kostby

The problem is (still) with Japanese Takata airbag inflators, used by many manufacturers. Low bidder, and all that. The new thing reported is the additional warnings for those living in areas with high humidity and high temperatures. Perspective: 50 years ago, hard car impacts into solid objects like trees and bridge abutments, and head-on collisions were nearly always fatal for both driver and front seat passengers. I still remember reading a version of this "Seven-tenths-of-a-second" when I was in drivers' ed in high-school: Seven-Tenths of a Second Look at your watch and see how long one second really is. If you have a stop watch, try to stop the stop watch at seven-tenths of a second. Now that you know how long that is, consider what happens in the first seven-tenths of a second when an automobile traveling 55mph hits a solid object and the driver is not wearing his/hers seat belt and shoulder belt. In the first tenth of a second, the front bumper and grille collapse. In the second tenth of a second, the hood crumples, raises and strikes the windshield while the rear wheels are lofted from the ground, still spinning at 55 mph. Simultaneously, the fenders begin wrapping themselves around the object that was just struck by the car. The frame of the car has stopped moving, but the rest of the car is still traveling 55 mph. The driver instinctively stiffens his legs against the crash and they snap at the knee joint. During the third tenth of a second, the steering wheel starts to disintegrate in the driver's hands and the steering column is aimed at the driver's chest. The forth tenth of a second finds the first two feet of the car's front end wrecked, the rear moving at 35 mph, but the driver's body still traveling at 55 mph. In the fifth tenth of a second (a "split second"), the driver is impaled on the steering column and his lungs begin to fill with blood. In the sixth tenth of a second, the driver's feet are ripped out of his shoes, the brake pedal snaps off and the car frame buckles in the middle. The driver's head smashes into the through the windshield as the rear wheels fall back to earth. In the seventh tenth of a second, doors fly open, hinges rip loose and the seats break free, striking the driver from behind. The driver does not feel the seat striking him, because he is already dead! A lot has happened in less than one second. think about how long one second is the next time you decide not to wear a seat belt. Think about how long seven-tenths of a second is. Then think how long eternity is. http://www.toolboxtopics.com/Contributed/Seven-Tenths%20of%20a%20Second.htm "Safety" advances like padded dashboards instead of hard metal surfaces, safety glass, collapsible steering columns that no longer impale drivers, seat belts and shoulder harnesses for all seating positions, side beams to decrease intrusion from side impacts, child safety seats, computer modeling, scientific crash-test comparisons, and of course, air bags, have helped. We've cut the number to "only" about 33,000 deaths per year now. Yes, the auto accident death rate has fallen steadily over the years since the statistic was first measured in 1921, from 24 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled to "ONLY" 1.1 deaths per hundred-million-vehicle-miles-traveled now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year All well and good, unless you are that one.

Considering they don't sell either the Hybrid OR the Energi power train in the C-MAX in Sweden, Ford certainly put in a lot of effort to feature the C-MAX! http://www.ford.se/Personbilar/C-MAX/Bransleforbrukning-och-prestanda#primaryTabs

This is exactly the internal dialogue we use to justify purchasing ANY car that is waaaaay more fun, but less fuel efficient than the other. Thanks for the insight!

Did you know the Lincoln MKZ (Lincoln version of the Ford Fusion sedan) is available as a Hybrid for the same price as the standard engine? Offers all the high-tech toys you mentioned for the MKC. The MKZ Hybrid uses the same engine/transmission as the C-MAX Hybrid, so it will get comparable gas mileage, rated at 41mpg city, 39mpg highway, 40mpg combined (US figures, sorry)

Brother Jus, you need your own icon for the 900 Club! And your C-MAX is White Platinum, not silver, so here's a quick photochop...

Welcome! There are many C-MAX Energi owners who regularly participate in this (cmaxhybridforum.com) online community, but you will find far more C-MAX Energi owners in the community specifically for that model: http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com

Honestly, most of our driving is in town and short trips on the interstate (30 minutes or less), so we're not likely to travel fast enough, or long enough, that a reduction in drag from a rear spoiler is going to significantly affect fuel mileage... but maybe your test WAS successful from another standpoint: I DO wonder if that extra turbulence created on the surface of the glass above the spoiler is enough to keep the hatch window clean(er).

MODERATOR ALERT!!! I strongly believe that this is just an advertisement. There is no mention of C-MAX. What is the year, model, options, if any, and the specific problems encountered? Yes, a condition of a successful settlement might be not to discuss the details OF THE SETTLEMENT, but that in no way prohibits one from listing the year, model, options if any, the specific problems encountered, the number of attempts to repair, and the total number of days out-of-service. I also find it interesting that a New York/New Jersey law firm would be handling a simple Lemon Law claim in Destin FL. Not impossible, but suspect.

In other cars I've owned, (usually without a cabin air filter) a ticking noise is usually due to some debris (insect, edge of a dried-out foam gasket, a maple 'helicopter' seed, leaf, or small twig, lodged somewhere near the fan and what you hear is the debris being struck repeatedly by the fan blades. In most cases, eventually it is struck enough times to dislodge, or it wears away enough that the ticking stops. Or you or the dealer disassemble things until you locate and remove it. In one car, a clogged AC drain hose during hot humid weather to caused the bottom of the fan enclosure to fill with enough water to make a ticking sound. Then I turned a corner sharply and got a wet foot and the ticking stopped. That was when I discovered the clogged drain hose and cleared it.

Just checked left-hand displays on our 2013 SE. Engage, Empower, Inform, Enlighten, and Vehicle Range screens all show an EV indicator at the bottom, so they will also automatically display EV+ when that mode engages, provided the option is enabled in Settings, Driver Assist. EV+ locations are apparently erased when the 12-volt battery dies or is disconnected. You can set a location by turning the car on and off 11 times in succession. Locations visited just once or twice a week will apparently not register automatically. And some locations apparently do not have complete GPS satellite coverage from all directions. When approaching our home from the north, (car facing due south) EV+ doesn't turn on until we're within 200 feet of the garage. Approaching from the south or the east, EV+ turns on from about 1500 feet from the garage. There is no approach from the west.

The left-hand display has to be in a mode such as Empower, or Average MPG that always displays the EV indicator in white (and filled in blue when active) in order for the EV+ symbol to display when it is active. Some display choices, especially MyView user-selected combinations cannot ever display EV or EV+:

I'll respond, based primarily upon comments documented in this fordcmaxhybridforum.com online community, obviously a completely unscientific collection of responses by owners who have joined and posted here Most early production issues have apparently been resolved with recalls and Technical Service Bulletins (TSB's). I'm not making excuses for defects created on the assembly line, nor letting Ford off the hook for insufficient testing. The reality is that all cars today are extremely complex mechanical systems combined with many sophisticated computer controls, so the 'perfect' new car model that will never have any recalls or updates required no longer exists. I view recalls and TSB's as proof that manufacturers are indeed responsive to customer feedback, complaints, and of course government inquiries. From my perspective, these are the primary 2013 model year remaining issues: 1. Dead 12-volt batteries on certain models of 2013's, usually after being parked for 8-hours or longer, that can render the car completely 'dead' and require a jump-start. There have been a number of causes and subsequent Technical Service Bulletins issued. 2013 Hybrid SE's with Equipment Group 200A or Equipment Group 201A seem to have far more issues with dead batteries than SE's with 202A or 203A, or any 2013 Hybrid SEL's. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1294-for-those-who-have-had-12v-battery-problems No such 'battery poll' of 2014 owners exclusively exists, to my knowledge, likely because far fewer 2014 owners have experienced unexplained dead batteries. The recent (September 2014) TSB could potentially resolve remaining battery issues, but few affected 2013 owners have had the opportunity to take their vehicles in for this service yet, and it is not a 'recall', so we simply don't know yet. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/4307-12v-battery-tsb-14-0155/ 2. Squeaks and rattles. --- To address your other concerns: 2014 Model Year UPDATES TO IMPROVE FUEL ECONOMY: The changes from 2013 to 2014 model years to increase fuel economy seem to have a very minor real-world effect. Ford did not raise the EPA estimates for 2014 models (or for 2015 models for that matter). There is a minor change (decrease) of $50 in the annual cost of fuel to drive 15,000 miles between most recent EPA numbers (42 city/40 combined/37 highway) displayed 2013 and 2014 Monroney window stickers. The ACTUAL price decrease from Model Year 2013 to Model Year 2014 is $18.75, not $50.00. The decrease is NOT because the EPA numbers improved, but because the price of gas used in the calculation decreased by $0.05 per gallon. The price of the gasoline used in the calculation decreased from $3.55 per gallon on 2013 stickers to $3.50 per gallon on 2014 stickers. 15,000 miles divided by 40 (the combined number) miles per gallon is 375 gallons. At 3.55, the annual cost is $1,331.25, apparently rounded up to $1350. 375 gallons at $3.50 is $1,312.50, apparently rounded down to $1300. Saving or spending $50 equates to about one tank of gas, 500 to 600 miles driving range over 12 months and 15,000 miles of driving. OIL VISCOSITY: The 2014 change in engine oil specification (0w20 instead of 5w20) is also factory-authorized for 2013's. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/3719-oil-viscosity-specification-for-2013-2014-c-max-hybridenergi 62mph vs 85mph in EV MODE: The programming change to allow 85mph in EV mode was Field Service Action #13B07 and should have been applied to all 2013's as well. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2650-recall-13b07-the-guinea-pig-thread --- What would I purchase? We did purchase a brand new 2013 in late March 2014. Most of the 2013 issues seemed resolved at that time, and several more have been resolved during our first six months of ownership. We buy about one new car per decade, so this one has been amazing, even with a few minor glitches, including a dead battery (twice) at home. Plugging in a battery charger quickly resolved the issue each time. We have not had the car in to the dealer yet for the most recent TSB's and updates. The bottom line for you: How much time to you want to spend looking? Which model and options are you considering? Which is more valuable to you, your time or your money? Would you rather spend hours (days, weeks, months) of your time searching for and negotiating the very best deal possible on a used C-MAX, or spending more (maybe substantially more), but getting the exact new vehicle you want from dealer inventory relatively quickly (assuming you do not need to special-order it and wait for it to be built and delivered). Would we purchase the exact same vehicle again? Absolutely. --- New-car dealers often make far more profit selling used cars and certified-used cars than they do selling new cars.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief or go into a rage after looking at the map, please check the ACTUAL tax for your own state! The gasoline tax number shown for Indiana on that map is about double the true current gas tax. Indiana should be an 'aqua' state, not red. Even in northwest Indiana where they pay 'Chicago' prices, the state sales tax is still not even close to 42 cents per gallon. Indeed, the Indiana gas tax law changed on July 1st, 2014, but the gas tax has never approached 42 cents per gallon of gas, even when gas was selling for $4.299. The Indiana sales tax is now calculated monthly, based upon a statewide average price for the prior month, then 7% (the state sales tax rate) of that prior-month average is added. http://www.in.gov/dor/5081.htm

What you need is one of these ;) http://www.draperyrodsdirect.com/Kirsch-Empire-Traverse-Rods-Left-Draw-s/180.htm

Thanks for the amplifications and clarifications! Either ABS or pressure-sensing implementation still results in a system that serves primarily to confirm that the loud noise you're hearing and the vibration you're feeling is your now-blown-out tire flapping around what's left of your expensive alloy rim. Notifying me that any of my tires, manufacturer-labeled as capable of 51psi, have only 28psi remaining is way too little, too late IMHO. A TRULY USEFUL TPMS system should let the driver set a higher minimum notification pressure, OR set a higher notification threshold percent, or both. Seems like a Catch-22 anyway:If there is a small puncture, then the onboard tire mobility kit with pump equipped with stop-leak ensures that you'll need to replace the TPMS sensor. If it's a sudden blowout, then the onboard pump and stop leak is useless, and the TPMS sensor might be the only thing salvageable as you pull to a stop on the now-ruined tire and rim. The TREAD law mandating TPMS in the US was apparently a legislative response to the deaths and injuries resulting from mid-1990's Ford Explorers with OEM Firestone tires that suffered tread separations and blowouts leading to rollovers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Recall_Enhancement,_Accountability_and_Documentation_Act http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/20/tireindex.html Another government attempt to mandate a technological solution to a social problem: Many people just don't take good care of their cars! Many of us here are probably old enough to remember the days of the Full Service gas stations when station attendants would fill your car, clean your windshield, and offer to check the air in your tires. Self-service gas refueling is still prohibited in a few communities in Massachusetts.

In spite of the text in the manual that says 'one or more', I truly believe the TPMS system ls primarily designed to alert you when there is ONE low tire. As long as all of them are nearly the same pressure, the TPMS is not going to warn you. Our car was delivered with all tires at ~32psi! I checked tire pressure after the first time I drove it on the highway, because the handling felt 'squishy', as if the tires were filled with jello, likely from sidewall flex. My other daily driver has always been shod with H-rated or V-rated tires, so I'm used to crisp handling. Adding 13psi ~45psi cold improved the handling significantly, and probably bumped gas mileage up a couple of mpgs too. I haven't tried the sidewall-indicated max of 51psi yet.

Apparently California legislators either don't read the research or simply don't believe the facts... http://www.hybridcars.com/california-wants-more-people-driving-electric-vehicles/ (LA Times article cited: http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-brown-electric-cars-20140922-story.html) http://www.hybridcars.com/hov-access-is-key-for-california-plug-in-car-purchases/

Combined September 2014 sales fell to 1786, the second lowest month this calendar year, and third lowest combined monthly sales since introduction. September 2014 Sales update, October 2, 2014 3:30pm: NOTICE: Since prior month data are always included in each new monthly update to the spreadsheet and charts, effective today 10/2/2014, I'm going to delete my older monthly charts from this timeline. DISCUSSION: C-MAX Hybrid sales fell from 2451 in August to 1109 in September, 48% decline Energi sales fell from 1050 in August to 677 in September. A search of extended dealer inventory at Ford.com shows there are still are hundreds of C-MAX Hybrid SE's and SEL's in dealer inventory in most regions. Is this substantial sales decrease a problem of inventory mix, with short supply of cars with the most desirable options? I'm sure the no sale-no demo Airbag recall probably halted a few month-end deliveries of remaining 2013's since no parts are available, because the RCM recall involves only 2013 model-year vehicles built between Jan. 19, 2012 to Nov. 21, 2013. As I understand it, 2014 model-year production began in late December 2013. Last year we could attribute the steep decline in sales from August to September to the adverse publicity of CU and the first EPA re-rating. Thoughts? https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2014/10/01/september2014sales.pdf http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/september-2014-dashboard/

I paid $2.799 a gallon on Sept 20th 2014 in Lafayette, Indiana. It was a temporary price war, apparently. Same station is $3.079 today, lowest in that area is $2.999, about $3.199 a gallon with a few miles of our house. Central and south-central US have the lowest prices at the moment on the gas-price 'heat-map': http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

And the hits just keep on coming from those free-range, cute, cuddly, environmentally-friendly California legislators, now that Governor Brown signed the statewide ban on plastic bags into law: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/30/6748372/california-plastic-bag-ban-signed.html Wonder what unintended consequences will result from THIS law???

:airquote: COOL! Once you master the basic automotive and hybrid-specific jargon, there are a few other MLA's (Multi-Letter-Acronyms) and MAA's (More Advanced Acronyms) you should learn in order to achieve your MA (Master of Acronymics) Degree: TLA = Three Letter Acronyms, such as ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), HVB (High Voltage Battery), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) NOTE: TLA is sometimes acronymized as 3LA, in which case it becomes an AWBNAL (Acronym With Both Numbers And Letters) ATLA = Abbreviated Three Letter Acronyms, that contain two or fewer letters, such as SD (Super Duty), EV (Electric Vehicle), SE (Special Edition) NOTE: ATLA is sometimes acronymized as AA for Abbreviated Acronyms, (not to be confused with other significant AA's: Alcoholics Anonymous, and Acronymizers Anonymous) ETLA = Extended Three Letter Acronyms that contain four or more letters, such as CARB (California Air Resources Board), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and NVRAM (Non Volatile Random Access Memory) NOTE: ETLA is sometimes acronymized as XTLA for eXtended Three Letter Acronyms WWD = Words With Dots, another acronym for URL's (Universal Resource Locators) used on the internet, such as www.ford.com, because when spoken aloud it sounds like "www-DOT-ford-DOT-com" And finally, learn this ELA (Eight Letter Acronym) to achieve AAN (Absolute Acronymic Nirvana): AICBMSSC = Acronym Incorrectly Corrected By My Stupid Spell Checker :headspin:

"Allowing single-occupant low-emission cars in California to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on congested highways exacerbates the congestion and causes up to about $4,500 per car in adverse social costs annually, including increased commute times and carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy." ... "The California law enabling single-occupant access to the HOV lanes was meant to stimulate sales for fuel-efficient, ultra low-emission vehicles, with the goals of reducing dependence on foreign oil and saving money at the gasoline pump. Between August 2005 and June 2011, California law allowed owners of hybrid vehicles achieving at least 45 mpg (5.2 l/100 km) to purchase a Clean Air Vehicle Sticker for $8, allowing them to drive on carpool lanes regardless of the number of occupants in the car. However, two-thirds of the sticker registrants had hybrid cars already on the road, the authors noted; in other words, the stimulus effect was lower than expected. While the original clean air sticker policy expired in 2011, a new HOV-exception program with 40,000 stickers for electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles started in 2012." ... "With the addition of solo-driver hybrids on already congested highways, HOV lane traffic climbs above 30% beyond socially optimal levels, according to the research. Thus, carpooler congestion costs substantially outweigh the green benefits of hybrids, the researchers concluded." Full article: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/09/20140930-hov.html

Anyone else check their Ford Etis profile lately and notice any obvious errors? I checked after the most recent recall and ETIS now lists our 2013 C-MAX SE as a 2014 C-MAX Energi All the extended details are correct, but the year and model are obviously incorrect. The image on the left is from a few months ago. The image on the right is a few minutes ago. Sorry for the fuzzy appearance, I did a quick side-by-side screenshot on my laptop with VIN number redacted. Entering our same, correct VIN into the Ford site that generates the Monroney window sticker pdf file still shows the year and model correctly, so Ford didn't accidentally assign another vehicle with the same VIN number.

No beach songs yet, but, I have written the full lyrics for 'High-bread Preee-usss', a parody to the tune of 'Hot Rod Lincoln. (Still working on a C-MAX parody song). High-bread (as in expensive) Preee-usss (rhymes with ‘Free Us!’) To the tune of ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’, with apologies to Charlie Ryan, Commander Cody, Asleep At The Wheel, the Japanese, residents of San Francisco, and high-bread drivers everywhere…. My pappy said "Son, your Mama gonna leave us If you don't stop drivin’ that high-bread Preee-usss.” Have you heard the story of the high-bread car? That ‘ol Preee-usss is really settin' the bar! That story is true I'm here to say I was drivin' a Preee-usss that very day. Built ’n Ja-pan and it's really green High-bread logo makes it look so keen. Got four cylinders, barely uses 'em, ever Got echo drive, it’s just so clever. In electric mode there’s no exhaust With out any NAV you can really get lost Got air bags, so I ain't scared The brakes are great; the tires hold air. Pulled into ‘Frisco late one night And the moon and the stars were shining bright We was drivin' up some great big hill Passin' gas stations like they’z standing still All of a sudden, in the wink of an eye A non-high-bread car passed us by I said, "Boys, that's a mark for me!" By then the tail lights was all you could see Now the fellas ribbed me for being behind So tried to make that Preee-usss unwind Took my foot off the gas and, man alive, I switched it on down, out of echo drive! Wound it up ‘bout forty-and-then My passengers thought that I’d hit top end My foot was glued, like lead, to the floor That's all there is and there ain't no more Now the boys all thought I'd lost my sense The picket fence looked like, well, a picket fence They said "Slow down, I see spots!" (A dalmation ran past.) Those id-i-ots! Took a corner, side-swiped some tricycles Crossed my fingers, they were cold as icicles. My display was showin’ my MPG’s toast. The guy beside me was white as a ghost Somethin' was coming from outta of the back Am I burnin’ up my battery pack? Knew I could catch him, I thought I could pass Don't ya know by then we'd be burnin’ gas! Lotta noise comin' from under the hood Feel the power, man! (That can’t be good!) I said "Look out boys, I've got a license to try" That non-hybrid pulled over and let us by! Now all of a sudden Preee-usss started to knockin' And up that hill she started to rockin' I tried to slow down, but a cop did see us Now he was after my high-bread Preee-usss! They arrested me and they put me in jail And called my pappy jus’ to throw my bail He said "Son I tol’ ya, your Mama gonna leave us, If you don't stop racin’ her high-bread Preee-usss!” This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

The Lifetime Summary feature was removed sometime during the mid-2013 model year. The change likely occurred for cars produced on or after 07/31/2013, based upon discussions in the C-MAX Energi forums linked in this post: http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/topic/1654-new-nrgs-built-after-7-31-13-wont-show-mpge-or-lifetime-summary/ Ours, produced on April 10, 2013 still has it.