Testdriver

I gave it a D and a D (3.5.1). I get around MFT OK, but it's not very user friendly, and I find Sync to be mostly unusable due to its strict commands. Car infotainment systems should be very easy to use, and MFT is not user friendly enough for me to give it a passing grade. Some minor usability improvements would get it up to a B for me. However, if Sync is going to be lumped in, then it's going to remain a D until they totally re-do it. They need to move to a Siri/Google Now like system that is not dependent on strict voice commands.

The album and song name show up for me using Spotify on my iPod Touch through the USB. I can't remember if it shows the album art too. Spotify might not have the MFT AppLink stuff implemented on their Android app yet.

OTOH, the EV can also assist the ICE, inflating the ICE MPG number, especially on the highway. My guess is if you disconnected the battery components, then the C-Max would be slightly more efficient than the Escape, thanks to the Akinson cycle engine and better aerodynamics.

I am seeing the same degrade in MPG as the original poster. I was averaging about 44-45 around town. Now it's more like 36-38. Temps have been in the 80s, which is pretty ideal for the C-Max, or it used to be...I thought this update was supposed to help with short trips???

Does this "new foundation" include a RESTful API that will be available to developers? A couple months ago I sifted through the Fuelly client code and noticed that it was possible to pull most of the Fuelly fill-up data in raw JSON format, but it would be kinda a pain in the butt and I never bothered with it. A real API for developers would be nice.

I had the recalls done today. A couple of things I noticed: - The brakes seem softer - The A/C runs on high A LOT longer now if it's on Auto, but it only used 1 kw at startup instead of 2 to 4. - Even with the A/C off, the car seems noisier. I'll have to drive it a bit more to pin point what I think is causing the extra noise. - FE seems a little better, but too small of a sample size to tell for sure. While they were doing the updates, they lent me a 2013 Focus, which has a dual clutch transmission. REALLY made me appreciate the smooth ride with the CVT in the C-Max. The Focus does get really good mileage on the highway, and is a great option for people with large highway commutes as long as you can stand the jerkiness of the DCT.

Have people ever stopped complaining about Sync?

Yeah, Ford really did a nice job shooting themselves in the foot. They should have seen the PR disaster coming from a mile away. Maybe they needed the 47 rating to avoid CAFE penalties? Who knows? I love my C-Max and get near 47 mpg, but I drive it differently than your average driver, so I can understand the complaints. I just hope that it can outlive this bad press because it's a great vehicle and worthy of being Ford's flagship hybrid.

For the first time since I bought the car my heater has turned on in the morning. I noticed that the ICE turns on whenever the heater is on (at least for the first couple miles). I turn it off and it goes back to EV. Back on and immediately back to ICE. That doesn't seem efficient. As anyone with an updated PCM tested their heater to see if the behavior is different?

Actually, it sounds like "hige ICE" is working the same as before. If you cruised at 50-55 MPH on a pancake flat road, it would go into high ICE since it would never go below 1 bar. I have seen this on the extremely flat backroads around the Saginaw Bay (Michigan). It's just more difficult to go below a bar at higher speeds, even if the road is not completely flat.

The MFT update does not appear on Etis for me, but it does on support.ford.com. There are downloads and instructions for you to self in stall, but it does require a 2 GB+ USB memory stick.

I'm not convinced it's more fuel efficient to go to EV modes at high speeds, drain the battery, then recharge and repeat. That just means you're going to be regen-ing the battery 90% of the time. The ability to go to EV mode at high speeds basically gives your car a means of turning off the ICE at opportune times -- going down hills, slowing down, etc.

I got both the recall letter and the 13B07 letter in the mail today. Called the dealer and they want to hang on to the car for an entire day :nonono:. So, I had to schedule a convenient time a couple weeks from now. I'm excited about the update. I'm getting very good mileage (45 mpg the last couple tanks), and I make quite a few short trips, so hopefully I'll be seeing some 47+ tanks post update.

I thought I'd follow up on this issue. A couple weeks ago, my wife heard one of our neighbor's alarm clocks go off that fit the description of the noise that my other neighbors thought was coming from our car. They haven't heard any noises from our car in a while, so I'm going to chalk it up to them mistaking the alarm clock noise for a noise coming from our C-Max.

I love my C-Max too. The only problem I've had is one of the racing stripes on the top of the car is starting to come loose. Not a big deal. You should know going in that MyFord Touch SUCKS. It's still worth getting because it looks WAY better than the dash-o-buttons that it replaces. I think it's worth the $500 just for re-sell value purposes. Go in accepting that Sync and MyFord Touch is going to be glitchy, and it will be much less frustrating. Other than that, it's a really fun car to drive. You can tell even the people (with some notable exceptions) that have had some serious issues seem to really enjoy the car otherwise.

Link from that article: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1063767_ford-hybrids-prove-durability-by-racking-up-most-taxi-miles Ford has experienced a total of 5 (high voltage) battery issues out of 190,000 vehicles, and ZERO electric motor failures. Crazy stats. Those numbers were before they started using Li ion batteries, but I have not seen any issues reported with those yet, at least on this forum. Now, those 12v's...

I use EcoCruise in the city, but still basically do what you say here -- I pay attention to the road ahead of me and if I need to accelerate, cruise or brake, I can just cancel the EcoCruise and take control. I'd rather do that than feather the pedal all day. I guess I do not aspire to be a C-Max Master :worship: :lol:

Check out Carwoo.com too. You should be able to get a couple more quotes off that site, and it's pretty much hassle free. I wouldn't be too concerned about how big off a discount Toyota is giving on the V. How big of a discount they're willing to give on a specific car is going to change from month to month. And it's a different car. With that said, I suspect you should be able to get near invoice or below. It looks like you're almost there, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Edmund's has the C-Max SE at 3,607 lbs and the Escape SE at 3,502. http://www.edmunds.com/car-comparisons/?veh1=200421534|wagon&veh2=101420855|suv&show=0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9&comparatorId=1473051 I'm pretty sure they're pulling those numbers straight from Ford. Not sure where CR's coming up with the extra 170 lbs... Edit: The AWD version of the Escape is 3,645 lbs. Mystery solved.

IIRC, the high speed test only got up to 85 briefly and still stayed below 65 for most of the test...speeds that the C-Max performs well at. The C-Max is a pretty heavy car - heavier than the Escape. It has the ability to run on EV power alone for long stretches if driven under 50 mph, but once it goes to ICE only mode, it's basically an SUV. Due to the extreme difference in MPG between ICE and EV mode, it seems logical that there will be a high variability in MPG for the C-Max based on both the driver and conditions. The Prius, OTOH, is more aerodynamic and IIRC, lighter than the Focus. It also has a smaller battery, so there's less variability in mpg, I think. Certainty the EPA mpg for the C-Max is at the high end of what most drivers can get, but I'm not sure if they were deliberately deceptive.

I hear ya. Some things are pretty obvious. The AC and heater will probably not cool/heat as fast. Hopefully shortening the engine warm-up time doesn't wear down the engine, but I'm not sure what other drawbacks there would be for that. I'm not sure if there's any drawbacks to optimizing the shutters either.

Perhaps they will be tweaking EcoCruise at high speeds as well.

The owner's manual recommends changing it every 10k. I don't remember reading anything about synthetic only either.

I'm at 504 miles on my tank with 89 miles to E (45.3 mpg). I probably won't push it, but I know I mentioned before that I doubt I'd ever come close to 600 due to my wife struggling with the mileage. Well, I think she's improved dramatically, and 4th of July weekend traffic proved ideal for the C-Max. Somehow seeing that we were getting 60 mpg in a traffic jam took a lot of the frustration out of driving in holiday traffic :dance: I also learned that you can get 45+ mpg drafting 30-40 ft behind a trailer at 75 mph :rockon: I wouldn't try that behind a freight truck though. Even at that distance they kick back too much debris.

I got 47 mpg on over 150 miles on the highway today. Of course, I was stuck in holiday traffic and averaged 50-55 mph over the course of the trip.