Leaderboard

HALLELUJA!!!!!!! Thank you Lord. She runs! First try, it was a tad rough and low rpm(5-600-ish) for a couple seconds and slowly starting picking up rpm to the normal 1500. I waited another 15 seconds and floored it, went up to 2100 (how its always done) and back to 1500 when I let off. Put it in gear and moved it backward and forward a few feet (wife's car is in front). A minute later the rpm fluctuated up and down then went up to 2100 roughly like it was randomly dropping a cylinder then smoothed out and went back to 1500 smoothly, that scenario was maybe 10 seconds. Sat there another 2 minutes, still smooth, HVB already up to 50%. Set the defrost on max but lowest fan speed, to keep the ICE running. Going to let i run a half hour or so, get good and warm. Tomorrow I'll get it scanned. Ate something that didn't agree with me last night, don't feel like doing squat today, almost didn't even go out to try the car but it's warmed up to a balmy 18° so I figured to out. I'm guessing the problem was fuel related, something iced up or froze and maybe had some air in the lines causing that fluctuating/rough running for a few seconds just now.

Hi everyone. I am a new C-Max energi owner. Picked up a fully loaded 2013 all black today. I have a level 2 charger on my house,so I'm all ready. As a long time Ford parts manager, I'm very familiar with them, and looked for about 6 months to find just what I wanted. One owner, 115k miles, selling dealer serviced from new. The transmission waa changed at 49k under warranty with the updated unit. I can't wait to start modifying it!

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

Hello, we are picking up a new to us 2018 SE tomorrow.

Just a little info for everyone, Use it however you want. I spent 20yrs as an auditor for various gas stations/stores across the southeast USA. Part of that job was verifying the fuel level reporting of each station. Reports were used to track refill orders & to report to the EPA to verify tank & fuel pipes were not losing fuel [EPA does not care what leaks into tanks just what could leak out]. Despite appearances, gas stations are not sealed. Every time you put a gallon in your car, the same volume of air is drawn into the feed tank. Outside air with moisture & dust. I probably checked a thousand or more over the years & EVERYONE of them had some water/dirt in the bottom of the tanks. Depending on the size of tank & water level, equipment is used to remove excess. There is a reason for using fuel additives that should not ignored. THANKs for the read.

There are jump points under the hood. Use those first to try and jump the vehicle long enough to open the hatch. Seeing issues people have had doing this in the past, you may want to verify you have a solid connection especially on the grounding post (the long grey 'bolt' sticking up in the engine bay on the drivers side near the headlight). Also may need to give it some time if the battery has been seriously discharged to give it enough juice for the appropriate modules to wake up. The BCM is in charge of the locking system and the latching mechanism in the hatch. If the door locks work and interior lights are lit, it should be enough to open the hatch. If all this fails, you'll unfortunately need to climb over the back seat and figure out how to access the battery that way which will be a HUGE paint in the ass. Try the above options first.

I know this post is 5 yrs old. Just posting to possibly help someone else in future who might be reading or searching for solution. 2013 CMax SEL Hybrid 114K miles. Rough running, flashing engine MIL light, P codes: 0302 (cyl 2 misfire), 0202 (cyl 2 injector A circuit), 0316 (engine misfire on startup). I had proactively replaced spark plugs about 1000 miles ago (couple months earlier). First time the above malfunction happened a couple weeks ago I got all new coil on plugs, Motorcraft DG-522, and replaced all four, figuring and hoping it was a coil problem since I was pretty sure the spark plugs were fine. Problem went away for about a week. It happened again so I figured it probably wasn’t a spark problem anymore. Tested resistance between the two pins on each of the injectors with the multimeter, which should be between 11 and 18 ohms. I didn’t know that range of values at the time, but the suspected three good ones from cylinders 1, 3, 4 were about 13 ohms and cylinder two was about 29 ohms. Figured cylinder two is probably beyond a limit. Found online mechanics saying the resistance should be between the 11 and 18 ohms. Ordered four Bosch fuel injectors 62383 figuring I would just replace them all at once. Car had sat now for a couple days so wasn’t worried about fuel pressure or fire. Wasn’t very difficult to replace injectors... Obviously you have to remove the air filter box associated air hoses etc to get at the coils/plugs/injectors. Then took picture of all the wires as is, although I don’t think you could physically cross wire anything in truth on reinstallation. Then removed the wires from the coils and from the injectors, and all the wire mounts, to gain some working room below the wire looms. Blew the gunk out of the injector holes with compressed air. Loosened the two bolts holding the fuel rail on. Jiggled and wiggled the fuel rail plus 4 injectors out of the four cylinders. I did not disconnect the fuel line leading in to the fuel rail. A bit of fuel dripped around out of the injectors (a few ounces total), but I had a rag ready to soak it up. I cleaned the injector holes with the gasoline soaked rag and my finger, and some qtips. I sucked the injector holes with a vacuum to remove any residual debris. Removed the old injectors from fuel rail with a small screwdriver to get the metal clip to release then pulled them out (still working below the wire looms with fuel input line still attached, tight but manageable plus a bit more fuel dripped out). Transferred the old metal clips over to the new injectors. Lubed the new injectors o rings with some Vaseline or could’ve used motor oil. Inserted each injector by pushing in to fuel rail making sure the metal clip latched on the fuel rail lip. Pushed the fuel rail with new injectors back into their 4 cylinder holes. Tightened the fuel injector rail bolts to 17 foot pounds. And plugged everything back in. Double checked it looked right. Started car and pressed gas to make ICE run (1-2 seconds of sputtering as fuel pressure built). Checked for leaks and problems seems solved. We’ll see if it stays gone. Hope this helps someone.

It's with great sadness that we're listing our C-Max for sale. We bought the car in 2020 during the pandemic, and it has served us well. It's taken the kids to school, to the supermarket, and many more exciting adventures well beyond Jersey City where we live. We're moving overseas, so the car can't come with us. If we weren't moving so far away, we'd be keeping the C-Max until its dying days. It's spacious, fun to drive, and perfectly sized for city life. It has custom fitted Husky floor liners for both rows, a 3D printed liner for the trunk floor, custom fit windscreen shield, tinted rear windows, and a Sync 3 infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. Message me if you're interested.

When it bought my 2017 C-max Energi, I found it so solid and stable and smooth on the road that I called it my "Little LTD."

In case it helps someone else about 2 weeks ago my backup camera stopped working about 85% of the time with the error message saying camera not available, see dealer. My car is a 2013 SEL. Occasionally it would work and some of those times the image would be upside down. After reviewing this forum, I ordered the camera (Dorman 592-008 Rear Park Assist Camera) and some plastic trim tools from Amazon. Using the YouTube video below I was able to replace it. I did have one of the tabs on the camera bracket break. I secured it with a trimmed piece of duct tape, and I think it will be fine. If not, I know the camera works and how to get to it now.

Several folks here have gotten over 200k. Enjoy the car. Cheers

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.

For me I've basically skipped refreshing the included tire kit/inflator. Ulterior motive for that being I found mine had an air leak somewhere and wouldn't get up past around 20 psi. Instead I just got a cheap tire inflator from the local big box store. Slime branded model that also has a digital pressure readout and auto-stop once it reaches your set pressure. Then just a simple tire plug kit to go along with it. Both are small enough to stash under the lip in the cargo area on my Energi and the old space under the passenger seat is now open for extra storage.

As far as the 2016 situation, here's the gist: 2016 model year C-Maxes with the appropriate trims/options (ie: Has the 8" touch screen, not the 4" non-touch unit) would have been supplied with Sync 3 vs Sync 2. But the USB hubs in the center console were not compatible with CarPlay. I believe something to do with a special identification chip that Apple requires. Don't quote me on that though. Android Auto users don't have the same issue. But 2017+ model years they updated the hub so it is compatible. There was also a software update to Sync that was needed too. Many may already be past this. Always recommend to go through Ford for these updates first and it'll get the software side sorted out: https://www.ford.com/support/sync-maps-updates/ . Some suggest using Cyanlabs to get to newer 3.4 versions that Ford doesn't officially support on our vehicles but it requires some technical experience and has the potential to brick your APIM. If you happen to still have an older hub and update Sync 3 to the latest available version to you, you should then receive a warning on startup about USB hubs not being supported. The hub replacement is inexpensive and quick to do. The hub in the center console just snaps in. Pop it out, there's two connectors on the back. Unplug the old, plug in the new, pop it back in. No further work or programming needed.

I did the upgrade. It was pretty easy to do. I'm editing together a video on how to do the install, as well as a video on the parts you'll need. Hopefully it'll be online soonish.

My son upgraded his 2016 c-max energi to the latest sync version a couple years ago but I don't think he had to upgrade the usb hubs. If you are going from sync 2 to sync 3 I think the usb ports are upgraded on some models. He got the sync updates from a non-ford site.

This is what Ford used to call the 'oil maintenance mode' on earlier model years and changed it up to this confusing wording later. This mode only exists on Energi models and will run if you have too many drive cycles where the ICE starts but runs in short bursts or otherwise doesn't come up to full temp. Many will see this during the colder months of the year with cabin heat being used especially if you stay on EV Auto mode. It's normal and it is designed to run the ICE full time until it gets hot enough for long enough to boil off accumulated moisture in the oil. It'll continue to run even between vehicle restarts until it is satisfied. A quick way to end it is to get on the highway and drive it for a bit so it is under a consistent engine load and maintains the coolant/oil temp it needs. Just keep in mind that once it finishes, it'll drop back to 'Auto' operation and with plug-in charge available that means it'll be running on EV power primarily and you'll want to switch back to EV Later while still on the highway to help protect the battery.

Just saw the video you posted (odd, I didn't see it te other day). Anyhow, mine didn't even "run" anywhere near that smooth. It was really rough, almost like only one cylinder was firing. And the rpm definitely was not steady. I also noticed at times the up/down arrow flicked from discharge to charge and I'm sure I saw the "EV" flick on once. Either way, fuel pump looks like a good place to start. Haven't done anything yet as it's still been sub freezing. Tomorrow supposed to be in the low 20s in the afternoon. I'll try again in case something was frozen.

To be clear: The BMS only needs reset if changing out the battery. If you're just disconnecting the same battery for some reason and reconnecting it after, there should be no reason to reset the BMS. That's all retained in non-volatile memory that doesn't get affected with loss of power. Also the BMS reset can be DIY'd. The best solution is to use Forscan (either the mobile or PC version, both have the necessary service function) with your OBD adapter of choice. There's some method floating out there of doing a whole dance with the high beams or flashers or something but the issue with that is there's no clear confirmation that it succeeded. With Forscan you can check the battery age PID after the reset to confirm it took.

From memory some people on this forum have had luck sourcing a used 2016+ transmission from wrecking yards via car-part.com, and getting a local mechanic to install that. It will cost much less than the 7k the dealer wants to charge.

Not sure about a dealer installed. And I think most have taken the '2014-2017/18' years on the original bulletin as a hard limit on which ones they'll upgrade even though personally I think it wasn't intended to be interpreted that way and just what they covered under the free labor provisions. But I have a 2013 SEL and DIY'd it and it's been running perfectly aside from Ford dropping all the useful features which isn't specific to the '13s and affects everyone.

Cmax lover, Tough call. In general, if you love your cmax and it's in very good shape and well maintained, I'd price a new tranny (hopefully one having a 3 year warranty or so) and if the price is reasonable, pull the trigger given you'll likely get 200K on it. If you want something newer, I'd look at used 2016, 2017, and 2018 cmaxes since those transmissions are purportedly 'better' (although my 2017/2018s were not). At this point, if my 2018 cmax crapped its tranny again, I'd want a 2017 energi, but that's me. Greg

Hi all, just picked up my 2015 C-max Energi Titanium Plus with 145000 kilometers. It got traded in at a Volvo garage a friend of mine is running and he knew I was looking for a PHEV. Although working in EV industry for >6 years (CHPT) I never knew there were ever PHEV C-max sold in The Netherlands; actually less than 1000 have indeed been put on the road here. Hope to find useful information here.

Funny...My Manual said the opposite at least for the engine : " Do not use supplemental engine oil additives in your engine. They are unnecessary and could lead to engine damage not covered by your Ford warranty."

Service manuals. You can find them on eBay. I highly recommend finding a CD based non-PDF copy if possible as they'll be the most complete but the PDF is ok for the basics. But in my experience that may miss some sections or images. But the service manuals will be the exact thing that Ford dealer techs have access to and go into a lot of detail regarding these vehicles. I do have an ISO file for my 2013-14 copy. I'll see if I can post it up on archive.org later.

Engineers say "Oh, this part only needs replaced every seven years so" -- to replace the battery in my Prius from the trunk you had to remove a bunch of ductwork and a brake controller .. headlights -- in my HHR you literally had to turn the wheel to one side, undo the clips from the wheel wheel, reach up from behind the wheel well and then change the headlight from under the car. The Prius headlights -- to do by Toyota spec you had to remove and replace the front bumper, $300 .. I found the part on Amazon for $80 per xenon bulb and very carefully replaced them with teeny hands and a compact mirror. Even the CMAX you have to peel up the HVAC cowling, pop some push pins near the radiator and wrench a bit on the headlight assembly to get it to pivot to the point where it's easy access, depending on which headlight you want to replace. My '94 Cavalier? You could open the hood and replace a headlight bulb in about 30 secs.

Lots of old data on this forum going back to 2012 when the c-max came out. Suggest you do a search for the cv boot problem before laying out $$ for that one.

I happened to be driving my 18-year-old Toyota jalopy down a nearby county road when I spotted a maroon Ford compact for sale in a yard. Thinking it was a little Fiesta I might be able to afford, I stopped to check it out. The seller stepped out to talk about it: "2015 C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, flexible on price" (OMG -- only nine years old, might as well be brand-new!). By the end of the next day, I was cautiously pressing the accelerator to silently drive it home. By now, I have discovered many of the little surprises that come with a used car -- one missing fob (the seller promises he's looking for it), mysterious warning lights that come on inconsistently, the rear hatch latch that occasionally won't open, and a weird howl from the nearly-new General radial tires. But hey, I'm drivin' hybrid-style, going all of 15 miles on pure electrons before the ICE kicks in and starts burning dinosaur juice (didja catch that use of "ICE" to refer to the piston engine? Yes, I've been reading the forum while I waited for membership approval). So, I am extremely happy to have found this place to humbly (and occasionally stupidly) ask questions of the much more experienced C-Max drivers here. I have a few already waiting to be researched and/or written up. Thank you to all here who offer their knowledge and experience to newbies like me.

The HVB is what runs the two electric motors that conspire to start the ICE and to get ICE torque to the wheels, remember? The 12v battery is just for the accessories and the power relay that lets juice out of the HVB. If the HVB is totally dead, your car is bricked. But there's a long way to go from "can't run on battery for long" and "not enough battery to start the ICE".

For me it would't be worth it even if you doubled the range to 20 miles. I would get an escape PHEV (39mile range) or an EV if you don't take frequent long trips. I did buy a Mach-E standard range EV last year after I sold my c-max.

I'd first start by getting the actual capacity of the battery currently. The estimated range is practically useless as a health indicator as a lot of factors can impact the numbers. Here's the test you need to do: 1) Fully charge the car 2) Drive it in EV mode ONLY (avoid things that can cause the ICE to start, ie: No highway driving, no cabin heat, as few active accessories as possible) 3) Drive until the plug-in charge is depleted. 4) Once the plug-in charge is used and it falls back to hybrid operation, safely stop somewhere and shut off the car. The trip summary on the left screen will list the kwh used. This is the number you need. 5.5kwh is the brand new plug-in capacity from the factory. Anything above 4.0 is still in good territory.

I was hoping someone in the CMAX forum would be interested in taking over for me making Grill Covers for those that can't make their own. It would be a shame not to have them available for New Members. Paul

I used a small booster battery on the jumper posts under the hood to jump the car and to get the lift gate to operate.

Well, there goes the trade-in vaue of my 2013!!

After a year of inaction I decided to take the dive & replace the camera on my 2013 SEL, with hope that it would not be more than my auto repair knowledge. Turns out it was easier than I was afraid of. Research online showed cheapest was RockAuto/Amazon/Ebay, about $150 after taxes & shipping opposed to local parts stores or dealer, $200-$500. I am partial to RockAuto but whoever works for you. My car called for part #Dorman 592-008, I believe your 2014 uses the same#, but verify first. You will need 1. a Phillips head screwdriver, 2. A 10mm socket & 2in extension, 3. A small flat head screwdriver & a trim removal tool or dull regular screwdriver [dull to prevent scratches] or a dull butter knife, worked just as well for me. Optional: dielectric grease & crazy glue #1.Remove top center trim. Has 2 clips at 1/3 & 2/3 across & 2 plug-ins to side panels. #2.Remove 2 side panels. Had clips at top & center & 2 plug-in to big/main panel at bottom end. #3.Using small flat head remove buttons on hatch handle to access Phillips heads & remove handle. [ I needed a small flashlight to see heads & put driver in correctly but I am old and feeble at the worst times] & remove 2 rear light access doors to help pull big panel. #4Remove big panel. If you have the push button close, find a helper to hold big panel while you unplug switch before you undo the last 1-3 clips, [Murphy's Law dictates that wind will gust while you try to hold panel with one hand & unplug with other hand] #5.With 10mm socket & ext. remove 4 nuts that hold outer body with the license plate lights & camera. Be careful not to drop any of the nuts into bottom of hatch. #6. Remove camera from socket holding it in place. Mine had 2 "fingers" on one side holding it. Unplug camera, easier to unplug after removal than in place, plug in new camera & follow pattern in reverse to reassemble. Total time was about 2 hours, but I am a bit slow a deliberate when it comes to auto repair. #7.You may want to use dielectric grease on plugs to guard against water & use crazy glue on small plastic parts that may break, be sure glue is dry before reassembly. This worked for me & I now had a camera that works [better than O/E]. Hope this helps & Thanks for the read.

I've always been into lighting and the factory halogen headlights on the C-Max are just not acceptable to me, comparing them to my past cars that are equipped with factory projector HIDs. I tried LED bulbs in the factory halogen hosing. Although the performance was much better, the glare was a little too much for my liking as I've been high-beamed by oncoming traffic a few times. I wanted to correct this so I looked into retrofitting projector HID's into the factory housing. My choices were TSX or RX350 projectors but found out that the best option would be to use projectors from Morimoto. I opted for their Mini H1 V7.0 bi-xenon kit and they definitely live up to their reputation. I don't have any progress pictures, unfortunately. Just the end results! I have a few more videos that I'm going through but for now, hope you guys enjoy some pictures and clips..

I vaguely remember an article about Escape Hybrids in NYC taxi service - It reported that as the Ford Hybrids reached 200,000 miles, Ford was buying them back to disassemble and inspect. The overall aspect of the article was that Ford could not find any problems and they were happy with the results.. Not knowing ; just presuming - I thought that the Escape Hybrid system was the forerunner of the C-Max Hybrid system, and therefore a " bulletproof " system. Anyone else ever see the same information, and draw the same conclusion as Mine ?

62Lincoln, you are responding to posts that are over a year old...

At 206k miles I'm finally doing a repair which I have to pay for, can't complain but FORD wants $600 to replace right hand half shaft axle which I can't afford with having to replace my tires in a month or two for $800. Fortunately I have a Son in Law that's good with working on cars if I need help. :) As it turns out I needed help separating ball joint from wheel knuckle and the extra pair of hands made the difference. My inner boot was leaking grease. Have pics of ball joint and wheel knuckle and old & new right hand half shaft. The rest of the steps were pretty easy, I'm getting new half shaft from AutoZone this afternoon for $145 vs $245 from FORD. will Post when I get the car back together. I have it most of the way back together, same problem area getting it back together. Definitely a 2 man job. :) Paul

I think the C-Max could do pretty well, with mods. Or at least the Energi would; it has 300 lbs extra weight over the back wheels. I've always noticed how balanced the car is on twisty roads.

I have heard that you will be totally disgusted with the quality of ride...

I found this in FFH Forum: "run flat bridgestone driveguard tires.The tires are quieter and handle much better than the michelin energy savers. they are very quiet too. i was worried the gas mileage would go down alot with a run flat w speed rated tire. to my surprise the mileage is about the same and thats with the oem recommended 35 psi. im wondering if i boost the pressure alittle if i can do even better. overall, a highly recommended tire and im generally a die hard michelin guy. No worries if anyone wants the security of run flats since we do not have a spare. go for it" I wonder how accurately they're measuring their gas mileage, but I thought I'd pass this on.FWIW :) Paul

I've got an idea: take the bed apart, load it back into the car, and take a picture! :doh: :confused: What?

Hi everyone and thx again to many here for the tips and sharing the Plasti-dip experience. My Max now has a black grill and rims. The grill has one coat of glossifier on it and the wheels are just straight Plasti-dip. I love how it turned out. I did have some problems with taping off the open areas of the grill and the paint lines where its was masked do show. Not sure what to do with this? My thoughts are to either touch it up by painting the area that were missed by brush or getting thinner and removing the Plasti-dip in that area. As long as the lines are clean I think either of these should work. Not sure what others have done with masking this area off? Anyway, We drove to Detroit and I took some photos near the old train station here. What a change to the look of the car. I really like the new look.

I was also going to suggest pulling the fuse if nothing else is on the circuit; however, I like having the rear camera on while using my cargo rack. If fact, I even turn on the delay option to keep the camera on longer so I can get a longer view to monitor things I have on it.

I put a hi flow filter in my truck 15 years ago.(still have the same one in there) I got a 5 mpg boost and has 300,000 miles on it now with no problems. Saves gas and only have to buy one over the life of the vehicle. What more could you ask for?

I've never liked dead pedals, this one is REALLY bad.