Taiwwa

Oh, pretty warm. Like 50's or 60's

Freeway speed limit is 70mph. It usually drive around 65. At times I hit 80 when I hit a fast group of cars.

You know, the funny thing is that the battery is still subject to the laws of conservation of energy. So ultimately, all power is going to come from gasoline one way or another. Anyways, I've pretty much given up on trying to game the system. I mean, even if it weren't a hybrid, it is still a CVT transmission. And it seems every time I consciously try to hypermile the car, I end up with MPG that is about the same if I drove it normally.Just treating the car as if it were a normal car, heck, I got 47.5 MPG on my last trip and hour each way. And it drives really well, and has lots of space too. If I had a Ford Focus instead, I would have gotten maybe 26-27MPG on the same stretch. My Subaru Outback was lucky to get 19MPG.

It isn't cold at all. Yesterday and today temps have been in the high 50's/low 60's. I'm guessing that with Lithium batteries, there is also reduced power as the battery is drawn down also? Might explain it? I'm not quite seeing how this hybrid system is all that different from the Honda Insight system. I'm actually quite surprised by how often the ICE engine goes it alone.

I can't seem to find a tire inflation kit anywhere on my Cmax SEL. I'm assuming that it is missing per the previous owner. What is the best replacement kit to get?

So I went on the exact same stretch twice today. It was a short distance. First time...battery power was used a lot, I get 60 mpg reading at the end. Second time, more ICE, I get 26mpg. Yeah, I see how you can sort of trick the engine into going to battery mode by easing up on the throttle when it is ice and then revving back up. It is kind of disheartening to see the car going in battery mode up the hill...then when the battery hits around half it just quits and the ice fires up. Since zero is not even really zero but 30%, I'd have expected it to go all the way to the bottom. And even then, at least be partially running. About 2/3rds up the hill the electric completely cuts out even though it still has at least 40% on e bar, which is really like 60%

Just got a used SEL model with 60k miles for about 12k. Pretty nice car so far. I've noticed that the car uses the gasoline engine where I think it should be using the electric, and the electric where gas might be more appropriate. Like, when climbing up an incline, sometimes it will switch solely to gas. Sometimes lightly accelerating on the highway, it'll use the electric motor. Looking at the battery, a few things. The electric engine never goes all the way full power. When it goes up, it'll stay up and then quickly change over to gas. The battery is never drained below 50%. It is often 100%, more than is appropriate IMO. Overall, great gas mileage compared to what I was driving before. In the same area I was driving around a Subaru outback and was getting maybe 19MPG at best. I get between 37 and 40MPG in the city. Still, it could be better, could it not? Why is it so hesitant to use electric?

Is there enough space to throw down a sleeping bag in the C-Max? For a six-footer.

The Nissan Rogue looks like it ought to be bigger. Interesting. Headroom should be the same for both cars, eh? The battery only reduces trunk space.

Yeah, I do plan on using it for things like hauling bikes, hauling building supplies. Then again, $3k is a sizeable amount of savings. And I could geek out on the energi part of it. And for 90% of uses the extra battery wouldn't be a problem. If for the same price, or a premium for the energi, the hybrid would be more attractive. But the energi is 3k cheaper.

For the Cmax Hybrid owners out there, do you think you could do the same things you do with an Energi? I'm looking at used models, and some Energi models are significantly cheaper than regular hybrid models.

Recall Date: SEP 25, 2014 Recall Title: RESTRAINTS CONTROL MODULE REPLACEMENT NHTSA Recall Number: 14V597 Ford Recall Number: 14S21 Recall Description: AFFECTED VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULES RCMS THAT MAY EXPERIENCE AN INTERNAL ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT. IF A SHORT CIRCUIT OCCURS, THE AIRBAG WARNING LAMP WOULD ILLUMINATE. DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION OF THE SHORT CIRCUIT THE DEPLOYABLE RESTRAINT SYSTEMS E.G. AIR BAGS. PRETENSIONERS SIDE CURTAINS MAY NOT FUNCTION AS INTENDED IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY. THE SHORT MAY ALSO AFFECT THE FUNCTION OF OTHER SYSTEMS THAT USE INTERNAL DATA FROM THE RCM E.G. STABILITY CONTROL. IN THESE CASES THE CORRESPONDING MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMPS WOULD ALSO BE ILLUMINATED. THESE VEHICLES ARE NOT PRODUCED IN VIN ORDER. INFORMATION AS TO THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS ACTION TO SPECIFIC VEHICLES CAN BEST BE OBTAINED BY EITHER CALLING FORDS TOLL FREE LINE 1 866 436 7332 OR BY CONTACTING A LOCAL FORD OR LINCOLN DEALER WHO CAN OBTAIN SPECIFIC INFORMATION REGARDING THE VEHICLES FROM THE FORD ON LINE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE INFORMATION SYSTEM OASIS DATABASE. Risk to Safety: DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION OF THE SHORT CIRCUIT, THE DEPLOYABLE RESTRAINT SYSTEMS AND OTHER SYSTEMS THAT USE INERTIAL DATA FROM THE RCM MAY NOT FUNCTION AS INTENDED, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY. FORD IS NOT AWARE OF ANY ACCIDENT OR INJURY RELATED TO THIS CONDITION. Remedy Program: DEALERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE THE RCM. THERE WILL BE NO CHARGE TO OWNERS FOR THIS SERVICE. AN INITIAL NOTIFICATION LETTER WILL BE MAILED TO ALL OWNERS THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 10, 2014. DUE TO LIMITED PARTS AVAILABILITY, WE WILL INSTRUCT OWNERS TO CONTACT THEIR DEALER FOR SERVICE IF THEY HAVE AN ILLUMINATED AIRBAG WARNING INDICATOR. OWNERS WHO HAVE NOT ALREADY HAD THIS SERVICE PERFORMED WILL BE MAILED A FOLLOW-UP LETTER WHEN PARTS ARE AVAILABLE, ADVISING THEM TO SCHEDULE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT. IN ACCORDANCE WITH PART 573.13(D)(1), FORDS GENERAL REIMBURSEMENT PLAN FOR THE COST OF REMEDIES PAID FOR BY VEHICLE OWNERS PRIOR TO NOTIFICATION OF A SAFETY RECALL WAS PROVIDED TO THE AGENCY ON FEBRUARY 20, 2013. THE ENDING DATE FOR REIMBURSEMENT ELIGIBILITY FOR THE COST OF REMEDIES PAID FOR BY VEHICLE OWNERS PER FORD'S GENERAL REIMBURSEMENT PLAN IS NOVEMBER 30, 2014. FORD WILL UPLOAD A COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION LETTERS TO DEALERS ON NHTSA'S SAFERCAR.GOV WEBSITE WHEN AVAILABLE. Status: 12 - RECALL INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE. Manufacturer Notes: TO CHECK FOR NON-SAFETY-RELATED PROGRAMS APPLICABLE TO YOUR VEHICLE, SEE HTTP://WWW.FORD.COM/OR CALL YOUR FORD DEALER. VIN: FSA Title: 12 VOLT BATTERY TEST AND MODULE SOFTWARE UPDATE Field Service Action Number: 15B04 VIN: FSA Title: SYNC WITH MYFORD/MYLINCOLN TOUCH - WARRANTY EXTENSION COVERING ACCESSORY PROTOCOL INTERFACE MODULE (APIM) Field Service Action Number: 12M02 VIN: FSA Title: POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE REPROGRAMMING Field Service Action Number: 14E02

Status: 12 - RECALL INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE So it looks like this was not done. I think it is something to do with the airbag. What now?

Wow, the link to the Ford site was especially useful! We found 2 field service actions listed on your vehicle. What does that mean?

Okay, I'm nearly set. What should I be sure to look for when inspecting the car?

So looking at some auto check reports on these cars, on one of the cars it says, "BATTERY SERVICED/REPLACED" every 5k miles or so. Of course the oil is also changed among other things in these visits. Is this an indication of...the infamous 12v battery problem, or routine maintenance?

I'm still looking at SE's. Looking at carfax reports, lots of them go in for recall servicing in like 2014, and then are driven another 20k miles, which I am going to assume means that all is well. One more thing: how close is the market price to the KBB value? I'm looking in the Ohio region. Gas prices are low so hybrids aren't going for the premium they went for in 2008. Cargurus will say that a car at 11k is 1k below the 12k price, while kbb will say that the car is worth 11k, and so the listed price is accurate.

I might come to appreciate those features, but my last car was a lousy Chevy Aveo which didn't even have power windows! So I'm used to barebones cars. I really care more about reliability. The 2013's are really inexpensive, surprisingly so. They are cheaper than similar Toyota Prius's, despite being more expensive at retail overall. Were there any problems on first launch which were later rectified in later model years? the Cmax seemed to get bad reliability scores. I really care about not having to deal with repairs for a long time.

I'm thinking of buying a used 2013 Cmax. Anything to look out for? In all of this, I'm also considering just getting a new one, especially since a used one with 30k miles from 2013 will run like 14-15k while a new one can be had for 22k, plus it included the variety of improvements they make as the production line matures. Anyways, what are common mechanical issues to be on the watch for? Also, there are a few SEL models that are in the ball park for SE models. Now, is the SEL trim worth it? I personally don't really care about keyless start, and it could be a malfunction point. I do kind of care about the leather seats. Are they a sizable upgrade over the cloth seats of the SE?