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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

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.

Welcome, the forum is back alive!

The transmission fluid actually looked like new but I believe it was a little bit low because I've added like 1/2 Liter more than I've drained

Now at 82K miles on my 2017 Energi. It's given 65 mpg lifetime, with no repairs, only maintenance.

If it were me, I'd just replace the 12v battery and see what happens. I don't recall of anyone having a power steering issue that called for replacement. Or a power steering issue at all, for that matter. Cheers. PS: Remember to reset the battery age monitor. Search the forum for info. BN

Started the car this morning and once again got the error. The red thermometer icon showed up like it always does when this happens, but the temperature reading on the dash showed the engine was cool. We have an Autozone near where we live, so maybe I can ask them if they have a device to get an error code from the car. Thanks for all the responses so far everybody!

I have a 2014 C Max SEL Hybrid with 55,000 miles. I've had the oil changed every 5,000 miles at the dealer. This time, they told me I needed additional additives. These were supposed to clean the fuel system, treat the engine oil, restore engine performance, and install a premium ethanol defender. I finally found out it was the BG product 44K Platinum. I also think they were proposing the use of BG's EPR for hybrids. This "oil change" would cost $329. I felt they were up-selling and declined their oil change. I told them that service was not in the manual and if it was needed it would have been stated there. They said it would make my car last longer. I know these products can be bought locally and I can add them myself. What are other C Max owners doing? Are they using additives and are they needed at 55,000 miles? I might add I have not had any problems with this car and plan to drive it till the wheels fall off. I do get 40.9 MPG which indicates to me the car is performing correctly. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I know this thread is two years old but for those reading it in future, what I found was 110NM or 81 ftlb. Source (pg44): https://cdn.skfmediahub.skf.com/api/public/094dddb2a353170f/pdf_preview_medium/094dddb2a353170f_pdf_preview_medium.pdf

I installed this one the other day because mine was all fuzzy and blurry on my 2013 CMax hybrid. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V5321FZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details In the reviews on that site, you’ll see someone who links to their YouTube video on how to install it. He does a good job describing the process in that video. Basically pop off the plastic rear panel and remove some plugs and a few nuts.

Short drives won't fully charge the battery. Stick a battery charger on it and charge it fully. See how that goes before changing anything.

Welcome to the forum. Tire noise: C-Max is so quiet you hear/notice noises you don't usually do on ICE vehicles. They should quieten down as they settle in or you get use to the noise, Inconsistent warning lights, rear hatch: possible weak 12v battery or weak battery in key fob. As an owner of a 2013, it's NOT maroon, it's called Ruby Red. Sounds more regal & expensive, don't you think?

Have same problem, check out ford service bulletin. TSB 17-0015 electrical cable chaffing. this is the best answer in can find after searching the net. lots of people having this problem

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.

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.

Look here

This is correct. If the battery or hybrid system completely fails, the vehicle will no longer drive. At bare minimum the starter/generator motor in the transmission is necessary for starting the engine as well as facilitating the operation of the 'continuously variable' aspect of the eCVT and allowing the engine to properly transmit power to the wheels. This starter/generator motor is powered by the high voltage battery. That all said, there are plenty of failure modes up to the point of complete failure where the vehicle will see the battery is worn/degraded and may not be reliable to use for EV operation or higher loads but will gracefully fall back to hybrid operation or full time ICE operation and still be drivable but with reduced functionality. With how most dealers are clueless on these cars, I'd always go for a second opinion when they call for costly repairs like this. At the very least, getting any codes read and posting to a forum like this with more experienced owners who can hopefully narrow things down or confirm/deny the dealer's findings.

Another positive C-Max article. Enjoy! https://fordauthority.com/2024/02/2015-2016-ford-c-max-among-crs-most-fun-to-drive-cars/

I wouldn't stress out about it too much. We have a 2014 SEL made 03/2014 and it has now 175k miles with original transmission. I've changed the fluid at 150k miles. I've heard that it could happen to every year...not just the 2013 and 14 models. Not sure what the real reason for the bearing failure is. Maybe some "Monday" models😁or too low on trans fluid for some reason. Mine was actually a little low on fluid, but still No problems.

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.

Just to confirm, what exact module are you referring to when you talk about the 'radio' attempting to be replaced? There's a few audio related modules in this vehicle: ACM - The radio tuner/CD unit that sits behind the dash and CD slot APIM - The Sync module. On 4" equipped vehicles I believe this is inside the passenger side of the center console roughly under the cup holder area. DACM - This is the amplifier/Active Noise Cancellation module. This sits under the glove compartment. All C-Max vehicles should be equipped with it as it is necessary for the ANC function which I believe they all had standard regardless of trim. If you want to try to disable the ANC, you can follow the easy instructions at the thread below. However this does not usually cause complete audio failures, just the addition of some droning noise to the cabin while the ICE is running under certain conditions. More than likely the ACM (the actual tuner/CD unit behind the dash) is the culprit. It's a common issue on these vehicles for various reasons. As far as replacements go, I'd stick with something out of another C-Max, a Focus, or Escape to play it safe since they share the same electrical architecture. You will need to reprogram it to your vehicle though. Most likely this is why the noted attempt with the low volume happened because it wasn't configured correctly to your vehicle. If you are technically savvy enough, Forscan will do this for you easily. I'd recommend putting the old ACM back in and see if it is 'alive' enough for Forscan to pull the old AsBuilt from and then you can put the replacement in and write that to it. If the old ACM won't read properly in Forscan, there's a second option pulling directly from Ford as they keep a copy of the AsBuilt for most modules. You can do so at the link below. You're looking for the 727-XX-XX blocks of data. https://www.motorcraftservice.com/AsBuilt If you are not comfortable doing this, any dealer or mechanic with access to Ford's IDS tools should be able to do this for you. In their own tools it is usually referred to as a 'Programmable Module Installation' procedure.

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.

Here is a pic of the device which they removed. They did not do a good job of describing how this would affect the operation of the car however. My phone is working with the car as usual and everything else so far is working fine. We picked it up a few weeks ago and so far so good, but I am not going to trust the car until it works normally for several months. It apparently is the TCU as they said though. I have never used any of the functions this module controls so will not miss it! We were given paperwork on what was done to the vehicle, but I am at work and do not have access to it right now.

Sorry this took a while, but the slightly taller battery that still fits group is H4.

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

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.

Currently have a 2013 Ford C max and I’ll unplugged it from the 12 V battery in the hatch. Now it’s acting like it’s dead. It has no power to the dash but you can drive it. Has power to the windows etc. Also the back hatch won’t close now either.

I went 273k mi. with out changing the brakes and they were fine when I traded in the car. ? Paul

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

There is some additional height available but I am not sure how much. I recall a member using cable chains in the snow driving to a ski mountain without a problem. There might be something in the manual about this. I vaguely remember cable chains are OK but full height chains are not. I personally own a set of cable chains but have not needed them. (Though I did install them on one tire to see how hard it was going to be.)

I'm super interested in this topic too. As far as I understand it you can move from 17' to 18' without a problem. Not sure about bigger than 18' though. I do think that bigger tires will reduce your MPGs tough (basically the car has to do more work to turn the wheels)

I just ordered my C-Max. So, I haven't had a chance to poke around inside yet. It looks like the front foot wells are pretty much mirror images of each other, except for the pedals and the foot rest for the driver. In my test drive, I simply hated that foot rest. I wonder if I could just pull back the carpet, and take out that foot rest, or maybe do something to reshape it. Has anyone had a peek under that carpet yet?

Unfortunately the lift gate latch is electrically operated, and, to my knowledge, there's no (easy) way to open it from inside. Best bet is to use jumper cables to provide power. Cheers.

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

My personal opinion on this is I'd be perfectly fine bringing the Energi forum back but just lock it and use it as an archive. I think with the small userbase here, having both Hybrid and Energi discussions on the same forum is fine moving forward rather than as separate sites. But that's just my opinion and thought on it. ?

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?

Try getting 3M ceramic window tint - it will block UV yet does not have to be super dark to perform its function.

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

Just found out that Rockauto has the Motorcraft rebuilt axle (Right) for $145 + shipping. I do have a competent local mechanic who can pull and install an axle within 45 mins(given there are no seized/ruste parts) just in case

Geesh... How simple, yet needed. I wish Ford would take note of this, and possibly cut you a small check for the idea :)

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

Why do people believe the C-Max has a restrictive filter? where's the evidence? and replacing it with an oiled K&N less restrictive filter is of benefit? where's the evidence? If you want more dirt in your engine, put the K&N filter in or any other less restrictive filter. If you want to save money on air filter changes starting at 120 k miles, put the K&N filter in (3 - OEM filters = 1 K&N filter). If you want to risk an oiled MAF sensor, put the oiled K&N filter in (of course K&N denies this is an issue with a properly oiled filter). It's one own choice but beware of seat of the pants performance and mileage improvement claims using a "less restrictive" filter (if there is a restriction, it's virtually always not the air filter) ;)

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