raadsel

The other advantage US companies have is decades of making cars. I suspect the first Chinese cars we see in the US will be more like the 90's Korean cars or 70's Japanese cars, where their fit and finish wasn't up to the standards of the American car buyer. Ford does appear to be behind, since GM is already making some solid Electric cars (Volt and Bolt), as well as the Malibu Hybrid getting a lot of praise. Chrysler also seems a bit behind but, technically, they are an Italian company now (Fiat) -- and it will be interesting to see how Fiat responds, though they have build quality issues on their current cars. Regardless, like Ford, Fiat should have the money to be able to make a large investment in EVs to try and catch up. I actually, though, think the bigger barrier in the US is going to be infrastructure; we just don't have the charging stations needed to support a large number of EVs -- and before EVs are really a reliable method for longer trips in the US we'll need better battery technology, both to provide longer ranges and faster charging. Even using a Tesla -- which has built out its supercharger network, it is still much slower to take a long trip in a Tesla because of time lost to charging the vehicle.

From an article in Technobuffalo: "Ford is dramatically shifting its focus to EVs over the next four years with a planned $11 billion investment in developing 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles by 2022. "The news was shared by Chairman Bill Ford at the Detroit Auto Show. Originally, Ford was targeting an investment of $4.5 billion into alternative fuel cars by 2020. The huge shift highlights the pressure Ford is under with every other major car manufacturer already making similar investments into EVs and hybrids. Much of Ford’s invesment will go into crafting the architecture for electric vehicles." Apparently 40 cars are now in development, 16 of them EVs, and the rest will be hybrids; this includes an F-150 and an SUV. I believe the number previously reported was 30 cars in development.

My guess would be never charging it and taking lots of short trips. Short trips and no added charge to the battery, with the heat blasting, would cause the car never to go into EV mode. At that point it is just a gas car carrying around an extra 500 lbs of weight.

I believe the C-Max, particularly the 2013, has less sound deadening material than the Fusion in an attempt to lower the weight of the vehicle. I know, for example, the front windshield was changed for the 2014 C-Max to one with better sound insulation. While it won't effect engine noise, you do get somewhat more road noise in the C-Max because it is a station wagon, where you get more rear axle/tire noise that is isolated by the trunk in a sedan.

it sounds like for the battery life, you are confusing the C-Max, which uses Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries, with the Prius, which uses nickel–metal hydride (NiMH). The NiMH batteries do tend to die between 100,000 and 150,000 miles. LiPo batteries should last considerably longer; Ford says in their testing merely that the batteries should last the "life of the car." While it is unclear exactly what that means, Hyundai's testing for their hybrids indicated their LiPo hybrid battery should last 300,000 miles. While it is unclear what the real world longevity of what a LiPo battery might be in our C-Max's, early indications make it appear it should last beyond 150,000 miles. OTOH, if the battery does need replacing it is unclear how cheaply it will be able to be done for. You can get a Prius battery done for $1500 (or possibly less) partly because there are so many older Prius that need to have batteries replaced. Part of the cheap price is that, when a "battery" fails many shops don't replace the entire battery, or replace it with a reconditioned battery pack they used from a previous battery replacement. They instead find the bad cells and replace them, then recondition the older cells so that they will last longer. They aren't fully replacing the battery; those cost $2500 for a new pack (with the labor extra). Since C-Max batteries are not yet failing (at least that I've heard of), it is unclear how expensive battery replacement may be.

When the car is turned off, the Hybrid Vehicle Battery (HVB) is electronically disconnected. The primary reason for disconnecting the HVB is safety, particularly to help protect those working on the car (including first responders in case of an accident). Also, you would not want the HVB fully discharging as it then would be very difficult to recharge -- since there is no easy way to connect it to another power source and it cannot start the engine, which is the normal method to charge it. When you "start" the C-Max, the 12V battery starts the "computers" (processor chips) in the C-Max (I believe there are about 3?) and the HVB gets reconnected. Once started, the 12V battery powers most electronics in the car (radio, dashboard displays, climate control fans, etc). The one exception would be the Air Conditioning, which (at least from what I recall) is powered by the HVB. The HVB, other than the A/C, powers the electric motors (and is charged by them) and charges the 12V battery. The computers determine when to have the HVB/electric motor start the engine; this is based on a number of factors including the engine and fluid temperatures, the charge state of the HVB, and the climate control heater.

The guy who jumped your car has no clue what he is talking about. First, use the leads under the hood to jump the car -- there is no reason to do it directly from the battery. Second, the 12V battery is not directly charged by the engine (as I understand the system), it is instead charged by the Hybrid battery. As such, there is no reason to keep the engine running for 45 minutes. Instead, the 12V battery can charge quickly and, if the HVB needs to be recharged then the engine will turn on until it is charged enough. The C-Max is a great little car, it was not a mistake to purchase it. However, it does help to learn the basics of how the hybrid system works and how to drive it. For example, another difference is that when "starting" the car the 12V battery only starts the electronics and makes the car "ready to drive" (green light by the speedometer that says the car is on). If the car needs to start the engine, it is started by the Hybrid battery. I'd get your 12V battery tested to see if it needs to be replaced -- the battery is getting old in a 2013 car; then again, it could just be the cold weather that caused the battery to have issues this week. I'd also, as suggested, ensure that any Field Service Actions for your car have been performed.

I recall one person, posting on another forum, mentioning that he adapted an electric blanket to sit on top of the battery and keep it warm. I believe he stated he toyed with the idea of a space heater but discarded the idea as there was too much risk.

At the dealer or some other way? And which update?

Maybe they'll import the Mondeo instead. For those not aware, the Fusion is sold in much of the world as the Mondeo. By bringing it in as a "new model," particularly if done the same year as a major refresh, they can keep their "promise" to not import the Fusion. I could see it happening, both to improve the optics of moving production to China, as well as hoping the new name (making people think it is actually a new model) will help drive more sales.

Just to be clear, you are complaining the heater fan never turns on? Not that it doesn't turn on when you start your car, or for 5-10 minutes after? I ask, just as a reminder, that their is a thermostat that prevents the fan from turning on until there is enough head in the engine, so it isn't just blowing cold air. Assuming it isn't turning on at all, I could see this being an issue with the thermostat.

It is an interesting question. I think the first thing to consider, people would likely have a "full tank" before leaving with an electric car, whereas some people have half a tank or less when they try evacuating; they don't plan well and then are looking for gas as they evacuate, and stations sell out. The other issue, what often happens (beyond not starting with a full tank) is that people are idling in traffic and don't bother turning off the car. An electric car can handle this better, though it is an equal issue if they don't turn off things like the A/C. In many ways, if people "drive" electric cars correctly (turn off if stopped for a few minutes and ensure non-critical electronics are off) an electric car would be better in an evacuation. Obviously a hybrid gives you the best of both for an evacuation -- though you can still have an issue running the A/C and other electronics in the car while crawling through the traffic.

My impression is that the Model E will be something closer, at least in design, to the Focus -- not sure if it will be a sedan or hatchback. I get the impression on the size because it is, in some ways, a C-Max replacement but likely not an SUV or station wagon, as that will be the Escape's role. In fact, my guess is that the Escape will be specifically designed to compete with the Prius, as a low power hybrid (under 150 hp) that is designed to get over 50 mpgs. I don't know this for sure, this is just the impressions I've gotten when reading what Ford is "planning." It is also somewhat simple logic -- they have the Escape as the C-Max replacement (with likely similar power) and the Fusion as a mid-sized. Their hope was to make the C-Max a "Prius Killer" and it makes sense they'd want to try to to that again.

I'm about 99% sure that Hyundai cycles their 12V LiPo battery the same as they do their Hybrid battery; it doesn't make sense to replace the 12V lead acid battery if you make it so you have to replace the LiPo battery instead. With a hybrid, since the 12V doesn't start the ICE, there is no reason to fully charge the battery or let it fully deplete.

The answer to me is that the starter battery will last as long as the hybrid battery will; which in the case of a LIon (or actually LiPo) should be (as Ford says) for the life of the car. I'd also think (though would have to see how they have worded things) that the battery should be protected under the Hybrid Components warranty, and very possibly under Hyundai's Lifetime Hybrid battery warranty for the original owner.

This image shows what the 2013 C-Max rear window looks like; there is no "spoiler" on the side of the window, you just have the curved glass where it meets the body. With this image of a later model C-Max, you can see there is a type of spoiler on the side of the window (the plastic piece), that sits on top of the glass right before it meets the body of the car. My recollection (though I might remember incorrectly) is that the 2014 added those "spoilers" on each side of the window and that the size of the spoiler shrunk a bit on later model years.

I've seriously started to wonder if Hyundai/Kia is using some type of super capacitor in their Ioniq and Niro models, where they've gotten rid of a lead acid 12V battery. Though the story that is more or less stated (they never expressly state how they do it) is that it is a part of the Hybrid battery pack, what has me curious is that apparently the car doesn't maintain a 12V battery "charge" more than a day or two. Additionally, if the "battery" doesn't have enough power to "start" the car (being hybrids, the 12V only starts the computers to get the car in "ready to drive" mode), you press a button on the dash and the battery is pretty much instantly charged -- which again would seem more like a capacitor than a battery. I'm really wishing Hyundai would release more information on their 12V battery and how it works.

It doesn't appear to be struts, though I could be wrong. As I said, sometimes after resetting it the door will open to the height I set, just not more than a few times.. Also, if I push up the door, after it opens too low, it has no issue staying at that height. And even when it goes down, it acts as if it is lowering to a particularly height. Instead, the issue appears to be something with the "memory" of the door, that it keeps going back to a "default" height despite my trying to reset it.

One thought, if you have comprehensive insurance, is to see if the part had been damaged. I can't help but wonder if someone tried to break into your car and damaged the lock -- maybe even breaking in and placing the lock back into place. If so, you might be able to get reimbursed by insurance for the repair, particularly if anything is missing from inside the car.

The first thing I can think of, is the Sync 3 system, at least on the packages with the upgraded infotainment packages, which also adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. If you buy the Platinum you get the LED signature lighting, and if you add the 301A package, you add Blind Spot Monitoring/Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Another feature that sticks out, though people here would debate if it is an "improvement" is the Eco mode that dampens throttle response. There are a number of small improvements; things like the plastic pieces on the rear window which (I believe) are supposed to improve aerodynamics; minor improvements to the hybrid system, as well as fixing things like the transmission failure issues. You should get slightly better fuel economy with the 2017.

Just to give an update, I haven't made it to my dealer yet to update to the latest Sync version. Instead, I did a "Master Reset" from the settings of my Sync system (pulling out the Nav SD card first), and that fixed my hybrid screen. More interesting to me, the Sync system seems to be working better after the update. Not sure if there are some memory links in the system, or the system doesn't do a good job of clearing it's cache; either way, the system seems to be running quicker than it did prior to the reset. I suspect doing the master reset, though a pain since you lose your settings, will help the Sync system run better.

I'm curious if anyone else has seen this issue, or knows of a simple fix. When I select to open my liftgate, it tends to open a little lower than I want it, where it would be easy for me to bang my head on the latch hanging down off the back of the liftgate. I'll set it in the way I remember the manual saying to do it (push the liftgate to the desired height and then hold the liftgate button until it beeps) and sometimes it will even open to the correct height the next couple of times. However, just as open, the next time I open the liftgate, it will open lower than I set. Worse, each successive time that I open the liftgate, it again opens lower -- or, it will actually open all the way and then slowly lower down, until it is lower than the last time it opened. Once it starts going to low, again, I will try to reset the liftgate height. Has anyone else had this issue and what is the fix? Is there some trick to getting the liftgate height to permanently set that I'm missing?

I lost my Hybrid screen a couple of days ago. It was odd, the first time I had a menu on the side of the hybrid screen like you would find in an Energi. The next time, when I selected the leaf button, the screen is "blank." It has a top and bottom border that shows the 4 quadrants but the entire center of the screen is just blank. I assume I just need to do a master reset or pull the fuses to fix it? At this point, I'm thinking I'll talk to my dealer first and get them to update the software (or even just get a copy of the update that I can install myself). Just want to make sure there isn't something more wrong with the system, so thought I'd check here first.

Yes, if you have ever had to wait for the Nav screen to load, when you first start it, or any of the other delays, you can easily see the Sync 2 system is underpowered. Just like cell phones and other electronics, this is an area that is advancing rapidly -- and this is doubly true for car displays, particularly with the lead time to test that it will not cause issues with the car and that it will still work after a couple of years being left out in Arizona heat and Minnesota cold -- things that will frequently kill electronics, or at least keep them from working. I think they've done most of what they can to optimize the Sync 2 software, at least without completely rewriting the code. I also think that Android Auto/Apple CarPlay aren't able to be added because the hardware just isn't compatible; that the hardware just isn't robust enough to be able to handle it. I do wish, though, that Ford/Google would have a capability for Google Assistant similar to that for Siri, where you long press the right side paddle to bring it up. My other complaint, I wish car manufacturers would provide an "upgrade path", where you could add a Sync 3 system in our cars that came with Sync 2 -- though if they did it would likely still be a $1000 or more upgrade cost.

My recollection is that it will take about 3/4 of a gallon jug of windshield washer, maybe a bit more. I had my windshield washer reservoir empty and it did not take an entire jug.