ptjones

OK New CMAX Owners It's time to add your names to the 600mi Club list, It's not that hard and also FUN to do. Remember you can go atleast 25mi past the 0 miles to empty so don't sweat getting close to empty. Be aware of traffic conditions and take advantage of them. Things like rolling to a stop and timing lights so you don't have to stop. On the FWY draft when it is safe to do so, brake to maximize your brake score. If you need a little more help raise your tire pressure to 50PSI(51psi is the max when cold with Michelin tires. Use Premium or Ethanol Free for 1-2mph improvement, with temps above 70*F this isn't that hard to do. There are a bunch of us CMAXers that are over 800mi. so get on the list, Post pic of Trip Gauge with over 600 miles. Jus will add your name to the list. :yahoo: Good Luck CMAXer's Paul

Transmission is covered under the Hybrid Parts Warranty 8yr/100Kmi and no deductible. Dealers are not authorized to work on Hybrid Transmission. For now it looks like they replace them with new ones. :) Paul

FORD Warranties Hybrid Parts for 8yr/100Kmi. with no deductible. :yahoo: This is why everyone needs to check their Trans temps periodically on long trips on the FWY over an hour long. Don't let your FORD Warranty expire while you own the car, repairs are to expensive. $6K for the Trans. :) Paul

Decided to Post this here too: I have 98Kmi on my CMAX now and the Trans has gone bad. I think it is prudent to have a warranty period for as long as you plan on owning the car. I heard replacing the Trans is about $6K. I have been monitoring my Trans Fluid temp since 90Kmi and it has been above 150*F on the FWY. Most members seam to be 150*F or below. I complained to my Dealer, but he said he couldn't do anything until it put out a code or made noise. 7kmi later it started to make a noise and 400mi after that I stopped at Rich FORD in Albuquerque, NM and they verified it was the Trans going bad. I was on my way to AZ and decided to continue on another 350mi to Williams,AZ. Five days later I started to go back home to GA, but decided to stop at Rich FORD again, because the noise had gotten much louder and I was afraid I couldn't make it home. I had 1100mi on the Trans since it started to make noise and I didn't want to get stranded out in the middle of no-ware. Another benefit was Rich FORD had recently replaced a Trans in FFH so they had some experience which is very good. FORD is paying for an Explorer Rental until the car is fixed. I will have to drive back to Rich FORD to get it. What I have learned from this is: 1. Make sure you don't let your car get out of Warranty. 2. If you do mostly City driving you may never have this problem, Trans gets warmer after extended high speed driving. I have 82% HWY driving. 3. The only thing that makes scents to me is that the trans pump impeller fails so Trans Fluid doesn't circulate thru cooler causing TFT to go up. I believe eventually debris ware teeth and bearings. 4. You can test your Trans cooler lines to see if you might have a problem by reaching down from the top of ICE compartment in front of Trans to the two cooling lines coming out of Trans. If one line is noticeably warmer than the other you are probably OK. If they are the same temp you probably have a problem. You also can use Digital IR Thermometer to do the same thing. 5. It may take upto 20Kmi to start to manifest symptoms for this problem It is covered by 8yr/100Kmi Hybrid parts Warranty . ;) Paul

I wonder if there is a problem with the impeller in the Trans pump? If that fails the parts from that get ground up in the planetary gears eventually and damage the bearings. In my case I think the trans lasted atleast another 10Kmi before the Trans started to make noise. I think If you where out of warranty you could change the Trans Fluid to get rid of any junk in the Trans and put new fluid in. I would think you could go another 20K-30Kmiles before any problems started to happen, maybe longer. I don't think temp is the problem, I think junk from pump is. IMO :) Paul

It's strange , but actually the Trans runs cooler with Grill Covers on. With the Grill Covers off the WT doesn't get above 214*F so the shutters won't open to allow air to go thru Trans Cooler. Grill Covers aren't air tight. I was seeing TFT 180*F with Grill Covers on and 190*F with lower cover off. :) Paul

Interesting even with bad trans I got 54.5mpg going 65-75mph on I-40 from Flagstaff to Albuquerque 350mi. I do have Grill Covers, wheel covers, GasPods, 50PSI and some drafting. :) Paul

My is being fixed so I can't check it out, but it might be on the 23013 only maybe someone else can check it out in a 2013. :) Paul

Yes it does as I'm going thru the process now. :) Paul

I have 98Kmi on my CMAX and the Trans has gone bad. I think it is prudent to have a warranty period for as long as you plan on owning the car. I heard replacing the Trans is about $6K. I have been monitoring my Trans Fluid temp since 90Kmi and it has been above 150*F on the FWY. Most members seem to be 150*F or below. I complained to my Dealer, but he said he couldn't do anything until it put out a code or made noise. 7kmi later it started to make a noise and 400mi after that I stopped at Rich FORD in Albuquerque, NM and they verified it was the Trans going bad. I was on my way to AZ and decided to continue on another 350mi to Williams,AZ. Five days later I started to go back home to GA, but decided to stop at Rich FORD again, because the noise had gotten much louder and I was afraid I couldn't make it home. I had 1100mi on the Trans since it started to make noise and I didn't want to get stranded out in the middle of no where. Another benefit was Rich FORD had recently replaced a Trans in FFH so they had some experience which is very good. FORD is paying for an Explorer Rental until the car is fixed. I will have to drive back to Rich FORD to get it. What I have learned from this is: 1. Make sure you don't let your car get out of Warranty. 2. If you do mostly City driving you may never have this problem, Trans gets warmer after extended high speed driving. I have 82% HWY driving. 3. The only thing that makes sense to me is that the trans pump impeller fails so Trans Fluid doesn't circulate through cooler causing TFT to go up. I believe eventually debris wear teeth and bearings. 4. You can test your Trans cooler lines to see if you might have a problem by reaching down from the top of ICE compartment in front of Trans to the two cooling lines coming out of Trans. If one line is noticeably warmer than the other you are probably OK. If they are the same temp you probably have a problem. You also use Digital IR Thermometer to do the same thing. 5. It may take up to 20Kmi to start to manifest symptoms. ;) Paul

That might be the cruise control speed you set it for. ;) Paul

Made a 15mi test drive today before starting trip back to GA tomorrow. At slow speeds the Trans is pretty noisy, at FWY speeds not so much. I'm hoping to go 350mi to Albuquerque. Will stop check Trans noise and decide whether to leave at Rich FORD or proceed on. Paul

I would think FORD would state a minimum value so they don't have complaints for over stating it. The MPG problem as an example. The FFH also .6 gallon larger. Paul

To me it seems like the computer wants to accelerate at two bars which ends up in the range of 2k-3k rpm . For maximum mpg you need to have the minimum ICE (28% for me on best mpg's). Paul

I would recommend 125K Premium Warranty, I'm in the process of replacing my Trans assembly(very expensive ) with 98Kmi., I knew my Trans was going to fail, it was just a matter of time. I had a 100K warranty with 96Kmi on the car, I decided to extend it another 35Kmi with potential Trans problem, good thing I did. Paul

I sure miss those days, we didn't know how good we had it. Paul

That isn't what the Owners Manual says, but you can do what ever you like. Owners Manual "Note : A fuel spillage concern may occur if overfilling the fuel tank. Do not overfill the tank to the point that fuel is able to bypass the fuel filler nozzle. The overfilled fuel may run down the drain located below and in front of the filler door." FORD seems to be only concerned about spilling fuel on the ground, not damaging the fuel system. On page 190 in OM it shows diagram of "Capless Fuel System" and fuel filler nozzle barely goes pass second door in filler tube. The tank size is the actual amount of fuel you can put in the tank including filler tube from an empty tank(running out of gas). Using the click method can be inaccurate do to how level the car is and how sinceative the pump shutoff is. Paul

I have IPhone pics of all fillips, it would take awhile to pull them up. What are you thinking? Paul

The mechanic said he replace one in a FFH and it sounds like there is play in the planetary gears. Paul

This is actual gas pumped with top off. Smart Gauge said less. ;) Paul

Last week I went to NY and back(2Kmi) and hit new high TFT of 199*F. This last Thursday we left for AZ and stopped in OK for gas. When I left the gas station to go back on I-40 I heard a noise I hadn't heard before and assumed it was the trans. I stopped in Albequerque at Rich Ford in Alberquerque, NM and they were kind enough to put it up on the rack and sure enough the trans is making noise. I desided to go another 400miles to AZ and see how it goes. I made it , but the Trans is noisier. I'm renting a Jetta to travel around AZ and will try driving MADMAX back to Georgia. Here is the time line: Started monitoring TFT(Trans Fluid Temp) at 90Kmi and noticed high temp problem. 97.2Kmi. first stated to hear trans noise. 97.6Kmi. Had noise verified by Rich FORD in Alberquerque, NM 98Kmi. noise is louder Going to try to drive back to GA(1700mi) and have my dealer work on it there. does anyone have ideas on what to do? ;) Paul

The actual measured size for the CMAX is 13.9-14 gal from running out a few times on my long distance record runs. Don't know what the NRG is. :) Paul

I got the 302a Package, didn't want to pay for automatic park and moon roof. Paul

With gas prices at $2.30/gal the Goodyears FuelMax are significantly cheaper to own now than Michelins EnergySavers, but I would still go with the Michelins. I like the Goodyears and had them on my Focus, they increased MPG's about 5mpg over Pirelli P6's :) Paul

Was there any wind involved? :) Paul