SPL Tech

Yes, that's the exact document I was looking for. How do I input the VIN of a prospective vehicle that I am looking at and get that window sticker document? The etis.ford.com link posted above does not say what equipment group the vehicle has.

So I know that 301A does not include the backup camera, but does it include the proximity sensors that beep when you are backing up toward an object?

Do we know what the specific problem with the transmissions is and what the symptoms are leading to the failure?

Because they are the cheapest and there are virtually no changes between the year models on the CMax. How much of an issue is it really? I've read about two guys having problems on this forum, but that's out of how many tens of thousands of 2013's sold?

I am looking at getting a used 2013 C-Max and I want to be able to compare different options when looking at car listings online before I drive to the location to look at the car. Specifically, I am looking for an SEL C-Max that has the 5-speaker stereo system with HD FM (as opposed to the 4-speaker systems) and the colored accent lighting inside. However, I dont know what Ford actually calls those features nor what equipment group they are a part of. As such, is there an old brochure on Ford's website somewhere that shows every available option for the C-Max and what the different equipment groups contain? That way I can plug the VIN of a prospective vehicle into Ford's VIN decoder and see if it has the equipment group I want before I drive to the dealer.

Maybe, but it also increases the risk of flying off the road in every other possible senario. You need tire contact pach area for grip in snow, wet conditions, dirt, mud, and even dry pavement. If you increase the PSI, you lose grip in all conditions except driving through standing water in a turn.

Running the headlamps on for 1.5 hours during a movie would completely kill the battery. I killed the battery enough to not be able to start the car with the lamps on for only 30 minutes or so.

Keep in mind cheap LEDs are quite unreliable. Your standard OEM bulb that comes with the vehicle will far outlast a cheap LED light. Most lights sold online and in auto parts stores are cheap, made-in-china crap. The problem is the LED can last upwards of a million hours but the components, the power supply namely, can fail in less than 100 hours. I experienced this in replacing my lights in my house with all LEDs. I bought over 40 LED light bulbs and within a year 38 of them were completely dead. I replaced all 40 of those lights with compact CFLs instead, and a year later 40 of the original 40 are still working good.

There is. Like a million. Yelp, Google, Trip Reporter, BBB, Rip off report, ect. tons out there. I would start with Yelp.

Yes, all dealers suck, this is not news, and it's not specific to Honda dealers. If you look at the consumer reporting index with regard to the general public's honest perception of those who work in automotive sales and repairs, it is quite low. I think it's just a tad higher than politicians, and about on par with bank executives and oil refinery executives.

For a 2009. Diesel does seem cheaper now. For the entire time I had my 2009 TDI, it was more expensive. I wouldent count on diesel staying cheaper forever. Diesel price is quite volatile.

More like 45, I owned one for 50,000 miles. Also, like most consumers, you're missing some major points here. Do you want a vehicle that is fuel efficient, or money efficient, because they are not always one in the same. Even if the Diesel gets better MPG on the highway (which is only barely does) diesel costs more, in some areas (although less in others), but more importantly, the maintenance cost on VW diesels is absolutely astronomical. You need to use a very specialized type of oil that is not available at Wal-Mart, and it runs about $70 if you change it on your own or $150 at the dealer. You also need to change the fuel filter every $20k miles, which is more complicated than on a gasoline car, and that runs about $120 - 200 at the dealer. Then you need to change the brake fluid after three years and every two thereafter, which is about $300 at the dealer. The tranny flush every 50k? About $400 at the dealer. If you do all the maintenance required for the 60,000 mile change interval, it's about $1200 at the dealer. The 120,000 mile interval is about $2,000 at the dealer. Again, this is just for maintenance, then just wait until something breaks and you need to order those expensive euro Audi parts! So when all things are considered, operating cost for a VW diesel is many times higher than a hybrid car.

So what did THE guy say the problem was?

That's great, drive in an urban environment in neutral to save a fraction of a cent in fuel costs. For those who do not know, it's illegal to drive in neutral, and if you get in an accident, your PCM will record that the vehicle was in neutral at the time of airbag deployment. That information can in turn be used to file criminal (felony even) charges against you and civil charges. Don’t think it's ever happened? It happens almost daily actually. Police download infomation from vehicles' PCMs all the time when a serious injury is involved. Someone in my local area was sent to prison for 20 years after killing someone from doing exactly what you are trying to accomplish. This whole concept of extreme MPG hypermiling at the cost of potentially causing tens of thousands in damage to your vehicle (taping the shutters close) or killing someone (driving in neutral) is outright absurd. If you want to save fuel that much, stop driving and get a bike. That's a pretty good way to conserve fuel, you think?

Who cares. Two out of three Americans are overweight. You have about a 50,000x higher chance of dying because you eat too many cheeseburgers and dont exercise than you do from someone hacking your car. On the list of things to be worried about, someone hacking your car doesn’t even make the top 10,000. Worry about the stuff that actually harms people.

I find the grade assist doesesnt work that well. Often times it wont do anything whatsoever when traveling down an extremely steep hill, and it will run the engine at nearly redline when traveling down a shallower hill. I think it's programed poorly. Both of our CMAXes do it.

I am aware ATF is not the same as engine oil. However, synthetic MERCON LV exists. What I am asking is if Ford uses it and if not, why not? Synthetic everything is standard for everyone nowadays.

How do we know the stock fluid is not synthetic? I cant believe Ford would not use synthetic at OEM--what cheap asses. Just about every manufactruer out there uses snythetic everything on all vehicles for all fluids. I find it REALLY hard to believe standard ATF will last 150,000 miles. If you look at the change intervals for just about any vehicle with a standard auto transmission and standard fluid, it's almost always 50k or 60k. So why 150k if using the same crappy fluid?

If high TFT is such an issue, why dont you skip this angle aluminum heatsink nonsense, which will have no real effect anyway, and just add an auxiliary transmission cooler such as the ones installed on trucks? They are not that hard to install and they are by far the most effective way to reduce tranny temps.

Okay, well since the ATF is too hard for you to change, just replace the tranny every 50k instead then (roll eyes). The best solution is replacing the ATF often. That is the only way to guarantee the tranny will get the lubricationit needs. As far as trannys failing in 30k, only one did... out of a million. I wouldent call that a problem.

Isint the stock ATF synthetic anyway? The 62 to 85 was a software update, nothing more. It was part of the fuel economy update flash.

Why dont you just change the tranny fluid more often and skip all this taping nonsense? The reason why trannys fail from high temp is not that the trannies are hot, but because the temp breaks down the oil and the oil stops providing lubrication benefits. So change the oil every 50k and the high temp is not an issue.

Are you kidding me? Have you ever bothered to look into Ford's history? There is a movie about it. Here's the trailer. It's based on a true story. Ford even outright defrauded consumers on their fraudulent EPA estimates using the same-frame model exception authorized by the EPA to get their bogus 47/47/47 EPA estimates. They knew what they were doing, and they knew they were playing the system to try to get consumers to believe the vehicle uses less fuel than it does. Dont hold your breath that any major corporation is going to do anything to help you. Companies exist to make money. They dont do that by offering warranties on parts with engineering flaws. I like my CMAX and I dont have any specific problem with Ford's products, but to trust that ANY (not just Ford) multinational corporation is going to "do the right thing" is naive. These corporations are at the level they are at specifically because they do not do the right thing--they do the profitable thing.