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Whenever I see audio system trouble, I think "what were they thinking with MFT?" It appears to be a major problem for every quality survey I've seen! And if you leave the environmental system on AUTO, you should never be surprised that it seems to be thinking for you... regardless where your head's at, at that moment. So, given that it's a lot of gimics causing the low ratings, would you have bought the car without MFT and the like? Is Ford trading perceived reliability for bells and whistles to fill the showrooms? Have fun, Frank

+1 It's more a tall sport sedan than a small SUV to my eye. HAve fun, Frank

Reminds me of a Deux Cheveax... because it is! Ranks up there with the Beetle and Mini in automotive history. Actually, this looks like several 2CV's, kind of a Frankenstein's monster and so quite appropriate this week. Too bad our 'maxes can't trick-or-treat; this would make a great costume! Have fun, Frank

Interesting... wondered why you'd go through all the trouble. My dash cam simply runs on battery in the event the g-sensor is activated; no need for an always-on source and this thing won't run down the battery even if left on. I had it plugged into the carge by outlet for a while, but it only holds ~2.5 hrs, and I dont' need to record a continuous view of the parking lot. What you've done will have wide application; nice write-up! Have fun, Frank

Why? We still have the better deal - at least snow melts...

You're probably aware that oil does not degrade suddenly; it's a long slow accumulation of dirt and degradation of additives tha tkills oil. In that spirit, I'd want to know the oil change reset procedure before I left... see if you get the "reset in progress" message as a test. Have fun, Frank The 2013 C-MAX is offered in a hybrid or plug in electric model. The gasoline engine will require service when the CHANGE OIL light comes on. Follow these steps to reset this light: 1. Press the start/stop button once (do not start the engine). 2. Press both the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time. 3. Keep both pedals fully pressed. 4. After three seconds, the Service: Oil reset in prog. message will be displayed. 5. After 25 seconds, the Service: Oil reset complete message will be displayed. 6. Release both the accelerator and brake pedals. 7. The Service: Oil reset complete message will no longer be displayed. 8. Turn the ignition off and start the engine to verify the indicator has been reset.

I agree that 20-30 points is required if you want to see a reasonable picture of the data distribution, but Jus' 5 points are enough to give a good estimate of the central tendency. He also did a "remove and replace" at the end with little effect. If we can assume that Southern California is a fairly stable environment, unlike my neck of the woods, I don't see a caveat, besides the ones below. In addition, the statistical comparison I reported is one that accounts for sample size (t-test, equal variance). The only reason the "to work" data is lower confidence is due to a potential high-side outlier in both test (80.4) and control (78.1) populations. Compare the 4 lowest points and it's all 99.9%+ confidence, just like the "whole day" data. So, we can confidently say that anyone driving like Jus will see a positive benefit. The two issues are a) we're not dealing with a normal driver (Jus' baseline MPG is among the highest) and b) we're analyzing a variabile that's highly non-linear. The first is important because there are many ways to lose energy, and none to create it. Jus has already demonstrated the ability to conserve energy about as well as the car's capable of conserving. That means he's minimized most losses, save for the parasitic losses, aero drag and rolling resistance. Put another way, aero drag results in a larger fraction of Jus' fuel consumption than for most of us normal folk. That amplifies the affect of any change in aerodynamincs of the car - he's an ideal tester! The second is that MPG is inversely related to fuel consumption: MPG = miles / gallons used. Use 1% less gas and you may see a 5% increase in MPG, or 0.1%. In this case, a 7.2% increase in MPG results in a 6.6% reduction in fuel used. The numbers will only be equal at 40 MPG, with MPG favored at higher MPGs, and fuel consumption favored at lower MPGs. HAve fun, Frank

Nothing disperses snake oil better than data. I will add that a skeptic would still point to the small number of days, only 100 miles each, but an experimentalist would say the work route data shows a difference with 96% probability (full day data is 99.96%). That's pretty good in my book! Thanks for holding off on results until you could write it up like this, and leave little doubt what you found. Conversely, sorry to see that life has rewarded you in a most unfortunate manner! I trust in your ability to handle whatever it throws at you! HAve fun, Frank PS both aero wheel covers and modifications of rear parting edges are well known avenues to reducing drag. The difference is that is easy to see how one might make effective aero wheel covers, lots of folks have made them, tested them, and documented the improvement. The only universally accepted and widely successful approach I see to rear parting boundaries is the Kamm back, which seeks to extend the "template" roofline farther, and provide a clean parting edge. GasPods seek to do the same sort of thing, but it's hard to see how something that sticks up into the airflow might succeed in that regard. Data tells us what's happening, understanding has to adapt.

I agree, Doc, it's only smart to make more of what's selling and cut back on what's not. Quoting the Bloomberg article that was linked: Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally’s mantra to align production with demand has led Ford to post record profit margins in North America of more than 10 percent in an industry where 5 percent is considered respectable. Ford is boosting output of other models such as F-Series pickups and Fusion mid-size cars as the industry remains on track for its best year since 2007.... Focus deliveries in the U.S. rose 1.1 percent to 188,654 this year through September, according to a Ford statement released Oct. 1. Sales of the C-Max, which Ford introduced as a new model in late 2012, climbed to 28,254 from 969 in the year-earlier period. And with gas at a local minima, would anyone be surprised at a downturn in econo-car sales? HAve fun, Frank

And that's the link in Jus' sig...

Fiona, Are you the first owner? I wasn't, and didn't transfer ownership in time to get the check; it went to my deceased Father-in-law. A poster here said checks went to owner-of-record as of Sept. 6. If you are, I'd talk with my purchasing dealer about your purchase. HAve fun, Frnak

Welcome to the Science Project (as my wife calls it) Find a post from Jus A CMax and read the links in his sig for some good advice. I found this picture tells me more than words. It shows the relative energy content of your gas tank vs. your battery, your altitude and your speed, as well as transfer options. - Hitting the accelerator turns gasoline into motion (kinetic energy, KE) and can charge the battery - driving up a hill turns motion (KE) into altitude, a form of stored energy known as "potential energy (PE)." Driving down a hill releases it. - braking gently, in "regen(erate)" mode, turns motion (KE) into electrical energy, stored in the battery. Driving in EV mode releases it. ( It's in units of "megajoules," the SI unit for energy. For reference, 1 fluid ounce of gasoline is about 1 megajoule, same as the car moving at 75 MPH, or being at the top of a 62 meter hill) Your mission is to use as little gas energy as you can. You can store energy in 3 places, and you should know that a gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE) is most efficient at low speed and high load. I like the "Empower" dash display as it includes an ICE-on threshold. So... when you must use gas, use the ICE under load whenever possible (accelerating, going up hill) but at a throttle position that charges the battery, too. Then glide as far as you can using the energy stored in your speed, altitude and battery. "Pulse and glide" is the hypermiler's mantra, and a hybrid will do most of the hard work for you. Treat her like a hybrid, consciously choosing when to use gas and when to use stored energy, and you'll get 40's-50's for mileage. Otherwise, you'll be in the 30's most of the time... HAve fun, Frank

Jus a bad analogy... If C-Max is a stealth fighter, an F-150 is a stealth bomber - much of the same technology in a high-torque/high payload configuration. These are the guys pulling ABS fuses and disabling wheel sensors because they can't plow snow without frying their brakes due to "safety features." Doesn't sound like a 3-blade radial, either... HAve fun, Frank

Sorry to hear you car's got bugs. You are not alone, but rest assured that we also have a thread for those of us who have no problems at all... Here's one owners' story; you'll be happy to know he's a poster to No Problems Mon... Baseline http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2650-recall-13b07-the-guinea-pig-thread/?p=28845 The problems start http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2650-recall-13b07-the-guinea-pig-thread/?p=29771 and are resolved http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2650-recall-13b07-the-guinea-pig-thread/?p=30434 Just don't take crap from service; there are too many of us here who haven't had to. There are a ton of features in this car, sometimes we need to learn, sometimes the car needs to learn, sometimes the dealership needs to learn... HAve fun, Frank

First off, welcome! Second, ETIS is your friend. Go there, put in your VIN. You'll get a summary page for your car including any recalls (SW updates on my car) on the left and a summary of options on the right. Select something like "show minor features" and I bet you'll find an immersion heater already listed. I've read here that all C-Max shipped to MN and parts north are so equipped. Mine shows "Less immersion heater." Have fun, Frank

First off, Gary, I had a '73 Celica, and your reports of varying mileage with different gas brands would explain a recent trip we took... and it adds another control/noise factor! The one other point is to remember we have Atkinson cycle engines, 12.3:1 compression assumes a 2L intake. at 1.8L, it's more like 11:1 compression, but with a 10% longer power stroke. Conversely, a hybrid engine runs at higher avg. load, so one would expect an adaptive engine to eventually use the added octane productively. It's something to test... HAve fun, Frank

Mine says: "If you switch autolamps on in conjunction with autowipers, low beam headlamps will illuminate automatically when the rain sensor activates the windshield wipers continuously." I thnk the key bit is "continuously." As long as the rain sensor keeps the wipers intermittent, headlights stay off. I'll have to take a look at the detailed operation when it rains later this week. Have fun, Frank

And all the manual says is: "An LED on the instrument panel will light when the doors are locked. It is not a functional control." No indication of where this light might be... thanks folks!

So... what's on the button below "sound" and opposite the 4-way flashers?

Before we all rush to what we think is the oil specified for 2014's, I think it valuable to understand what the difference is, and if we'll notice. Here's a better link than the wiki... it has numbers! We're spec'ed for 5W-20, synthetic or synthetic blend, which I interpret as a Group 4 and Group 3 synthetic respectively. Motor oil is always a mixture of ingredients, mainly base oil and viscosity index improvers (VI's), plus some additive for longevity and performance. Group 4 full synthetics can frequently achieve a multi-grade rating without VI, a very good thing, as that means you'll get a lot of the 0W viscosity properties in a 5W oil if they both use the same base (likely with common top numbers). Next, consider how cold -30C really is - -21F for those Americans out there - it's the all time low temperature record in Rochester. I have started cars with 10W30 at -30F. If you get that cold on a regular basis, you need a block heater. For the rest of us, I'm thinking any full synthetic 5W20 is going to give the car most of the benefit of 0W-20 with no warranty drawbacks. As to change intervals, I plan to test the oil the first time mine requests a change (~15K), and change it anyway, but base future changes on test results. As to Mobil's claims of improved efficiency (Edsel link)... "Helps increase engine efficiency and improve fuel economy up to 2 percent, based on a comparison versus those grades most commonly used." Based on... grades most commonly used. This is not a comparison of 5W-20 and 0W-20, but rather of those grades against 10W30 or 10W40. I assure you! FE improvement will be nil if you're already using a full synthetic. But try using full synth oils... I have been for years, and (knock on wood) have yet to have any engine issues out to 215K, 220K, 240K and 330K miles... granted, all Volvo B230's. Have fun, Frank

Power switch left of the volume knob?

I see exactly the same sensitivity, 0.2MPG/degree F, before update, at least! Frank

Good points, Sea... lots of "weak test/large sample" in my plans. I've no good place for the a strong test! I've documented my planned (and weak) experiments here. You'll note that GasPods are on the list, just lower than some other stuff. For environmental reasons, most everything will have to wait until Spring... Rochester winters are not for this type of testing! Just for grins, let me show you what happens when you present results prematurely. This is my baseline data for the 35-45 speed limit route, with the first few points after PCM update. The baseline data shows the expected MPG-temperature relationship others have reported. The post-update data (in blue) is nearly opposite, calling for increased MPG as the temperatures drop. What gives? Those who read this forum extensively, and/or have the update, know that part of the update is a reset of the many adaptive systems in the drivetrain, such as EV+. Several folks have reported improved mileage after a few days of driving with the update. It leads me to expect a 2-variable effect, both time and temperature affecting mileage for a while. And that's what you actually see in my data, a time effect that happened to correlate with temperature, and so the test yeilds a contrary result... if one were to stop here. That's what happens with informal reports - there's more going on than the reporter is aware - so an honest observer has to discount all such data as potentially flawed. HAve fun, Frank, who would like to find a really long piece of asphault with a hill at one end... just like Soapbox Derby!

+1 At 11K miles, the car's been in twice, for an oil change at 5.,6K and for recall/updates at 11.2K. Total cost $0. Highway mileage pre-PCM update isn't stellar, but back road mileage certainly exceeds original EPAs... Perhaps there's a place for a No Problems, Mon" thread! HAve fun, Frank

So... could you drive with one plugged in??? That would keep the charger topped off in case you needed it...