Louder North

Hi Rebecca.  Yes the contacts are synchronized with outlook and gmail.  I can create a separate group on my blackberry and call it 'car' and then I can synchronize the car that with group....  will that work?

The Blackberry contacts app includes something called 'local contacts' - is that what you meant about 'stored on the phone'?  

My new Blackberry Classic syncs OK but only 5 entries from the phone book download to the car. I believe I have all the latest software on the phone and the car.  I had a look at owner.ford.com for compatible devices and don't see this one listed any where. I've tried re-pairing several times and have done a master reset as well but the problem persists.  Is this a known issue or am I stuck with 5 entries?

I have no personal interest in this one but would, knowing what I know now, buy this in a heartbeat (a 2013 Energi with 21,000 K for $20,950 - the same price I paid for my 2013 SEL hybrid).  For sale in Montreal area.  Special bonus for US buyers. 

This happened to my yesterday.  I was in the kitchen (next to the driveway) and I could see the top of the lift gate up in the air! Weird. Must have 'pocket dialed' it open.  Thank goodness I could close it from the house (we still have snow on the ground).

It happened again the next night!   Now I'm wondering what is the effective range of the transmitter/fob....?  I haven't experimented, but am thinking that if I am say 3 meters from the car (in the house), and a cat passes by under the back of the car, will that cause the lift gate to open? 

I pocket opened my hatch one time.  Came out side and the hatch was open.  Sort of like I'm always doing with my phone dialing the last person I talked with.  Or random dial from my contacts list.  A pain for sure.

This happened to my yesterday.  I was in the kitchen (next to the driveway) and I could see the top of the lift gate up in the air! Weird. Must have 'pocket dialed' it open.  Thank goodness I could close it from the house (we still have snow on the ground).

I don't understand what you two are talking about. From what I saw the Niro does have seats that fold down and that it doubles the cargo capacity (from over 25 cu. ft. to over 50 cu. ft). Are you claiming the seats don't go completely flat, instead sitting at a slight angle; that the seats aren't flat with the load floor, likely because of the battery underneath the seats; or do you mean something else?

I think ptjones was replying to stevedebi regarding reasons why Ford didn't put the HVB under the rear seat (i.e. there is no room once rear seat is folded forward).

Gizmag reporting that BMW will introduce a new plug-in this year.  Not really in the CMAX style/price segment but it may be of interest if you have the coin.

Available in 2 or AWD configurations.  From the article "BMW estimates that the 740e iPerformance will have an all-electric range of 40 km (25 miles) in the European test cycle. Those figures drop to about 37 km (23 miles) for the xDrive models. A high-voltage lithium-ion battery with a 9.2 kWh capacity (6.9 kWh usable) makes this possible."

The thing is, that on the day we had that 50+ cm of snow, I made it home!  So as much as it seems like we are losing control when it seems there is no link between the throttle and the wheels turning, it actually does work. 

For jestevens, there is no guarantee you would have made it up the hill with TC turned off... or try going up a snow covered hill with TC turned on (hopefully with no one else behind you), then try it again with it turned off and see how far up you get. Did you have snow tires?

You can disable traction control via the left hand settings screen, but you have to do it every time you power up the car.

OK.  Good to know.  Might try it as an experiment.  I have been talking around with others at work and I hear the use of this technology is quite widespread. 

We got a record amount on snow yesterday - over 50 cm. 

I'm lucky I made it home as the C Max was on the verge to getting stuck many times.  Many side streets were not yet plowed when I drove home.  I do have snow tires but the snow was so deep, that I am sure that at times, it lofted the car into the air. 

When trying to accelerate in a particularly deep snowy/slushy  area, it felt that the accelerator was not connected to the engine.  Is that one of the traction systems in the car - that when both front wheels do not have any traction, they don't spin?  Anyone else have this experience?

when I was comparing the HHR to the prius  I was looking at cars with similar age, milage and price.  when the prius got trashed  i was comparing the prius and Cmax  on price,  I was able to get a 2013 with 11k miles  while the comparable prius' were a couple years older with more miles.  When I got my prius  it had been sitting for about 3 months on the dealers lot  and with cash in hand I got a real good deal.  I feel I got a deal on the Cmax as well  45 days on the lot...

I bought mine used and found the price differential with the other (non-hybrid) vehicle I was looking at to be trivial.  Prices differences on new models at different trim levels are good when making comparisons, but tend to disappear when buying used. 

Pretty happy with cold weather performance right now!  Minus 25 in Ottawa and it started right up; did affect the regenerative braking animation though. 

More on the NIro in Gizmag.  Seating is slightly elevated according to the article.

I would recommend you read the article as there are lots of things to compare. 

One of the comparisons was "what would the price of gas have to be for an electrified car to pay off its premium in 48 months?" 

And the answer was "The Fusion Hybrid was [still] the winner, of course, its break-even price about $2 a litre — roughly $8 a U.S. gallon — compared with the bare-bones 2.5-litre-powered Fusion S."  Two years ago, it seemed $2 / L gas seemed around the corner.

The other observation was that the premium for adding the hybrid technology to the base model disappears the higher up the luxury chain you go.

Good read today on driving.ca about the estimated pay back period for various hybrids.

If government really want to meet their climate change goals, they are going to have to put a price on carbon or put better incentives on plug-ins at least.

For me, it was never ONLY about the price of gas anyway.

I heard on interview on the radio of one industry person at the International Auto Show in Toronto (in this context of cheap gas) that 2 years ago, we wouldn't be having this conversation (about hybrid economics) so who knows where we will be two years from now?  I thought that was a comment worth repeating.

cheers,

Reedmother - does your car stay in the driveway a lot? I ask because our previous car (a Subaru Outback) was used primarily on weekends and the brakes had be to replaced every 2-3 years.  My mechanic said it as my fault I didn't drive my car enough and the rotors rusted from not being used.   :sad:

Does anyone know if the cooling system for the AC/DC inverter is also harnessed to provide cabin heat? I ask because as we all know, there are two pressurized coolant reservoirs and therefore there must be two radiators (do they keep separate temperatures?).  Just wondering if cabin heat is provided by both systems.

Another review of the RAV4 hybrid (from the Canadian viewpoint).

 

I would rather be warm when it's 10F out then freeze just to get good MPGs, plus the rule is if you are comfortable in the cabin then most likely the battery will be too (and last longer).

Reminds me of that scene in 'The Martian'! 

Might be a great idea Louder North (at least for the foot loose and braver hearts).  Here are some used ones in the BC area.

http://www.autotrader.ca/cars/ford/c-max/?prx=-1&prv=Ontario&loc=M9C+5J1&sts=Used-Damaged&hprc=True&wcp=True&inMarket=advancedSearch

 

And this low miles 2013 SEL (below) for  $22,777  CAD or roughly $16,000 USD.

That's for an SEL with less than 10,000 miles on it !!!

(Where the heck is Lacombe ?  SEL 303A ?, is that Sony sound with NAV ?)

 

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/C-Max/Lacombe/Alberta/5_26534348_20160108120121386/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=14_15_38

 

Aside from the exchange rate discount (& this one SEL), looks like pretty strong resale values,

 

Nick

 

 

(( Now cauliflower - that's an entirely different story:   http://www.seattletimes.com/business/in-canada-4-cauliflowers-cost-more-than-a-barrel-of-oil/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_left_1.1 ))

The search you provided did all of Canada - so you found C-Max's in Alberta (that's where Lacombe is).

What do you think of this 2015 C-Max SEL with panoramic roof for US $18752 with 5,200 miles? (New Hamburg is a little place about an hour west of Toronto).

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/C-Max/New+Hamburg/Ontario/5_25505173_ON20071217113302000/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=5_15_38

My understanding is that the C-Max in North America has not received the update.   Not sure why not.   The European model did change for this year.  My understanding is also that the European model is not a hybrid.  

 

Hope that helps

According to the article, they have gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options. Interested to see if the 2017 NA models will loose the top grill....

Pssst, Louder North; The 51 is a score of some sort, not a ranking.  Please correct your header for this thread.

 

Keep in mind that this list includes about a dozen full electrics, not just hybrids ...........

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

Yes!  You are right C-Max Sea; correction made in the first post but I can't change the topic heading. 

Sorry for the misquote in the header; it is a score and not a rank (I can't change the topic heading).

Smart fortwo EV scored highest.

Ours is not in the top 10 and scored below a Honda Fit and above the Subaru X Trek Hybrid.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/news/trans-canada-highway/smart-fortwo-ev-mercedes-benz-suv-ranked-as-greenest-meanest-cars-of-2016/article28411704/

Here is a link to the source story: http://aceee.org/press/2016/01/more-electric-cars-ever-greenest

What are the additional steps to import a car to the US? How do you go about changing out the speedometer?

The speedometer has both kph and mph on the same dial (one set is just smaller than the other).  MPG and L/100 km and F vs C can also be chosen in display options.  Plus you get day-time running lights!

You should google the import requirements; I  would imagine that enough people do it that the requirements are not onerous.

Check this: http://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car

Some savvy car buyers have discovered that buying a used car in Canada may be a good deal;  with the exchange rate for United Statesians as it is, it is like 30% off north of the border.  Of course, if you import a vehicle, there are some additional steps you have to take. 

For example, here are some used C-Max in Ontario (I use Kijiji.ca or autotrader.ca)  http://www.kijiji.ca/b-cars-trucks/ontario/ford-c+max/c174l9004a54a1000054

I almost bought the one for sale in Grimsby (they had to do a warranty brake repair and couldn't fix it in time for me). 

(the link is temporary but you get the idea).

cheers. 

Now getting the "Check Fuel Filler Inlet" warning every time I turn on the car.  Filled up and its still there.  The manual says to check it, so I did.  Looked OK for all I could tell.  The manual then says that:

"the message may not reset immediately. It may take several driving cycles for the message to turn off. A driving cycle consists of an engine start-up (after four or more hours with the engine off) followed by city/highway driving. Continuing to drive with the message on may cause the service engine soon lamp to turn on as well."

Does anyone know:

1. How many is "several"
2. Definition of "city/highway" driving
3. Can the "service engine soon" situation degenerate into a forced shutdown of the car
4. Is there any way to "force" a system test that would immediately remove the message if the filler is now OK?

Any help is appreciated.

The 'check engine' light always came on in my old car (Subaru Outback) and I was always told it because of a leaking gas cap or a leak caused by a corrosion in the filler neck.  It is possible there is some very small debris that is causing one of the two 'trap doors' in the capless C-Max system to remain open and therefore is causing that light to come on.  If you are sure the inlet is clean, then eventually that light should go off.  There was also a thread on this topic a while back; here it is

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