leetramp Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 I'm really worried and need a shoulder to cry on and some moral support before I go in to the dealer :-( We have a 2013 C-max Energi that we bought in December 2013 (so just under five years) that has about 76,000 miles on it. Most of the daily driving is on electric mode (around town, my wife usually takes the car to work and can get there and back on one charge), plus some long trips (1,000+ miles). Gas mileage is usually in the high 80's; when we go on long trips we get about 35 MPG on the highway with no charge. A while ago we were gone for a couple weeks with the car in the garage and found some fluid on the ground under the car that looked to me like transmission fluid. Called up the dealer to look at getting it looked at, and their first appointment was about two months out. We decided to take it to an independent shop that has someone who specializes in cars like the C-max, where we could get an earlier appointment. But then we procrastinated a bit until we got it in a month or two later. The independent shop looked at it and they reported:Vehicle has a leak from the left side (driver's) axle shaft seal on the transaxle.Leak has been going on for some time. The fibre under engine cover is fully saturated with transmission fluid.The axle shaft has excessive up and down movement which indicates an internal problem.Ford issued a campaign for premature wear on these transmissions. According to the letter, the campaign ended 05/2016.I do not know if they are still honoring it.I test drove the vehicle and the transmission is noisy while the engine is running and I can hear rotational bearing type soundswhen coasting and applying the brakes (vehicle in regen mode).It appears this vehicle is going to need major transmission repair or replacement.Next step is to check for any warranty and make an estimate for needed repairs.We probably got the transmission "customer satisfaction program 14B07" letter from Ford, but don't remember it because I always rely on the recalls and repairs suggested on myform.com (I still need to get the door latch fix). So, I called the dealer today, and talked to the service advisor and mentioned the transmission problem. He then told me that the car doesn't have a transmission! The dealer wants to charge us $190 to evaluate the car. I'm worried that since it's out of warranty--we didn't buy the extended warranty :-( -- they will tell us that we missed the deadline for the free transmission service, and then want to charge us dealer pricing for replacing the entire transmission. I'm pretty sure I can get it for much less at the independent shop, and if they aren't willing to cover this known problem for free, then I'd rather take my business elsewhere. There is so much knowledge and wisdom in these forums, I'd love to hear others thoughts on our situation. Are we just out of luck, or do you think we can get Ford to fix this for free? Should we call Ford corporate office instead of depending on the local dealer; are they more likely to approve the repair if we go straight to them? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. We have an appointment to bring the car into the dealer on Thursday afternoon, then they will get to it when they can (they said the earliest was the 11th, but since we're leaving town for ten days, they think they can get to it earlier if we leave it with them tomorrow). C-MaxA2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obob Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) The transmission is often covered under the hybrid warranty which is as I recall something like 8 years 100000 miles (more if in California !!!!!) Your situation may be different inasmuch most trans problems are about a noise, not leaking fluid. Lots of info on people with transmission problems. https://www.google.com/search?q=fordcmaxhybridforum.com+transmission&oq=fordcmaxhybridforum.com+transmission&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65l3j69i60.9647j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 There is also the fordcmaxenergiforum.com for more energi specific forum stuff. As far as 14B07, not everybody got those. I did not. Edited July 25, 2018 by obob ptjones, kyledamron1 and leetramp 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leetramp Posted July 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 Hi obob, Thanks for the tip on the Energi forum. I forgot that one existed. I'll look over there some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 The hybrid components are 8/100,000 but the normal drivetrain (e.g., CVT) is only 5/60,000. I'd still ask FORD and/or your dealer for assistance. Doesn't always work, but worth the asking. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 The hybrid components are 8/100,000 but the normal drivetrain (e.g., CVT) is only 5/60,000. I'd still ask FORD and/or your dealer for assistance. Doesn't always work, but worth the asking. GregGreg this isn't True, the CVT is covered by the Hybrid Warranty and many of us have had our trans replaced for Free. I had 98k miles when replaced. :) Paul kyledamron1 and grege 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 Greg this isn't True, the CVT is covered by the Hybrid Warranty and many of us have had our trans replaced for Free. I had 98k miles when replaced. :) PaulNot the information I was provided, but happy to be wrong about that! Thanks!Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) This is the relevant TSB. Should be covered under warranty except if dealer says loss of tranny fluid caused failure and owner was negligent. Your post and findings of shop doesn't help. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_id=2319 Edited July 25, 2018 by Plus 3 Golfer obob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 If you had FORD do your oil changes, they should have checked it and should have noticed the fluid on the cover. Paul obob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leetramp Posted August 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 HI all Thanks for all your help. I did post to cmaxenergiforum.com as well, and got help of there as well. In the end, Ford covered it under the extended electric drive train warranty, so no problems :headspin: kyledamron1 and ptjones 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarenHayes Posted August 10, 2018 Report Share Posted August 10, 2018 Awsome.. What was wrong? A new tranny falls under the longer warranty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda B. Posted March 25, 2022 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 Have a 2015 Ford C-Max SEL with 105,000 miles and just told transmission needs replacing due to driver side axle seal leaking. $6500+ Dealership does almost all my oil changes and replaced the battery recently but never mentioned anything leaking. No lights have come on indicating a problem. Now past 100,000 mile warranty so said nothing they can do. I see online this is a problem with the C-Max. I am so angry as I feel it should be covered. Suggestions on how to fight this battle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr08 Posted March 25, 2022 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 What state are you in? Hybrid warranty is 8yr/100k miles or 10yr/150k miles in CARB states. Those states include California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington D.C. If you don't live in one of these states, having passed the 100k mile mark you are no longer covered and that's that. Sadly nobody has had any luck pushing to get these to recall status so Ford's likely just going to tell you to pound sand. Someone even went as far as to get a lawyer involved and try to start a class action suit some years back but it went nowhere. You could see if you can find a non-dealership shop that works on hybrid vehicles and see what they'd charge to install a used transmission. They could also give you a second opinion on the leak which I'd highly recommend getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted March 25, 2022 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 Linda B. that sounds like it may be a different transmission failure mode than the earlier c-max transmission failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCMax Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 Hello everybody! I found this forum to be a world of very important and useful info. I just purchased a 2013 C_Max Hybrid with 101k miles. The transmission is very noisy with the ICE running no matter if the car is moving or stopped, but it's normal when running on electric battery. Transmission shop checked the trans. fluid and it was very dirty and looked grey as if it was full of metal particles. I live in California and the Irvine dealer told me (over the phone) the transmission only comes with 5yr/60k mile warranty. How can I verify that the e-CVT is covered under 10yr/150k Hybrid Battery warranty? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFighterHill Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 From what I can find online the State of California mandates that all hybrid 1990 and newer must be under warranty from the manufacturer for 15 years (10 years on the battery) or 150,000 miles—whichever comes first. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/california-vehicle-and-emissions-warranty-periods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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