dweiser

Hi Paul,

I traded in the C-Max on a 2014 Ford Focus.  Same frame I believe but the Focus is a smaller less classy vehicle.  Less amenities, not as nice a ride, feels flimsier but I don't have to drive 45 minutes and pay $300 for an oil change like I had to do with my Porsche.  Ford dealer is in my small town.  I looked up recalls for the Focus.  Zero recalls in 2013 and 2014 model years.

:)

Do I miss the C-Max, definitely.

Do I miss all its problems and time spent at the dealer, not at all!

C-max was getting 43.2 m.p.g.  Focus if getting 28.8 and increasing.

Don

p.s. I'd love a Tesla!!!!

I "solved" the many software updates/recalls/etc. I was experiencing with my 2013 C-Max SE "Rolling Recall".  I traded it in and haven't had to go to the Ford dealer since!!!!!!!

Hi 1acyd,

I feel for you.  Such a nice vehicle to drive and ride in but so many problems!  I was spending more time at the dealer's service department than I care to tell you.  After recalls, service updates, a dead battery, and more recalls announced, I decided it wasn't worth my time.  I traded my 2013 C-Max SE in for a different model 2014 Ford.  In all honesty and not to be nasty, I have to wonder what effect all these problems will have on the value of the C-Max.  Something to consider.

Don

Ah, a new day, a new recall.

Gee, do you think the sales slump could have a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g to do with the estimated m.p.g. being overstated by Ford?  Or maybe all the recalls on the vehicle are making people stay away because they don't see it as a quality product?  Could all the trips to the dealer for "software updates" plus the hours and hours their friends have told them they've spent at the dealer to "fix" the "wrong of the month" with this vehicle?

Hmmmmmm.

Does anyone think it's time for someone to initiate a Class Action against Ford to force them to buy back any and all Ford C-Max vehicles IF the owners are sick and tired of all the recalls?  The car has become a bad joke and not only that, "Consumer Reports" lists it as one of the four least reliable vehicles!  Even if you like your C-Max, can you say "very low trade-in and resale value"?  How do we initiate a Class Action suit involving these vehicles?  I'd appreciate some info.  Thanks.

How many recalls does this make?  Anyone know?  I've lost track.  I've renamed my C-Max "Rolling Recall" and yesterday filed a complaint with the NC Lemon Law.  It's a great car but they took it out of the oven before it was done!

I have to say I love my C-Max and Ford has been good about the myriad recalls/problems with the C-Max, it seems to me.  Ashley here is very helpful too.  This is my first American car in 40 or 50 years and I really do like it BUT, all the recalls!  It seems my C-Max is back to the dealer way too much.  I had an eye doctor appt. the other morning and the battery was dead.  I have officially named my 2013 C-Max "Recall".  Would appreciate any info on a vehicle exchange.  I've already been told (nicely) by Ford that all these recalls do not qualify for a buy back.

The battery on my 2013 C-Max SE was dead the other morning.  Unfortunately I had an appt. with the eye doc that I had to cancel.  Ford Roadside came (in about 5 hours)(lucky for me I was home) and trucked it to the dealer.  They charged the battery but could find nothing wrong so I'm expecting it to happen again.  Car is always garaged.  I love this car BUT I am tired of all the trips to the dealer for the many many recalls.  If Ford would buy it back from me I'd buy a Focus.  Even tried to drive one with my salesman but, guess what? ...... the battery in the Focus was dead when he went to start it.

Oi-Vey Ford, what ever happened to Quality being Job #1?????????????

Nothing snarky about it!

I love almost everything about my C-Max with the exception that they had anything to do with Microsoft!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How many years of my life did I waste with PCs that ran (if you can call stumbling running) Windows?

Don in NC

 

 

After my new(ish) 2013 C-Max Energi reported to me "Engine Oil Maintenance" tonight, I thought I'd run a Vehicle Health Report.

 

I've been sitting in this car for 45 minutes with the the car in "run" and it STILL tells me:

 

Error

 

Your vehicle must be running for at least a minute before running a vehicle health report.

 

 

As an IT professional, I've got a rather snarky attitude about things Microsoft (MS Windows Automotive, which Ford MyTouch is built on) and this ISN'T helping my attitude.  (For that matter, neither is the erratic behavior of the radio or the 10 character limit when configured as a WiFi client device.)

 

The MS chip on my shoulder aside, any ideas?  When I go into [Help] -> [system Information] reports CCPU S/W Version: 4.30.16171_PRODUCT and "Navigation Application Version" 3.48.9

My experience sounds like yours.  My m.p.g. increased exactly .1 every time I drove the C-Max; short trips to town and back.  I too got up to 43.1 but then it stayed there for four subsequent trips so I thought I was done.  As soon as I emailed friends I thought 43.1 was my "max" on my Max, it moved up to 43.2.  I think we both may have reached the top but might see one or more .1 increase over time.  I am loving this vehicle!!

Mine came today, 10/8/13, via FedEx.  I drove my C-Max home on 11/6/12 in North Carolina.  Last name begins with a "W".  I'm really enjoying my C-Max.

Mine stays on Empower where I always run my C-Max.  It will however be on Radio, having changed from the always on AUX, sometimes, when it's started first thing in the morning.  Ghosts in the Machine?

Hi,

42.6 m.p.g. in the mountains of western North Carolina.  I'm very pleased with the car; how it drives, handles, comfort, solidity.  Just had the software upgrade done.

Don

Most consumers "trust" that the EPA numbers are representative. A consumer should not be required to "understand" the rules and how such rules were applied in deriving the numbers. The EPA and consumer groups are the watchdogs.  Consumer ignorance is not what this is about.  It's about consumers' trust in Ford and the EPA.  In most environmental matters, the effect of gaming the rules on the consumer is not readily apparent (and I worked in the energy arena including environmental for 34 years) nor is it felt by the consumer.  The consumer is not laying out $25 to $30k in one shot based on manufacturers "gamed" numbers in these other instances.  The argument that gaming the EPA numbers is an acceptable business practice is a very weak in defense of Ford's actions for its 47/47/47 numbers.      

 

IMO, Ford violated that trust by gaming the rules and more importantly promoting such numbers through their clever ads and commercials. So, because the rules evidently don't specifically mention "aerodynamics" as a reason vehicles may be different, it's alright to mislead the public and EPA by using the test results of a Fusion that have significantly lower drag at higher speeds than the C-Max.  I call that unethical behavior (not illegal).  IMO, malfeasance is generally thought of as an intentional illegal act.  

 

As I've said before I like my C-Max and knew going into the purchase based on my due diligence that 47 was quite a stretch and based on my typical driving would likely get in the low 40s.  But there are likely many consumers that "trusted" Ford and the EPA to do the right thing.  Again, if Ford believes they did nothing unethical, why offer a payment and lower the numbers.  Why not simply say "consumers are ignorant", "don't know how to drive a hybrid", "consumers speed" and so forth and move on.  Likely, because the EPA was ready to do battle and that's not good for Ford. 

 

I call it as I see it  :) and this time Ford loses - they gamed the system a little too much.  Ford knew of the aerodynamic difference between the Fusion and C-Max and it's affect on FE. ;)

Blaming Ford for the mileage discrepancy and not blaming the government (EPA) is like blaming Bonnie but not Clyde, Sacco but not Vanzetti, Leopold but not Loeb.  Sorry Plus 3, I too learn from your posts ***********************************************************************.

:hat_tip:

Mod edited: Attack the issue, not the poster please. If u have an opinion on a poster, take it to the PM and sort it out there. Thank you :)

Now I gotta figure out what to do with an extra $550.

Gee, I'll take it.

:)

Ok, I was right......part of the update took and part didn't. That explains why my MPGs have been steadily creeping up this tank. I hope they didn't undo that when they redid it today. I've only driven about 10 miles since then, and none on the highway. BUT, the regen miles are gone and EV+ locations gone. I did not have to re SYNC the phone, however.

I think you're right Adair.  I know enough about computers to make a fool of myself but we want the version 85.05 update, the most recent.  I'm pretty sure 85.05 is cumulative in that it has something new (compared to 85.04) but it also has ALL the improvements/updates the engineers had come up with prior to 85.05 which would jive with you noticing some improvements but not all.  Since most people can trick themselves fairly easily about almost anything (like expected results) and since we have (as of right now) no way of knowing what version of the software our vehicles are running, we have to ask what is real and what is merely an impression of real.

I guess I would be more concerned, Laurel, if others hadn't had the same issue with their dealerships. It sure seems that not all of the technicians got enough training on all of this, tho.

While I can't explain the 17 mile discrepancy, I have to wonder if, with a software upgrade, maybe there's really no need for a test drive of any miles other than getting the vehicle out of the bay so the next service can be performed.  I'm a fairly untrusting individual but I think if they said they didn't test drive it, they just might be telling the truth.  I was there for my upgrade and all they did was back it out of the service bay and hand me the keys.

I'm willing to bet big time bucks that you did not get the proper update. This is what happened to me. If you can't get into EV above 62 and the EV+ locations are still active, you didn't get it. I had to go back a second day to have them do the proper update. My dealer said they did not have the proper update in their laptops and had to redo that before re-doing me.

I guess my small dealer here in Brevard, NC got it right first time because my Regen Miles are gone.  I am, quite frankly, surprised and pleased.

Don

You all might want to have a look at this new posting.  Ford no longer will advertise 47 m.p.g. and we get a check for $550 according to Fidelity.com

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2783-ford-lowers-mileage-rating-for-c-max-and-heres-a-check/

This only applies when driving on the highway for extended periods. Using high ice is more efficient than using ev then charging with ice when the battery drains and repeating. I haven't tried using drain and recharge method on the highway since learning about high ice, but with the increased ev speed I do let ev come on for short periods if the load is below 1 bar.

Thank you RaPieR, now it makes sense to me.

Don

I think this is "new" news.  Ford announced yesterday, 8/15/13, according to Fidelity.com, that they are lowering the expected mileage on the C-Max to 40 m.p.g. highway, 45 m.p.g. city, and 43 m.p.g. combined.  They will also send a check for $550 to those customers who bought a C-Max Hybrid and $325 for lessees.

Full article here:

https://news.fidelity.com/news/news.jhtml?cat=Top.Investing.RT&articleid=201308151733RTRSNEWSCOMBINED_BRE97E17E_1&IMG=Y

Don

Before the update I had to manually feather the throttle to use high ice if I was driving below 63/64mph. If I used eco cruise it would immediately kick into ev mode. Maybe the roads I was driving was downhill but recently I used eco cruise to hold ice at 60 mph where before it would switch to ev automatically.

I hate to appear stupid but why would anyone prefer to be in ICE mode as opposed to being in EV mode?

Don

True, I guess I started with it because this is my first hybrid and just haven't changed it.  Any recommendations for what I should replace it with in myview?

I like Empower.

Don

Had mine updated yesterday.  Hmmm...I had 45.5 mpgs for the tank when I went in.  And the first thing I noticed is that my mileage started dropping...FAST!  I really want to get at least one 45 mpg tank, so I'm trying to baby it until I can fill it up. 

 

I noticed that driving one direction to the store I got 38 mpg.  Driving home I got 51.  And the car feels completely different.  My EV + was gone (no big deal) and the Eco cruise was off, had to turn that back on.

Update done yesterday (8/14/13).  Just looked and my Eco Cruise is ON.  Is that proof the update didn't take?

Thanks,

Don