C-MaxSea

Jus, I will be in line for those mods ASAP, provided they make them retro to us and they give us a price break for being EAs. Sure hope they continue to take good care of us. Ecstatic about the $550. Nick PS like you said, plenty of time - perhaps just an asterisk on 13s, or just noting the year going forward.

Way to go Adair & JellyBean! And a check for $550 too! Nice day! :yahoo: Nick

Agree, nice first impressions. Welcome ml! We have a similar story/similar impressions, but we still have an older BMW 5 (for now), getting 20+ mpg. Hear you on the $$$ servicing a BMW. Sweat a bit thinking about the 30's for mpg, turned out 40+ mpg was POC. Enjoy the trip, keep on gizmobiling, Nick

Have enjoyed your impressions Frank. Yes the C-Max seems a tight ride for the weight. If only the drivers door armrest 'fit' better. Gave up our Volvo 240 a couple years ago with 300k+ and going very strong, wish I had it for a back-up now (a better junker than our BMW). (Thought Volvos had infallible (VDO?) gauges) Could not resist the opp. to trash the Prius dash, I dislike it so. Nick

Congratz MtnMarty, keep it going! We like "creeping up". Creeping up on 47 here (46.3 lifetime, pump always 5% less)). Nick

Condolences as well. Certainly agree with you on the 'wack dash' reference (Prius et al), or as I call it the 'drive by committee' style dash. Best of luck going forward. Nick

Can this thread be moved to 'lights' or 'mods'??? Nick

Congrats UturnTed, & welcome to the land of stealth fighters! :flyaway: Nick

Amy, that is a nice looking Beetle! 12 years, looks new (te he, :cry:), also looks like Blue Candy! Since we are talking load carrying, (kayaks, mulch, pavers, carriers, how about wheel barrows. No I have not yet, but I did measure a full sized wheel barrow, and it would fit as well, just saying.......... Go for it, Nick PS Yes the full size wheel barrow fits like a charm - it actually looks small in there! (go for two? jk) Photos later. (time to start a thread on 'packing out' your C-Max)

Challenge? Lots of good info here. Can someone create a little spread sheet showing all of these 'mods' and maybe start a thread in the 'lights' header (or 'mods' header?) with it. Too much good info to be lost in 'general discussion' here. Say, light category, existing part, existing wattage, option 1 light & wattage, option 2 light & wattage........................ I may, if no one jumps in, but won't have time very soon, and I don't have a great handle on this. Nick

Welcome RickW, and congratulations on taking the plunge! :yahoo: Keep at the 'button pushing' and spend some time here for great advice. Do continue to look over your new C-Max in case there is something you overlooked at the dealer - hatch fit, hood fit, door alignment etc................... Now is the time to get all those issues resolved. Have fun getting acquainted, make out the old shopping list for 'add-ons' - lots of good info here on that. Easy on the brakes, keep your eyes on the road, and...drive more than we do! Nick

Funny twists! Ours is 'my wifes' car, and she has yet to drive it. She commutes in / drives a tired 'old' beautiful BMW 5. True story is, I am still protective of / breaking in the C-Max in our spare time (my working vehicle is a VW Eurovan); and she is very attached to the 5. Yes the C-Max bumped her BMW 5 out of the garage :secret: . Welcome, and best of luck on the new BMW, I mean Ford C-Max. Nick

GDPirie, I think the software updates/upgrades are not necessarily the issue. In some cases, it may be that the dealer is just getting up to speed on staff training for these. I had our C-Max in to Pierre Ford in Lake City (NE Seattle) last week at 8:00 am and it was done by 1:30. That included three software updates: 13A01 (Sync 3.5.1), 13B06 (Rear Liftgate), and 13B07 PCM Update (Fuel Economy). Alternatively, your dealer may have been waiting for head liner parts, and blaming it on software. No problems at Pierre Ford in Seattle - great service department (so far). Sure hope the engineers at Ford have the fuel economy update right. I was up over 50 mpg for the current tank, and now it has dropped back under 50 mpg. Tested the PCM software upgrade on the freeway today mostly around 60mph (60 zone), but cruising at 63-65 in EV under eco-cruise when the speed limit was at 70 - came in around 47.5 mpg for 80 miles. Best of luck. Nick

GDPirie, I think the software updates/upgrades are not necessarily the issue. In some cases, it may be that the dealer is just getting up to speed on staff training for these. I had our C-Max in to Pierre Ford in Lake City (NE Seattle) last week at 8:00 am and it was done by 1:30. That included three software updates: 13A01 (Sync 3.5.1), 13B06 (Rear Liftgate), and 13B07 PCM Update (Fuel Economy). Alternatively, your dealer may have been waiting for head liner parts, and blaming it on software. No problems at Pierre Ford in Seattle - great service department (so far). Sure hope the engineers at Ford have the fuel economy update right. I was up over 50 mpg for the current tank, and now it has dropped back under 50 mpg. Tested the PCM software upgrade on the freeway today mostly around 60mph (60 zone), but cruising at 63-65 in EV under eco-cruise when the speed limit was at 70 - came in around 47.5 mpg for 80 miles. (Our low miles Max not 'broken in' yet) Best of luck. Nick

Kudos Sparky, great job on the carrying case - thanks for sharing with great photos. Good prices too. Please share a bit more info on the spare tire. Nick

"It took 10 months, but I traded in the Cmax for a Prius. The NHTSA recall was the final straw. I find it interesting that Ford told dealers not to sell it or even demo it (saw the letter) but yet they haven't officially told all of those who carry their families in them everyday. And while I'm not saying it is a cover-up, I find it curious why the IIHS hasn't "tested" the Cmax yet but they did test the Fusion that came out AFTER the Cmax and they gave the Fusion a top safety pick. Surely the Cmax wont' get that or else there wouldn't be a recall out there. So I wish you all well and hope that the recall thing works out. The many many problems, the lack of 47/47/47, and the safety recall were all evidence that Ford isn't interested in my business, just interested in selling cars. In fact I ran into an owner of a Cmax that was my same color and such and they were going through the battery nightmare. Thankfully I never had that to deal with." Overstating the case, rash behavior, "bring me my slippers", ................ Does not make sense to me - the Prius is so much less car than the C-Max; but probably for the best. Best wishes MADCMAX and thanks for your contributions here, the flappy window gasket comes to mind. "Every C-Max owner has to do what he feels is right for him. Although I've been a little disappointed in the numerous issues which have cropped-up with the C-Max, it was not enough to make me consider getting rid of it. For instance, my battery went dead twice within a week this past March. I made sure I was first in line at my dealership to get the TSB installed (130501) which supposedly addresses this, and I haven't had a dead battery since. I've been a little disappointed in the gas mileage (my current lifetime mpg is 38.4 according to the display), so I made sure to get the 13B07 upgrade installed as soon as it became available. I also got the 13C02 recall (headliner fix) done at the same time. I think Ford has been very proactive in addressing these issues. I also don't think that the number of issues is excessive given the highly technical design of the car and the fact that it is in the first year of production. So far the pluses outweigh the drawbacks, at least for me. Every owner has to make these kind of decisions for himself based upon his own experience." Well stated, rational behavior, "how can I help you............ Great attitude BobJustBob ! My own rash & perhaps erroneous observations. Nick

Spoiled here too. Wring my hands a little leaving ours off at the dealer this morning; looked back at it three times to see that it was OK, and not being abused. Previous visit, could not let them just do their thing', had to watch the whole event. Hope you are reunited soon; ours got a fresh bath & carefully tucked back into the garage when we got it back this afternoon. (Seriously jeopardizing my man card here) Nick

Nice read, great start for you & your C-Max - thanks for the ramble & welcome! Looks like you will find it easy to get good mpg's. Nick

Dropped off this morning, and our C-Max is now ready for take off at 1:15 (pick-up that is). Three update tri-fecta: 3.5.1, liftgate & 13B07 (FE), and no troubles reported.

Welcome YakMax! Love the Yak, grew up there. Our dealership experience has been very favorable so far in Seattle. Today is the big day for us with three upgrades being done as I post. Again, welcome. Nick

spaceship Stealth bomber jellybean grouper fighter Saucer? unfixored? ;)

Welcome from Seattle neighbor Finkins. If you don't know by now, Jus-A-CMax. is a seasoned veteran here with record hypermiling driving techniques, and loves to poke fun at Prii. We certainly agree here that you made the right choice! Nick (but then again, maybe Jus-A-CMax is Jus-A-Troll? :yahoo: )

'Taking the plunge', 'off the deep end', .................... Wednesday appointment for 3.5.1 is now a trifecta (per ETIS). If I understand it correctly, the first is the 3.5.1 upgrade, the "Rear Gate..." is the liftgate issue, and the PCM is the FE upgrade (?). And I won't be able to watch all of the proceedings, if that is even possible. Am I crazy? Sadly, I definitely will not be able to 'notice'/ or monitor the difference in FE if I go for it with so little data - only 4 fill-ups. My current tank is hovering at 51 MPG (awaiting some freeway driving to pull it down). Lifetime is at 46.1, effective at the pump would be 44+-. Nick (PS I assume that if it shows up on ETIS, that it is available) 13A01 - SYNC WITH MYFORD TOUCH - APPLICATION PERFORMANCE UPGRADE 13B06 - REAR GATE TRUNK MODULE REPROGRAM 13B07 - POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) CALIBRATION