DaveofDurham

At lunch time today I was driving on South Miami Boulevard in Durham, near the famous Research Triangle Park, when suddenly one single answer to all the big C-Max questions: Who will get the first 1,000 mile tank? Has Ford solved the 12 volt battery problem? When will salsaguy buy a C-Max? Do the dealers have the fix for the seatback recall? Draft or follow at a safe distance? Hybrid or Energi? flashed before my eyes from the back of a car possibly being driven by Jus' cousin. For answers to individual questions, keep on reading and posting on this forum.

It's a national, perhaps international, problem.

Good to see you back on the forum General B. 60 mph is 88 ft/sec. So 6 seconds at 60 mph is 528 feet.

I know that Costco has a car buying service, but what is a Costco rebate?

Tony? Wilbon! Wilbon? Tony!

Half a mile in six seconds would be 300mph. That would not be good for your mpg's.

Scuba - I think you have dotted all your i's, crossed all your t's and checked your p's and q's. Look forward to seeing some great photos and commentary like you posted for last year's NC mountain excursion.

We bought ours at University Ford in Durham NC. We wanted to buy local. Their price was as good as anyone within 100 miles of Durham and they got us the car we wanted by dealer trade in 3 or 4 days. Our salesperson was fantastic. He knew a lot about Ford hybrids in general and the C-Max in particular, and when we asked a question that he did not know the answer to he said he didn't know the answer and would find out - and in an hour or two he had the answer! He has been great to visit with when I have brought the car in for service and the service department has been excellent too. The finance department was easy to work with, no pressure and no problem that we financed through our credit union and had no interest in purchasing extended warranty.

JohnTrigger - Thanks for the info. You are a good online shopper. You got the best price I could find online. Rebecca - How about discount coupons for forum members? Or, maybe a door prize for the most interesting post of the week? :)

Rebecca - Should we be doing a master reset only if we are experiencing some sort of problem, or is this something we should be doing on a "regular" (how often?) basis?

And Nov 13, 2012 too.

[quote name="ceemax71" post="42875" UAV also means "unmanned aerial vehicle" but I don't think a C-Max will fly. :flyaway: That sounds like a challenge for our leading C-Max modifiers.

I had a flat on Sunday. I drove 6 miles home with donut spare on the right rear. Monday I drove 5 miles to the tire shop to get a new tire. I stayed below 40 mph with the donut in place - no issues and great gas mileage (approx 60 mpg). I have seen some posts where people had issued with traction control or brake noise when they had donut in the front.

The jack I have is 5-3/4 inches high in its lowest position. I think it would only be 3 inches high if it did not have an "extra" piece on top.

Good questions. I will take a photo and some measurements when I get my car back from the tire shop later today.

On my way from Durham to Hillsborough this morning my right rear tire went flat. I have no idea what I drove over. I didn't see anything, but it bounced the back of the car and left a 1.5cm (0.6 inch) wide divot in the tread. I suspect the tire is toast. I'll find out tomorrow. I have a donut spare which thankfully was in the car. Unfortunately, the jack I purchased (I think it is a Ford Escape jack) was too high to slide under the car with the tire completely deflated. I called AAA. A little over an hour later I was on my way home. The donut spare worked great. Driving home at less than 40 mph my return trip was at 60+ mpg. I need to get a lower profile jack.

Message #37 in this thread indicates there is a way for the dealer to turn this feature off. Has anyone had this done on their car? [From message #37] >>>Have the dealer look up special service message 4488: Jan 08 2014 4488 -2013 CMAX Disable All Windows Open (Global Open) Some customers may not want the Global Open Feature; which enables them to open all the vehicle windows by pressing and holding "unlock" button on the RKE transmitter. Global Open can be disabled using the IDS tool(version 88.01). Using IDS select Tool Box / Module Programming / Programmable Parameters / Car Configuration Parameter(s). Select Vehicle Configuration, Select Retrieve the Vehicle Configuration Data, Select Modify and Reinstate Vehicle Configuration Data, Select Global Open/Close, Select Global Open/Close Disabled. Performing this procedure is not a warrantable condition. >>>

What time of year or what temperature range calls for 0W20 and what calls for 5W20?

From ehow.com: What Is a Battery Rundown Protection Relay?As the name implies, a battery protection relay keeps the battery from becoming discharged. The relay prevents electrical accessories from draining energy by disrupting the power supply. The battery could be unintentionally depleted by an accessory device that was left on purposely, or by some malfunction that could keep a device powered up for an extended period. A timely response from a protection relay safeguards the battery and ensures that proper charge levels are maintained for engine cranking. Timers are triggered by various means to initiate function of the relay. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_12245983_battery-rundown-protection-relay.html#ixzz2yueOz3q6 I have noticed that if I turn the motor off and sit in my car listening to the radio that the radio turns itself off after about 10 minutes. Maybe that is an example of the run down protection in action. Apparently it does not always work or it does not protect against certain drains of energy from the battery. While looking for this info, I also found the T-Max Dual Battery System. Not a practical option for the C-Max, but interesting to see that it exists. See http://www.autoanything.com/car-batteries/69A6229A0A0.aspx " . . . No matter how much strain you put on your system, a backup power cell ensures you have the current to conquer any task. With the T-Max Dual Battery System, you can safely integrate an extra battery into your auto. Not only does it regulate the voltage across your system, but it also comes with a display that shows the health of your batteries in real-time. . . "

(Almost) Dr. Topher Please stay with us mostly non-plugin owners on this forum and join the ENERGI forum too. Your (Almost) Dr. title gives you some serious street cred. You will learn a lot here that applies to the ENERGI and I expect you will be able to provide a different perspective on your C-Max experience.

Scuba - Thanks for giving us hope during the ice (5 times in March in Durham) and snow filled winter.

HendersonD - Hooray!!!

Recall did show up for my SEL built in Nov 2012.

For more info see "RECALL 14C-03 seat back frame" thread started by ptjones yesterday. This affects c-max w build dates back to July 23, 2012.

Thanks for finding and posting this info. I wonder if the end of the build date range for c-max is incorrect - it says the end is May 28, 2013 and it also says that some 2014 c-max are affected.