thedman

Thanks everyone! I pulled out the bluetooth scanner and the battery still died. To keep the car going I got a $50 450Watt jumper to get me through. I am taking it to the dealer and having them do a discharge test on the battery first before monkeying around with diagnostics. We'll see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

I went out again today and the battery was dead for work. I kept turning the key and it finally turned over. The only thing that I saw that might be draining draining it is my OBDLink MX bluetooth OBD scanner. The lights were on on it this morning and I finally unplugged it. I have had it plugged in for almost a full year without issue and is is supposed to have technology to shut it off it it senses battery drain. I'm going to see if this solves the problem but has anyone else had issues with this scanner.

About two weeks I was at the cabin ready to leave and I realized that Maximilian was dead, no power locks, nothing. I had never dealt with this before I have had the car for over a year and put close to 21000 miles on it. Thinking that I left my GPS plugged into the USB port over the weekend I must have drained it. I got out the 12 volt charger we use for the tractors and hooked it up to the posts under the hood. I thought it would take forever to charge but I got in and it turned over instantly. Thinking nothing of it I drove it home and drove it around for about a week and a half just fine. Then this past weekend I went out to start my car and I noticed that the screens refused to light up when I got in and the headlights flickered when I turned it on. After turning all the accessories off I got the car to kick into the HVB and drive away. Since then yesterday and now today every time I go to turn it on it takes a couple turns of the key to get enough juice to kick the car into the HVB so I can drive. I went to the stealership because that was the only place I could locate a replacement battery and the guy who was knowledgeable with CMax's first checked it for recalls which it was up to date on, but then recommended I don't replace the LVB and instead have them try and find what may be causing a battery drain issue such as a faulty module. He said he's seen a lot of random drain issues in CMax's before and they usually have to be scoped out. So... I need your input he thought finding the drain issue would be about $130 versus a new battery $135 which route do you think I should go? I don't want to spend hours for them to lead to nowhere and spend money in labor for them to do that. Plus its my only vehicle so I kind of need it to work, and consistently.

Approaching 40,000 miles and running the original tires, I think its time to start researching new ones. Sure, they're still going strong, but the first owner really didn't rotate them and I am approaching the wear bars. Everything I've read says that the Michelin Energy Saver A/S is the best choice, and I do like those tires. But they are kind of expensive, and their tread depth is lower than other tires so what you are seeing is savings from increased fuel economy, but with ultimately less tire for your money. You can't have it all right? But, what I was wondering is if anyone has run the Road Hugger GT Eco tire from Discount Tire. They were rated highly for the C-Max, and are considerably cheaper than the Michelins. However, what I am looking at is fuel efficiency and if these tires gave the same hit as switching to, for example the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus tires. Any suggestions? Link To Road Hugger GT Eco Link To Side By Side Comparison of Pirelli, Michelin, Road Hugger

Check out this McDonald's commercial it features a C Max Energi. First time I've seen a C Max on TV

What a putz at the dealership. You wouldn't happen to know offhand what size they are 3/4" 19mm?

I've been doing some work on my C-Max since I am now comfortable driving and have had it for about 3 months. I put some grill covers on to help keep the Minnesota cold out. They're made with foam pipe insulation, and they do help the car warm up faster. I don't think they help with fuel efficiency that much though. I replaced the cabin air filter, which is a pain but not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be! Just don't worry about forcing the new filter in, I guess that's the only way to get it in the housing. I checked the engine air filter which is as clean as new, compared to the disgustingly dirty cabin air filter. I went to rotate the tires, and I had a hard time getting the lug nuts to come off and I rounded the corners on one of them. ARGH! I went to the dealership today, to do the works package, because I couldn't rotate the tires, and didn't feel like changing the oil, on top of some warranty work. Anyhow, they said that I really hadn't done any damage to the lugs because there is a chrome plated lug cap on each of the lug nuts that was merely decorative. First off, is that really true that the car has decorative lug nut caps? And secondly, how in the heck do you get them off? I took a pliers and a rag to them after I got home and couldn't get them to come off! I was wondering what I would do in case of a blowout and wanted to take the tire off myself.

Last Fillup 600.5 mi, 296.2EV 47.6 MPG using 12.61Gal. I would guess that I spent 75% of time on the highway and 25% in the city with an average speed of 55 mph.

I get a little freaked out running it down to fumes, I know my mom was a repeat offender of that and had to get a couple fuel pumps replaced because of it. Those were GM's though. This time I put in E10 regular, so hopefully I should make it to 600 with many miles to spare. I'll try E0 someday once I find a place that sells it.

I made it to the 600 club. I don't think its too bad for being a new guy, I have only had the car for about the last 1,000 miles! I was freaking out the entire treacherous journey to the gas station coasting on fumes. I should have taken your advice about the gas can. Next time! Just as an FYI this was on a full tank of E15.

Its disappointing that they are moving production of the C-Max's to Mexico. I know its a cost saving measure, but maybe its just me but I'd be okay paying a little more for the car knowing that I was supporting at least the American workers who put the car together. I know the parts come from all around the globe, but at least it was 'made in America', right? The other thing that ruffles my feathers is that they discontinued the Ranger and laid off a bunch of people working at the Ford plant in St. Paul, Minnesota. Eventually the factory was demolished, and now the lot sits vacant, a big parking lot of sorts. I hoped that they could bring the production of the Ranger back to the state to put more people back to work, but it would probably cost a lot to build a new factory, so its probably a pipe dream. One thing my grandfather mentioned of the Ranger he owned, it didn't get that great of gas mileage and it didn't have a whole lot of pickup for a pickup truck. Maybe they will throw the 2.0L I-4 Ecoboost in it, giving it a little more power and better fuel economy? I might even consider it as a second vehicle if they did that!

I was thinking about adding a hitch to mine, but the owners manual says that you should never tow with the vehicle. It seems weird though, because the C-Max and Escape have similarly sized engines 2.0L Atkinson vs. 2.0 I-4 EcoBoost. Has anyone had any issues towing stuff? And, what is the heaviest weight you've towed with it? I'd love to be able to tow a small U-Haul or smaller boat behind mine.

Well I think I beat the youngest member by 7 years. I'm 23, maybe it was my dad's AARP magazine that got me thinking about it!

Hopefully this wasn't posted somewhere else. Since the owners manual for the 2013 C-Max Hybrid is very vague I was wondering if anyone knew if I left the headlights in the on position all the time (not the auto position) if they automatically go off after a certain time after I turn the vehicle off and lock it.

Thanks for the welcome! I was test 'renting' an ex hertz vehicle yesterday. (Word to the wise Hertz Rent to Buy was kind of a headache and the vehicle wasn't in good shape so I opted for the dealership.) Anyhow I went to gas it up and I've never had a car that had the fuel filler on the passenger side. Trying to navigate it between the pumps was a challenge. Kind of reminds me of my friend's '08 Fusion. If that's the only downside, its turning radius, then I have many more years of driving fun ahead of me. ~thedman

Hi everyone! You guys have been helpful in helping me learn a whole lot more about the C-Max. Tonight I found a used 2013 SE 29K miles for $14,990. After test driving 5 C-Max's I knew I loved the car and this one drove better than the rest. Plus it seemed like that was a pretty good price. I get to drive it home tomorrow so I'll let you guys know how I like it once I'm no longer sitting next to a salesman! I do have a quick question. For the 2013 SE does anyone know if the right instrument cluster display can show anything besides for the efficiency leaves. I know the SEL shows entertainment and phone and stuff like that but does the SE show any of the same stuff and how do you control it? The manual isn't very good at describing the differences between the SE and the SEL in that regard. ~thedman