andrewwx

I wonder now that Ford owns my old SEL with the 8 inch MFT screen if the engineers will take it apart and look for a solution. Still no sign of the mythical better charging software update I note. Glad to see that most people are happy now. After driving a Cmax it is very annoying to have your car not shut off at red lights leaving you to think about the gas you are needlessly burning. Cheers Andrew

Hi Laurel: Well the Fiesta is no Cmax, but it will do and now I have no car payment which is nice. On the highway it gets similar milage as the Cmax, but its when I am driving around town that I really miss the Cmax. Something so satisfying about having the engine shut off at red lights. I almost bought a Volt, but the 44,000$ price was just too high even with the tax credits. Perhaps I will buy a 2nd gen Cmax in a couple years I hope you have nothing but smooth sailing in yours. Cheers Andrew

I will wrap it up and sent it out.

Hi All: I signed my Cmax back to Ford today. I will miss it. Ford was exceptional in the way they handled it. They even paid me back the interest that was charged on my loan and only charged me 89$ for milage. Its a bummer that mine had problem. I hope that mbedit Cmax will provide all the answers to this problem. I do note that the number of posts in the topic has dropped way off - I would suspect because we are warming up now that it is spring and the batteries are happier. I bought a used Fiesta from Vista Ford, another very pleasant transaction. Take care everybody Andrew

Hi Everybody. I am selling my AutoSport custom fit sunshade for the Cmax for 30 dollars plus shipping. It has never been used (Ford is buying my Cmax back due to 12V battery issues) http://www.autosportcatalog.com/sun-shades-and-visors/reflector-sunshade.cfm Cheers Andree

bymaine: I would think that after 60 miles your battery would be fully charged when you put it away. I think the "software solution" is just going to make the car charge the battery harder to prevent the "short trip" run down. I still think there is a power drain going on which would explain what happened to you. If only we all had dealers like Rdldr1's I think there would be many more solved cases. just my 2 cents Cheers Andrew

Hi All: Ford called me Friday and informed me that they have agreed to buy my car back. Good news but sort of bittersweet because I really liked the Cmax. It was everything I was looking for in a car. I wish I had bought it 6 months from now when I am sure Ford will have figured things out. I was glad to read that Oxnard's Cmax is doing well - I hope it continues to be problem free. They are only going to charge me 90$ for depreciation which was good. So while the buy back approval process took a little longer than I would have liked - Ford did the right thing and did not give me any hassle at all. On a somewhat ironic note I took a Focus ST out for a test drive to see if the seats were not as bad as I remembered (they felt better this time) but when we went to start the car its battery was dead and needed a jump! (side note: 254hp in a Focus is grin inducing). I now have a never used AutoSport custom fit sun shade for a Cmax if anyone is interested. (its pretty big since the Cmax windshield is so large) yark99 - my dealer spent so much time driving my Cmax around trying to figure out what was wrong that when I got it back (briefly) and I drove by the dealer on the way to work it would go into EV+ mode. Cheers All Andrew

Hi Oxnard: Shows how good Vista Ford is. I have no problems with them. This is why I did not hear from Vista today. I have an SEL with the big screen. So this will not help me. For what is worth I truly believe that my power drain is somewhere in the dash / radio / nav screens and or the black boxes that control them. But no one has been as dedicated as the one tech that fixed RedLdrs car. I wonder what will happen with me Cheers Andrew

Hi All: Oxnard - did you get your Cmax back today? Did they say anything about what the software does?/ mbedit - thanks for the info - I will check into that. I thought they were doing that. Ugh. If this was a refrigerator it would have been fixed/refunded by Sears in a couple of days. I don't know why the auto industry is so far behind in terms of customer service especially with so many options to choose from and social media to spread the word. Andrew

Hi All: Well this is interesting news. I must admit it does not make me happy. I am sort of over this car. Ford promised me an answer in 5 to 8 days on 3/7 even giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming they meant business days, even though they did not say it, I should have heard something from them today. There was no phone call, no email, no nothing. I really just wanted a check so I could buy a new car that I do not have to walk up to with apprehension about whether or not it will start. Now I guess they want Oxnard and I to beta test this new software for them. I wonder if they will call me tomorrow. Andrew

Hi My buy back claim is still at Ford corporate. The customer service rep said 5 to 8 (I assume business) days. So I might hear something tomorrow. Otherwise it's just me and my Corolla rental. Cheers Andrew

Hi All: Here is an update. The manager of Vista Ford told me that they began the buy back process with Ford corporate. My Ford customer care representative requested that they send her all of the repair paperwork for the vehicle so that she may start the review process for a buy back. A few hours later my Ford customer care representative called me and told me much the same thing and added the process takes 5 to 8 days. Hopefully this process will be a smooth one. I was very happy with Vista Ford of Oxnard they did not give me any hassle with my request and seem genuinely interested in making me happy. Not sure what to do now. A new Cmax is out of the question since they now have told me that the Cmax will not work with my commute (I actually don't believe that I think it is a drain somewhere like in Rdldr's car. But since they have told me that it will not work with my commute I am out of luck) I am a Federal Employee and since American tax payers pay my salary I always buy American. The Cmax was perfect for me. Maybe I will give those Recarro seats in the Focus ST another try. Cheers Andrew

My Commute is 8.7 miles each way and then my afternoon trip to the gym is 2.2 miles each way, so I can see where I would uncover this problem. Cheers Andrew

RedLdr I noticed that too. You would think that Ford might notice that and then start checking parts that are unique to the Cmax. Andrew

Sad news all: Vista Ford just called me and read to me what the engineers in Dearborn are telling people via the Oasis system. "Some Cmax owners may experience battery discharge problems if they drive short distances with high electrical loads (such as having a laptop plugged in or using the climate control system) We are aware of the problem but do not have a solution as of yet" This is very bothersome because Ford is blaming us for driving the car in a certain way. It is like if my iPhone would not dial anyone in the 310 area code but worked for all other area codes and Apple came back and said "its your fault for trying to use your phone to call that area code" What is doubly annoying is that I drove my Cmax with nothing plugged into any ports and with the climate control off - so the engineers are actually wrong in their assessment of the problem. This is the fourth time my Cmax has been in for this problem and they had my car for the past 36 days. They have had the car for a total of 52 days. I am going to try to work with Ford Customer Service and Vista Ford to get my money back - I have had enough. Hopefully they treat me well - if not its nice that my girlfriend works at a law office. I sincerely hope that everybody here has better luck than I. Cheers Andrew

I wonder if this is what Ford is trying to address with the mythical "software update" Not the actual DC-DC convertor but the algorithm that it uses to keep the battery charged. From what I have read it looks like it is very difficult to get a good charge indication from voltage testing (if we had older batteries we could get accurate readings by measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte in the battery) I think the Tech who diagnosed Rdldr's Cmax had the best plan - turn the car off and search for a hot lead that should be cold. I am very envious of Mbedit's brand new fully functional Cmax - I wish Ford would suck it up and give all of us early adopters with problems cars that work. Cheers Andrew

Hey mbedit Thats great that they are working on things. The radio would explain why it never dies at my dealer - they always turn the entertainment off. Max Power - maybe you should run tests with both your entertainment on at shut down and off at shut down. Cheers Andrew

I happened to be driving by Vista Ford after work today and I stopped in. They do not think the instrument panel is bad and are pinning their hopes on the software fix that will be out soon. Like Oxnard, I am not holding my breath. They indicated that the software update will address charging. This has me worried because it really seems like a discharging problem to me. At least my rental Corolla does not smell like beer and smoke. I had that rental Cruz the second time I had my car in. Will hope to hear more about the software update. Cheers All Andrew

Thanks RedLdr I just sent all of your information to my Ford dealer. I am intrigued because we both have (had) the no chirp on lock problem. I like it that your solution fixed the car without a software update. Or maybe the IP problem can be fixed with a software update if something is not being told to go to sleep properly. They have had my car for 28 days now I hope something happens soon. it would be great to get it back all fixed so I can put that F1 tint you recommend on it1 Cheers Andrew

Hi All: Has anyone mentioned the defective instrument panel that was found to the problem for Redldr1 to their service tech? Has anyone had their instrument panel looked at? Redldr1 what was the test your tech did to determine that the panel was defective? I really wonder if we have a solution right under our nose. Cheers Andrew

Hi Oxnard: Did you take your car to Vista Ford? If so is Peter your service tech? The dead battery thread contains the most info on this problem. There is a poll on page 17 of that thread please fill that out. The good news for you is that Ford is now aware that there is a problem. And while I am sorry that you are having problems I am sort of glad that there are two cases now at the dealer so it does not look like I am the odd duck. Cheers Andrew

Hi All Day 24 of the hostage crisis. Much to my disappointment all of my wiring harnesses were in good shape. I really was betting on the tailgate wiring because that would easily explain why the car died for me and never for the service department since they never touched the lift gate. My service guy who must really wish I had bought the Focus ST (uncomfortable seats) told me that Ford engineering is prepping a battery specific software update to cure the problems. They said it would be about a week or so until they see Ford push the software out to the field. Cheers Andrew

Hi All: My Service tech just called. It looks like Ford is placing its bets on the wiring Harness. Just like Flatbat case - Ford Engineering told my guy to check 3 harnesses and report back. Cheers Andreew

Hi All: I am a little disappointed today. I had hoped that Ford was going to make me happy today and resolve my issue. But I talked to the service manager and they are just going to try to fix it. I guess they know that if they fail this time the lemon law kicks in. If I put my optimist hat on - maybe this will lead the Ford engineering team down a new path that will fix the problem. The service manager noticed two things with my Cmax. One is that when he put the battery analyzer on the terminals the running lights would pop on. Two: Ford central is being very quite about this problem. They act like it is only my car, despite the fact that he told them when he searches the internet he finds many stories like all of ours. I will keep everyone informed. Cheers Andrew

Hi All: I just called Ford customer care. My rep has not called me back, nor has she updated her voice mail greeting since the 31st so she may be sick. I called and spoke to someone new who reviewed my case and said that they ford corporate and my ford service were talking and I will get a call tomorrow. I hope its good news...but this car does not seem to be a source of much good news... Andrew