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@jzchen and @takingittothemax are now forum moderators to help zap the spammers !

'The Enterprise' hit 200,000 miles yesterday! 42% EV and 48.5 lifetime mpg. On to a quarter million!

First let me apologize for the rampant spam that this forum has experienced for the past several weeks. Since the C-MAX is discontinued, we essentially left the site up and running based on the previous moderator's wishes to upkeep it. That obviously didn't happen. I have cleaned up the site earlier today and rooted up all suspected members. I also made it tougher for spammers to register and I'll keep an eye on the site. If anyone would like to help moderate the site, please let me know. Bill

Well, I guess I'll have to jump in here. I expect disagreement with some of the following statements but, as someone who completely tore down a failed transmission (maybe the only one), I hope you will give them some credit. First, I suggest you read this topic and this post and the links it contains about "my story" and the TSB. I don't believe all of these early transmissions will fail in say (pick a number), 200k miles. The failure has nothing to do with the bearings themselves. The failure most likely has nothing to do with the oil pump running all the time or not. Read my July 15, 2021 post here and cr08's post following. The failure mode is not a slow "wear out" (like bearing wear due to lack of oil) but an abrupt one where a friction-fit band on the transfer shaft slips, thereby allowing the shaft to slop back and forth which causes wear against the housing and gear teeth to be damaged. In my case, all corners of the teeth on one gear were sheared off and the shaft wore a hole completely through the housing. The grinding sound mentioned in the TSB is likely due to gear teeth hitting each other (or the housing). I suspect that my shaft shifted further than most and the teeth corners were sheared off in one catastrophic event - therefor, I never had a grinding sound afterward. I only had a faint whir under very specific conditions (see below). Before buying any of these early cars do the following: If possible, determine if it might already have had a replacement Pull the pan under the engine and check for any leaks as some cars had a sealant failure between sections of the housing. Of course, make sure there are no grinding/thumping sounds as described in the TSB Make sure there is no faint whirring sound like I experienced. Check for this sound as follows: - Drive at about 35 MPH and let off the accelerator to be in EV mode. - Repeatedly press the accelerator as far as possible (while staying in EV mode) and let off to go into regen. Don't press hard enough to kick on the ICE. - Listen carefully for a faint smooth whir that starts and stops. If present, it likely indicates that the transfer shaft is sloping back and forth, rubbing in one direction but not in the other. I had this sound for possibly 50k miles! You might hear a "hum" from the electric motor when accelerating so this test might be a bit tricky, Anyway, the whir disappeared with the replacement transmission. The whir was not loud at all - could easily be disregarded. Drain a tiny bit of transmission fluid and check the color; black or reddish clear (like the new stuff). I'm not sure about this test as I have never heard if the fluid in a good transmission really stays clear (the change interval is 150k miles). However, if it is clear, then it should be good as there is no aluminum being worn off the housing. My fluid was quite black. Determine replacement cost and assess your willingness to accept the risks. After getting the car, do the following: NEVER use 'L' on the gear shifter or use the Downhill button on the side of the shifter. That is to say, never use engine breaking - its of little value anyway. Otherwise, drive how and where you like. I can't prove it of course but doubt that highway/city and all that makes any difference. Change the fluid as recommended. I suppose if you were having that whirring sound, it might be good to change it more frequently - might delay its eventual demise. Of course, be prepared to accept a failure should it ever happen. Otherwise, forget about it all and enjoy the car! I replaced my 2013 transmission at 172k miles and am now at 231k. I still love driving the car and, in spite of several problems, still consider it the "best" car I've had overall. Of course part of that "best" is the fuel savings! Naturally, only you can decide between the older and newer models. Personally, I would lean towards newer but would hardly rule out the older if everything checked out, it had the features/options I wanted and a really good price. (P.S. More comments here and here.)

It took 9 days from the time my car was built to when it was delivered. Here are pics: I ordered trailer towing, ICE Block heater, mini spare tire, floor mats and splash guards. Paul SaveShare Reply Quote

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but if you guys are still active and are still curious, yes you can use focus suspension. Here’s my 2014 with Godspeed coilovers for a focus of equivalent year. Wheels are Konig ampliform. The rear springs are adjusted as high as they go unfortunately due to the low spring rate. I’m currently talking with Godspeed to see if they offer a stiffer spring for the rear so I can raise it up in winter.

I got mine back yesterday. Yay! The technician's notes read: "Road test vehicle and verified TSB 20-2219 applies. Removed trans for inspection as per TSB. Split trans case and inspect. Verified pitting final drive and transfer shaft bearings. Found transfer shaft gear wore into the dampener housing. Replaced trans as per TSB 20-2219 and flushed trans cooler. Updated trans strategy and road test." It's going to take a while to get used to it being so quiet again, and to un-train the internal mental grimace of anticipation of the engine turning on at low speeds. It feels like getting a whole new car, so I am quite happy, and looking forward to driving it for many years!

Update on my issue: after having the car for a day and a half, service manager contacted me. It looks like the sound I heard was indeed the bearing/transfer shaft issue and they're replacing the entire transmission under warranty! It appears that being under 8 years/100,000 miles with the extended coverage on the Energi was what made the difference. It should be replaced with the current (mid 2015 and later) HF35 transmission. Should take about a week to get the part and get it installed. In retrospect, getting the first gen (2013 MY) of this new transmission was a risk, but I knew it wasn't an entirely new design, just an evolution of the earlier design so I thought I'd be good. I vaguely remember the extended plug in hybrid warranty powertrain coverage being an incentive to buy, and it looks like I wasn't wrong. This service experience makes me more likely to look at a new Mach-E as my next car, I'll tell you that . . . definitely heard from Tesla owners that the service experience is awful.

OK, I reset my 12 V battery age from 753 days to zero days by doing the following: 1) Placed car in ACC mode by pushing start button without foot on brake. Again, it may also work in ready to drive mode. In ACC mode, the DCDC converter does not charge the 12 V battery (set point voltage is 10.6 V). The DCDC converter sets the voltage at 13.0 V which basically is a float charge to keep the 12 V battery from discharging. 2) Operated high beam switch 5 times. 3) Pumped brake pedal 3 times. 4) 12 V battery age changed to 0 days. I did not notice anything else happening on the dash to indicate acceptance of the change of battery age. Maybe I missed it I then put car in ready to drive mode and am currently recording FORScan data. I will analyze data and compare to data I recorded around 6 months ago after about 50 minutes of recording. The first point noted was the Set Point Voltage appeared to be higher than previous even though my current SOC is several % higher than previous. I may start a new thread comparing results and adding to those results as the 12 V battery ages. Like I said in other threads this is the second time I zeroed out battery age. My current battery will be 5 years old in June 2020.

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

Was changed in 2014. Mar 12 2014 4717 -2014 Fusion and MKZ Hybrid/Energi - Oil Viscosity Specification Change The oil viscosity recommendation of 5W-20 on the oil fill caps on some 2014 Fusion and MKZ Hybrid/Energi vehicles may appear to conflict with the owner guide and other service publications which recommend 0W-20 oil. Both 0W-20 oil and 5W-20 oil are approved for use in these vehicles.

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.

now the proud owner of a 2015 cmax energi... out the door taxes, tags, titles, ect 11400 same color too. now just need ot learn how best to squeeze mileage out of the enrgi. drive to work is only 18miles. so I should be seeing some pretty good fuel numbers....

Based on driving our 2013 SE for 210k miles I would certainly encourage buying a C-Max - points to make: The hybrid battery doesn't fail - I can't recall hearing of a single failure and I've followed this forum constantly since 2013. Not saying it can't happen but just not a concern. Without failures there's little (if any) information on costs but there should be plenty of used battery packs available from wrecking yards should one ever be needed. You don't need to analyze anything - just drive it like any other car and you'll still get great mileage. There are little things you can do to improve mileage if you get interested but a lot of those work on any car. As one member posted years ago, the car still cares [about saving gas] even if you don't! Extreme temperatures affect all cars. You might notice it more with a hybrid, since the mileage numbers are so much higher to start with, but you're still way ahead overall. After owning over a dozen cars I still consider the C-Max the "best" one overall! And after 210k miles its still enjoyable to drive and I expect to go another 100k miles.

I changed my brakes on all four wheels. A year ago when state inspected was told rear brakes were low and I got them to pass it. There was uneven wear on one side so one lining was getting thin but the rotors were pretty bad. I thought it was due to the hybrid braking but looking at videos on the Ford Focus, the deterioration looks similar. I decided to do the fronts too so I did not have to deal with the mechanics not passing something. I probably could have gotten by with just one rotor in the front. Linings were like 60%. I am glad I did it if just for the fact of becoming aware of the stuck on wheel in the front (see #1) (55,500 miles, 2013 C-max, parked outside) Thoughts for people that are considering doing brakes themselves. 1. One of the front wheels was rusted on. (WD40 did not help enough.) I ended up needing to use the new style brake piston compressor as a spreader in aiding to break it off. I pushed off the spokes of the wheel as close as I could get to the center. I am now leaving the essential parts of the piston compressor in the car in case I need to change tire and can't get it off. ( I have a spare.) I did put some silicon grease on the wheel that might help and sanded the rusty areas. ( I did some thinking and some research afterwards. One youtube video showed hitting the rim and tire with a rubber coated sledgehammer. And then mentioned if that doesn't work, with loosened lugs nuts drive in a circle. I like that idea if the spreader didn't work. What usually works for me is kicking the tire. With spreader the kick worked.) 2. Used a brick to break the rotor off. A hammer just wasn't heavy enough. 3. I bought rotors and pads for both wheels off ebay for around $100. 4. I am getting older and I used a written rear brake change plan to make sure I didn't miss something. I probably should have done that for the fronts. (Forgot to put on a clip, needed to take wheel off again. It took me about twice as long as I thought it would. 5. A torque socket T45 is needed. The rest is pretty standard metric sockets, small extension, breaker bar. 6. I used some silicon grease and anti cease to lubricate bolts and pads. It may have been better to get brake lube. I actually did not lub all the pads right. I should have looked at where the pads rub and lubed after that. I did use that rubbery quiet stuff on the rear pads and some of the front ones. (another thing I forgot) 7. I looked at videos on youtube for ford focus to do the rears. 8. I bought a brake piston compressor kit that also turns which was needed for the rear brakes. (around $20) Picture order (front, rear, front wheel that was rusted/corroded stuck) (Note the rust on the front rotor was because I left it out in the rain after I took it off.)

I couldn't resist ?

As readers know, I am now driving a 2020 Escape Hybrid. Here's the closeout on our 2013 C-Max. Lifetime summary was reset at the first PCM update, at 11,152 miles on 10/15/2013. Actual miles since update is 55,398.5 miles, for 54.6% EV and 4.4% Regen. Trip 2 was also reset in my attempt to capture the benefit of that first PCM update. Sadly, counters don't have enough digits. MPG might be close, but the rest are way off. Regardless, I'm yet another owner who had no problem beating EPA mileage estimates, despite a long, cold, mileage-killing winter every year. It was an excellent car, overall, save for the brakes; front rotor rusted out and rear brakes needed repeated service. The unexpected part was that the car changed my personality. I was a typical type-A driver, focused on speed, speed and speed. I drove underpowered cars in part to keep my license. And our relationship start off poorly; the car really needed the tailgate recall and I didn't play well with automated doors. But, my wife wanted us to get the car from her father's estate, so I joined the forum and we got the car, just as the EPA thing started. It took me a year to "get" that this was not a highway car. By the second winter, I was committed to taking the "dribbly way" as my kids put it; shorter, more direct surface routes instead of interstates. Instead of trying to stay 9 MPH above the speed limit all the time, I was trying to stay below the blue outline that defined EV Available. I started to drive the wife and kids nuts because I was driving so slowly. I still am. Frank