HPRifleman

Which just amazes me. I have been reading that forum for about a decade now as I have been fascinated with hybrid technology. When the Prius was the only game in town, opinions were about raising the profile of hybrids among the general public and how great the technology was. Now that other hybrids have come on to the market the opinions have shifted to a more "us vs. them" mentality. There are still plenty of people on that forum that realize competition between hybrid manufacturers raises the bar for all. But more and more there are others that take every opportunity to downplay any contribution from non-Prius hybrids. When the first reviews of the C-Max came out last fall that forum seemed to revel in the reports of lower than EPA milage numbers. Even though, several years earlier, there was a rush to defend the Prius from Consumer Reports reviews that said the same thing. I'm glad that Prius owners are enthusiastic about their vehicles but I just wish some of them weren't so spitefull towards other brands. We're actually pretty lucky. We would really be hated if we were Volt owners.

I don't check it every day. Maybe 2-3 times a week. It only takes a minute to check voltage under the hood so I don't consider it a hassle. Actually I think it is a good thing to get under the hood once in a while.

Ever since getting the car over a month ago I have been trying to consistantly check the 12v battery voltage. Typically I have checked the voltage in the morning before going to work after the car has been sitting overnight in the garage. Since the hood is locked, my usual procedure has been to open the driver's side door and use the latch by the footwell to unlock the hood. Then close the door, raise the hood, and use a multimeter to check voltage on the electrical posts. This voltage has typically been 12.20-12.25v. I did notice that when I open the door the dash lights up and I hear relays click. Thinking that this might be altering my voltage reading I decided to change my procedure. Now I unlock the hood the night before, sometimes after coming home. Then when I open the hood and take a reading the car is in a state where it has been sitting without any unusual current draw. The measurements without opening the door in the morning have been about 12.50v. I thought I would share this in case others are keeping track of voltage levels as well.

The Toptiergas domain name is owned by General Motors.

This was my drive home from work today. I know it's not very far but for some reason the MPG was higher than the usual 50-55 that I typically get. So far I have put about 70 miles on this tank and I am running a 49.7MPG average.

Can you clarify what gauge you were using that displayed these numbers? The C-Max has multiple mileage counters that can be reset. For example, if the large digital gauge in the center of the left display has not been reset it may read lower because it is using some previous low-MPG values. This will be different than the "last trip" MPG that you see when you shut off the car.

OK, here is my entry into the 600 mile tank club. This was the second tank for the car, not including the original one from the dealer. I probably could have gone a few more miles but the gas station was right there and it seemed an appropriate time to fill up. This was on regular 87 octane fuel and included a couple of 100+ mile trips on the interstate. Normally I cool the interior with open windows but the highway trips were using air conditioning. The receipt at the pump showed 12.522 gallons. Based on what I have seen driving around town at 40-45 MPH, I think a 700 mile tank is possible but I will leave that to more adventerous drivers. Getting mid-50 MPG on local streets requires attention but is certainly possible and what I get on most commutes. If I had to drive all day in those conditions it wouldn't be too much trouble to have at least a 650 mile tank. Unfortunately I drive to work and the car sits until it is time to go home.

Phone: Samsung Galaxy S4 Carrier: American Telephone & Telegraph This phone has always paired with MFT. It has been so seamless that I don't even pay attention any more. MFT will even verbally read texts to me although I can't speak outbound texts.

I have been checking the battery voltage in the three weeks that I have had the car. Most of the time I check in the morning before I go to work after the car has sat overnight. Voltage has varied from 12.2 to 12.6. Just FYI.

I have had the C-Max for a few weeks now. My Galaxy S4 pairs flawlessly every time I start the car. This part is seamless at this point. Any calls that I make are done via voice commands and there have been no problems with this. The only thing I have noticed, and this is just nit-picking, is when I receive a call the display initially shows only the incoming number but no name. After a few seconds when I pick up the call the contact name finally shows up. Of course this is after I have already picked up the call and I already know who I am talking to. Not complaining, just providing some data.

I will describe a typical scenario that caused me to ask the question. I am traveling at about 45MPH and notice that the stoplight 300-500 yards ahead of me has just turned yellow. At that point I can do one of two things: 1) If no one is behind me, I can take my foot off the accelerator and coast to the light only applying the brake in the final few yards. 2) Apply light braking immediately and begin the regeneration process. The problem with this is that even if I use a very light touch on the brake, I will come to a stop well short of the stoplight. I guess another option might be to brake early, and then when the speed has reduced greatly, let the car coast to a stop. This would require experience knowing braking/coasting distance. My intent is to determine which method recaptures the most energy back to the car.

A lot of times I find myself approaching a stop light (or sign) with plenty of advanced warning that I will have to stop. If I take my foot off the accelerator the upward chevron will appear over the battery display. I take this to mean that I am charging the battery without touching the brake. If I lightly apply the brake then obviously I will be recharging the battery. In this case, not only does the upward chevron appear but the regeneration spinner will appear as well. My questions are, do both of these scenarios recharge the battery in the same amount? Am I better off coasting, letting the speed drop, and brake later or to begin light braking as early as possible?

The chime was also missing as well as the voice. Voice command settings were the same as when I picked it up from the dealer. The normal/advanced setting was on normal and the volume was at the mid point. The voice commands just stopped working on Monday and I had to do a master reset on Tuesday night.

After pulling the right paddle I would say, "call HPRifleman on cell". There was no acknowledgement of the paddle pull. The call would then go through and connect to my voice mail. I never tried calling via the touch screen. All the normal functions of MFT worked except for the talking computer voice. Satellite radio, navigation (except voice directions), USB connectivity, and phone.

When I pull the paddle there never a voice saying "say a command". When I tried speaking commands there was no confirmation that the command was understood.

After no improvement I decided to do an MFT master reset. That brought the voice back but I had to re-enter my radio presets, pair my phone, and update home in navigation. I'm hoping this doesn't become an every two week occurrence.

All aspects of MFT seem to work fine. Sirius presets show up on the screen, I can make outbound calls, and the navigation can determine a route but will not give voice direction. It does seem to take longer to update the display when changing radio channels but that may be my imagination. I was hoping to avoid a reset since, I assume, that will wipe out my radio presets and navigation history. Resetting the system every two weeks will get old real fast.

As others have posted the transponder is for toll roads that can collect tolls electronically. By driving through a toll booth or under an Open Road Tolling sensor, the transponder tells the system to debit your toll account. This allows you to keep driving at highway speeds instead of stopping at a toll booth. Here in Illinois we have the iPass system. This is compatible with the EZ-Pass system which makes things very handy when driving on the Indiana toll road or the Ohio turnpike. After instituting this electronic system, the Illinois Tollway kept the toll prices the same for iPass users but doubled the tolls for those using cash at toll booths. Of course we were told that the tollways were just temporary... The transponders typically mount to the windshield using a stick-on fastener that could almost be mistaken for Velcro. I usually position the unit so that my rear view mirror blocks the transponder from my view. Because of the large plastic bezel that comes down from the mirror and that weird grid on the glass, all remaining mounting places are within my line of sight.

Today I lost all voice prompts from MFT. These were working fine yesterday and I made no adjustments that I know of. I checked the voice command volume and that was fine. When I pull on the voice paddle on the steering wheel, there is no voice saying "Say a command". The lower left corner of the touch screen shows that MFT is listening but any voice command generates greatly delayed results. It's as if MFT can hear me but cannot talk back. When the navigation has a destination active, there is no voice giving turn-by-turn directions. But the system will lower the volume on music playing when you would expect those commands to occur. A couple of times I heard part of a command but it was only a word or two. Has this happened to anyone else?

I need to mount my electronic toll road transponder in the car. On my last vehicle I had it up high on the windshield in front of the rear view mirror. But on the C-Max there is a large plastic bezel in front of the mirror and a mesh-type screen on the glass. Anybody with these transponders have any suggestions?

Allstate. Two cars and homeowners.

I've passed the one week mark of ownership and thought I would pass on some things that I have noticed. First, my daily one-way commute is about 7 miles of 40-45MPH roads. My last three segments along this route were: 6.9 miles 4.4 EV miles 52.2 MPG 6.9 miles 3.7 EV miles 48.8 MPG 6.9 miles 4.4 EV miles 53.4 MPG So far I have 500 miles on the car. Second, this past weekend I drove up to Wisconsin. This was a total trip of 343 miles with about 310 of these miles on the interstate. Speeds were 50-55 in the construction on I-90 and then 65+. Over the whole trip I got 41.7 MPG. I'm curious to know how this compares to the rest of you interstate drivers. I'm not sure how you pulse and glide with traffic behind you and still remain a courteous driver. Some miscelaneous thoughts in no particular order: I'm still trying to get used to pulling into and out of the garage in EV with only the sound of the tires on the concrete.The front passenger compartment needs more storage cubbies for little things.I found a big difference between mileage between 60-65 mph and 70-75 mph.I am disapointed every time I come to a stop and the braking score is less than 100%. It's like driving a video game.The voice recognition is impressive. Now I'm trying to learn what voice commands I can use and building my vocabulary.The panoramic sunroof makes the car nice and bright. I just wish the front edge was a little more forward so I can see through the sunroof from the driver's seat.EV+ took less than a week to recognize my home. Now when I pull into the neighborhood the car goes into EV automatically.

When I replaced my previous vehicle with the C-Max my insurance rate went up by over $200 every six months.

Looks like Crosby, Stills, and Nash lyrics.

Thank you. That was the information I needed. For others with Android 4.2.2 devices, Settings>More>About Device>Device Name You can then edit the device name. For it to show up in MFT you may have to delete the device in MFT and pair it again.