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old one above. New one: https://www.tsbsearch.com/Ford/22-2396

Failed vehicle inspection due to "leaking" rear shocks. Shop wanted $700 to replace both. Nope. DIY and casual 4 hours later, replaced both shocks (using TRQs), rotated tires, and cleaned the HVB filter/screen behind passenger-side rear wheel tub while "in there"; screen was clogged and read that can reduce HVB charge. Shocks were slow to remove and reinstall/retorque the bottom bolts (given limited/tight access) and went ahead and replaced both upper shock brackets as well although both looked fine. Not bad overall for $200. Greg

Not to worry. The car will operate in normal hybrid mode. Cheers

Just found out that the coolant reservoir has an overflow tube somewhere by the cap. I must have accidently pointed the funnel in that direction while filling up the reservoir, hence the spilling of coolant. Guess because of the bad location of the reservoir, it's hard to get the funnel into a straight position while filling.

For those who may be unaware, the rear hatch cannot be opened if the 12v battery is dead, so do NOT keep jumper cables in the rear cubby.

Welcome, the forum is back alive!

All the listings I see have the same hatch fitting all years of the car. The tail lights did change in 2017, but all they did was flip the white and red parts of the lens and restyle the lenses slightly. They appear to be the same shape. Here's how to take the light off the liftgate on a pre 2017, but they seem to mount the same way on every year. I doubt they changed the mounting lug locations even if the lens got restyled.

Yes, you can mount the bracket as you want to. The original Ford bracket has contoured sides to fit over the grill ribs. It is riveted through the solid panel between the grille slats at the two points in the recessed rectangles marked with the yellow arrows. I drilled pilot holes and used short chunky self-tapping 1/2" screws that I had in hand to mount mine. There is some space behind the grille to work with. Probably at least an inch. The OEM brackets are still available if you look on the web. Ford part number FO1068151 Here's a link to one source: https://www.theautopartsshop.com/sku/replace-front-license-plate-bracket-fo1068151 One other thing I did was replace the nasty hex head plate screws with 1/2" #14 Phillips head screws which look nicer and also won't damage another car's bumper. The photo of the gray car is off the web (not my car), the bracket is mounted too high, the wide notch should fit over the painted section below the grille - see the second picture (which IS my car).

Thanks for finding a reasonable replacement. Knowing the group number will be a big help. Also, don't forget to reset the battery age monitor/charging scheme. Something like hold the brake pedal down, rub your belly 10 times, or some such. Search the forum for specifics. Cheers.

Yes, you absolutely can brick modules in ways that are not possible to recover, requiring installation of a new part instead. I don't want to mince words here, we are dealing with parts of the vehicle Ford never intended to be modified in the way we are modifying them. It is possible to permanently damage modules and your car. The safeties are off. It is dangerous to your wallet to do this. I had to buy three Parking Aid Modules because I screwed up one, got the wrong part for the second one, and the third finally worked to add automatic parallel park assist. The original one off my car and the other two are sitting in a box in the back of my garage reminding me to read part numbers correctly the first time before searching on fleabay. There are generally two types of 'programming' you can do with Forscan: AsBuilt config changes and module firmware updates. Modifying "AsBuilt" configuration flags is _usually_ safe. Save a backup of the original, make sure it's easy to find, then follow guide on the settings you can flip. I've written about those config settings here: https://github.com/Cellivar/ford-c-max/tree/main/systems/modules I've got links to sources where I get my information on those pages, and some of those have been myself , CR08, bookemdano, and others changing flags and seeing what happened. I say _usually_ safe here because some of those AsBuilt settings are actually one-time-change permanent flags. If you change some of them you can't put them back. If this happens to your Body Control Module or Powertrain Control Module those are expensive and complex to replace. And again, since Ford never intended anyone outside of Ford to touch these, those settings that can't be changed back are completely undocumented and have to be discovered by trial and error. The F150 folks doing this sort of thing have found a number of them in their Transmission Control Modules and, well, that's pretty annoying and expensive to replace. Module reprogramming is an entirely different beast. Ford provides very little external information about the different versions of firmware for modules, this is again pieced together through trial and error. We know things like "don't update the firmware of the IPC while it's in the car" because people have bricked their IPCs doing this. We know "don't update the BECM firmware on its own" because it turns out the BECM, DCDC module, and a few other things all need to be on a compatible-with-each-other firmware version. Which version is that for each module? That's right, trial and error. "Your car doesn't run until you try every combination" sorts of trial and error. And firmware module updates can take hours. All this to say: Nothing we're doing is 'safe to do', it's about making it 'safe-er to do'. Learn as much as you can ahead of time BEFORE you start messing around. There's a reason I started writing things down into my GitHub space. Have a backup plan in case everything goes horribly wrong. Backup config files. Backup module firmware versions. Backup your odometer reading. Backup everything so you can put it back in a hurry if you need to. If you can't live without your car working for a while wait for a better time to mess with things. Read all instructions and guides carefully before you do anything in them, making sure you understand them before you try them. Don't expect your dealer to bail you out, they don't know what we're doing and they often know less than you do. So long as you keep your head on straight, understand what you're doing before you do it, and have a backup plan in case what you're trying to do doesn't work, you will usually be okay. Usually. Good luck.

Hi! I am new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I live in Michigan and have fallen in love with the CMAX. Last fall (2022) our family went through some big medical issues so I sold my 2022 Bronco Sport back to the dealer and walked out with a used CMAX 2016 SEL with 96,000 miles on it. The salesperson was driving it as his demo car and couldn't stop raving about how it's one of the best cars Ford ever made and how Ford made a mistake not making them anymore. I said yes to a CMAX to help save money and to get better gas mileage driving my husband back and forth to the hospital and to and from numerous appointments. I love the car so much! My oldest son who is in college is now driving the 2016 CMAX (his car took a dump this semester). He loves it! A 2017 Ford CMAX Energi with only 54,000 miles is on its way to me this week and I can't wait. I am constantly reading this forum and fangirling over the CMAX, so thought I would join! I am excited to learn more and hopeful the batteries will last as long as possible.

Here is an old thread on the topic. best-highway-cruising-speed-for-mpgs

The rear suspension is built similar to many other cars on the road and should have no problem being serviced by a local repair shop. I would check the rear shock mount first. They are made of aluminum and tend to disintegrate over time. I recently had to replace mine on my 2013 Energi after one failed.

Welcome, I guess the previous owner bought a new car with the bingo winnings.

Energi will get you the used car tax credit if you buy it from a dealer, but if cargo space is important it's not the car for you. Same with small turning radius. I swear, Mack trucks could turn inside a C-Max turning radius.

Greetings! Just purchased a 2015 C-Max Energi SEL and glad to be here! Will have lots of questions at first and hope to contribute once I learn more about the C-Max.

A lot to unpack here: First off, Ford's original 'up to 20 miles' was optimistic and considered the most efficient driving scenario which would be in town stop and go driving. All EVs (PHEV's like the Energi included) are going to be less efficient and have less range in highway driving. In fact it is highly recommended not to drive EV mode on the highway because it stresses the battery and accelerates degradation. Switch to EV Later and save the battery for in town driving/roads under 45-50mph. The range estimate is also just a guess by the system and often referred to as the 'guess-o-meter'. There's many factors that can impact what range it shows and as such is not a reliable indicator of overall battery health. If you want to check the current health, the procedure below is the best way to do so: 1) Fully charge the vehicle 2) Drive in EV mode ONLY, avoiding scenarios that can cause the ICE/engine to start. This means no highway driving, avoid cabin heat/defrost as much as possible. The fewer running accessories the better. 3) Drive until the plug-in charge is depleted and it drops back to hybrid operation. Safely stop the car and shut it off. 4) Upon shutting off the car, you will have a trip summary screen show on the dash. the Kwh used number is what you're looking for. 5.5kwh is what is expected brand new from the factory. 4.0 or higher is still in good territory. Doing this will also give you more reasonable 'EV miles driven' in that summary that will be a bit more accurate than your highway driving test. The car is perfect for long distance driving IMHO and I've taken mine on plenty of cross country road trips and love it. But some expectations have to be tempered here. Using EV on the highway is not advisable and you really should run it as a hybrid in those cases. It's also not going to be as efficient as a Prius in hybrid mode. That said in my first hand experience I can easily average 37-40mpg highway with cruise set and following posted speed limits +5mph or so depending on the traffic. Lowering speed will definitely improve that and other owners have documented notable mileage increases doing so.

You're fine. The battery has a nice sturdy metal case around it. In fact you can pull up the carpeting back there and see what it looks like. It's just attached with velcro. I know on my Energi I briefly had about a dozen bags of sand from the local big box store loaded, probably well over the vehicle's payload. The battery is no worse for wear.

My guess is it either has the 3G modem or the older 2G modem before that. 3G is more likely since that was a free upgrade but I have heard of a few rare cases where it wasn't done (and useless to do now. Ford won't even allow installation of the 3G modems now). 4G most seem to have skipped. Probably the easiest way to tell is download the FordPass app and add your VIN and it'll tell you either to activate the connectivity functions or it'll say the vehicle doesn't have it. There's also checking the modem ESN from the about screen in Sync but I can't recall which letters/numbers indicate which version offhand.

The miles of range mean nothing as that can vary wildly depending on various conditions and colder weather will definitely effect it. You need to do a proper capacity test: 1) Fully charge the vehicle 2) Drive in EV mode ONLY until the battery is depleted (no highway driving, avoid cabin heat as much as possible to keep the ICE from starting. If it does, it invalidates the test) 3) Once depleted and it reverts to hybrid operation, safely stop the car and shut it off. The trip summary will list the kwh used for the trip. This is the number we need. 5.5kwh is the brand new plug-in capacity from the factory. Anything above 4.0kwh should still be 'good'.

Modern cars command modules on/off digitally over the CAN bus instead of the old 'accessory power' wire or switching the main power feed. The radio is one of many examples of this. That said, there are still fuses that will shut off with the ignition. The power feed for the 12v ports in the front feeds off the lighting relays which means they will stay on for up to an hour or so after the car is off but then shut down. There are a number of fuses that are like this as well even for stuff not lighting related. Here's a thread that has some useful info:

Welcome to the forum. There's not much to check on with a car with so low of mileage other than maintainance records & any accident reports. Since lead acid batteries degrade almost as much from age as they do mileage, unless it has been replaced, it is about 7yrs old, so if possible check the 12v battery. It is entering that age when LA batteries start to fail. [Not just on the C-Max but most 12v batteries in all cars]. With that low of use/mileage, it is possible fuel may show signs of getting stale, [easiest way to tell is by smell of the exhaust]. Would suggest using fuel system cleaner the first few tanks of gas if you decide to purchase. Merry Christmas & Thanks for the read.

That is the TCU and is the old 3G model. If that ends up solving the issue long term, then kudos. Hope it works out. As noted earlier, the only things you'll really lose are the ability to set the Value Charge and Go Times features. If you don't use those, then nothing lost. All the rest of the car including phone functionality will remain unaffected.

Sounds like the power or ground is disconnected. For power check fuses for blown fuse. There is one fuse panel under the glove box. Another under the hood and another in the cargo area. I would try checking F69 (instrument cluster) in the fuse panel under the glove box. Look at this page for help in locating the correct fuse. Good luck

Yes. All have Lithium batteries even hybrid models. The only Ford vehicles that ever had the older NiMH batteries were the 2005-2012 Escape Hybrid and the first gen 2010-2012 Fusion Hybrids. Everything 2013+ in Ford's lineup are exclusively lithium-ion based. No transmission issues so far knock on wood. Majority of my driving has been city driving.

I think the CVT in the C-MAX and Prius are more reliable compared to the ones from Nissan for example -- it's just unfortunate they had this seal issue. I do love the car, a lot of hybrids come with upmarket trim because the car cost a lot more than a gas car at new. I'm very satisfied with my purchase but bought the car used with 30k mi around 2016 or so so I've been able to enjoy it for quite a while. The 2nd Gen Prius batteries are starting to fail now, but they also use Nickel Metal Hydride chemistry, I think the C-MAX uses Lithium ion -- so far I've only seen a handful of cars reported on here saying "Stop Safely Now" -- someone with the Forscan app and an OBD dongle might be able to see the actual degradation in the state of charge on the battery pack. The charging routine typically only allows using between 20-80% of the ACTUAL battery pack range to help preserve the battery for as long as possible. Charging to 100% or discharging to 0% is a sure way to lower the life expectancy of the battery so the battery management software is programmed to avoid it. This is all seamless to the driver, the difference is programmed into the gauges, etc. Maybe you can at least test drive the C-MAX and see what you think .. I really like the car .. It's a lot better than the competition, which at the time was the Prius V -- (had absolutely NO power). Ford was more interested in selling F-150, Escapes and Fusion and seemingly took some government funding to develop their version of the transmission and a few other components. They oversold the car as getting 60MPG -- on a very good day, with just the right driving the car CAN do that but it's more typical to get around 40-42MPG. It was TRW that actually developed the drivetrain concept way back in the 60's but up until now they just never had decent enough batteries to make it a reality.

Saw some forum posts about this Roadtop system on another Ford forum. I think the on-screen functionality is fine, but the sound quality from the connected Android phone or iPhone is rubbish because it's going through Roadtop system and the AV inputs.

Thank you so much!

I think that's a new one for this forum. Try other ford sites, especially fusion. Good luck and let us know what you find. Cheers

That's the way it is meant to be. In a Hybrid the electric side is there to help the ICE side. It's not going to run electric all the time and will swap one mode for the other as it sees fit. You should be able to hit about 16km/l if you just drive (at least that's about what I get in my 2015). I find that for me on an average trip 1/4 to 1/3 is on electric power. A Plug in Hybrid is the same, but with more electric (still only about 40-60km at most). It'll run electric when it can but will still switch to ICE as needed. There is a plug in C-Max but you loose about 20cm in depth for the cargo area as the battery is bigger. You would be on electric a lot more as most people drive under 60km on an average day. From what I understand, it'll fully recharge overnight. The closest full electric to a C-Max is the Chevrolet Bolt EUV. I parked next to one and they are almost identical in size. It looks like a good car.

I have experience with buying parts for the now old Thule system. Yes I believe the foot kit you got was the 480R which I vaguely recall use the aero blades. Thank you for sharing that instruction it looks like the newer Wing blade Evos also fit (pardon me if I got the exact name wrong. These feet are usually available for a long time past the “expiration” of the specific vehicle fitting, if you’ll just humor me for a second. The foot attaches to the roof of each specific vehicle with what is called a “Fit Kit”. This kit is vehicle specific and tends to disappear from production and then Thule will delist an available solution for the car. Did what you were sold include this kit? Basically it’ll be like a “L” to attach to the door frame. Those 4 pieces aka fit kit are/is probably the most difficult part to find…

Alright, I realize it's only surface rust, but I will only buy and install coated rotors from now on...I was thinking (probably more so hoping) that DFC daily driver rotors would also be coated in some fashion to retard rusting, but they aren't and for only 10 to 20 dollars more for a full set of rotors, it's worth it to me to go coated just for the better rust-free appearance. Live and learn I guess... Greg

Thanks to this forum posting, I bought a sensor from rockauto for around $50 and replaced it on our 2018 cmax. Getting to the sensor is a bit of a challenge as there is limited room and the dashboard back panel simply gets in the way, but with patience and help from my wife's smaller hands working inside the dashboard...success. Greg

Hybrid only goes a couple miles on ev so the benefits would be minimal. This is a joke, you could put the front wheels on an electric Dynamometer and press the brakes to charge the hybrid battery.?

I traded it in for 2021 FORD Escape Plug-in. ? Paul

Dealers have another huge advantage with respect to the Energi: the tax credit is available on used cars only when bought from dealers.

I love the steering in this era of Euro-developed Fords. I wish they were a little chattier, but barely anything from any brand in this era is. They're just well weighted, heavy enough without needing build your biceps, just enough feel, and stable at highway speeds so that a slight motion off center doesn't send you careening towards the next lane.

It's not just because it's FWD- every AWD car is also a front wheel drive, and the only RWD cars are sports cars. The C-Max's wide turning radius is disappointing, but it's rarely a problem for me, or even a nuisance. I'm guessing that this chassis, which was sold for a decade in Europe before it came to North America as a hybrid, was re-equipped with wider tires and wheels. That might have created some clearance problem that limits their swing. Would I buy a C-Max again? That's what I suggested to a guy I met on the Quora site today. His 2013 SE was getting "a little tired." It had 209,000 miles! He loves the C-Max, but was pondering an EV instead. I suggested he get a late-model, low mileage C-Max instead. I'm also shopping for an SUV for tougher duties, and testing brands like Mercedes, Volvo and Lincoln. With a $30K used budget, I'm finding it hard to match the C-Max's options level and comfort. And none of the others have such responsive, well-weighted steering.

Well, I keep seeing this complaint about the turning radius but even after 245,000 miles and almost ten years I could hardly care less. I'm not even sure I would have ever noticed it if I hadn't read about it on this forum. We all have different things that annoy us and different driving/parking situations but for most folks it shouldn't be a significant issue. I sure wouldn't let it rule out selecting a C-Max over another car.

2013 Prius turning radius 17.1 to 18′ 2013 C-max turning radius 19.19' Didn't notice it until the first time I tried a U-turn.

Well, you made me look. Hardly a replacement for my C-max. ? But if you need seating for 8 and towing that fills the bill. Was expecting a little better mpg's for a hybrid.

This explains how everything works.

Some questions about your problem: How many miles on the car? Does the pitch or volume change with engine speed? You can set the My View screen to show RPM. Does the pitch or volume change with car speed? Does the pitch or volume change with load (pressing or letting off the accelerator) while driving at about 35 mph? Is the sound present while sitting still but with the engine running? You can force it to run in Park by pressing the accelerator. Is there any sign of transmission fluid leaking? Has the fluid level been checked? You might want to post a recording of the sound. Oops - I didn't see stolenmoments post before I posted - that may be it.

Ok, guys. Finally my TCU has arrived and I flashed the J-series firmware. Everything works like a charm now, but departure times. So, my guess we still have to wait for the new firmware. Attached my config and screenshots bellow.

To be clear, my 2013 never failed, but I traded it in at 66K miles. My lack of faith was bolstered by results of an early C-Max life test, service records attached, where 3 of 4 Hybrids, and 0 of 4 Energi's, had transmissions replaced at ~100K miles, in severe service. I can no longer find the data online, but can offer the attached for your perusal. For reference, the service records for many other hybrid/plug-in/electric vehicles in these tests went on for pages. There's very little C-Max service that's not replacing wear-out parts. And you may have the 4th hybrid, whose transmission will last. (Energi's have an electric oil pump.) IDL data 2013cmax HEV PHEV.zip

In 2013, we became familiar with the Engineering Test Mode function in the left hand display. But until recently we were not quite sure how to convert the ETM DTCs to the standard OBDII codes. The ETM display shows Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) as stored by the modules in the vehicle in Hexadecimal format in 6 bytes of data. One can convert the 6 bytes into the OBDII DTC formats. Below is an example of how to convert. Assume C46B86 is displayed in the ETM. 1) "C" hex = 1100 binary, first two bits 11 = Network Code U, second two bits = 0 in hex. So, the first two (OBDII) digits are U0. 2) The next three bytes after the "C" byte are the same in OBDII format. So, the OBDII DTC is U046B. 3) The last two bytes in the ETM code are used to better define the DTC and are attached to the OBDII DTC with a ":". So, the C46B86 ETM code becomes U046B:86. The first two bits of the first Hex digit can be 00, 01, 10, or 11 binary where 00 = P for powertrain codes 01 = C for chassis codes 10 = B for body codes 11 = U for network codes However, I don't recall ever seeing and Powertrain, Chassis, or Body codes in the ETM from any poster. I have only seen the first Hex digit being a "C" or "F" which are U DTCs. This leads me to believe the ETM only shows U codes. But I could be wrong. If anyone has seen P, C, or B codes in the ETM please post. The first digit of a powertrain ETM code should be either a HEX 0, 1, 2, or 3 digit so OBDII P0A2D - Drive Motor A Temperature Sensor Circuit High = 0A2D in the ETM and P1289 - Cylinder Head Temperature Sensor Circuit High = 1289 in the ETM. Here's an example of an "F" ETM code. F00316 = U3003:16 U3003:16 Battery Voltage: Circuit Voltage Below Threshold

I used the site today. I had to be sure to include the www. in the URL. One of my four latches was apparently never replaced. The dealer only did 3 of 4, the front passenger latch seemed like it was the original. So maybe Ford noticed that many dealerships were cutting corners.

After 5 years, My FOB 1 would not work at all. I put in a new battery, and when I hold the fob next to the steering wheel, I can start the car. But it will not lock or unlock the doors. Any suggestions? The new battery is rated at 3 volts and reads 3.2 volts on a volt meter. The old one read 2.7 volts. The original FOB2 still works fine. Any suggestions?

First off let me say I used to be a motor speed freak while using allot of premium gas in my GMC Syclone. Now I want to mod the looks of my Max with cool aerodynamic add-on's made from carbon fiber for that high tech look despite the cost. Sort of want to copy all the young guys in their euro speed rockets. But alas there are no 3rd party makers of such toys for my Max..at least not yet and I hope it is because the Max is still a new model? I find myself dreaming of trying to fabricate my own front air splitter under the front bumper. Also a rear air disfuser for mounting just behind the rear suspension and run back under the muffler up to the rear bumper. But that will probably screw up the functionality of the one kick tailgate feature? But I'd be willing to give it up for a cool looking rear difuser that integrated with the rear bumper. Want my Max to look like a euro road racer without exceeding 85mph once 3.6x installed. For now dreaming of aero mods.

Was this plug kit one you could use without removing the tire from the rim? Here is a link to an article on tire repair which says that's not a good way to go. http://www.aroundhawaii.com/lifestyle/art_and_leisure/2011-02-repairing-todays-tires-beware-of-tire-plugs.html