KCmax

Not quite the same thing, but I recently installed the Torklift 2" hitch and use a Thule Easy Fold Bike Hitch rack with two E bikes. The bikes have a combined weight of close to 100 lbs. (we remove the batteries before loading them to save a little weight) and the rack itself weighs 41 lbs. It is very stable. 4 regular bikes should be about equivalent.

In Oregon, we're one of only 2 states (I think) where it's illegal to pump your own. A few weeks ago after a fill up I entered the numbers into Fuelly and was amazed that my mileage had suddenly leaped up more that 10 MPG! It had to be too good to be true, and as I drove away I realized that the attendant had not topped up the tank. I thought about going back to complete the fill up, but that would have made me late for work. It totally screwed up my Fuelly statistics, GRRR! I suppose in the long run it will be a blip, but I don't have that many fuel ups yet, so it was a bit frustrating.

My insurance company initially handled the claim, then handed it over to Geico, the other driver's insurance company once Geico accepted that the other driver was at fault, so I dealt with their adjuster. The other driver didn't have sufficient coverage, so then it went back to my insurance so they could take care of me and then go after Geico and the other driver for the balance. My insurane (Metro Mile) stayed in touch with me through the entire process to make sure I was taken care of.

Sorry it's taken so long to respond, but it took 2 weeks for the insurance companies and their adjusters to work their way though this, and I've spent part of every day since the wreck on the phone with both my insurance company and the other driver's. Just last Thursday it was decided that the C Max is totaled, so I've got the Ford dealer looking for a replacement. My experience with our insurance provider has been overwhelmingly postive. We started with Metro Mile on Jan. 1st, and I could not be happier with them. They have kept me up to date with every development through this long process, and are very responsive when I call or email with questions. Someone asked about the roof rack. I bought the Thule roof rack myself and saved $100 over what the dealer would charge to install one. The rack and the 24' extension ladder were solidly in place after the wreck. One bit of a silver lining in all this is that I get to start all over with a new C Max and am far enough along in the learning curve of driving a hybrid that my mileage numbers should be better this time around ;)

Just posted some pix to the gallery from the crash I was involved in last Thursday March 7. A car failed to obey a stop sign and T boned me in the middle of the intersection. The impact was right in the drivers side door. I'm so thankful for the great side impact protection the C max has. All of the side air bags deployed. The car was still driveable, but I opted to take advantage of free roadside assistance and have it towed to the Ford dealer. The other driver's insurance company agreed to cover everything. It's been over a week and I still don't know if the car will be repaired or declared a total loss. The adjuster from the other drivers insurance company told me a few days ago that the damgae exceeded $12,000. Apparently if the damage is over $10K a supervisor has to rview the case. I don't know how many other C Max vehicles have been involved in crashes so far, but thought this real life incident would be of interest.

The relay that was replaced was for the ABS brake system. But it may not have been the problem after all. One thing I didn't mention initially is that the first time I experienced a dead battery was the day after I installed a module from our insurance company (Metro Mile) in the diagnostic port. We signed up for the service and began using it on Jan. 1. I immediately assumed it to be the problem, and called Metro Mile. They talked to their tech people and assured me the unit did not draw enough power to drain down the battery. The service manager at the Ford dealer didn't think so either. After replacing the relay, they watched the amp draw looking for anything unusual, and were waiting to hear back from Ford about what the specs were for normal amp draw when the vehicle was shut down. They unplugged the insurance co. module and the vehicle immediately "went to sleep" as they put it. The theory is that although the module does not draw much power itself, it is causing other modules in the vehicle to stay powered up, and the collective drain is enough to kill the battery. We have the same module in 2 other vehicles we own, and have no problems, but apparently the 12V battery in the C-Max is pretty small. I'm going to call Metro Mile first thing Monday and talk to them about it. In the meantime, I'm unplugging their module overnight until further notice. So the issue I'm having may not be directly relevant, but it appears that since the battery is small, it's more vulnerable to going dead if anything is drawing power when the vehicle is supposed to be asleep. FWIW, 2 of the 3 the Roadside Assistance guys who jump started the car told me they jump start a lot of hybrids. Sorry I didn't post sooner, but I had to wait until late last night to pick up the car. The service dept. at my Ford dealer is open till midnite.

I will after I pick up the car later this afternoon.

The battery has gone dead 3 times since Jan. 1. All 3 times there was zero power, I had to unlock the car with the key, and the display was blank. Called Roadside Assistance each time and had it jump started. The first time was Jan. 1, then when it hapened again on the 9th, I took it to the dealer. They replaced the battery, said it was a bad battery. The next morning (Jan. 10), the battery was again dead. Took it back to the dealer and they called last night, they said they found a stuck relay that was causing a massive battery drain, (their words). My guess is that the relay was sticking intermittently, that's why the battery would be dead some days and fine on others, and why they didn't find it the first time. They are keeping the car and letting it sit for 24 hours to make sure. They gave me a loaner, another C-Max, we joked about that of course. I'm buying a jump start battery pack today to have on hand just in case. I'll follow up to let you know if this latest fix takes care of it.

Hi, I found this forum last night when searching for other C-Max owners with similar problems as mine. I'll try to find the thread I was reading last night and add to it. Ken