Cowspotdog

Yes - when ever we get recall notices I always take it straight away and get the issue reported fixed and the sfotware updated. I really love this little car and it would be totally perfect if not for this ongoing battery issue. Mine is the SE model and from what I read it seems to be the one that suffers with this the most. I am seriously thinking of trading up to the latest model but must admit I am scared the same battery issues will playgue even newer models.

Surely by now Ford must know what is causing this - why haven't they come up with a permanant fix for it?

yes - it is the SE model.

I have a 2013 C-max that has been plagued with battery issues - it is in the service center right now being looked at for it's 7th dead battery. I am at the point where I considering trading it in and although I love this little car I really need something that is reliable and something I don't have to hold my breath waiting to see if it is going to tun on each morning. The question is are the 2014/15 any better  - is the battery issue still a problem with them?

After my last dead battery issue and them finding a faulty cell that was replaced - it has been six wonderful months with no issues on my 2013 C-max but yesterday the dreaded 'dead as a doornail' returned and this time it isn't holding any recharge at all. On previous occassions when we have jump started it and got it going it would be fine but not this time - twice we had to jump start it yesterday and again this morning to get it down to the service dealer. This is now the 7th dead battery.

It is sad - this was my first ever brand new car...something we saved a long time for and something that we hoped would be reliable and that I could depend on - and of coarse like so many C-max owners this hasn't turbed out to be the case. Every morning when I go out to start my day I open the car door and silently hold my breath to see if the lights come on and every morning you wait and dread to see when they don't - this isn't how it should be when you buy a car brand new :(

Nothing to do now but wait and see what the service department finds this time and maybe also start considering whether it is time to trade it in and actually get a 'reliable' car.

it was the battery in the back of the car - a faulty cell they said

Just got our check today and a new battery in my car too - its a good day :) :) :)

My ninth time taking my little C-max back in for battery problem and they "finally" discovered it was faulty and have replaced it.  I must admit the guys at our Ford dealer were sceptical and  I am pretty sure they thought I was some crazy lady when I told about it 'humming' from the back when it was turned off and that I KNEW if it did that .......I had to turn the back on and off to stop it otherwise the battery would dead next morning.  Well darn if I wasn't right !  Now it is just a case of wait and see if this battery works any better and for how long :)

probably a silly question - but how do you find out which package you have - I have looked at all the paperwork I have and the tags and the car - and can't find it?

I have just had my 8th flat battery ....every time it happens I take it back to my Ford dealer, they run diagnostics, update software and say it is fixed but it never is. It would of have happened even more than 8 times  but I have learned to listen to the car when I turn it off....if it is still 'humming'  I know it hasn't turned off properely and I just restart the car and turn it off again. Yesterday it went into to have a recall repair done on it - and today flat battery. I am seriously thinking I will have to buy a portable battery charger to carry with me at all times as one of these days it is going to happen when I am not at home.  Thankfully to date it has always gone flat between 2.30-3,00 am.

finally got my car back - they had to get yet another update - something to do with things not turning off properely and draining the battery - they didn't say what "things" even when I asked. They said it what was what also caused the power train fault to appear.  I guess we shall see in about 3 months - things seems to ge crazy every three months of so.  One thing I know they did fix was the faulty window - yeah no more showers at the car wash :)

thanks - took it in this morning - so far they can't find what is causing the problem - they are going to do more work on it tomorrow.

I have checked the manual and online and couldn't find an answer. I am assuming there no way to manually open the liftback when the battery dies?  I store my jumper cables in the compartment in the back and have so much trouble getting them to when I can't open the lift gate. I have learned now and keep then under the front seat.....but seems odd there isn't a manual way to open the liftgate.

I have this problem on my front passenger side window - it will go up and down by itself - I figure it just gets bored and likes to amuse itself :) :) :)

I just got the yellow wrench of death while I was driving !!!! - Scared the heck out me - scared me even more when I looked up what is was in the manual.  Yesterday I had yet another flat battery and had a 'system error' appear on the screen (never seen that before either) - took about four goes to get the engine turned on..... it eventually did and seemed to be running okay - apart from not being able to reset the clock. Then the yellow wrench today.  Is is also weird that the battery always goes out at 2.30 am in the morning - always 2.30 - what gives with that? Into to the Ford dealers yet again tomorrow.

Bree

Got my 'scottie dog' husband on it - his bark is worse than his bite :)  They suddenly had an opening first thing tomorrow morning.

Like many I have had on going problems with the battery dying on mm CMAX........I thought the last update fix had indeed fixed it but then again this weekend another flat battery and I kept getting 'system error' everytime I tried to start it. Finally after about the fifth time - I got it going.  Of coarse now my clock won't reset and my passenger side window keeps going up and down by itself.  Now I was just on the way home and the little spanner appeared on the display. Grabbed the book to check what it is and it says its a "power train fault" YIKES.  I have had my little car 1 year and I only have 7,500 miles on it - (no I don't drive much) and this will be the 6th time it has had to go in for repairs - and they can't get it in for a whole week. I am now to scared to even drive it! At the moment I am feeling like I want my old gas guzzling PT Cruiser back :(

Bree

I work 2.4mi from home and it is a little down hill from work with well charged batt. got 128mi. LOL  I pay the price going to work 32-38mpg. Is most of your driving HWY?

I am strictly an about town driver....most my trips are only 5-10 miles. I average about half a tank of gas a month.....don't drive much :)

Got our check for $550 today - came fed ex - they left it at the front door. 

I did get 99.9 mpg once - but I only moved the car 1 foot :)  Most the time I average about 37 mpg.

I name all my cars - and this one I call Miss Kitty as when we got her she purred so quietly  :) 

Got the update last week and haven't got above 36.4  driving on the highway at 60 .....can't say we have noticed any iprovement at all in gas and the car seems a lot more 'growly' not as quiet.

Phew - I am not crazy!  I just found this site after googling dead battery on the C-max and discovered not only have others had this problem - but also they have had issues with getting stuck in reverse - also happened to me multiples times. My latest crazy is I can't get my clock to reset....it just got stuck at the time the battery went dead last time. Back to the service center again this week. Good thing I love my little car  even with all it's querks :)

Add me to the list on this probelm too (also on the dead battery list) Mine has got stuck in reverse three times now - all three times has happened when it had been super hot and parked in sun.

Add me to the dead batteries woos - third time it has happened now :(