Tree63

we're a happy, crazy bunch sometimes!

You may need a plastic sleeve to funnel water away from seats when wet, but could you hang it from one of the passenger assist handles on the interior near the doors? Not related to umbrellas but I'm looking to do something with velcro and small yogurt containers to store keys andn coins under the dash. Too much digging around without some place like this.

Here's an anti-mileage report: Parked our C-Max underground for a concert last night. Afterwards there was a crush getting out. Drove about 100 feet with ICE started, Shut off engine while waiting in line. Mileage? 1823L/100km = 0.13 mpgUS There were several hundred cars trying to get out. We waited for a good ten minutes before moving. Good example of how much hybrid in EV can help in stop-n-go, and hope others turned off their engines while we were waiting.

The weather stops at the border as well - unfortnately for now.

Driving up north through winter conditions yesterday - some bare roads, some centre bare, some covered with fresh snow - I had to use my rear wiper a fair bit to keep a reasonably clear view behind. After a while, the wiper was caked with a good bit of slush and snow and I stopped to clean it. The entire back end was covered in a layer of frozen mess - but at least ol' smokeys wouldn't be able to read my licence plate! A lot of it just dropped off as we drove along but it was interesting how even at low speeds on fresh snow the back would quickly get coated again. Other hatchbacks that I've had havea also had this - just a result of back end design and wind/draft. It was the first time I had to stop and clean the wiper, though. Might be an area of design improvement to consider. Anyone else seen this with snow (north) or sand (south)? BTW Mileage on this trip was 6.2L/100km (38mpgUS) in 15F weather against a head wind going up, and not much tail wind coming back, with eco-cruise on about 80% of time, averaging 55-60 mph. Same trip two months ago, before breaking in the engine, with better weather conditions, was 8.0L/100km (30mpgUS)

What I like about the C-Max Climate Control is that I can choose where the CC will work - defrost, vents or feet - independently. In previous car, I tried to minimize use of defrost because AC was coupled to automatically work with it, even in cold weather, whichh of course affected gas mileage. When I told him another brand didn't work that way, dealer told me all cars were now coupling AC and defrost, to make sure AC condenser/system was used periodically. Anyone know if C-Max defroster is coupled to work the AC automatically? I don't mind running it if AC is smart enough to stay off unless it is hot or I put AC on.

Didn't see an emoticon for "scared stiff". Last Monday had the worst driving nightmare of my life with Black Ice at night --- a trip that normally takes 4-5 hours took 8, with 5 hours on patchy BI on Hwy 401, the major expressway in Southern Ontario. I have driven in all kinds of winter conditions before and wasn't worried by some light snow that was falling at first. We had decided to take my wife's Honda Civic on the trip, and even with its good Michelin winter tires, anything over 70 km/hr (about 45 mph) had us in a 4 wheel drift or fish-tailing very quickly. Then we would hit a patch of dry or dry enough road to recover for a bit, then back to BI again. After a while, realized that any pavement that was dark was BI -- and it was everywhere. Reason I raise this here is to ask what icy conditions have others driven their C-Max and how did it handle? All kinds of big 18 wheelers passed all the cars, and many cars passed us -- but many did not as well. Didn't see very many in the ditch, which tells me there was some differentiator between cars that passed us and those that did not. I'm wondering if the heavier C-Max, with engine weight up front, and battery weight at rear, would have given better traction in such conditions. Any experiences to share - C-max or otherwise?

Last week when we had bone chilling cold in Ontario (beside Michigan), it took 3-4 minutes instead of 2-3 minutes (with Climate Control off, and I have foamed most of the grill) to get EV to kick in. I use the tach and temperature displays in MyView to check when the thermometer changes from blue to white, and EV has cutover pretty much flawlessly. It will switch back to ICE because of temp going blue again when sitting at a light or changing into a wind. I've seen the bar start quite low and then move up as I accelerate slowly, never sticking. Ran errands at 0F (-18C here) all morning and still hit 5.1L/100km overall (pretty much 47 MPG). In low 20's (-7C) today, ranged from 9.x for short first trip to 4.7 - 5.6 rest of the day. BTW - My Fuelly average hasn't changed much because 1) I'm filling up less often and 2) my son keeps borrowing the car and seems happy with 7.x averages. Sigh.

The time to cycle on-off a few times might have given enough time for the fan to thaw. I've tried setting fan speed manually (up and down) when it happens and it made no diffference. Just a cold weather quirk at this point -- but you can't predict how much time is needed to have fan/defrost working, so I'll have to remember to turn on CC early.

Note: frozen fan, not fannies. Heated seats work just fine, thanks. We had some really cold weather last week and I kept Climate Control off until engine was heated up. Surprise when I switched CC on, the fan did not start for several minutes (maybe 2--3). I could definitely feel heat seeping through the vents --- but no fan! A bit concerting with windows starting to fog up. Anyone else had this happen? Just a part of getting used to this new car - no real worries. Next time I might run CC a bit earlier.

Great postings and details - thanks! Recently I also have been surprised by doing better than expected with Eco-cruise. Could it have something to do with ICE break-in? Just over 2500 miles now. Also with P&G in cold weather (below 0F these days), I am noticing occasionally cutover to EV from ICE is a bit hesitant. Not a concern but slower than what I'm used to.

Gallonage is important. I'm also keeping an eye on what percentage of my trips is on EV miles. Now I have a car where my driving habits can continue to reduce the amount of gas-powered miles. (Granted it all ties together in the end.) And I like to think I'm entitled to a gallon of beer/wine at the end of the day for every gallon of gas saved along the way.

Transport Canada (our EPA) mileage rating for the C Max is 4.0/4.1 L/100km or about 59 MPG(US). Friends with Prius's were getting 5.7 or about low 40 MPG, so I was expecting that or better with time, as a first hybrid owner. Have had errand runs that hit as much as 3.1 or 75 MPG, and with more tips from the forum am hitting low 5,x (about 42-45) consistently now in cold weather after about 2500 miles. Last night I was surprised: car was sitting outside 15F for nearly 3 hours - and the EV ran for the first quarter mile! (go figure) Bonus surprise was seeing insurance costs drop - apparently that industry favours safety features of C Max. So straight savings overall will be about what I expected. I agree with comments that this is a fun car to drive. A few times I have needed acceleration and it snapped my head back. When stretching mileage with P&G, the results make the effort worth it. It was one of the few cars I could get into without bumping my head (6-4) and my wife (5-2) can drive with good sight lines and reach. It's tall build and wide swinging doors make it easier for an 80-something mother to get in and out. Storage for 2 sets of golf clubs - not a problem. And I'm sure there will be more to come. Great car - not perfect - but well worth it so far.

I have tried to find info on how the automated grill shutters but no luck. It would be good to understand what triggers the open/close (partial close?). Is it only engine temp or a combination of speed/headwind/etc? I wonder if CMax has ones identical to Fusion.

Spent about $3 on pipe insulation, another few bucks on velcro ties to semicover the grill, and I noticed the difference - about 5% improvement on mileage. Biggest surprise this week was shutting down climate control, as some have suggested. Mileage has shot up about 15-20% on average trips (50/50% expressway/city). EV kicks in after 2-3 minutes instead of 7-9 minutes. Great savings on short trips - even if ICE is inefficient it is on a fraction of the time. (outside temp 25-35F, -3/+2C) It's the same as I used to do with other cars - let engine warm up fully, then heat the car interior. The hybrid is just so sensitive to temperature extremes (at least cold). Anyone in warm places running AC a lot?

Mayday Jay, you can see how much support there is in the forum - wonderful folks who share and care. Lucky you to be able to drive your new C Max in warm weather every day. We've all had to change driving habits a bit for improved mileage but it's great to have performance available when needed as well. My mileage is still improving into my second month with the car, and occasionally it does amazingly well already. Hopefully your experience will turn out the same or better.

Yes - mine is same. Extra helps clean licence plate! :)

The C Max is my first Ford product after years of Japanese cars, so maybe this is a general question about brand standards. With the SEL, are the side mirrors heated only when the rear defrost is on, or do they operate like the rain sensitive mirrors? Nothing in specs or owners manual that I've seen. The side mirrors also seem to be more spotty than I am used to - nothing that a wipe or two won't fix but wonder if this is due to heating or quality of mirror finish.

Is it possible to display (trafffic/weather sites e.g.) from a smartphone to the MFT screen? Sirius Weather currently doesn't cover Canada.

Weather seems to be limited to US locations, whether using Travel Link or voice command.

ICE vs EV from stop: as noted by others, it depends on traffic behind me (if none EV it) and hills in front of me (if flat - EV it) Grill covering: from the thread referenced, I installed 2 strips of pipie insulation (covering about half the opening space top and bottom), and ave seen about 5% improvement in mileage (39 - 41 mpgUS; 5.7 - 6.0 l/100km) Winds: I was really surprised how badly mileage suffered when driving in windy onditions. Is the engine so sensitive or is it aerodynamics of the car body??