bro1999

(copying from the Energi forum)

I returned my leased C-Max with the factory cloth floormats, so I have a set of all weather mats for sale. Same all-weather floormat package that comes from the factory as an option. They have obviously been used, but are in excellent condition other than being a little dirty. After a powerwashing, they should look almost never.

New floor mats sell for about $77 on Amazon, looking for $40 + shipping. PM if interested. Thanks!

I'm not sure it is fair to state that Ford hasn't improved things. Carmakers have gone to roughly a 4-5 year cycle for their various models. So, for Hyundai, the Sonata Hybrid was introduced in 2011, and they updated their model, including the hybrid powertrain, for the 2016 MY (was supposed to be 2015 but the hybrid was delayed by a year). You can argue that the Sonata had a "mid-cycle refresh" of their drivetrain in 2013 but it was minor, and was needed because of issues. This isn't that much different than the various recalls/CSPs, by Ford, that have improved gas mileage and reliability on their hybrid systems. As for the Prius, that is just being updated for 2016, with the last update in 2009.

 

The 2017 Fusion has just been revealed, a "new model"; though in terms of interior and exterior design it almost appears to be more a refresh. The improvements to the Fusion Hybrid powertrain should also be copied into the C-Max. What wasn't announced is what changes they will have for the hybrid. For example, to get the range of the new Sonata PHEV, Ford largely needs to just put a similar sized battery in the Fusion/C-Max Energi models (currently 7.6 kWh, the new Sonata has a 9.8 kWh battery) -- the Ford's don't really even need much of a mpg upgrade to compete, just the larger battery. Until the new hybrid powertrain changes are announced for Ford's 2017 models, I think it is premature to criticize Ford. I would also expect that a new C-Max would be updated to something closer to the European C-Max designed (updated in 2015), which should hopefully improve air flow (and fuel economy), particularly if Ford tweaks it to make it more aerodynamic.

 

It does appear that Ford is planning on updating the powertrain and trying some new ideas. For example, we know of a 2017 C-Max Energi concept car that would include solar energy panels on the roof. While I can see some challenges to implement (such as weight of the solar panel), it does show that Ford is working on improving their hybrid technology. I've got to admit, this type of solar paneled car could help me -- depending on the effectiveness/durability of the solar panel. My car sits outside much of the time, so I could likely run it a fair amount electric only without needing to plug the car in.

 

I'll agree, if the 2017 hybrid drive trains are announced and little has changed, then we will have reasons to complain. However, the mere fact they didn't talk about the drive trains for the hybrids would seem to support the idea Ford is making updates, just that the updates weren't quite ready to be announced.

As a C-Max Energi owner (well, leaser....I turn it in next month), I seem to have avoided any major problems in my ~23 months of driving. The C-Max has served me well. But I am disappointed in Ford's action on the EV front (or lackthereof). Yes, they did announce the $4.5 billion investment into electriFIED vehicles, but the fruits of those investments are years away. Meanwhile, Ford's EV products (Fusion+C-Max hybrid/Energis, Focus Electric) are literally being left in the dust by the competition.

Look at the other "Big 3" players (even though FCA is technically Italian, I'll still include them):

GM - has already released the Gen 2 Volt, and will release the 200+ mile Bolt EV late this year. Malibu hybrid will go on sale in a few months (47mpg combined), and even a Cruze hybrid has been spotted being tested.

FCA (Fiat/Chrysler for crying out loud!) - just announced the Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivan with 30 miles of range. Scheduled for release later this year.

Ford? Umm....100 mile Focus Electric which will be released around the same time as the 200 mile Bolt...can you say dead on arrival? A facelifted '17 Fusion Energi?

And let's not forget about Tesla either. Even with Elon Musk and Tesla's consistent missing of deadlines, I believe the Model 3 will still go on sale way before a 200 mile BEV is released by Ford.

It seems Ford is content with remaining on the sidelines of the EV landscape while it sells just enough hybrids and low-range plug-ins to offset the gobs of F-150s and SUVs they sell.

I myself plan to acquire a Bolt EV later this year, which will be the eventual replacement of my C-Max. I've already leased a $40/month Chevy Cruze as a placeholder until the Bolt arrives....and I still have my Volt.

I really hope Ford bigwigs pull their heads out of their butts and start getting serious about EVs. I guess we'll have to wait at least another 3-5 years though.

(posted this on the Energi site as well)

For anyone interested, I will soon have a Rhino Rack roof rack and 2" Torklift Ecohitch for sale. Both items are still in great shape, and were purchased new less than 2 years ago (compatible with both hybrid and Energis, 2013-2016). Here is the nitty gritty:

- 1 complete set of Rhino Rack 2500 roof rack crossbars (square bars, euro style):

http://www.rhinorack...oof-rack_ja3255

- 1 Torklift Ecohitch, 2" receiver size, 200 pound tongue weight:

http://torkliftcentr...-c-max-ecohitch

Local area delivery (I'm in MD) would be preferable (as would selling them as a set), but I'm open to looking into shipping options. New prices for each are $309 and $265 respectively.....looking for $200 for the roof rack, $175 for the Ecohitch, or $350 for both (shipping would be extra). PM if interested. Thanks.

 Thanks to Bro for this

 

And thanks to Kotsby for the Euro spec and explanation.

 

I note that the Euro spec number of 1723 liters (= 60.8 cu ft) for 2 seat mode (with the tire mobility kit) is greater than the US listed number of 52.8 cu ft.

 

As I recall from other posts here, the US spec that Ford follows relates to the volume of a single rectangular box that could be loaded through the rear hatch.

 

I think that the actual space being measured may be the same in both cases, but details of the shape of the cargo space and the sizes and shapes of the Euro Spec objects could cause the results between the two methods being different in general.  In the case of the C-max this could result in the space behind the third row being accounted as less by Euro spec and at the same time, the space behind the second row being accounted as greater by Euro spec.

 

That being said, i note that the shot provided by Bro includes numbers for a 7-seat mode.  Could this be for the Grand C-max?

Yeah, the Grand Max was listed next to the C-Max.

That IS curious.

 

Do they give the space with the rear seats folded?

Here's a screenshot of the dimensions. 

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bro19991/Screenshot%202_edited_zpspbfxwxab.jpg~original

According to the brochure, space with the spare is 627 liters, while space with the tire repair kit is 666. That converts to 22 and 23.5 cubic feet, respectively.

So the euro C-Max actually has less cargo space than the C-Max hybrid??

Does anyone know the cargo capacity of the non-hybrid C-Max's sold in Europe? I tried finding that info, but no dice. Only thing I found was a brochure for the UK C-Max, but when I converted the listed capacity from liters to cubic feet, I got a result less than the 24.5 cubic feet the hybrid is rated at?? Shouldn't the non-hybrid C-Max's have a larger capacity, since there is no battery stuffed in the hatch?? :headscratch:

If you can plug it at work (especially for free), and the car will be mostly for commuting purposes, you might want to give the Volt a serious look. I have both (Volt, NRG) and the NRG meets my commuting needs almost perfectly (17 miles RT). But if you have a 130 mile daily commute and can plug in at work, you'd probably be able to drive at least 75-80 miles of your commute on battery alone in a Volt. Plus the Volt is eligible for the Illinois EV rebate, while the NRG is not. If you don't mind the smaller interior cabin space of the Volt, it may make more fiscal sense compared to a NRG.

The next gen Volt is supposed to be announced in January, so I would advise you to wait until then if you are considering a Volt.

Nice!

btw, when I first read the title, I thought you were posting about your pano roof glass breaking. lol

Pics of my Inno Aero Light 4 bike rack on my 2" Ecohitch:

Here is a less than stellar (borderline scathing) review of the B-Class: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/mercedes-benz-b-class-electric-drive-brings-luxe-and-limitations/index.htm

Seems CR has a new whipping boy for the EV/hybrid segment. :lol2:  I would have posted this in the Energi forum, but most of the CR 'love' I've seen is on here. ;)

But the review does point out some head scratchers. No quick charge option for a <100 mile pure BEV? And it is the least efficient vehicle in its class (98 MPGe). The C-Max Energi is rated at 88 MPGe....but it also has an entire ICE drivetrain to lug around!

Wow bro1999. - that is impressive!

Do you have a picture of the hitch without the Thule box?

I am most likely going to stick with the 1.25 but I still have some doubts

Thanks

I measured the ground clearance, and it's 8.5 inches from the lowest part of the hitch to the ground. Some photos of just the hitch are below. I should add I have an Energi, so the couple hundred extra pounds of battery might actually make my C-Max sit a little lower than your hybrid. This is purely conjecture, though.

Same for me and my '13 Energi.

Just a bit more information.

We are concerned about ground clearance with the C-Max and a 2 inch hitch receiver.  We are also somewhat concerned about a 3 inch blob sticking out the back end of the C-Max but want function over fashion.

Anyone have any issues with ground clearance with a 2 inch hitch receiver?

Thanks

I have a 2" Ecohitch. I've never had any ground clearance issues. I have to back out of my driveway, that's sloped, and it also has about a 3 inch drop off from the driveway to the street, and I've never had an issue with scrapping, even with my C-Max fully loaded (see below photo for example of being fully loaded.

Not sure if you can see in the below photo, but the Ecohitch doesn't stick out the rear end at all. It's flush with the bumper, if not slightly tucked under.

After I got rear-ended, I ended up replacing my old Thule hitch bike rack for a Inno Aero Light bike rack. http://www.autoanything.com/bike-racks/69A4840A0A0.aspx

It's partially made of aluminum, so it's a little lighter than the all steel racks out there. Slides into my Ecohitch easily. Comes with a hitch lock and bike rack lock, so no need to purchase those separately. Also has a handy foot pedal that lets you tilt the hitch out of the way so you can open the hatch. All for half the price of an equivalent Thule/Yakima hitch rack! And made in the USA (though the parent company is Japanese). I'll try to upload some pics later.

Only knock I have is that it is next to impossible to get 4 bikes on the rack (I suppose if you had 4 super skinny adult bikes, you'd be able to. Forget 4 bikes if some of them are kids bikes).

Here are several photos of the 'made over' C-Max:

Noticed several things I would like to see transfered over stateside, including what looks like rear seat flip trays, 3 independent, folding rear seats. Oh, and that cargo room! ;) I like the rims on the euro version better as well.

A way to disable the kick sensor for the hatch.

The guy could have been just in a rush, or was having a bad day. Who knows.

Last time I used my L1 EVSE to charge at a hotel, what I did was loop the cord under the hood. There's a way to close the hood with the cord secured without compressing the cord). The only way someone could take the EVSE is if someone popped the hood, or they cut the cord. I'll upload some pics showing what I'm talking about.

They're not nicknamed "Fool Cells" just for fun. Look at this article about fuel cell/EV charging station grants:

http://insideevs.com/california-approves-46-6-million-funding-hydrogen-fueling-stations-2-8-million-ev-charging-stations/

$46.6 million for 27 hydrogen fueling stations....compared to $2.8 million for 175 EV charging stations.

'nuff said.

First some advice:   If you experience this problem once, I recommend equipping yourself with this handy device  (MAXMADE® 11000mAh Dual USB Power Bank/Car Jump Starter Made of 400A-Peak-Current LiFePO4 Battery Up to 15 Ignition Times at Full Charge Perfect for Starting Your Car in Emergency with Ultra-bright LED Flashlight And Dual USB Output Also Charge for Apple and Android smartphones, tablets, and other USB-charged devices (White) -- on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7UXT2O/ref=pe_385040_121528360_TE_dp_1 ).    This will give you the peace of mind that you will never be stranded.

 

I've struggled with this one on my (otherwise beloved) 2013 CMAX Energi.     One additional tell tale sign of impending doom were the Activity messages on MyFordMobile, along with associated text messages warning "12V battery is low".   Yesterday my dealer (Lindsay Ford in Wheaton, MD) ran battery diagnostics,  then replaced my 12V battery, and ran some (unspecified) software updates.   Now, I'm hoping for the best.

 

@Ashley:   Could you please connect with me, and check that all of the appropriate service bulletins have been applied to my car?

 

I think my usage pattern for the CMAX may stress the 12V battery.   I drive about 55 miles per day roundtrip, charging overnight, and at work.   So my net mileage on the ICE is only 4-6 miles.  My guess is that the 12V battery does not get charged when the car is plugged in to charge.   Can anybody confirm/deny this guess?   If confirmed, it would seem an odd design choice.  Buying gas once a month is a big win.

 

I'm hoping I can get past the dead battery issue, since otherwise, I'm VERY happy that I got upsold to the Energi (I originally intended to buy the hybrid).

Things my dealer did NOT tell me:

    1) MD offers HOV stickers for plug-in EVs....this saves me a little bit of time, but gives me immense pleasure

    2) MD offers an excise tax rebate, even for lessors.

I also have a 2013 Energi. Build date was June 2013. I leased it this past March. There have been stretches where I have not run the ICE for weeks at a time, and so far I've never had a 12v battery issue. So I don't think minimal usage of the ICE has anything to do with the 12v problems. I've also made several 100+ mile drives in my NRG, and no problems whatsoever, besides having to burn dino juice. ;) I've been told the Energi charges the 12v when the HVB is charged, which is a reason the NRG's haven't been plagued by the 12v battery issue as much as the hybrids.

What is the build date of your C-Max?

welcome to forum...I hope that comes true...I can't wait till Consumer Reports buy their own and does a toaster review of the new Aztek (ex-toaster reviewers who have been promoted to hybrid test car drivers) :lol:

The i3 sorta looks like an Aztek from behind, if you look at it from the right (wrong?) angle... :gaah:

AAA was the insurer of the driver that tboned my wife, nearly killed her but the car saved her, she had physio & chiro. The driver admitted fault and AAA offered a piddly settlement in person that same weekend which my wife rejected with a laugh and then a week later denied fault - claiming my wife was at fault in the tbone. Luckily my wife tracked down a witness behind her and they changed their tune along with our attorney that hammered AAA. That is why I said people lie here. In my case, they delayed and I was expecting them to throw a lie in there - there is no reason for a rear ender to take this long - its utter BS. Luckily(or unluckily) as I was carried away in an ambulance, the LAPD had to file a report and dinged the driver for DUI and failing to render assistence. My wife did not have any report since it was sheriff who was there to guide the traffic...she should have gone in an ambulance, imho. LA is a city of lunatic drivers and dangerous to drive, you never know and you also need uninsured driver clause in this city as well...

Insurance adjusters....I'm sure they rank in the top 10 of the 'most hated people to interact with' list. :banghead:

Speaking of lunatic LA drivers, here is a recent example of one:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/stolen-tesla-cut-fiery-crash-west-hollywood-video-article-1.1855333

I just recently got rear ended in my NRG. I was stopped at a signal, and some guy popped me from behind. His foot slipped off the brake and he 'crept' into me. Fortunately, I had my bike rack attached to the rear, along with the kids' bikes, so damage was limited to the bikes and rack...NRG was spared. :victory: The guy was apologetic, admitted fault, and I ended getting full (retail) compensation for the bikes and rack from his insurance co, GEICO. They even gave me the cost of labor to install the new bike rack when I asked for them to include that in the quote. The kids needed new bikes anyways, so the timing of this couldn't have been better. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. :dance:

I've actually been rear-ended 3 times (each time the other party had GEICO....coincidence? :headscratch: ). Each time, the other party admitted fault, so the claims processing went smoothly every time. If you're gonna get rear-ended, get rear-ended by someone that has GEICO! :lol:

I know nothing about Apple Ford.  I live in Indiana.

 

I just followed the link someone else posted here today, and then explored all the fine print. Apple seems to be a high-volume dealership from the number of cars listed in-stock. I'd guess that they're discounting slow-moving inventory before the free floor-planning expires, because then they would have to purchase the cars. Sometimes it's a cash-flow issue. I'm guessing that if you ordered a specific car, you wouldn't see anything close to 10% off before incentives. I also wouldn't be surprised to see huge dealer doc fees, 'market pricing adjustments', and other tricks of the trade applied to their best-selling models.

 

We purchased our 'leftover' 2013 C-MAX SE, built in April 2013, in late March 2014. I'd been looking since early January, and I purposely picked old inventory, the end of the quarter after horrible winter sales, as quarterly sales incentives were expiring, and as end-of-month sales quotas needed to be met at the dealership..

 

We got a discount of about 9% off sticker ($2,600 off $28,850), and another $2,500 in Ford incentives for using Ford Credit financing, without a trade-in. I negotiated off all the outrageous add-ons that Finance & Insurance guys like to use to boost the bottom line profitability. And they counter-offered a price $250 under the lowball price I asked for. They wanted to sell us that car that day.

That helps explain the deal I was able to get with my C-Max Energi. I leased a leftover, fully loaded '13 ($38.5k MSRP, premium paint, pano roof, all taxes/fees included) this past March for less than what the Ford website was listing a base model lease for. And the Ford website pricing didn't even include fees or taxes. MD also charges tax on the full purchase price upfront, while most other states only tax the monthly payment. At the time, Ford was offering a $9,000 leasing incentive. :drool: That particular C-Max had been sitting on the dealer's lot since June of 2013, and it only had 13 miles on the odometer when I signed the lease, meaning it was probably only test driven 2-3 times.

That dealership seriously wanted to unload that C-Max!