erwhitham

As an aside, my remote start goes off after 10 minutes. As I enter my car ready to leave, the radio still plays. I haven't checked to see how long it continues after the car shuts off.

I really hope that a short commute doesn't account for CMax 12 volt problems. I owned 2 Priuses over 7 years and most of my commutes were 5-10 minutes without any battery issues. So far so good with this car. I do find the radio concern interesting. I ALWAYS leave my radio on and have wondered if that can cause some future problem. Maybe from now on I'll turn it off.

AFAIK if you have auto-wipers, you have no intermittent wipers.  The knob/wheel is instead used to set the sensitivity of the auto-wipers.

Thank you very much. That's really helpful.

I've been having an awful time getting used the intermittent wiper knob. Turns out they're not working at all. Anyone else experiencing this? Could there be a relationship between setting intermittent stages and auto wipers?

Prize in the Cracker Jacks. Don't need it but would be fun to find

The only time I've seen the fan on high when turning the climate control on is if I had max defrost on when I shut it off. I try to always make sure I turn max defrost off and leave it in regular Auto mode before shutting climate control off.

This has been my experience too. If I want start up with quick defrost(especially with remote start in winter) I leave it on high fan with defrost or Max defrost. Otherwise it's on Auto which means virtually no fan until the car has warmed up.

Congrats and good luck. These cars are fun and classy.

SEL 303a built in late Aug. purchased in Oct. from dealer after test driving. No major problems though persistent phone and clock issues. 1700 miles

Well if your C-Max is old with an October build date, I've got you beat, mine was built in September of 2012, plus I've already racked up 7700 miles.  But loved every mile of it.

Mine was built at the end of Aug. 2012 with only 1700 miles. Short trips, low mpg. Still very pleased.

But why isn't the C'MAX featured on the front page of the Ford website? Inquiring minds want to know!

And left out of the Chicago Auto Show ad for Ford.

My experience is that the clock seems to 'freeze' when the battery dies. That is, when you finally get the car charged and started, the clock indicates the date and time that the car died.

What can be concluded if I've had clock problems 4 times? The last 2 have been within the past 3 days. Also my phone has not been connecting rather frequently lately. When I went in with the same problems previously an update was conducted but no specifics were on my service paper.

Same for me. Happened twice in my first weeks with C-Max. . When I had the car in Service the first question asked of me was if the car was in Ready mode. I've had no further incidents in 3 months.

Points for bravery. When I was driven home from the dealer during a servicing ride, the young assistant said he wouldn't recommend the self park-more complicated than advertised.

Regarding lost Bluetooth phone connections, I go to Sync and say "phone". The lady then announces, "No phone found. Sync will attempt to connect with previously paired phone". It works every time.

AC is much less of a drain on the electric system than the electric heat. Of course AC reduces efficiency but it won't be nearly as much as all of us northern folks are seeing with heater use in the winter...

This is what I found to be true with my previous Priuses. Also, using Auto Climate seems to help mpg in winter over running the heater full force.

erwhitham,

 

I think it might be good to have some data from people who haven't had the problem. Sort of a control group if you will...

 

I would like to hear from people that have owned their C-Max for several months and have broken them in w/o issue! I know they are out there, and it might help to determine that if you don't see the issue after X months and Y many miles, your probably not going to see it.

 

With mine, it seemed to surface with-in 3-4 weeks, and about 800-1600 miles. Just about the break-in period. I'm sure there were other things that I just didn't notice because I wasn't looking for them. For example, I have a propensity to use accessories such as an iPad plugged into the USB port. One thing I noticed was that the C-Max USB port (on my previous C-MAX) did not have enough power to actually charge the iPad. This isn't unusual for an iPad as it requires more power than most USB devices and many USB ports simply don't supply enough. However, in retrospect, it makes me wonder if it could be a contributing factor to a cascade of failures.

 

Another thing I recall happening with my C-Max, prior to the failure, was at least two times, I went to start it, I put it in reverse, step on the peddle and it wouldn't go. I had to turn it off and then turn it back on and then it worked. Up until recently, I just didn't think anything of it, but in retrospect, its yet one more thing that may have been an indicator something wasn't quite right.

I now have 1600 miles on my SEL which was purchased in Oct. Although I also have had 2 reverse problems which surfaced in the first 2-3 weeks, I think that was due to my not allowing enough wait time to shift. I do not use the USB port. My MFT screen, phone connection, and clock have had glitches-all of which were reported to my service dept. and supposedly corrected with a Sync update. . Crossing my fingers and all other appendages that the battery won't become a problem.

All these numbers and percentages are interesting but just suppositions. Anyone out there with connections to Ford? Monitors on this site? I've been lucky but sympathize with all of you who've experienced battery issues.

Mine were ordered and took a few weeks. I received a call to pick up my mechanical keys which was news to me. The salesman inserted it and said it was his first time doing so. To tell the truth, I haven't even checked how to open the FOB. Hope I don't need to.

That part was about non-Hybrids with auto-start, where they have to use a regular starter motor, so they need the deep-cycle battery.

For the Hybrids, it's just the reverse. The 12V battery doesn't start the car so it can be smaller.

It's only money. You have a beautiful family, a cute dog, and a neat car. Years from now you won't remember the few dollars you may have lost. BTW, we lovingly refer to our rescue dog as sweet "psycho" but love her dearly.

Using the Left Steering Well controls, choose Settings > Vehicle > Lighting > Auto Light Rain

 

I can't say I've noticed the indicator come on when it rains.  Maybe when I wash the car, I'll give it a test.

Just set it!! Thanks so much. I'm grateful.

this brings up a question - have the lights in auto lamp position all the time problem is I do not see the headlight indicator come on when the wipers are on - which is required by law, anybody able to verify that they do indeed come on when the wipers are on - I run the wipers in the rain sensing position

This is a big issue I have. My lights do NOT come on when wipers are on. And this is during a rainy day which seems dark enough to register the auto lamp. I'm constantly turning my lights on manually. At least a ding reminds me to switch them off. I'd love some way to install DRL.

That part was about non-Hybrids with auto-start, where they have to use a regular starter motor, so they need the deep-cycle battery.

For the Hybrids, it's just the reverse.  The 12V battery doesn't start the car so it can be smaller.

Thanks.

I also enjoyed the discussion though my technological knowledge is next to nil. One aspect of the video dealt with the size of the battery for the auto start. Someone clarify for me if this meant a larger battery for all remote start vehicles across all makes, or specific to the Ford hybrids. Thanks

Must be time travel--or alternate universes.

Not only have I not seen another CMax in my area, today I read the Tribune's pullout section for the upcoming Chicago Auto Show. Full page ad of Ford vehicles and no C-Max displayed for its introductory year? What should one infer?