JAZ

Way back in history I had a 1983 Ford Escort which got around 32 mpg on the highway. The boys and I needed more room for camping gear, so I rigged together a modified teardrop shaped motorcycle trailer to pull behind it. On the trip that summer I ran at 35 - 38 mpg. I've only filled the CMax once and I'm toying with the idea of a trailing teardrop aerodynamic prosthesis for highway driving. Crazy, huh? Not if it works...

If you have a cell phone with you in the vehicle, then you are being tracked. You do know that your phone is always communicating with the towers when it's turned on, right? That's how it works -- it has to occasionally ping back and forth between the tower and device in order for a call to route to you, a text message to be delivered, etc. Guess what? There now is a court ruling that since you voluntarily "gave" that information to the cell company even though it would be impossible for you to have such a device and have it work without giving that data to them because your giving that data (your location) was "voluntary" it is not protected under the 4th Amendment and thus does not require a warrant. http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3249552 Not at all interested in any political discussion about this, just want all to know that 'they' can easily know where and when 'we' are.

I deliberately did not reset the oil monitor when I did a change and if memory serves me the Oil Change Required message came on precisely 150 miles before the 10,000 mile previous reset.

Nah, we're jus too polite to have pointed it out...

Scissor jacks that I've used work fine, including one from Harbor Freight (though I'd never climb under any part of the vehicle with it in use).

Anyone here recall a time when we fueled up before looking at how many miles we had traveled on the current tank?

Addendum: I've noticed when mine freezes (almost every Engine Off in the sun) that the volume control button feels very 'sticky', something in there is expanding. Still waiting for my dealer to call with the part. I've taken to covering the center speaker with a large steamer pan cover which is quite effective and quite bizarre looking.

OH, and roof racks, any experiences or suggestions there? There's a constant fuel economy penalty when driving with a roof rack.

http://www.scangauge.com/ It plugs into the OnBoardDiagnostic (OBD), usually located under the dash on the driver's side and can provide plenty of data to the driver including fault codes.

That is SO unfair: they've already got better beer...

Yes, when that "System Off" message on the black screen appears you have mere seconds to try a restart: had that happen in the middle of nowhere (aka middle of Pennsylvania) and as soon as I saw it hit the Start button. Engine switched on and saved us some grief. First time it happened I measured 11.3 volts at the front hookup points.

Yeah, what's up with Texas and fuel economy? Lowest mpgs I ever recorded was upper 20s driving through Houston in a downpour.

Ditto.

I'm thinking 'Androgynous'.

Just how much fuel are we saving when the car is so much fun to drive that we take it on excursions we never would have considered with our previous vehicles?

Isn't there an 'Advanced' mode under settings that eliminates much of her babble?

The dealer/service guy is correct: http://allstatetrucks.com/images/Recalls/R12M02%2011%20thru%2013%20Models%20with%20Sync%20and%20MyFord%20Touch.pdf

Work order concerning the freeze-up said 'SOP Part on Backorder', and the Service Advisor seemed well aware of the problem when I told him...although his eyes did get bigger when I mentioned your letter to Alan Mulally, Adair. Headliner and 2 updates were all done in about 4 hours. No idea on the timeframe for the part, which I am assuming is the APM. Oddly enough, after parking in the sun two times today at 70+ degrees, the audio system fired right up.

Got my Max back yesterday from the dealer after installing the updates and the work order regarding the hot weather system freeze-up states that the part is on national backorder...wonder whom I should blame for that?

This may be the relevant data: http://allstatetrucks.com/images/Recalls/R12M02%2011%20thru%2013%20Models%20with%20Sync%20and%20MyFord%20Touch.pdf

Snit, since NJ doesn't allow you to pump your own, have you experienced any problems with the gas pump jockeys not being familiar with the capless fuel system?

I initially thought the hands-free liftgate was pure hype and nothing but a sales gimmick. Then I got the car and have probably used it a hundred or more times. And if you've got arthritis in your neck, the rear view camera is well worthwhile.

wab, I've got a ScanGauge on my other car, and with a digital readout on instant fuel display there is always a lag...otherwise, there would just be digits flashing constantly. The analog on the C-Max appears to be a good approximation of what's currently happening and a glance tells me where I am on the fuel consumption.

Dang, I paid $ 10 and only got 8 gigs... Zalusky, thanks to ArizonaEnergi I was able to resolve the 'Java' message: even though I had the current version, I uninstalled Java and re-installed and then it worked.

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