Altazi

Hi Ashley, Thank you for your kind offer of assistance. The service department at Courtesy Ford in Portland, Oregon, was able to resolve the problem. It seems that my C-Max was diagnosed with an "evaporative emissions system static pressure leak," and that the vapor management valve / canister purge valve wasn't sealing properly, and needed replacement. Strangely enough, they said that this problem threw a P0456 DTC, which never showed up in my engineering test mode display. Should this have shown up? Or is this something that is only readable with a suitable code reader via the OBDII port? I still have no idea what the three "Cxxxxx" DTCs I mentioned previously mean. I also had my 14S04B recall done, the restraints control module reprogram. Still loving my C-Max. I do believe it is the nicest car I have ever had. Getting 42mpg doing nothing special. Drive on . . . :)

I couldn't find out what the codes meant anywhere. The car is at the shop as I write this . . .

Thanks for the info. Here is what I see: DTC HIST CURR C14600 X C29300 X C40181 X That's all - no other warnings or information. Google was not helpful in this case, unfortunately.

DTC

I started my C-Max and noticed the "Service Engine Soon" light was on. I turned the vehicle off, and restarted it. The SES light remained on steadily. I turned the vehicle off again, checked the fuel fill thing, and started again. The SES light remained on again. The vehicle has over 17k miles, and has had no other problems. No other warnings or information appeared to be available. I have no idea why the light is on. The vehicle drives normally. Anyone out there have any clues? I am six hours away from home, and looking at a 360-mile drive. Thanks!

How many fingers do you hold up when you wave? ;)

The problem may be solved, but the mystery remains. To remedy this situation, I connected the phone to the car as always. I turned the mute switch on my iPhone 4S to 'mute', and then turned it off again. That's it. Fixed. What a stupid thing to have happen, and what a stupid way to fix it. I have no confidence that it will remain fixed. Another irritation: When I get in the car, I plug in my phone to the USB port in the center storage bin. Then I start the car. Sometimes the entertainment system plays the radio station to which I had it tuned, and sometimes it selects the phone as the source. The thing is, I always do it the same way. I don't like that the system doesn't respond consistently. FWIW, I am running the latest version according to the SyncMyRide website.

Hello BrentWI, I cannot speak to the electric bill or performance questions, as I do not have the plug-in version. I wanted to have the plug-in version, but found that the space required by the larger battery pack killed the car for me. Are you certain that you would have enough space in the rear with the larger battery?

If the car voice used for navigation is the same system used to generate a phone ring or beep, then something is wrong. The navigation voice comes through loud and clear - a little too loud, in fact. It makes no sound whatsoever when a call or message comes in. The only indication is that the radio (if on) cuts out, and the display shows incoming call information. Am I unique in experiencing this?

I can easily hear the radio . . . is there a separate volume setting for announcements? Come to think of it, the car voice (Maxine?) has told me to be careful, so I can hear her, too. Something funny is going on, and I don't mean 'ha-ha' funny.

Hello Anthony, I am by no means an expert on this, but I did have the 13B07 firmware update applied. I have noticed that the internal combustion engine (ICE) stays on a little longer when I first start driving - I believe this is a change to better warm-up the engine. If all you are doing is taking short trips, perhaps the percentage of time the ICE is running has increased, thus causing your mileage to drop (?) What do you see if you take a longer trip, once the engine is warm? My commute is 28 miles (one way) with a few mild hills, and I am seeing a pretty consistent 43-44mpg. This is with the wipers, lights, and climate system operating . . . Good luck in figuring this out!

I have confirmed that I am not an idiot. ;) When 'Do Not Disurb' is turned on, the settings for the ringer selection are greyed out. I definitely do not have 'DND' turned on, although the indication that shows up when I turn on the car is poorly done in my estimation. So . . . I don't seem to be able to get any kind of audible notification of an incoming call, unless it's just the radio cutting out. I repeat my question - has anyone else experienced this problem? Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can try to get this working? Thanks!

LOL! Yes, I know about that. I have 'DND' turned off - or, at least I think I do. It seemed that the selection was unclear. I am just about to go drive my C-Max again (drag myself to work) and I will double-check. If it turns out I have DND turned on, I will feel like an idiot. Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone else is having this . . . issue. My iPhone 4S appears to have properly linked to the vehicle, and I can talk hands-free reasonably well. However, when I have an incoming call, it is not announced in any way. If I have the radio on, the audio cuts out and I see a message "accept call?" or something like that. If the radio isn't on, if I don't see the message come up, I miss the call. I have checked the settings for the ringer, and have tried several options to no avail. Ditto on the message alert tone. I receive no indications that something is incoming. FWIW, I have updated to the 3.5.1. Surely there is some setting I haven't done properly - but if so, it's pretty damned subtle. :nonono:

If you have items you normally carry, you should take them with you to the dealership and see how they fit in the car. We regularly travel between homes and take certain items. When we were looking at the C-Max & the Prius V, I took a suitcase and a cooler. They fit with ease in the Prius V, but that car was way underpowered, noisy, and just didn't feel as "nice" as the C-Max. I wanted an Energi, but my items simply didn't fit in the back due to the space lost to the larger battery, unless I folded down the rear seats - a no-go. I went with the C-Max hybrid SEL, and am very happy with it. I do miss the storage space that the Prius V had - not just in the rear, but the little nooks & crannies readily available from the driver's space, e.g., place to set a notepad, pen, cell phone, etc. The C-Max's central bin under the armrest is DEEP, and holds quite a bit, but it is not really convenient. Good luck with your shopping!

Greetings fellow C-Maxers, The other day, I took my C-Max over a particularly nasty speedbump in a parking lot. When the rear wheel cleared the bump, I heard the liftgate latch motor (or whatever secures the hatch after it closes) make its little "gear-cycle" sound. Everything continued from then in normal fashion. . . Days later, after numerous normal operations of the liftgate, I waved my foot under the bumper to open the liftgate; it made the little latch gear cycling noise, and then nothing happened. I waved my foot again, and the gate opened normally. Do I need to worry about this? Have any of you out there experienced similar issues with your power liftgate when your rear suspension makes an abrupt transition (speedbumps, potholes, etc.)? Do I need to get something checked? Thanks!

Reporting back to the mothership was successful - and fast. Overall, a reasonably good experience.

I upgraded MFT to 3.6. It was relatively painless, although the download seems to take quite a long time. The progress bar stuck at 5% for a few minutes, then jumped to 37% where it once again remained stuck. I left the computer at that point, and came back a while later - progress bar was 100%. Yay. I removed the USB drive and set it aside until morning. I did the actual upgrade on my drive to work. MFT immediately recognized the USB drive upon insertion; after I pressed the initial "OK," it began doing its thing. There were some messages about "performing a scheduled maintenance" or something like that. What I found a bit disconcerting was the the LCD screen went completely dark for minutes at a time. Not to worry, the upgrade was proceeding even so. I would occasionally see messages along the lines of "Installing file x of y" - at one point, it hung for several minutes saying "installing file 3 of 9." I was beginning to worry, and then it continued. I finally received the ultimate "successful upgrade" message, and was told to remove the USB drive. I had to re-sync my phone, but that seems to be the extent of the hassle. I have yet to return the USB drive to my computer and report the results back to Ford, but I don't expect any difficulty with this.

. . . I saw the "Hybrid Drive" indication on the LCD as "HyperDrive." :)

Welcome from another newcomer. I also struggle between aggressive and economical - they seem to be mutually exclusive. How is your C-Max treating you?

I expect to drive the car until it falls apart, so resale value wasn't on my radar. I would say in general that a well-equipped car should have a better resale than a spartan model.

I came very close! As you could see, I was chewing on what was effectively a $5600 moonroof in the Prius V. The Prius beat the C-Max in storage, but thing that clinched the deal was test driving both vehicles. The noisy ride and the lack of power really hurt the Prius for us. The C-Max was just a nicer car overall, except that it didn't have quite as much storage. I do miss having a little bin that is readily accessible to set my phone in, or some other little things.

Hello HannahWCU. I watched the video in its entirety. My wife remarked on its noted soporific effect. As an electronic engineer, I found it mostly interesting, but would have enjoyed a bit more description of how the planetary gears worked. Thank you for finding this, though. I do feel as if I know a bit more about how the hybrid transaxles work. Of course, I'd love to see exactly how the C-Max works, with C-Max components - and a more dynamic presenter ;)

My new C-Max SEL w/303A & panoramic roof was pretty much perfect, but it did need a bit of a front-end alignment so the steering wheel was "straight" when driving in a straight line (anything that isn't properly aligned drives me nuts - maybe a little OCD here.) How about you all? Did your vehicle need any minor tweaks after you got it?

If Momma ain't happy, ain' nobody happy. ;)