Jon

With respect to the AC, did the dealer run the normal diagnostic checks?

 

 Sounds to me like the evaporator may be icing up.  There are a number of potential causes.  Try this: get a thermometer.  Start the car and turn the AC on maximun.  Measure the temperature out of one of the dash outlets.  After a minute or so, the temperature should be less than 50F and likely lower.  I'll look up what temp you should expect.

 

See this post for temperature out the center vent.

I don't know which tests the Dealers have done to check the AC. Is there one in particular I should request? 

I checked the temperature per your instructions. Car was sitting outside and temp. was about 82 degrees. After turning AC to Maximum / LO LO, in about a minute or two the temperature was reading 43 degrees. So maybe it's working as to be expected, at least initially? 

Do you know if there's any way the Dealership can test for the evaporator icing up without driving it for 2 hours in 90+ degree temperatures? 

With respect to the AC, did the dealer run the normal diagnostic checks?

 

 Sounds to me like the evaporator may be icing up.  There are a number of potential causes.  Try this: get a thermometer.  Start the car and turn the AC on maximun.  Measure the temperature out of one of the dash outlets.  After a minute or so, the temperature should be less than 50F and likely lower.  I'll look up what temp you should expect.

 

See this post for temperature out the center vent.

 

Thank you. I will bring this up when I take the car in for transmission work. 

Read the attachment "thumping".

Thumping (1).pdf

Awesome! Thank you. I will forward this to my Service Manager with a request to fix it.

It's been years since I posted here last, but I just wanted to "vent." Want to find out if anyone has had similar experiences to mine and what recourse you might have taken. 

I bought my car new from a Ford dealer in Los Angeles. You all may be aware of the numerous national recalls associated with the 2013 C-Max...maybe 10 or more. I lost count, but I've taken care of all the recalls as soon as they became known. I use two Ford dealers including the one I purchased the vehicle from. 

In addition to all of the recalls I've had 2 on-going problems that the dealer's just can't fix or refuse to acknowledge:

1- A/C does not work properly in hot weather and for extended driving it eventually stops blowing all together.

2- A "knocking" sound underneath the car when braking at about 30 or 40 MPH. First noticed this maybe after 1.5 years. 

Every time I take the car in for service I bring these problems to their attention and each time they say that they can not replicate the problems and thus can not help me. I've even taken a service manager out on a hot day with the A/C set to 68 degrees where it's obviously not blowing close to 68...maybe more like 75 F, and the manager just says it feels okay to him. And he said I "might" hear that knocking noise, I'll have the technicians check out both problems. And they always come back saying they can't replicate the problems. Sorry. 

So I just returned from vacation driving for about 4 hours. Starting outside temperature was about 80 degrees and it got as hot as 93 degrees out on the desert. As usual, even from the beginning, the 68 F A/C feels more like 75 in the car...not the kind of cold I get from my other cars. However, after about 2 hours of driving and at around 93 degrees the A/C really starts blowing hot...more like 80F or more. And then it just stop blowing air altogether. 

Now here's the ironic part. When I got home I found a letter in the mail from a law firm.

"It has come to our attention that some owners of the 2013 Ford C-Max vehicles may have experienced various concerns with their vehicles including concerns with: (1) the transmission, such as a thumping/rubbing or grinding noise from the transmission." 

Hmmm....could this be the knocking sound I keep hearing? 

(2) was check engine system, (3) was MIL/Malfunction Indicator Lamp and (4) was the Door Latch, none of which have been a problem for me. And the letter said nothing about A/C problems. :(

The letter stated that "You have legal rights under the California Lemon Law" and asks to contact them "for a free, no-obligation consultation."

This letter doesn't read like a Class Action suit, and I'm not inclined to call them, but I would like to hear from anyone else who might have experienced any of these problems or have some suggestions that might be helpful to me.

Thank you.

At 7500 miles I'm at 49.0 mpg. Before the really hot weather and AC use I was at 49.9 mpg. Still...49.0 is really good. Maybe with the nice SoCal winter I can get the mileage back up and finally tick that 50 mpg?!

To those who might be interested, my first trip to the dealership went very well. Roof liner was installed just fine which makes the roof feel more substantial and secure. Software updates went well (clock seems to be keeping time after a couple weeks now), 7500 mile service was done and my AC checked out okay. As some of you had already recommended (and what the dealer confirmed): when it's really hot push "Auto" AC first (using outside air) and only after several minutes, as the car cools down a bit and the fan slows down, then push the recirculate air button.

Howdy...first post here. 

 

Purchased C-Max SEL in January of 2013. 

 

About 6300 miles so far. Drive about 40 miles round trip, 4 -5 days per week to work. That commute is about 30 miles surface streets and 10 miles freeway.  Less miles on the weekends with shorter, more frequent errand trips.

 

Current mileage 49.5 MPG, down from 49.9 MPG before the hot, SoCal months. 

 

Purchased Ford Prem. Maint. Plan at 7,500 mile intervals. 

 

What I love: * Great mileage (though trending the wrong way), * SUPER Cabin/Headroom for me, the driver, and nice passenger cabin room, too. These are main reasons I bought the car. Both are important to me.

 

Concerns: * National Roof Recall, * Computer updates (clock won't keep time!), * Ford Dealer Service (first Ford ever), * is AC working properly? At 67 degrees, 3 or 4 bars AC power this car is still HOT SoCal summer. 

 

So....where's the best place to start to address the concerns?

 

Might computer updates make it easier to maintain good mileage and stop downward trend in summer months?

 

Thanks a lot, and best regards,

 

Jon

 

**Edit** a little more after reading other introductions...this is my first American Car ever. Toyota and Honda prior. Six, to be exact. 

 

What swayed me, AGAIN, was good mileage, smaller car but with awesome cabin/head room. Can not be stated enough. Every Japanese car I owned did not have adequate head/cabin room. That confined/claustrophobic feeling has gotten more pronounced and important in recent years. For example, I get in my wife's Honda Pilot (my car prior) and I'm not a happy camper.  

 

In the past, dealership loyalty was not a problem. Never used the dealer for any of my Japanese cars.

 

However, this time around, I did something unprecedented...I purchased the Premium Maintenance plan because I was concerned about all of the electronics and battery. So this first drop-off to a dealer for * 7500 mile maintenance, * Roof Recall, *Software updates, and * AC inspection has me worried. After a few phone calls to dealers close to me I'm not getting the Warm and Fuzzies. 

Yes...multiple locations. I used to have 3 frequent locations that popped at around 3/4 of a mile away.

Strangely enough, after spending a couple of nights at the dealership to get roof recall done and  the latest computer updates installed a couple of weeks ago, none of those locations pop up any longer. Instead, when I drive by my dealership I notice the EV+ is engaged. 

What odd behavior!

So today I headed down to North Hollywood after a stop at Galpin to talk to their service manager about my MFT, panel and liftgate issues. Nothing exciting to report there except that they'll get back to me about the MFT update. Clearly I knew about the MFT updates more than they did, not surprising - thanks to the information from all the posters here.

 

Anyway, as I neared my destination in North Hollywood, I noticed that my EV+ was on...I had to do a double take. I was about 3/4 mile out from my destination and ever since I have had this car, this destination was always my 2nd most frequent stop (aside from home where you naturally expect the EV+to come on). It's off Victory if anyone cares. 

 

So - does this mean that the CMax is capable of "remembering" multiple EV+ locations? I have never seen this, and I am not sure if anyone else has reported this. I've not reset my lifetime gauge in yonkers either.

 

I mean it doesn't do me any good here with EV+ or not but its cool to know the car has learnt and scary to know that IT CAN LEARN!!!!

 

Anyone else seen this multiple EV+? 

Hello Chris and Welcome.  :happy feet:

 

Speaking of welcomes and being new to forums, why don't you copy/paste your message and add it to the Welcome forum.  Lots more folks will see it and many will want to say "Hi".   We're a friendly bunch.

Thanks for the welcome, fotomoto. 

I agree to get it checked out.

 

But....On my Escape hybrid I have always used auto, set about 72-76 degrees in the summer, with the recirculate button on. In the C max, I have had it set at auto 73 degrees. I push the recirculate button on. In neither car have I had hot outside air blow in. The a/c fan does slow down after the car is cooled, and the temp of the air does change some, but I have not had hot air blow on me. I am not an a/c addict, but I have been perfectly comfortable. We have the pano roof, and just got the windows tinted today.

I need to get it checked out. I do not have window tinting, but still...at 67 degrees, 3 and 4 bars, with recirculating air, I'm still uncomfortable and that's not good. When I put my hand next to a vent it's somewhat cool, but probably not cool enough.  The cabin is large, and there's a lot of glass, but still...

I would bring the car in for a look at the air conditioner.  I live in South Florida.  It is over 91F all day, more like 95 many days of the summer.  I leave my car parked in the summer sun about five days a week.  (However, I do have tinting.)  I run A/C 24/7 while driving.  I set at 73F with Recirculate (do not use Auto!) and with the fan usually running a four bars, and my C-MAX cools nicely.  Trust me, I am an air-conditioner-aholic.  So, I would not say this unless it were like this for me.

 

Also, you have Oxford White, which is the best color for the heat.  So, other than maybe needing tinting, you should not be having problems with keeping cool.

 

Do not use Auto for A/C.  When you use Auto, once the interior cools down, you draw in hot air from outside.  This is why you need to always run Recirculate, not Auto.  Could this be contributing to your issue?

 

I recognize that you may live in the desert, but there are members here from Arizona, Texas and Florida that seem to be okay with how the A/C is working.  (Well, there was the thread about the noise, which turned out to be normal function.  So, I won't count that issue.)  So, if you are having issues staying cool, you should get the air conditioner checked out.

 

Welcome aboard.  You are getting great fuel numbers.  Nice!

Thanks much. Indeed, I'm having BIG problems keeping cool. Each time I get in the car I NEED to hit the recirculate button. Wish/Is there was a way to keep it activated, rather then having to hit the button each time? I don't hit the Auto button. 

I think so yeah. Our car was just built last month and we just got it last week. So I am not certain which applies to what. There is a lot of information about them on this forum.

Those are mine from Ford. The one in the middle is the Roof recall.

Hi and welcome.

 

You can search for each of those topics, and find discussions about them.

 

You can enter your vin here. http://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do

 

It will tell you if your car has any field service actions(FSA). They will be in a pink box on the left after entering vin. If there is any, armed with those numbers, contact your dealer to get them done.

Thanks, slampro.

Are these the FSA's you're inquiring about? 13A01,  13V-303 and 13B07.

Howdy...first post here. 

Purchased C-Max SEL in January of 2013. 

About 6300 miles so far. Drive about 40 miles round trip, 4 -5 days per week to work. That commute is about 30 miles surface streets and 10 miles freeway.  Less miles on the weekends with shorter, more frequent errand trips.

Current mileage 49.5 MPG, down from 49.9 MPG before the hot, SoCal months. 

Purchased Ford Prem. Maint. Plan at 7,500 mile intervals. 

What I love: * Great mileage (though trending the wrong way), * SUPER Cabin/Headroom for me, the driver, and nice passenger cabin room, too. These are main reasons I bought the car. Both are important to me.

Concerns: * National Roof Recall, * Computer updates (clock won't keep time!), * Ford Dealer Service (first Ford ever), * is AC working properly? At 67 degrees, 3 or 4 bars AC power this car is still HOT SoCal summer. 

So....where's the best place to start to address the concerns?

Might computer updates make it easier to maintain good mileage and stop downward trend in summer months?

Thanks a lot, and best regards,

Jon

**Edit** a little more after reading other introductions...this is my first American Car ever. Toyota and Honda prior. Six, to be exact. 

What swayed me, AGAIN, was good mileage, smaller car but with awesome cabin/head room. Can not be stated enough. Every Japanese car I owned did not have adequate head/cabin room. That confined/claustrophobic feeling has gotten more pronounced and important in recent years. For example, I get in my wife's Honda Pilot (my car prior) and I'm not a happy camper.  

In the past, dealership loyalty was not a problem. Never used the dealer for any of my Japanese cars.

However, this time around, I did something unprecedented...I purchased the Premium Maintenance plan because I was concerned about all of the electronics and battery. So this first drop-off to a dealer for * 7500 mile maintenance, * Roof Recall, *Software updates, and * AC inspection has me worried. After a few phone calls to dealers close to me I'm not getting the Warm and Fuzzies.