BobJustBob

Well guys, wish me luck--I made an appointment with my dealer to get these recalls/upgrades (13B07 and 13C02) installed this Thursday, 1 August. So, I will be one of the earlier guinea pigs. I hope the 13B07 upgrade performs as advertised!

Thanks for the update, 11StiLimited. Please keep us informed how the upgrade performs. I have made an appointment with my dealer to get this upgrade installed this Thursday, 1 August.

catsailor, 43 mpg is impressive, especially given the fact that you have to do so much freeway driving and have to use the AC so much. My current lifetime mpg is 38, and it has been climbing about 0.1 mpg per week since the warm spring weather arrived. If this trend continues, I predict I will hit the low 40's by the time my one year C-Max ownership anniversary arrives in November. I will be satisfied with that. With the cold Pennsylvania winters, I realize I can never approach the record lifetime mpg's Jus-A-CMax and the other hypermilers are getting. I do want to get to 40 mpg in the worst way.

Jus-A-CMax, Congratulations on your epic feat. You, Recumpence, and the other C-Max hypermilers are my heros LOL! If I were in charge of Ford's marketing department, I would be dispatching a team right now to interview you for a commercial!

That is much further than what I experience. I believe the owner's manual states that it activates about 1/8th of a mile from a frequent destination (like home or one's place of employment), and that is what I experience. I know it is shorter than a quarter mile.

Caroline, Did the dealership perform the service described in the two TSB's (13-4-13 and 13-5-1)? If they did not, then they are incompetent and ill-informed about this issue.

fotomoto, You are going to have to change the name of your C-Max from Ruby Red to Maxy Mule! My goodness, that was quite the load you carried. One of the reasons I chose the C-Max was for its cargo capacity. It is a very versatile vehicle.

MtnMarty, Were all these fillups at the same gas station, or at different gas stations? I've not had this experience with my C-Max, but with my previous vehicle, I ran into this situation a couple of times over the 12 years I had that vehicle. I just chalked it up to the individual fuel pump I was using at the time, for when I encountered this situation it was always when I was traveling and fueling at a gas station away from home.

Matt, I know from this discussion thread and several others in this sub-forum that you achieve very high gas mileage--but what is your mpg? I'd like to know the number just as a reminder as to what is possible, to help motivate me. Another thing about your experience is that you live in a northern state, so this tells me that high mileage is possible even in a state which experiences cold weather. Did you use any kind of grill blocker during the winter?

kbf1kbf1, The current fix being offered by Ford is software updates described in the following two technical service bulletins (TSB's): 13-4-13 and 13-5-1. A number of us owners (me included, one week ago) have had these applied. It is too soon to tell if this fixes the problem. Keep checking this discussion thread, this subforum, and the batteries subforum often as we C-Max owners post about our experiences.

Temp61: You are the second C-Max owner who has reported that he has suffered 5 dead batteries. The other fellow, who lives in Florida, stated that he was so frustrated that he was looking into invoking Florida's lemon law. Don O: I had those same two TSB's applied one week ago (May 3rd). I am keeping my fingers crossed that that fixes the problem. I suffered two dead batteries within one week in late March.

I own an SE and don't have the foot-activated feature. I have found that about 5% of the time it fails to open when I use the key fob. Same symptom--I hear it unlock (pop sound), but the hatch doesn't open. I've never discerned a pattern, although it seemed to happen more often during the cold winter weather.

cepwin, I live in southeast Pennsylvania. We had a somewhat mild winter this year, but the C-Max did fine in the half-dozen snowfalls we had (nothing over 4"). As others have mentioned, the big battery pack in the rear of the vehicle seems to even out the weight distribution, and as long as you take it easy, the C-Max handles the snow just fine. If I lived in a state like Michigan or Minnesota which gets severe winter weather, I would consider getting snow tires for the winter, but the OEM tires performed well in the snow we experienced this year in PA. My only complaint about winter weather and the C-Max is the way the windshield wipers recede down into the deep cowling at the base of the windshield. This area is so deep that it is easy for the snow and ice to become packed in there. Therefore, it is very important to dig all the snow out of this area to ensure the wipers operate normally. Its just a minor annoyance.

I got my C-Max serviced for the 12 volt battery problem today at the dealership at which I bought the vehicle. They performed the service outlined on the following two technical service bulletins (TSB's): 13-4-13 Reprogram the FCDIM and clear codes 13-5-1 Reprogram the direct current converter module It took a little over three hours to perform the service. Almost all of this time was spent downloading the software fixes into my car which they plugged directly into the LAN at the dealership. These 21st century cars are as much computers as they are vehicles! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fixes the problem. I had the 12 volt battery die twice within the same week during the last week in March. By the way, thanks to everyone in this subforum who made me aware of the 13-4-13 TSB, for I am the one who made the dealership aware of this fix and insisted that they look into it.

Naplesfred: Please keep us posted as to the resolution of this. Based on the poll posted in the Batteries sub-forum, over 30 of us C-Max owners have experienced dead batteries in our new C-Max. It's a shame--Ford has a serious problem on its hands.

Ford has a really serious problem on its hands. It had better come up with an effective solution soon, or this situation is going to be a public relations disaster, given how much they were touting the C-Max to be superior to the Toyota Prius.

I am on the fence concerning this question. There are a lot of things I like about the C-Max, but after 2200 miles I am only getting 35 mpg, so I am very disappointed about that, plus I am now starting to experience problems with my 12 v battery as have so many other C-Max owners (see the Batteries subforum). I experienced a dead battery two times in less than a week, and I had to have Ford Roadside Assistance come out and jump start my car each time. I am not a happy camper right now.

I can't answer that--I do not know the threshold voltage below which the C-Max won't start. I have decided to add a weekly ritual to my routine and charge my battery every Friday night until Ford comes up with an effective solution to the battery problem.

Well, today I suffered my second dead battery in less than a week. My battery was dead when I left work to go home. So I called Ford Roadside Assistance, and the same guy who jumped me last week showed up. I am charging my battery right now in my garage. I hope it is fully charged by morning. At the top of my "To do" list for tomorrow: Call the Service Department at the dealership where I bought my car and demand some answers. Second: buy a small, portable jump starter to keep in the car. Ford has a real problem on its hands and better come up with an effective solution soon.

Nascar36, I am glad you are getting good gas mileage with your C-Max. I bought my C-Max the week of Thanksgiving, and I was seeing my overall gas mileage climb every week until two weeks ago, when a brutal cold front brought the coldest weather we have seen in a number of years. Since then, my overall mileage has been declining, which has been hard to take. Oh well, there's really nothing to do but hunker down and long for the warmer days of spring, when I hope I get a better picture of what my C-Max can achieve in terms of gas mileage.

Gee, firetoad, I am certainly sorry to hear that you and your wife had such a rocky start to your C-Max ownership experience. I certainly hope your dealership can get the problem(s) fixed pronto. I have read several other posts on this forum about brand new C-Max's experiencing dead batteries, so it seems like it may be a little bit of a problem with this vehicle. I have been very fortunate in that I haven't had any problems with my C-Max. Please keep us posted as to how you make out.

Yeah, I don't care much for the design of the glove box, for the reasons cited: poor visibility and the contents tend to spill out when the door is opened. I don't think Ford spent much time on its design.

Hey, thanks for the photo of the C-Max taxi! I wonder if a taxi driver can drive a C-Max taxi in such a way as to obtain optimum gas mileage? I am guessing no, but even then, with the kind of urban stop-and-go driving which I am sure makes up the majority of a taxi's trips, they will be getting much better gas mileage than with a conventionally powered vehicle.

I bought my C-Max three weeks ago, and at that time that particular dealer had two in inventory. I just checked that dealer's inventory this morning, and now they have nine in stock. I'm guessing that they wouldn't have ordered that many if they weren't selling. Also, I pass a much smaller Ford dealership on my way home from work. Because of physical space constraints, they cannot keep very many of any one model in stock, but I have noticed that the C-Max's on display have been replaced on a very regular basis, suggesting they are having no problems selling the ones they are getting in stock.

The name is growing on me. Now, I kind of like it. It is a little bit different, but not too odd or outlandish. I like the "Max" part of it. Also, it is funny watching the U.S. auto press figure out what to call it. Is it a hatchback, a wagon, a crossover, or even a micro-van? Over in Europe, it is in the category of MPV (=multi-purpose vehicle), and I like that designation.