yark99

Hi all, just an update, or no update. A while ago, the dealer gave our car back, having searched for 9 days, but not having found anything. We have not had any further problems (yet). We have been careful to turn everything off, including heated seats, although that should be automatic. However, one day we parked in the driveway, locked the car and came in--parking lights were still on and did not go off even after a while. (Headlights were in 'auto' position.) Unlocked car, fiddled with the switch and locked it again, and lights went off. It seems like a relay is getting stuck somewhere, maybe. Will keep watching. Someone mentioned they have a Fusion. Anyone know if they are having similar problems? Someone else mentioned EV+. Anyone have this happen anywhere *except* at home?

So... they want to give our car back after 9 days, but they haven't found anything. They thought they had a drain, but they weren't used to working on a hybrid. When they figured out how to do that, they didn't have the drain at all. We are back to square 1, except that we have been driving something else for a while.

bymaine: Your clock observation is exactly what happened to me. The clock began updating after the car was powered off and restarted. salman: Yes, I will give all the information I can! I understand about the LIon being at a different voltage. Our Civic Hybrid worked differently-- seemed like it could access it.

She said a few did. I was watching the road!

Since Pepper is in the shop for electrical surgery I am left with only memories. Last weekend, my daughter and I drove to a concert. We're in flyover country, so we sometimes have to travel to get a bit of "culture" aka rock'n'roll. On the way back, I decided to stay off the Interstate and travel on the little highways. Love them back roads! And we decided to go even smaller and drive through the wind farm. Daughter says "If you drive really fast, will the windmills go faster?" I thought not, but why not try? So I zipped up to [nearly triple digits]. Smooth as a baby's butt. No shakes or shimmies. So easy it was a bit scary. With a great sky, and the windmills all around (to power your Energi), and the car sailing, what a blast! Sometimes it's nice to live in the middle of nowhere. Killed my tank mpg though. pffft. Stories?

Update (or not): Dealer has had our car since Monday. Thanks in part to info on this board, they took it seriously and are trying to find the problem. They have found a draw on the battery and are trying to trace it. It seemed like they found one, but it wasn't the only one. They are apparently communicating with Ford about things to try. I will let everyone know if something is found. They are being quite nice. We have a loaner vehicle-- unfortunately, at first it was an Explorer, which felt like driving a hippopotamus after the agile CMax. Today I asked for something that wasn't a gas hog. I know we are early adopters and will have some patience as long as Ford treats us right, which they have so far. One thing I do not understand is why the hybrid batt can't provide enough juice to start the car if the 12V is low. littlebitfarm, where are you in Central IL? Are we at the same dealer-- Ford City?

CMax Seattle... those are hilarious

Good thought, Rachel, but wouldn't it stop in the middle of the night then, rather than when we went out to start it? If your idea is correct, then it is not a slow trickle drain, but a rapid short and drain. However, I checked the time I called Roadside assistance, which was about 5 minutes after the discovered failure. The clock stopped at 11:05. The call time was 11:31. (We have it on a 24-hour clock so there is no chance that it stopped 12 hours previous at 11:05 pm.) It is possibly just a coincidence that it's so close to the attempted start time, and that time reflects how long it took the battery to drain: from about 5pm the day before = 18 hours.

I posted to the other thread too, but: Dead battery 2x - last time @1600 mi CMax SE 201a - power liftgate & ambient lighting winter package moon roof (not that it matters) no Nav remote start

excellent Laurel :)

Hi all, I have to sign on to the dead battery list, sadly. First occurrence: couple weeks ago. Husband found it dead. Doors wouldn't even unlock. Roadside service towed to dealer, where they replaced 12Vbatt. Today also dead. Doors had been left unlocked so we could get in; otherwise no response. Interior lights not left on as we went out in the dark last night and would have seen it. Roadside assistance jumped it and it ran. I left it running for some time (down go the mpgs), drove it for a while, including one stop at a store, no further problems. CMax SE with: - nothing plugged in to USB, 12V or PowerPoint charger - 201a power liftgate - was last closed using press button on the tailgate itself - 201a ambient lighting - winter package (heated seats + mirrors) - remote start - hybrid battery almost fully charged according to dash display - no Nav - moonroof - 4.5 hour drive yesterday at highway speeds I think people should report the options in case one of them is the cause of variable behavior. ** Someone mentioned liftgate above. Can anyone who's had problems report on whether you have SE with power liftgate? Never mind-- I posted to the roll call Strangely, the clock appears to have stopped about the time we tried to start the car (within 30 minutes-- I did not record this time exactly) and did not progress until AFTER the car was shut off and re-started (key off and then on). That is, the clock did not progress during the entire time the car was running while the 12V was being re-charged, although the car did go to EV mode during that time. Temp about 32F. Car kept outside.

Tdefny: I agree. The PHEV is a transition technology and I would have supported it if we had the opportunity to buy the Energi. Although my electricity source is presently coal and nuclear-- both of which have environmental black marks-- the ability to build up a different energy structure is attractive. If we want to be able to choose an energy future, for whatever reason (energy security or environment), we need to have more choice about the sources (renewables plus other ideas on the table) and in order to do that we need a more flexible carrier (electricity & maybe hydrogen). And good points about using the EV for the poor-mpg trips.

Welcome! Your car sounds like ours (red w/sun roof). I will try not to notice the water spots now that you have pointed them out. :)

Welcome pkay! You still haven't told us about your new baby.

Haha-- they didn't want you posting your 23 mpg open-roof on fuelly