Wheatridger

Now at 82K miles on my 2017 Energi. It's given 65 mpg lifetime, with no repairs, only maintenance.

When it bought my 2017 C-max Energi, I found it so solid and stable and smooth on the road that I called it my "Little LTD."

At 80,000 miles, my 2017 Energy never shows over 15 miles at full charge, so it's lost about one quarter its capacity. Funny thing is, the MPGs have stayed fixed at about 61 mpg.

For several years, my 2017 Energi has had an intermittent squeal from the right rear wheel. It's present about 10-20% of the time, and silent otherwise. The other day, it faded in during a long drive on a fast, straight highway. After several minutes where it was plainly audible inside the car, it faded away. No brake applications were made at this time. It's also happened at parking lot speeds, loud enough to alarm pedestrians. Twice I've asked Ford shops to "take a look" at this, and they've found no problems. I thought I would just have the bearing replaced at this next oil change, but I got a surprise - a quote of $800, including three hours of labor. It seems that the C-Max has pressed-in, not bolted-on wheel bearings. Special tools are involved, This is a quirk of the C-Max, I was told. "My F-150 has bolt-on bearings," said my service advisor. Simply diagnosing the bearing would be $230, he added. If this was my Mercedes or my past VWs, I'd shop among several well-qualified independent specialist shops that would undercut the dealer's price by 30-50%. Any kind of indy Ford shop would specialize in trucks or performance cars, not our rarities. The general all-brand garages might have never even seen a C-Max. So, your experience? Advice?

My 2017 also has had an intermittent squeal from the right rear wheel. Sometimes it's loud enough to turn heads on the sidewalk, or heard at speed with the windows closed. Most of the time, it's silent. I've had two dealer shops look at this problem, and both declared all was well. Next time I need an oil change, I'll probably request a wheel bearing replacement.

Quick quiz: what list ranks the C-Max beside the Mazda Miata, the BMW x3 and the Mazda CX-5? It's Consumer Reports' list of "Cars that are Really Fun to Drive." Who'da thunk it? It's a short review, so I'll transcribe it: "The C-Max hybrid is more than just a utilitarian economy car. It offers lively handling, and the electric motor in its hybrid powertrain provides a healthy dose of torque for zippy acceleration. Pros: Along with its agility, the C-Mas has a stable ride, a roomy interior, hatchback utility and more than 24 sq. ft. of cargo space... The C-Max got 37 mpg overall in our fuel economy testing, and CR members reported seeing higher figures. Cons: The testers found that certain controls were annoying to operate; some may findits minivan-esque looks a turnoff."

My C-Max certainly feels more roomy than any Prius I've sat in. I sit tall in a car, and my head barely fits under the low-slung Prius roof. The back seat serves as a claustrophobia screening test. I'm certainly not going to wear a hat inside, as I do in my car. My sister in law, who's on her second Prius, is just five feet tall.

Maybe I should have phrased the question differently- has anyone, anywhere managed to sell a used C-Max? Mine has been on sale for three months, with only two live buyers coming to see it. They liked it, but chose to buy other cars that had AWD and/or more automatic safety equipment. I've dropped $3000 from my original asking price, which was on par with other similar SELs at local dealers. The dealers' best wholesale price offer is another $3000 lower. Dealers have one big advantage in selling a lesser-known model like the C-Max. They can redirect someone looking for a Prius to look at our larger, faster and better alternative. As a private seller, however, I'm dependent on shoppers who have enough knowledge and interest to remember that funny name and search for it. And nobody's seen an ad for a C-Max in at least six years. Ford's spent a fortune portraying itself as that tough truck brand, which probably doesn't help, either. At least that's the view from Denver, one of the most truck-hungry, Subaru-hugging car markets in the US. Is it any different where you live? Right now I'm discouraged. Is the C-Max like a time share, something you can hardly get rid of? Not quite, but it's become a tough sell...

I haven't read of anyone performing so many repairs and mods on a C-Max. What a struggle you've had! But look at how much you've learned. One lesson might be to rely on a trained mechanic, especially for your diagnoses of the problem. Your search for the no. 4 cylinder, for example, would have been unnecessary. Ditto for the tie rod ends. Learning to work on your own car is a great skill, but should you learn on your own car? Then you have to drive your mistakes. Hard to imagine how so many suspension parts would wear out so fast. Was your aunt racing in forest rallies? My two C-Max have 1120K miles between them and haven't even needed a realignment. How heavy is the luggage you're delivering? If you ever get done with your mods, you ought to have the best-suspended C-max around. With coilovers!

Mine, like all US GTIs, had a 200-hp 2 liter turbo. It was stupidly fast, and that made it difficult to drive hard in any responsible fashion. My C-Max's performance is more similar to my mid-60s GTI, without a turbo. Same 0-60 times!

Min's been on the market in Denver for two months now. The price is competitive with other local listings, but there's been little interest except from wholesale buyers. Those interested had owned C-Maxes in the past, and wanted another. So the car seems to retain a high value, but isn't easy to resell.

Amen to that! My benchmark was an '09 MkV GTI, one of the most acclaimed VWs. After that was totaled out my the worst hailstorm in Colorado history, I bought my first C-Max. I missed the flat handling of the GTI, but the Ford's steering was on par. It gives these cars a liveliness and sense of precision. I love the way the wheel snaps back to dead center; at intersections, you just steer into the turn and release the wheel, so the car does half the steering work for you. I wish the Mercedes SUV I just bought had similar steering. At slow speeds and sharp angles, you actually have to manually unwind the steering back to straight ahead. That GLK has an extremely fight turning radius however. Could those two factors be related?

It's not just because it's FWD- every AWD car is also a front wheel drive, and the only RWD cars are sports cars. The C-Max's wide turning radius is disappointing, but it's rarely a problem for me, or even a nuisance. I'm guessing that this chassis, which was sold for a decade in Europe before it came to North America as a hybrid, was re-equipped with wider tires and wheels. That might have created some clearance problem that limits their swing. Would I buy a C-Max again? That's what I suggested to a guy I met on the Quora site today. His 2013 SE was getting "a little tired." It had 209,000 miles! He loves the C-Max, but was pondering an EV instead. I suggested he get a late-model, low mileage C-Max instead. I'm also shopping for an SUV for tougher duties, and testing brands like Mercedes, Volvo and Lincoln. With a $30K used budget, I'm finding it hard to match the C-Max's options level and comfort. And none of the others have such responsive, well-weighted steering.

I wouldn't have been happy with the SE's manual seats, but my Titanium's seats are all-day comfortable. "They're the Lincoln seats," I was told at a dealership. They are slippery and flat, so they spoil the fun of the car's impressive handling abilities.