smcguire

WORKAROUND: When I first got my 2013 C-Max Hybrid, in the summer of 2015, the 12v system would regularly go dead, which was annoying as hell. As others have mentioned, bringing it to the dealer to have some TSB updates applied solved the problem, but in the meantime, I found a good workaround which I recommend to you. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a booster pack... which is basically a motorcycle battery in a plastic case, with built in booster cables. It charges from 110 volts, so I left it in my car, plugged into the electrical outlet. That meant that it was charging all the time the car was running, and any time the 12v system was dead, I could just pop the hood and hook that up to bring my c-max back to life. In a perfect world I wouldn't have had to do it in the first place, but the first time it saved me needing to get help to boost my car it was well worth the $125 or so that the booster pack cost me.

Update... I just bought another aftermarket key from a different online vendor, and my local dealer couldn't program my car to recognize the new one either!! :-( I can't be the only person on this forum who wanted another key for my C-Max... has anyone else purchased an aftermarket key and made it work? Part of me thinks I should try another dealer, but it cost me CAD $75 to have this one try... but then again, a new key from Ford is gonna run me CAD $300 or so. Opinions and suggestions are welcome.

Hi all, My first post after lurking on this site for a while. :-) I bought my 2013 C-Max in 2015, and really enjoy it... I often say that I don't understand why there aren't more of them out there. I got it with two wireless keys, and lost one not long ago. I noticed someone selling what appeared to be an identical remote key fob on Ebay, for a lot less than my dealer sells them for, so I decided to give it a shot. The listing said it worked for C-maxes including years prior to 2013 - when I believe they were first introduced to North America - so that might be a clue that this key is for European models, although I didn't think at the time there'd be a difference. My new fob looks identical to my remaining working one, and both transmit on 433 MHz ( the locksmith who cut the emergency key had a device that confirmed this), but my local dealer was unable to program it to work with my car. :-( I opened both keys up to have a look inside, and they look identical; the only difference is that the gray rectangular components (coils, I believe) in my working key are stamped with the number "228" and my new, non-working key's coils are stamped with the number "242". (See picture below, of an aftermarket key like the one I bought.) So, questions for the group: -Has anyone else bought an aftermarket key for their North American C-Max? Did it work? Where did you get it from? -Does anyone know what the 228/242 stamps on the coils mean? Do I need to find another key with "228" coils? Thanks in advance! Hopefully there's a picture above, showing the coils stamped with "242". The ones in my working key say "228". If the picture doesn't post correctly, it's at: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1EkjzjDvI8KJjSspjq6AgjXXa1.jpg