Generalbeluga

You are probably right, but then shame on Ford for not giving me the information I needed to instill confidence in my car. Everything they told me was inconsistent and made me feel like I didn't wanted to take the chance. Regardless of what you have read on the forum, there have been some real nightmare stories of people with tranny issues and Ford is not standing behind their warrantees. I just didn't want to take that chance. It looks like your car is doing great at 188K miles so I think we can say that you have one of the good ones. I'm not knocking the car as I said, I loved it for all the right reasons. I just lost confidence in Ford's ability to do the right thing when push comes to shove. Take care and continued good luck!

Good Bye C-Max Forum! I bought my C-Max new in 2013. I have spent a lot of time at Galpin Ford getting the many (8 at last count) recalls fixed. It is clear that Ford rushed this one to market and it was not ready for prime time! Having said that, I loved the car. It's performance, fit and finish and it's fuel economy was great! Unfortunately, I just couldn't get my head past the CVT transmission recall and the cost of replacing the hybrid batteries, so I dumped it and bought a 2018 Subaru Forester Premium. The story begins when I had contacted Ford Customer Service twice over the past three years and was told each time that my car had no active recalls for the CVT even though my vin number was smack dab in the middle of those cars that were supposedly affected. At one point I was told that my car was built in another plant, not affected by the CVT problems. Then during my most recent call to them, I was told that the Detroit plant makes all C-Max cars. As my confidence in Ford's information regarding the recall waned, I could just see myself getting screwed in three or four years when my tranny dumps and Ford says that it is not covered and I get a $5,000 repair bill! Add to it, that I had almost 50,000 miles on the car and it needed new tires ($600) and new brakes ($740) not to mention the possibility of new hybrid batteries in the next five years or so for a cool $3,000. I "hemmed and hawed" over it for a few weeks and then made the mistake of contacting a local Subaru dealer and told them that if I could get a new 2018 Subaru Forester Premium with the Eyesite safety equipment and option package 15 for $29,000 "out the door," I would buy it. Well guess what, I received a call a day later and the salesman told me that they had "my car" and it was waiting for me on their lot. The rest is history! I dumped a potential disaster and bought one of the best AWD SUV's around. For icing on the cake, the forester gets 32 mpg HWY and 28 overall! Add 48 months no interest financing and it was a no brainer. Sorry Ford, but the C-Max was my last Ford automobile! Good luck to the rest of you C-Max owners.

Good Bye C-Max Forum! I bought my C-Max new in 2013. I have spent a lot of time at Galpin Ford getting the many (8 at last count) recalls fixed. It is clear that Ford rushed this one to market and it was not ready for prime time! Having said that, I loved the car. It's performance, fit and finish and it's fuel economy was great! Unfortunately, I just couldn't get my head past the CVT transmission recall and the cost of replacing the hybrid batteries, so I dumped it and bought a 2018Subaru Forester Premium. The story begins when I had contacted Ford Customer Service twice over the past three years and was told each time that my car had no active recalls for the CVT even though my vin number was smack dab in the middle of those cars that we supposedly affected. At one point I was told that my car was built in another plant, not effected by the CVT problems. Than during my most recent call to them, I was told that the Detroit plant makes all C-Max cars. As my confidence in the Ford's information regarding the recall waned, I could just see my self getting screwed in three or four years when my tranny dumps and Ford says that is it not covered and I get a $5,000 repair bill! Add to it, that I had almost 50,000 miles on the car and it needed new tires ( $600) and new brakes ($740) not to mention the possibility of new hybrid batteries in the next five years or so for a cool $3,000. I "hemmed and hawed" over it for a few weeks and then made the mistake of contacting a local Subaru dealer and told them that if I could get a new 2018 Subaru Forester Premium with the Eyesite safety equipment and option package 15 for $29,000 "out the door," I would buy it. Well guess what, I received a call a day later and the salesman told me that they had "my car" and it was waiting for me on their lot. The rest is history! I dumped a potential disaster and bought one of the best AWD SUV's around. For icing on the cake, the forester gets 32 mpg HWY and 28 overall! Add 48 months no interest financing and it was a no brainer. Sorry Ford, but the C-Max was my last Ford automobile! Good luck to the rest of you C-Max owners.

There is a free download app called Destinations that will give you free navigation on your existing My Ford Touch system using the systems on-board GPS system. I use it all the time and it works great! It does't give you the full Nav screen display but, it spells out the next turn in a small display that appears in the upper right hand corner of the screen and gives you verbal countdowns in feet to next turn and visual directions in the small display. It is all you really need to navigate around. Besides, it's FREE!

Hey C-Max Hybrid owners, Is anyone concerned about the resale value of their car as the 8 to10 year anniversary approaches? What about the cost of battery replacement should they go bad after their factory warrantee runs out? To be perfectly honest, I looked past this concern when I bought the car because I loved the concept, the styling and the fit and finish of the interior but, now in my second year of ownership I can see that I will have to make a decision in the next five years of so; keep it or dump it! Assuming that new hybrid batteries cost the $3,500+ that is reported, I can't help but think that this will have a major impact on the car's resale value long before the eight year warrantee expires. Sort of like owning bonds. Selling before their maturity date and you loose money. No one wants buy into a used car that they will have to drop that kind of money into within the next three or four years! Am I wrong here guys?? Interestingly enough, I haven't seen a single discussion on this forum about this subject. It is almost as if us hybrid owners are whistling in the dark, too afraid to address the real elephant in the room, resale value as the hybrid batteries near their useful life span and need replacement. Just wondering what the rest of you all think about this issue and whether or not it will influence your timing to sell your car in the future. If not why? John

Just-A-CMax, Just jumped in to say Hi! Hope all is going well for you and your family. I still love my C-Max and have no problem with the recalls. They have all been improvements in performance and/or safety, so what more can you ask of an auto manufacturer? People forget that this is fairly new technology for Ford and they want to make sure that they get it right. Also, when was the last time that a car manufacturer gave all of the owners of a model over $900 in rebates to make good on their mileage promise? I really gave Ford some kudos for admitting their mistake and backing it up with cold,hard, cash! I have owned many cars in my 68 years and I can honestly say that my C-Max is at the top of my list. No, it can't compare in luxury or ride to my Lexis 400 LS, but the C-Max is so right for our times and does so many things right, ie., comfort, ride, leg and head room, power, mileage, fit and finish and overall utility, that I really think it is one of the best midsize cars on the market today.

I guess it all comes down to how much hassle and unsafe driving practices you are willing to endure just for that extra one MPG. If you are close enough to the car ahead of you for it's slip stream to make a difference in your mileage, you are way too close, period! As Paul points out above, it's not just the car in front of you that you have to worry about. What about the guy in the rear who's reaction time and breaks are not quite as good as yours? To drive safely and defensively, you have to be "driving" not just your car, but all of the cars around you assuming that the other guy will do the unexpected at any moment. Safe driving is a skill that must be practiced each and every time you are behind the wheel. Driving a two ton metal object at freeway speeds is inherently unsafe and practicing hyper-mileage techniques in any driving scenario increases the risk of an accident. It only takes a fraction of a second for your whole life to change and one has to be immature, crazy or both to risk it all for the sake of some illusive mileage goal. One MPG, really, REALLY! I'm sorry for the soap box guys, but this is a real pet peeve for me. :rant2: I'm frustrated hearing about the benefits of hyper-miling while it's inherent danger is down played or disregarded all together. Everyone is free to drive as they see fit, so long as the Highway Patrol and the "laws of nature" don't catch up with you! Just don't do it near me or someone I love while we are out on the road! :superhero:

Dave, Thanks for the correction. I meant to say one car length for every 10 MPH. I have corrected my original post. In any case, Matt is headed for an accident if he really drives that close to the car in front of him. This is a major cause of accidents and I hate to see it when I am on the freeway. Having said that, here in So. Cal, it is difficult to leave the proper distance between you and the car in front of you because there is always some impatient assho-- who wants to jump in front of you in his pointless race to the next traffic jam.

Matt, Matt, Matt, surely you jest! One second isn't enough time for you to put your cell phone down and pull your finger out of your nose before you are 10 feet through the rear bumper of the car in front of you! Reaction time alone can be near one second in real life situations where fatigue, inattentiveness, and road conditions are a big factor in stopping distance. Factor in your age, and that "cold one" you just had at your buddy's house and your cruis'n, big time, for a rear-end collision, it's only a matter of time. Trust me my friend, it is not worth it! You should always keep one car length for every 10 MPH you are driving and at 60, that is at least six car lengths. By not driving safely, you are only giving the rest of us hyper mileager's a bad rep. Slow down and enjoy the ride. Forget trying to squeeze every single drop of fuel out of your CMax at the risk of your safety and the safety of those on the road around you! :rant:

Driving speed will also effect your MPG's a lot! Yesterday, I was in a hurry and hit speeds in the mid to high 70s on the FWY with the air-conditioning on (current heat wave in California). When I turned off the car I saw that I only got about 33 mpg's, the worst ever!. That was a big hit to my usual 41.5 MPG's but sometimes you gotta get to where you are go'in and can't fart around with all the hyper mileage crap! I am now in the middle of my second year of ownership and love the car and have learned to just lie back and relax and enjoy the car for all of it's many virtues and not obsess over every little mileage fluctuation! The CMax is a great car but, it's mileage is very susceptible to environmental changes such as heat, cold, wind and most of all, speed. Drive like a maniac and your MPG's will suffer, no way to get around it. Drive like a little old man, and you will get flipped off from time to time but, your mileage will be in the high 40's to low 50's! It's not rocket science, just common sense. JMHO on the subject.

Don't got too carried away with the mods. The cost of the parts will far out weigh any small dollar savings in increased mileage!

So from looking at the replies to my previous post above, it looks like I was right! Everyone is generally happy with Sync but, just like to bitch about it because...? Hey, I understand, it was a rough start and Ford PO a lot of us but, they made good on their promise to fix it so "can't we all just get along?" Sync is a great addition to the auto infotainment industry and I would not buy a car without it. So let's give Ford some credit here and stop already with the criticism.

Ever since I had the software update installed last year, my Sync has run flawlessly. What are the current problems that others are having?

Jus-A-CMax, Been around lurking but, have had nothing new to add until this post. Yeah, 41 isn't stellar but, remember, I am retired and most of my "around town" driving is from the East end of Simi to Costo and back, or to Oakridge Athletic Club on Erringer and back, usually less than 5 miles one way. The poor engine doesn't have a chance to really warm up. I also usually find myself into the ICE when I accelerate from a stop; if not, I incur the wrath of the cars behind me! You know us Simi drivers! I wish Ford would re-program the computer to allow a little bit more acceleration in EV mode so I could accelerate without getting into the ICE. Also, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about "it" when I am driving the car, "it" being the EV/ICE conversion and maximizing MPG, etc. I am in that, "I love this car for a hundred reasons, MPG being only a part of it" point of ownership! I find it too tiring and distracting to drive "on the edge" all the time so I just relax and enjoy the ride!

OK, I've owned my SEL for 16 months and have put about 12,000 miles on it so I guess you could say that my engine is about as broken in as it is going to get. So, here are my MPG results driving normally without any "super hype-rmileage" techniques applied: FWY about 42 to 44 at 65 MPH. In the city, I get about 41 MPG. My best mileage is in freeway traffic where I have gotten about 47 to 50 MPG. That's it gang, so don't expect to get any more than this unless you drive like Jus-A-CMax, and there can only be one "King of Hyper MPG" on this blog site! :worship:

Go to the Ford ETIS recall information website at this link: http://www.etis.ford.com. Click on the "Vehicle" tab at the top of the page and input your vin number and it will let you know if your specific car has outstanding recalls.

I would't own a car without window tinting. Tinted my C Max both front and rear even though California outlaws front side-window tinting and I have never had an issue with the CHPs. I find that if you go with a dark tint on the rear and a slightly lighter tint on the front, it looks great and doesn't attract the attention of the CHPS as much. Beside, here in California, with everyone driving at 85 MPH, they have bigger fish to fry! :drool:

My guess, and only a guess, is that anything small enough to go through the oil filter would not be large enough to cause any engine damage. At that point you are dealing with microns in size.

Hey, what is going on at Consumer Reports? Earlier in the year they preliminaryly rated the C-Max at 87, as I recall, higher than the Prius, and in this month's issue they put it in last place in the Hybrid class for reliability! I find it hard to believe that Ford's earlier issues with the My Ford Touch and SYNC software would so severely effect their overall rating of this great car! The recent software updates have totally fixed all of my SYNC and Touch issues and, mechanically, the car has been almost flawless. The handling, power and fit and finish are far superior to anything that Prius offers. In fact, after the mileage software update, the MPG is actually rated a mile or two above the Prius V. What more can they expect? Any thoughts, anyone...anyone?

The text to speech feature is turned on in the SYNC preferences under the messages section. My works great. I can receive text to speech messages from my iPhone 4s in my car over the SYNC system. You cannot sent text messages over the SYNC system through your iPhone, however, from what I understand.

I had this issue several times before the recall, but none since. I also make sure that my foot is on the brake and that the "OK to Drive" sign is displayed before i shift into reverse. With a car as computerized as this one, a little patience is a virtue. It needs a few seconds to "boot up" just like your laptop!

Yes, I did but it takes two weeks or longer to show up on ETIS.

OK, so I messed up the spelling, give me a break! :worship: Now, back to the "sweet spot," I noticed that the more I drive the car, the more it seems to "learn" my driving habits and seems to go into and remain in HIgh ICE more easily. On a recent trip to Anaheim, I noticed that as I approached 68 MPH, and backed off the gas just a hair, it went into HIgh ICE and stayed there for over two miles. Prior to this, it would "jump" through High ICE on it's way directly to EV mode. It seemed I could never handle the throttle soft enough to get it to stay in the High ICE mode. The Anaheim trip was the first time that the car seemed to want to glide in High ICE for a short time. Only time will tell if the car continues to "learn" what I want and allow High ICE mode more easily. :shift:

Sync update 3.6.2 fixes the clock and calendar issues.

Having two "classroom certified" C Max mechanics is not the same as having two mechanics that have worked on hundreds of C Max's. All of the certification in the world cannot replace good old hands-on experience and knowledge learned on the job! It's kind of like life itself, schooling does not replace life experience! You need to have both to resolved these issues on a new model car and only a large Ford dealership like Galpin can provide that. I have a local Ford dealership within 5 miles of my house but, I choose to drive over 20 miles to Galpin to have my car serviced for these technical updates. Once everything settles down, then, perhaps I will try out my local dealer for oil changes and the like.