icanhazc-max

By "superceding" do you mean these? These are what I replaced my OEMs with as the price was right at the time I needed them. All specs looked equal aside from MAX PSI and an increase in load rating. They've been fine?

As an owner of an SEL, I can see how the rear hatch may have been designed with the power opening mechanism in the forefront of mind. Any time I've had to manually open the boot when it failed to open fully via the power function, it's always felt as if it wasn't engineered to endure the stress of pulling repeatedly. Curious to know if the handle is designed differently for the SE models and the experience of others without the power vs manual liftgate.

Mine's wonky like this too. I am in and out of the hatch often with work-related cargo. Whether by foot or fob, sometimes the hatch only pops unlocked, but doesn't actuate open. Likewise, sometimes it doesn't want to close and give the audible "beep beep beep", indicating obstruction or similar. With no obvious obstruction, I just try until it work or manually open/close. At which point, subsequent attempts to open/close via foot or fob work for the next few attempts until it then doesn't at some random point.

Vouching for the lack of grease in my 2013 fobs. Clean that crap out and see if the issue doesn't recur.

899XX and still rollin' without any noticeable issues with the notorious original trans... *knocking on wood and such* Very low-maintenance vehicle. Have only done the routine of oil & fluid changes, wiper replacements, tire rotation and replacement of the first set after about 70k. Still original brakes due to judicious/conservative driving style best suited to this type of vehicle.

Known issue. Search the forum. Temporarily resolved by pulling a fuse. Sorry your dealer fleeced you.

In my experience, a lot of structural metal behind plastic vanity pieces isn't treated with the same rust inhibitors as the main body itself. I had a Lexus LX470 prior that had rust on the metal all throughout the center console when I tore into it to remove the archaic CD changer, even in areas where, no, a beverage couldn't have permeated if spilled. Unless you see moisture puddled or dripping profusely from somewhere, I'd chalk it up as normal oxidation of untreated metal. These vehicles today aren't designed nor built to last decades.

Not via driver-accessible menus. Perhaps via ForScan at the Stealership is your best bet for these types of granular changes.

Any surprise after all these years that the deprecated Sync 2 is STILL a cludge? I herald the day proprietary, in-dash infotainment units are supplanted by dumb-terminal-esque tech for our portable/handheld devices. That's really all we need, but it's not in the be$t intere$t of the OEMs so... :shrug:

So... how does this make the car dangerous to drive?

Anything is possible given the money, time and efforts one wants to invest in any endeavor. How much money, time and effort is it worth to you? If/when the transmission in my '13 SEL (currently at 77k) starts to fail, I'll be promptly transitioning into another vehicle. As a depreciated asset, I'm not looking to lose any more than I've already put in -- purchase price + ROUTINE maintenance. It's a vehicle. A great one for what it is/was, but ultimately still a tool. Emotions shouldn't factor 'lest ye be a fool. WWSD - What Would Scotty [Kilmer] Do?

The only sensible option is cutting any losses and offloading it. What would one get for a 2013 SE with a bum transmission?

This. The new RAV4 Hybrid is also an appealing option, with impressive MPG, AWD and Toyota reliability. The Escape obviously won't be a hatchback/wagon like the C-MAX, but rather a crossover.

Indeed. An issue that is gaining more publicity as of late. The term "lifetime" being attributed to the expected/anticipated useful/supported life of an item, component or service. It's marketed in a way that buyers interpret the language as qualifying for the biological life of the buyer, not the aforementioned definition of the term. A bit of a bait and switch for the unwitting. Knowing the truth will at least give those knowledgeable the opportunity to factor the variable into their budget.

These use cases are what the OEMs need to pay attention to, giving us useful features and systems that we WANT and not just the status quo offerings. The software developers on the mobile side are innovating far more quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively, with the better devs incorporating feedback such as this into their offerings. While Google Maps, for one, will cache an entire route front gathered data whilst connected to a network, the ability to cache a much larger geographic area inclusive of waypoints, etc. is sorely needed, especially with data stores on devices doubling every successive generation or two. +1 for the ODBII software also available on smartphones. No justification for why ForScan couldn't have been an "app" available for SYNC systems. Yet another compartmentalized money-grab by the Manufacturers and Stealerships, but I've digrressed beyond the scope of this thread. Hope some have found my experience, knowledge and perspective useful and empowering.