John Sparks

Guys, a LOT of people have been asking for something like EcoSelect. :happy feet: This is what it does. EcoSelect • Allows the vehicle to operate more efficiently with only a slight impact on vehicle performance. Drivers may notice: – Less aggressive heating and cooling – Softer acceleration – Increased regenerative braking – Changes in engine behavior – EcoCruise activation This is on the 16 Hybrid along with Sync 3. Wish we could have paid for an upgrade to Sync 3 on the 15'. Just got my 15' Energi.

Mine will do it any time of the year but I'm telling you, it's completely normal. I'm a Ford sales rep. I've driven 2 dozen different ones and they all do it. The average driver who does not drive for mileage will likely never hear this noise. It's a specific load generated sound. You also have to realize this thing functions quite different than a traditional ICE. There's a plethora of sounds it will make and different operating characteristics altogether. Now granted the sound is not a pleasing one but, it is easy to quickly remedy by speeding up or letting off the accelerator. As far as the fender liner. I haven't heard of this TSB. I can tell you the inner liner is nothing more that a sound dampening material. It plays more of a part in dampening road noise than engine compartment / AC Compressor noise, though I don't doubt it will help some.

There's another thread about the same noise. The link is below. Anyway it's a load related, harmonic vibration. It's completely normal. Mine has been doing it since day 1 and I have over 46,000 miles on it now. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/5049-2013-sel-loud-noise-while-accelerating/?view=getnewpost

I know this sound that the engine is making. It's a harmonic vibration that occurs when certain load conditions occur. It's completely normal. I have 46,000 on mine and it has been doing it since day one. I generally only notice it when my family is in the car. This being because I'm using my normal driving techniques with more weight in the vehicle. It's loud and a bit annoying but "generally" only occurs under light acceleration or load. As you have said yourself, apply more gas or let off and it goes away. This is nothing to be concerned with. I have also experienced the "whoo" sound but have never chimed in on it. I generally only hear it when riding with my windows down. I do not believe this is anything to worry about either. It's just the sound of the electric motor transitioning back over to the ICE. My belief is that in some conditions to avoid an abrupt start of the the engine, it more or less eases into it resulting the long whoo others have describe on the the other thread mentioned above.

36

It's based on VIN. You will receive a letter if eligible. Your locale dealer "may" be able to check for you

Here's is a sample of the letter customers with eligible VIN #'s will regarding the battery.

Check this out.

Etowah TN to Houston TX. 984 total miles. 75 mph cruise. 40.6 mpg. The mpg actually started to slip once I got to flatter ground. Was at like 42 till I got into southern Mississippi. Seems to do better where there are hills. Charges up on the way up then recovers on the way down. But for some crazy reason this car is "now" rated at 37 mpg hwy. Maybe if I drove it like I stole it all the time, maybe!

Are you sure everything is up to date? Some of the things you are mentioning sound like issues that were resolved a while back. PM me your VIN and I can check OASIS on your VIN just to make sure. Seems like I read about a resolution to the battery issue. Let me see if I can find it. Update Here is the TSB on it: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=1557

Is not uncommon for batteries to die on the lot. Happens all year long but even moreso in the winter. Even through the summer when moving the cars around it is not uncommon to have to get the jump box out for 2-3 cars.

I usually achieve a full battery gauge on the way to work. After about a 2 mile 2000 rpm burn I have about a 90-95% charge I then drop to EV and coast to my turn with some regenerative braking just before I turn. As I am turning many times the tip of the battery will fill. Only to immediately drop as I start to accelerate in EV. Having this full battery allows me to make it over the next two hills and quite a way down the other in EV. Then it's back to a 2000 rpm burn up the next hill.

Here's a link to view the original window sticker. http://fordlabels.webview.biz/webviewhybrid/WindowSticker.aspx?vin=1FADP5BU3DL528815 Yes, it has all or things you asked about. Sony premium sound, backup camera. It also has navigation.

I agree with this. I live in East Tennessee and we have plenty of hills, ridges, mountains, etc. At 66-68 mph 50 mpg is not uncommon. At 70mph I see 42-45 and at 75mph 39-43. Depends on how hot it is and how much more the air has to work. I still say Ford was spot on with they're first revision. With the latest revision it might as well say: "Drive this car however you want and you will get this mileage". My wife drives it from time to time and she doesn't even try to get good MPGs and usually comes out around 43. She's impressed with the car, so much were even considering leasing an Energi.

Okay, so I saw a video about this at an Exxon station in Knoxville, TN and I wondered, do all gas stations do this, so I conducted a test. When I filled up my Cmax the other day I pumped a few dollars then stopped the pump. To my surprise, about every 2 to 3 seconds the pump would progress another cent. So now it all makes sense, the gas stations are ripping us all off, but it makes sense as to why the pump to gauge is usually off. Anyone else came across this?

I just got my $475 on Friday. I've mentioned this before, I just think Ford is trying to make the public happy. I'm just shy of 21,000 miles and my lifetime average is: 46.5 mpg. Love my Cmax! So much better than my Honda Civic Hybrid. My wife is still surprised by just how much cargo this litte car can hold and loves the difference in power. The Civic is weak.

Got to remember that this thing and all cars these days are computer controlled. I would suspect based upon how they operate that part of the system merely goes to sleep when you shut the car off. IOW it doesn't actually shut down so it can fire up quickly. Well if you've got a computer (especially a windows computer) you know the more times the system sleeps the more likely you are to encounter problems. So I say if you power cycle the car and you're good, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now if it starts occurring often it may be something to get checked out. Every car I've had at one point or another has done weird things. I bought a Civic Hybrid at 36k miles and shortly after I was driving it and the air quit. Adjusted the settings, nothing. Pulled over, turned off the car, started back up and everything was fine. Kept the car another 100k and it never occurred again.

Do you use hill descent control to maintain your speed? If so if will engage the ICE to maintain your speed. May not run constantly but it will come on.

I'm sorry. I just don't agree that the numbers are incorrect, especially the previous 45/40/43. I'm a sales rep and if you ask me Ford is just trying to make the public happy. Seriously....I took a 350 mile trip yesterday. Longest trip I've taken since I got the car. 90% was on the interstate and 90% of that was at 73-75 mph. When I got home my average was 43.4 mpg. That's the combined mpg for when I bought the car and again, most of the trip was interstate. So how does the vehicle not get 40 mpg highway? I'm confused, can you clarify? That was simply the longest trip that I have taken. My experience has been the same with shorter distances and with "true" highway speeds, 55-65, I get mid 40s to low 50s. Example: I was running late this morning so I just set my cruise at 63. For my 31 mile commute to work I averaged 45.5 mpg. I just don't get it. For some reason Ford is getting beat up on this car when they really shouldn't be (it's killing the resale value). Just a note, if you're not using EcoCruise, you should be. It makes a difference.

It's not that the dealerships are poorly informed, it's the salespeople. All the information we could want is at our fingertips. The problem is that the sales people do not understand the concept of a hybrid, it's crazy, but the average person believes that they have to plug in a hybrid and a large number of those people believe that hybrid means "no gas". The public understanding of what they are, at least in my neck of the woods, is not that good. The people that do understand the "concept" see the vehicles as being slow, unresponsive, and just no fun to drive, which is a good description of the Prius. :D The fact of the matter is if sales people truly understand our current hybrid Powertrain, it's benefits, and why it truly is the best Hybrid Platform, we would out-sell the Prius all day long, but sadly they do not and the availability in my area is low. We have 1 Cmax right now, go 2 miles down the road and Toyota has nearly 30 Prius. Also we cannot sell the Electic Focus or any Energi models here because we are not an Electric Store. Our owner doesn't see a benefit in the cost vs return, again I just don't believe he understands it, especially when almost every other dealer in a 100 mile radius has made the switch. There's lots of benefit to the Energi, I've lost several sales because of it but I digress, nothing I can do to change it. Although I say all of that, take the hybrid out of it and there's always sales people that just want to sell you a car and send you packing. All they care about is the sale and don't know anything about any vehicle. Those are the sales people that give us a bad name. Cars are complicated now, it's a lot different than 10-15 years ago and that tactic won't work forever.

We've had several 14 models and we're not an electric dealer, wish we were, would really like to be able to sell the Energi. With the battery being Li-ion, I don't think we'll see too many battery issues. The great thing about this battery chemistry is that it is not sensitive to charge cycles, no battery memory effect. We also determined there is a happy zone. Don't allow the battery to charge above a certain point or discharge below a certain level and the battery will last indefinitely. The computer on the Cmax maintains the battery and does a meticulous job of it. It charges every chance it gets. Not to mention that the battery being Li-ion is what gives the motor the power to operate independently at higher speeds. Ford has designed the battery to last the life of the vehicle. I feel pretty confident the battery will not be an issue but only time will tell.

You hit the nail on the head! At 95° my mileage suffers due to A/C use. Sure it's going to suffer some anytime I'm using it but when it gets that hot, like today, it works overtime, plus the window area is pretty big in the cmax, meaning more sunlight heating up the cabin. I really believe some dark tint will help a bunch, unfortunately, with everything else going on right now, getting it done is way down the list. Totally agree, the majority of people that buy cars look at the sticker and figure 5-8 mpg difference. For some reason this reasoning doesn't apply to the cmax. I have always told my customers, buying the cmax or fusion hybrid, what the car will do and that the worst case scenario is 38 mpg and you know what? People are like, that's a lot better than what I get now.

When was the last time you updated your sync system? The last version is pretty good. Does have a few minor hiccups but it's pretty good. All you need to update it is a flash drive. Goto www.syncmyride.com and login. You can download the sync update from there. Copy the update to an empty flash drive, start your cmax and insert the drive. It will auto run, just follow the directions and leave the car running, it takes about 30 minutes.

I understand how the EPA tests the vehicles, conservatively and in a controlled environment. Nothing close to the average driver. Look I can make my car get the mileage that has been revised by zipping around people, accelerating very quickly, braking hard and using regular E10-E15 fuel, I prefer 100% gas which is what the EPA uses in their tests, and i do these things from time to time but, I am still averaging well. The majority of vehicles do not get the stated EPA numbers by most drivers. I've said it before, there needs to be an interstate rating. The fact of the matter is Ford followed the EPA guidelines and achieved those numbers and PLENTY of people are hitting them. I guess it's true the squeakiest wheel gets the most oil. BTW......The city rating on the Cmax is way off. In city driving, stop, go, stop, go, I get 55--58 easily.

Alright. I'm gonna step in here and get my head taken off but, seriously people, the Cmax gets the original 47/47/47. You drive the car the way the EPA tests it, it will get that and better all day long! I have a lot of mixed driving on mine. City, highway, & interstate. My lifetime average is 46.4 mpg for almost 17,000 miles. Speaking of interstate, that is the REAL problem. The EPA does not calculate for interstate. Their highway test is at 48.3 mph, for 11 miles on flat ground, at a controlled temperature. So tell me, do you really expect your car to get the same mileage as in the conditions I just mentioned when you're cruising at 75 down the interstate, going over hills, having to speed up and slow down because of traffic, in a barrage of different types of weather? If you do, then you are not living in the real world! That being said I usually get 40-43 mpg avg at 75 mph down the interstate. If it gets over 90° It tends to be lower as the air has more work to do, but I'm sure it will help when I get the windows tinted. As far as the the resale value,YES it's terrible, but it wouldn't be that way if all of these people that bought it didn't complain to everyone and their mother because they expect to drive which ever way they want and expect it do just as good as the meroney sticker says. I love my Cmax, the same factors that affect every car affect it as well. After breaking in the vehicle I have noticed much better overall performance. So I guess what I'm saying guys is lay off of Ford, it's the EPA. Plus think about it, do you know anything the government mandates, regulates or oversees that is worth anything? I sure don't! I'll get off my soap box now.