times, never works for him.My wife has opened the hatch 9 out of 10 tries, closer to 48 out of 50. I wonder if Ford or anyone has considered foot size?I'm a 13C, son is a 13D, I can't publish :worship: my wife's foot size but it's not large.... a little long for a woman, it's a AA. Note: I gave up a few days ago, now consider it a gimmick that will probably be gone in a couple of yrs.I had issues too; then I got it to work every time. See my posts here http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/topic/788-foot-activated-liftgate-is-intermittent/ I think there is still some flakyness, out there, after initial dismal results, it works every time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wab Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I had issues too; then I got it to work every time. See my posts here http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/topic/788-foot-activated-liftgate-is-intermittent/ I think there is still some flakyness, out there, after initial dismal results, it works every time now. Tried that last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MAXER Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Tried that last week. Ditto and it didn't work for me. In fact, it was 100% two tries with this method. <shruggs> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaRick Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Here's how you open the hatch! ;) ScubaDadMiami and fotomoto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnTrigger Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 (edited) By the way, for anyone who reaches this topic via search, Ford issued a FSA (Field Service Action) in May 2013 to reprogram the kick liftgate. Before the udpate, it seems the sensor would go into a deep sleep after 3 minutes of down time, causing two kicks to be necessary. The reprogram fixes the issue. Edited June 1, 2013 by JohnTrigger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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