jestevens

Other than the push button start you can drive it pretty much like any other car -- but hybrids are really designed for coasting .. you accelerate smoothly to the speed you want to go, then let off the gas a little and if you aren't going up a hill, etc. the car will start to coast on electric up until about 40MPH. You've probably already noticed how sensitive the brakes are -- they are equipped to shunt mechanical energy back into the battery..so rather than jamming on the brakes if traffic circumstances permit it you can sort of "coast" on the brakes to a stop as well and the car will be happier. Paul has very good videos on driving for MPG. Even without hypermiling I am able to get 40MPG with tires inflated to 42PSI.

Actually the only thing that did for my VIN was provide info on open recalls. If you know someone with a subscription to Ford OASIS they can get more information..

Try looking up your VIN on ETIS: https://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do

Why doesn't the design team get the first prototypes of these to use as daily drivers and not figure out the quirks? Same thing with airline accountants, all of the people for design those "efficiency algorithms" for scheduling flights should need to spend at least one night a month sleeping on a bench designed specifically to move passengers along at the airport. Sorry.

I'm sorry to hear they are having trouble, hopefully they can resolve supplier issues or rearrange the design..

Several all electric cars have "one pedal" driving -- didn't realize they were phasing that in more and more..

If they put standard tires on the car instead of low rolling resistance tires this could happen as well. We had Fusion Hybrids in our fleet at work and I was not impressed, it seems like a very large, heavy car .. compared to say a Sonata Hybrid or Toyota. It felt sort of like piloting an ironclad steamship -- was all I could do to get the car to go 55MPH up a hill, and then on the way back down I felt I had attained ramming speed. If you aren't in a hurry to drive anywhere I guess it's fine. I sort of got the same impression from the GMC Terrain -- heavy, uses a lot of gas, for what -- a four seat crossover? Using Sync 3 I had to constantly look away from the road, I actually like the menu system where they divide the screen up into quadrants in Sync 2 better.

The best MPG crossovers I was able to find in hybrid form were the Escape Hybrid (non-plug in) and 2019 and newer RAV4 Hybrid. Each is about 40MPG. VW is planning to build the plug in ID.4 shortly -- I guess when you've been dinged by the EPA for diesel and your best gas car gets 20MPG you have not much to lose by going electric.. The Bolt and Tesla were the only other all electric cars I've found that have the range I need to visit friends in other states on the weekend. Tesla is not worth investing in right now if they can't even figure out how to match body panels and glue a windshield in, the Bolt can be had used for $20K though.

At that rate I'll just wait for VW's ID Buzz ..

I am very happy with my 2013 SEL at 108,000 mi but I've had to replace the 12V battery once just because of it's age. Since it turned 100,000 I've also had the spark plugs changed, coolant flushed and replaced, engine air filter changed - turn signal bulbs (kind of pain on modern cars). The cabin air filter can be changed at home too, it just not very convenient to reach from behind the center console. What is the mileage on the car and what are the issues? As long someone has done basic maintenance (oil changes) hopefully it should be good -- unless there is rust or corrosion? Hopefully Ford can still do all of the module software updates for your car using IDS if those haven't already been done. New tires range approx $140-200 US for each tire. There is no spare tire, so be sure to buy a set of tire plugs and/or a can of tire sealant. The car should already have a 12V tire inflator under the passenger seat accessible from the hatch under the floor in the back passenger side. The inflator has a sealant canister built in but questionable if it's ever been replaced and they are only good for 3-5 years.

I haven't had to touch the brakes and rotors either, but depending where you are maybe the winters are harsh -- or maybe the things rust up from not being used? I notice some initial vibration when starting out which I attribute to the thing sitting around more now than it used to. Isn't it great that these cars are so quiet? Double sided sticky tape is an official "fix" for all the creaks in the plastic and tire noise is something you might not notice on a V8..

In 7 years of owning this car I've never had the 12V drain problem before so I am thinking maybe I'm just not driving the car often enough. Will keep an eye on it.

Well I finally received my first unexpected completely dead 12V battery this last Saturday morning with the change to colder weather. Luckily a friend was able to drive me to Autozone to buy a jump pack, I bought the small 800amp one and it worked. I left the car running for about an hour to charge back up. Thankfully the 12V still seems to be holding a charge -- we had another day of cold weather Sunday and it was still able to start. Have no idea why it would have happened other than driving the car only about once or twice a week due to COVID. The last time I had it out prior to that was Wednesday, where it had a nice 1.5 hour drive but I did have the headlights on. I'll have to pull my paperwork for when I had battery changed last time, maybe it's longer than I remember.

Yes, it's annoying compared to my HHR and Prius which both had filters directly behind the glove box which could be changed in 30 seconds. I hate doing this job, it's not technically difficult but inevitably it's 100F, 90% humidity, have to contort my body weird ways.

I haven't seen or heard of too many C-MAX pack failures yet. Some 2nd Generation Prius (2005-2009) owners are experiencing pack failures now with 15 year old NiMH packs and more than 200K mi on their cars. One person got rid of a 2006 Prius with 250K mi not because of the battery, but because the catalytic converter replacement would have cost $3K. A pack replacement would probably be comparable to the cost of a transmission -- $2-5K depending on whether you buy a new pack or get one rebuilt. C-MAX uses Lithium ion battery pack so it may not be directly comparable but I am more worried about transmission failure than HVB battery failure in my C-MAX.

It may seem counterintuitive but that seemed to be what was happening at the time. My 2013 SEL manufactured in May 2012 never had 12V issues until the battery finally reached its normal end of life. Regardless if the car has had all of its software updates hopefully it shouldn't be a problem.

Assuming the car wasn't abused I think you'll easily get to 100K mi without any major expenses. Not sure what car you are driving now but you can probably get 40MPG from the C-MAX without really trying. The SE might have more 12V battery problems than the SEL but hopefully by 2016 those are fixed. Tires are about $180 a piece (and up) so you might want to see how good the tires are. The Prius Sedan would be the other hybrid to consider, can typically get about 49MPG without trying too hard. I used to like the Sonata Hybrid but then our fleet vehicle developed issues with overheating high voltage battery power relays and transmission shifting problems.

..and yet they are still using the HF35 .. if the transmission was really that bad you'd there were would be tons of Fusions breaking down as well.. Maybe something about the C-MAX application makes it less suitable.

Congratulations! Still love my car -- in addition to one of the best MPG for a crossover it's also quiet and while it's certainly not a sportscar the extra torque can be fun too.

I don't know of any specific way to check the HVB battery levels without a scan tool. I have a 2013 SEL with 106Kmi and I'm more worried about the transmission than I am the battery pack .. although so far the transmission hasn't made any funny noises and the service manager says there are no leaks. I replaced the 12V battery after 7 years and a particularly cold winter -- that was about $200. But other than that no service issues other than routine maintenance, headlight bulbs, cabin filter. Just recently had coolant and spark plugs changed for 100Kmi service. If it makes it to 150K mi will be time for first transmission fluid change. I think I paid about $400 for the 100k mi service so maybe you want to ask them to change the spark plugs and flush the coolant since yours would be at 94K mi. Extensive heat might be unkind to it but so far I haven't heard anyone having HVB pack issues except maybe one person who recently posted here a few weeks ago with a diagnostic code set that the battery management system detected cells charged unevenly. The battery level you see on the dash display is calibrated so that the battery back is still somewhat full even when the gauge reads empty. It's programmed to keep the actual pack level between 20-80% charged so that it can treat the battery kindly.

Are all of your vents open? There is a huge vent that spans the width of the center console stack below the touchscreen .. it has a roller control in the center to open and close. Sort of works like the old fashioned "crotch cooler" vents from older cars but I've noticed that when it is open the air volume from the vents in the periphery isn't as strong. I'm not a huge fan of the vent setup on this car anyway -- you can try putting vents to floor but because of the way the HVAC stack works I don't think there are any vents actually at the floor.

MAX AC turns the temp to LO on both sides, fan on high and closes the fresh air vents/turns on recirculate. Here in Pennsylvania if I tap MAX AC button after about 20 minutes I have to turn the AC back to Auto (tap Auto twice) or it becomes uncomfortably cold. A few other threads have described the AC coil icing up due to bad thermostat sensor .. turn off AC for a few minutes to let the coil de-ice or replace thermostat sensor? I would hope that you aren't low on refrigerant with a 2018. The red defrost button does the same thing in winter -- max heat directed at the windshield - great if you get snow or ice in the winter. Thanks, John

I guess maybe a dealer could try to argue differently but the fact that there are electric motor windings in the HF35 transmission makes it pretty unique in my opinion.. I think their argument goes something like -- "Well this is bearing/input shaft problem, not a problem with the internal parts of transmission." Maybe one of the folks who had transmission replaced could comment.

Whatever you decide on please make sure they are low rolling resistance tires (looks like PureContact LS have "EcoPlus" so you should be good) -- except maybe if you are interested in snow tires. I made the mistake of buying non-LRR tires for a hybrid once..bad idea.. All season radials are fine here in Central PA, we measure snow in inches. I had the P7, they were okay -- a little wierd -- they would slide around a bit until they "bit into" the snow and then they were fine.

The OEM Michelin or Goodyear FuelMax Assurance have been good to me.