stratosurfer

Now I’m second guessing whether Discount Tire follows Ford’s mandated pattern for rotations. I rotate fairly every 5k miles, every 60 days for me.

This is (among) my main reasoning that it is worth it to consider the sync2 to sync3 mod/upgrade. At this point a Cottage Industry has sprung up to support this upgrade.

I was afraid this might be asked, I’ll have to call DT and ask if the one you linked to are what was put on after the OEM’s wore out. I would add that I believe they began their howling slowly over time. I’ve been driving on Mickey’s since the late 70’s and have enjoyed their longevity. This last set did not wear well and the noise was truly close to a bad wheel bearing. My friend who drove the car for a test ride thought it was a wheel bearing.

Read my post about upgrading from Sync2 to Sync3 which you can do for less than $1,000 with all new components, you'll leave out navigation as Sync3 has Apple and Android play so you'll navigate by Waze or Google Maps broadcast from your phone. Go to Ebay and search Sync3 upgrade.

All, I pulled codes on the CMAX with FORScan a few days ago after I had already resolved my dead Sync 2 radio from R&R’ing the #79 fuse to restore function. In the codes which I will try and upload later I had multiple codes of lost communication between the APIM and the Radio and Lost Communication between the APIM and Sync. The R&R of fuse 79 apparently reset the comms on those modules and I used FORScan to clear the codes and they are now gone. I’m realizing as we own the multiple ECU/Module modern vehicles that the various modules do lose communications with each other many times just momentarily and this will throw a code, for instance my airbag is intermittently throwing a code on the driver side anytime I move the seat. It regains comms and will clear the dash light itself but the code can be found with FORScan. I think this will be part of long-term ownership in troubleshooting these modules losing momentary comms with each other and either resetting themselves after a ‘stack overflow reset’ or forcing a hard restart such as on this APIM to Radio/APIM to Sync comm fault that is common. The good part is, with the body of knowledge we can gain on forums such as this, we can live to fight another day without having to visit the dealer and regain the functions of our subsystems. Additionally I just started using FORScan Lite and can recommend it, it was I believe a $5.00 purchase on the APPLE App Store. Mark

On my third set of tires: first were OEM’ Michelins, second were the superseding Energy’s from Michelin bought at Discount Tire after 75K we are on OEM’s. Now at 141K I opted for Pirelli’s as the second of Mickey’s had began to howl excessively. I attached the specs of the Pirelli’s from Discount Tire: WOW they are SO QUIET! On certain road surfaces the second set of Michelins were quite loud and on other road surfaces they were barely tolerable. On my monthly route driving 450 miles, at one point in San Antonio I notices the engine changing rpms so loudly as I was in heavy acceleration to merge into traffic I thought something could be wrong: I hadn’t notice engine noise like that. I realized the old tire howl had been masking that engine noise... Engine was doing it’s job as normal. I highly recommend these Pirellis, and I’m staying away from Mickey’s for now. The OEM’s were great, but they did something to the superseding tire that made them quiet loud on certain road surfaces. Also, Discount Tire has a 4 star rating on Noise, they Michelins that were pulled off at 5/32nds wear were a 4 Star on Noise ( the best rating at Discount Tire) and the Pirellis are 3.5 Stars, but they are 1/4 or even less noisy! So excited I had to pass this along. Also, I had to replace all the lug nuts. Discount charged $48 to get the swollen ones off, now I have solid SS ones it looks like. Mark

So your saying the 2020 Escape is not as wide as the CMAX? I’m thinking plug-in also, I am just concerned on the longevity of the PSD/Hybrid drive on the plug-ins vs straight hybrid drives as I read the early CMax plug ins had a hybrid failure rate of 25%. I definitely like the 30 mile EV range, that is amazing, but I’m also attracted to the AWD option as I drive a lot of miles in potential rain conditions, and we can’t have both apparently. Mark

I'm liking alot of what I am seeing on the Escape Hybrid, and possibly the PHEV. Here's a question for the group: in the C-Max I recall reading that the hybrid drive had a higher failure rate than the non-plug ins, any thoughts on that. And secondarily, when the C-Max PHEV and ostensibly the new Escape PHEV are running in EV mode on a topped-off BATT, how can the traction motor-generator alone (for C-Max that's 44HP) carry the vehicle at fwy speeds for the advertised range? Is this a factor of the traction motor-generator is able to generate such a fantastic volume of torque? Our C-Max hybrids can run at 75mph on that 44 HP motor generator alone which is interesting to me, coupled with the higher failure of the C-Max PHEV's hybrid drives. As an aside, the pic of the pearl white Escape Hybrid in the MT article looks similar to the Porsche Cayenne to me.

You've got commercial solutions that we Sync2 owners do not have. I would take that Crutchfield package in a second, if they can add apple carplay/android play even better. Sync2 owners have zero options except to fix Sync2 components or upgrade/mod to Sync3.

So a couple of thoughts: my quit on this last episode about 7 days ago after a 23DEG F night. So temp as a factor somehow? Secondly, I replaced my 12V BATT last spring with an Odyssey AGM and do no expect that it is weak. However on the mentions of low 12V sparking the issue, I could see that, I have a 12V adapter in my center console that is the 2.4W that charges my phone on a cradle and headset on a pigtail. Occasionally I do leave that in and 'ON' overnight with nothing charging but the blue LED signifying it's on. I have no idea if I left it on that night that crashed my radio. Temp that night would hurt a Lead Acid battery, but these Oddyseys do drop voltage at extreme temps, but nothing like a lead-acid batt. At this point, 6.5 years and 141K miles I can live with this eccentricity. My only concern is that it becomes more frequent signifying the APIM is on the way out, at that point I will seriously consider the Sync2 to Sync3 'mod'/update. We have cold weather hitting us tomorrow, we shall see...

I'll keep posting here, in case anyone is following: I repaired (reset) my system with a fuse pull/replace and my sync2 system is now fully functional again, and I'm in no crisis to upgrade to Sync3. But I believe as I will keep the car at least 24 more months I will begin to source salvage yard parts to make the upgrade. I'll pass the car to one of my kids and it will have a longer life as an investment... I believe if you are careful and shop salvage yards you can get all the parts for under $300 from what I read other folks have done. The programming of the Sync3 APIM seems to be more complex, yet as I understand it, with no programming everything normally works short of the backup camera. Guys are doing the programming themselves with Forscan Lite, but I can't find what specifically needs to be changed, and I don't like it when folks talk in 'lines of code'. So this portio seems to be the most challenging of the upgrade. I hope to find a Sync3 C-Max with a system I can get all the parts out of, and who knows, maybe the system works 'out of the box' in this case. I'm following sync2 to sync3 swaps that are not necessarily same vehicle to same vehicle. I'll keep posting, if anyone has anything to add, please chime in.

I am seriously considering upgrading sync2 to sync3 as the protocols are now clearly established on how to do the swap. I'm glad my system is up and running once again, but as I plan on keeping this C-Max at least 2 more years I may buy the parts salvage and do it myself. It is supposed to be less buggy than Sync2. I'll report my findings should I make the leap. Also, my contact book in Ios is extensive, 35 years worth, so I disabled downloading contacts into sync as there are some mentions that running the system low on RAM can cause some of these 'convulsions'.

Well Alrighty Then.... That fixed me. Thanks a bundle stolenmoment. Best

Radio and ON/OFF Button and Sync on steering wheel have shutdown. The unit is on, connected to my phone and seemingly all other features are working: B/U Camera ( no sound), Climate functions, NAV, And all Settings. The only feature that is shut down is the radio and the sync vox commands and no sound from anything. What I've done: 1) Master Reset 2X 2) Diagnosed 18 mos ago by Ford with same symptoms: stated radio module failing - BUT they got it to work...??? 3) Removed my contacts book from being downloaded. Does anyone have recorded which fuse number would be the proper one to remove to get a hard restart? I have Forscan I just got for IOS but my Bluedriver OBDII BT adapter will not communicate with it and I ordered a compatible one today. Any help/thoughts appreciated.

I just downloaded Forscan for IOS, my Bluedriver BT OBDII reader will not connect, just ordered another.

From my experience it is dealer by dealer on issues such as this. Seeing as the upgrade is a complete Sync 3 system and recognized by the ECU I would think their diagnostics would work, possibly with some questions to the tech. I can’t answer your question, but from experience one dealer might not and another may look at it.

You need to call another dealer. You need a hybrid drive out of a 2016 or later Fusion or C-Max hybrid that ARE NOT PLUG IN Models. I’ll look for my paperwork.

All, my Sync 2 APIM has been dying a slow death, Dealer would not replace under warranty/TSB, got it working again about a year ago. I began researching and found many providers offering a Sync 2 to Sync 3 upgrade ‘kit’ that provided everything one needs to upgrade Sync 2 to Sync 3 and includes a new APIM so I don’t have to screw with that old dying APIM issue and get to move up to Apple and Android CarPlay. My question is has anyone does this upgrade, I’m told it’s easy to do yourself. Also, the new APIM has to be registered to the car, a number of the providers program it for you before shipping out, the upgrade is about $900.00 parts. I’ve found some used ‘kits’ that require you to program the APIM yourself vis Forsync a freeware OBDII programmer that you only need to purchase the usb to OBDII cable. So going used and self programming saves about $450.00 and brings on the hassle of the programming yourself. Here is a link to what I’m talking about for sale: https://rover.ebay.com/https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323945335865 So if anyone has done this upgrade I’d appreciate any tips as my Sync 2 radio has failed and I’m not going back to the dealer to jack around with them denying fixing it again. Thanks Stratosurfer

Seeing as the C-Max has zero rated-towing capability, or rather 'not recommended' and I tow 1,000 lbs 1,000 miles each month with the car. In the Texas Hill Country in 100F Plus heat monitoring all parameters with OPS NORMAL, I'm thinking the Escape should be quite comfortable, particularly with AWD at towing 2,000 lbs. Remember that Ford's bread and butter is the F-150 and they want to do everything possible to get you to upsize your towing capability to 'a more capable option'...

This ended up being probably a mouse climbing up in there and shredding the cabin filter and putting the squirrel cage in an out of balance situation. They said it was some small 'creature' that could not be found. $550.00 USD's... :(

I replaced my 12V Battery about 6 months with Oddyssey AGM and did not reset anything. I also tow a Waverunner monthly on business trips to the coast and run the BlueDriver scanner to IPhone app to monitor temps/codes etc. I have no codes or anything to reset after multiple scans and no problems.

Yes I found this out a few years back, always at the car wash in summer with A/C blasting. Put in N and then let the rollers push the car through and by the end car getting quite hot at it quit charging the HVB and on LOW BATT shut down the A/C compressor. So I strive to hit the car wash in mid-summers with some decent HVB charge level at entry else wise I will lose that wonderful cool air at the end of the tunnel.

All, I’ve isolated a noise from the dash as my A/C blower fan or motor as producing a ‘rumble’ that is quite pronounced at high speeds. I’ve got the auto thermostat SEL package so I can manually over-ride it to a slower speed which greatly reduces the noise. Am I looking an an A/C Fan/Motor replacement. Secondarily since this happened I reviewed changing the cabin air filter, it seems a fairly major job... Meaning I thought I might replace it to see if it took some load off the A/C blower motor, no chance after watching the Care Care Kiosk video. Anyone had to replace their C-Max A/C Blower/Motor? Dealer only repair? Cabin Filter? Thanks Mark

I don’t really understand your question. If you use the precise methodology I outlined in my purchase and R&R you will be good to go. Don’t think Fusion or C-Max, it is immaterial. The unit in my C-Max was pulled from a 2016 Fusion Hybrid and has been humming like a sewing machine for over 12,000 miles now.

Here is a video of the Intelligent AWD. https://owner.ford.com/support/how-tos/safety/driver-assist-technology/driving/how-does-Intelligent-awd-4wd-work.html