Roger Eastman

2014 C-Max Hybrid SEL. Lumbar stopped working. When I press the control for the lumbar, I can hear something working inside of the seat, but nothing happens. Anyone run into this ?

Thanks for all the replies; all very interesting, and informative, however, no-one has ventured any comments on my original questions: Has anyone had their C-Max Hybrid HVB replaced ? If so, at what mileage, why, and how much did it cost ?

I posted information similar to this on the transmission thread a while back. I recall Ford purchasing back as many NYC Escape Hybrids as they could when they reached 200,000 miles and tore them apart to see how they had done, and they could not find much wrong with any of them. Of course, those vehicles had a different battery pack, etc. The C-Max Hybrids should be much improved over those original Escape Hybrids as far as durability goes, I would think. The reason that I started this thread is that I am trying to make a decision as what to expect as far as troubles that might be expected ( and costly ) in continuing to drive my 2014, 90,000 mile C-Max for another year or two. ( or even more ). I appreciate all replies and comments.

I have searched and can't find a simple answer, so excuse me if I have missed something. What is the expected life of the C-Max Hybrid HVB, and what is the replacement cost ?

Just saw the reply from ptjones in an earlier thread. I''ll give that a try. Thanks.

I keep getting this message. It can be removed by pressing "OK" on the left steering wheel, but it comes right back. I can't find any instructions as to how to delete this message permanently. Anyone know how to delete it ?

Does anyone have information on the 2020 Escape Hybrid ? One would presume ( and hope ! ) that Ford put all their combined knowledge and experience into the new model, and come up with a really "bulletproof" all - around result. I thought that the engine in my 2014 C-Max Hybrid was good, but I see that they have made some changes in the design of it. Comments, Anyone ?

I vaguely remember an article about Escape Hybrids in NYC taxi service - It reported that as the Ford Hybrids reached 200,000 miles, Ford was buying them back to disassemble and inspect. The overall aspect of the article was that Ford could not find any problems and they were happy with the results.. Not knowing ; just presuming - I thought that the Escape Hybrid system was the forerunner of the C-Max Hybrid system, and therefore a " bulletproof " system. Anyone else ever see the same information, and draw the same conclusion as Mine ?

Sorry, I replied to this several days ago, but I don't see my reply anywhere. Thanks for your comment. If I could find an honest dealer service dept., I think that the fix would be more reasonable.

I have been having a problem with my backup camera. Most of the time it works perfectly fine, but every now and then, when I put it in Reverse, the picture does not come up, but it says " Backup camera not available; see your Dealer ". So today, I went to my local dealer. After almost ( 2 ) hours, they told me that "There is a short in the camera system, and it will have to be replaced ." Price: Over $800.00. There must be a more reasonable solution for this problem. Has anyone found one ?

A rock hit my LF fog light lens and broke it. Does anyone know how to replace this ?"

My first rotation didn't cause much of a problem, noise-wise, but when I rotated next so that the original rears were turning the opposite direction, the noise became pronounced. I then rotated them back to the original positions and the noise lessened, but is still noticeable. When my car was new, it had defective wheel bearings, which were replaced under warranty. I have had my tire situation checked by FORD and 2 different tire dealers, and they think that the tires appear to be wearing normally. I think that we may be overlooking the obvious: that these particular tires are second-rate. In TireRack's test of them, they did not do particularly well in any category. I am very disappointed in Michelin, that they would even produce such a mediocre tire. I must say, I am a card carrying Geezer (age 84), and I have owned over 100 vehicles, most of them rolling on Michelin tires, and I have never run into such pronounced noise coming out of a set of tires, and being told that it is "normal". BTW I A friend of mine has a 2013 C-Max Hybrid and the posted tire pressure is 38psi, while my 2014 is posted at 40 psi, so FORD must have had something in mind. I'm still looking to hear from someone that has given up on the Michelins and replaced them with something else. . . . I know there is another thread on this very subject, but the last time that I looked, there didn't seem to be any solid conclusions.

I, too, have the noisy tire syndrome with my C-Max Hybrid, and I have read this thread looking for helpful information. I see lots of comments about people replacing their tires, but no mention of what tire brand, etc. that they replaced the originals with. I have always been a life long Michelin fan, but my experience with the C-Max has soured me on Michelins, and I blame them for the excessive noise. I am considering Continental TrueContact and Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S Plus. Comments ?

Thanks. I tried the search,but could not find anything.

Has anyone changed their engine air cleaner themselves ?

I have owned (2) C-Max Hybrids, a 2013 SEL and a 2014 SEL , with a combined total of over 50,000 miles between the two. According to technical data found at www.media.ford.com the engine in the Hybrid is rated as ULEV and the Energi engine is rated as PZEV. I wonder how the Energi engine is rated better than the Hybrid. Furthermore, why does the Hybrid produce so much black deposits on the rear of the car ? I look at the end of the exhaust pipe and even wipe it with a white paper towel, and it is clean, but the rear of the car quickly accumulates all those black particles on it. Do the Energi models do that as well ? Again, according to the technical data, both models have regenerative brakes, but the Energi has bigger brakes. Why ? Also, the engine in the Energi has a standard exhaust manifold, and the Hybrid has a special exhaust manifold that runs the collant thru it to hasten the warmup of the engine. There are several other technical differences between the two models that just make me scratch my head and wonder, because I thought that the main difference between the two models was the size of the battery and the the way that the battery was charged.

I just got to thinking - maybe the aero fairings are a simple bolt-on, and could be easily removed before ramping...

Has anyone determined if those "fairings" added to the front underbody in front of the tires interferes with driving the car up onto a ramp ? Just looking at the few pics that I have seen of the 2014's it looks like it might pose a problem.

I have noticed that some dealers in both US and Canada are showing 2014 C-Max Hybrids in stock. I was curious as to what axle ratio the 2014's have, so I put some VIN's into the ETIS website. Although the Window Sticker shows the vehicles to be 2014's, ETIS shows them as 2013's. The axle ratios shown is 2.57, which is the same as my 2013, which was built over a year ago. So much for all the big changes announced for the 2014MY......

Has anyone heard anything from WeatherTech lately concerning the availability of their side window deflectors for the C-Max ?

I read somewhere that when the ICE comes on with Grade Assist, it is not actually running and using fuel, it is just milling and pumping air to assist in slowing the vehicle on fairly steep grades. Can anyone verify this ? I wish we had a direct access to the C-Max Hybrid engineering team to get clarification on things such as this.....

This is explained in the topic "Cleaning the wiper blades".

BTW, the captions on the pics are so small, they are hard to read. The second pic is the comparison of the full-size to the donut spares.

The wheel for the donut is shaped to give maximum possible clearance. I tried it on both the front and back and there was plenty of clearance.

What I didn't like about going to the service position is running the possibly dirty wipers over dry glass to get to the service position.