scooter_scum

The CMAX was purchased 11/5/2012. It is a 2013 model year. It was diagnosed to need a battery on 11/16/2020. I discussed the problem months ago when I picked up my replacement 110v recharge cord. They said my Check Engine and/or Wrench would go away with the new cord. Of course, I did not get that in writing. With COVID I have been trying to stay safe for everybody. 11 days.... I'm just so disappointed with Ford. I think I might go to the dealership where I bought it and beg for their help.

Well, I'm the canary in the coal mine. My Ford CMAX Energi was all of 11 days out of warranty and my battery has failed. Ford is asking me to pony up $15K to replace it. The car drivability has dropped dramatically. START/STOP no longer works. Engine runs all the time (coasting, at stop lights, etc). Acceleration is very sad with out the battery boost. Our car has 87K miles, always garage kept except for long trips. We are in a relatively cool climate and can't understand why our battery failed except for poor engineering/quality control from Ford. Buyer beware!!!

Well, I just spent time on the Ford customer service line 800-392-3673 and they said they can not do anything about my Hybrid battery being 11 days out of warranty. I guess that is the simple accountant response, but a very sad response for somebody who wants to compete with Tesla with battery powered vehicles. I mean seriously, how can the public trust a car manufacture to produce a 250 mile range car when they won't stand behind a car with 20 mile range. 11 days out of warranty and Ford estimates $15,000 in parts and labor to fix my car. Great sadness! I guess you can see why Tesla's market value is so impressive!!! 1) They produced well engineered cars 2) they stand behind them. Service guy said they expect their new Ford Electric Mustang to loose 30% value in the first year of ownership.... I guess it is because it is a Ford.

Yes, I asked if anything about my problem was covered by warranty. They said no. I bought the first CMAX that came to Colorado. I picked it up Nov 5, 2012. They suggested I whine to the Ford Help number that they might be able to help. Thank you for the link above. That will help me sleep better that this car is not trashed with battery issues. You are my hero today!

Well, it has been a while since I've posted anything. Mostly I have had nothing new to report. My 2013 CMAX Energi has been running flawlessly for the most part. With 87,200 miles and averaging 64 MPG it has treated my family pretty well. My current tank is 84 MPG and expect it to drop with the cold weather. Anyway, we were getting all sorts of CHECK ENGINE lights and WRENCH lights in various combinations. I picked up an OBD2 code reader and it reported POB24 - Hybrid Battery A Voltage unstable PODC9 - Balancing circuit "H" Stuck on The car START/STOP feature that turns off the engine at stop lights stopped working. Engine and transmission would surge while driving. The engine would stay on while coasting down hills or to stop lights. It was just frustrating since we knew it could be sooooo much better driving experience. We decided to take it in to get it all sorted out. My usual independent mechanic looked at the two error codes and said... not here. Better take it to Ford. I scheduled time with my closest Ford Dealer in Longmont Colorado. They spent 5 hours trying to diagnose what the problem could be. They came up with two potential problems: Battery Controller - $1,100 - $550 in parts, $550 in labor OR PHEV Battery - $13,500 they think. They have never replaced one before so it was going to be a new experience for them. Ford was recommending the controller replacement first. Geez... Ya think?!?!? The dealer had a Nissan Leaf on the lot. My wife has really wants to go full electric. So I enquired with the sales side what kind of deal I might swing with my CMAX traded in on the Leaf. They went out and looked at the car. My wife had a scrap on the front bumper, but otherwise in good condition. They talked to service and came back and said they would be willing to give me $2,000 as a trade-in for the Leaf. My jaw hit the floor! That's all my Ford was worth to Ford?!?! I think I paid $38,000 for this car and after 87,200 miles and 8 years it is only worth $2,000?? That's $0.41/mile depreciation. You would think I was driving a BMW or something similar to have that kind of depreciation. So after sleeping on the problem and checking what a CMAX on Craig's list were going for, I figured it was worth gambling $1,100 since the Hybrid versions were going for $14,000. We ordered the part and had it installed today. Well, it took several hours to replace, but seemed to go in OK. Service guy said fingers crossed this solves the problem. We were due for a Colorado Emissions test, so I figured I better run right over and get my emissions while all the lights were off. Crazy thing, I could not get my emissions because I needed to drive it for a while. There was no Computer Data for them to analyze. So I drove it home and as I got close to home and 2 miles left on my battery - The wrench light came on. I went home and my OBD2 reader reported: POB24 - Hybrid Battery A Voltage unstable The battery controller appears to be the source of the PODC9. So now it appears the Battery is the source of all the problems. According to Ford dealer, they want me to send the battery back to Ford for them to go Cell by Cell to find the issue with my battery. He guessed it would take at least a week for the service, but they have no idea. This was all new to them. They don't know how much it might cost. They claim a "new" battery is $13,500. Not sure what the cost of Servicing the existing battery to find the bad cell or cells. So long story short - I really wanted to support Ford to start producing very fuel efficient vehicles in the US. I believe PHEV and all EV cars are the future -- especially when we consider Climate Change. I don't know how Ford is going to compete in this new world if they don't stand behind their cars better. I started looking at a Toyota Venza hybrid. It gets 40 mpg, but at least a Toyota will hold it's value. The hybrid system has a 150,000 mile warranty! In AZ, the state mandated Hybrid manufactures to warranty the systems for 150,000 miles. Maybe my CMAX will be worth more than $2,000 in AZ, I don't know but I'm pretty depressed about the whole thing. I was able to charge up the battery and used my OBD2 reader to clear the POB24 error and was successful in passing emissions in Colorado. I guess that gives me a year to sort out what to do long term with my Ford. ?

Little off topic, but Steven "scooter scum" Johnson'08 Kawasaki Concours 14 - does this make my butt look fast?'04 KTM 950 Adventure - Quick Silver - my dream 140 MPH dirt bike'95 Kawasaki KLX250/321 - Just call me yellow britches'92 Yamaha TDM850 - Dual sport of course No "real" scooters... Just feel like Scooter Scum when I travel.

My apologies! To many scooters...

In Tucson AZ, they are available as rental cars. Thought that was unique!

My trip was documented at the Energi version of this site http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/index.php?/topic/453-my-1877-interstate-trip/

I took my C-Max Energi over I-70 near Dillon, during a snow storm. Not the brightest move with a new car. Went through eisenhower tunnel all heck broke loose. Good snow storm with cars spun out everywhere. Big 4x4 trucks in the ditch, Chrysler 200 spun out and hit the divider. Went down the hill slowly into Dillon. Car did very well. Did not feel loose at all with the OEM tires. Was not impressed with the traction control. Headed up hills and the wheels started to spin. Did not seem to cut the power to the wheels. Front end tended to slide sideways. Was a bit disappointed with that behavior.

You are my hero!! Snow tires for 16" rims cost much less than 17" rims. So can you be a bit more specific on your rim details? I was looking at Ford Fusion 16" wheels on Discount Tire website. They list the rims as 16X7 5-100/114 40SM. Hate to order the wrong rims. They have some for as little as $75/rim. Being in Colorado, we would also like to follow your trail blazing lead! Appreciate you sharing all the information!!