CNCGeek

I decided to pick up some cheap walmart seat covers and use them until some of the better quality covers become available. I purchased the ones in the pic below and they work, but are a bit small for the back. More pics of them installed, and a small review here.

I have noticed something weird twice when starting in reverse out of my garage. I cannot recall the exact circumstances of the first time it happened (except that the battery charge was low and the engine turned on at startup). The problem re-occurred this evening, when I started the car the engine started up becuase the battery was low (about 25-30% charge). When I put it in gear for reverse and let off the brake nothing happened (which I have found is typical - sometimes it has to get a tap on the gas before it starts moving), well I tapped the gas and nothing. Checked the brake, it was not set and this is a level driveway/garage. Tapped down some more and the engine clearly reved, but no movement, I also noticed the engine seemed to struggle a bit so I let off the gas. I shifted back to Park and then back to Reverse and gave it some gas, this time it did start to move. The ambient temps were in the upper 80's, low humidity (no rain today and it did not feel humid, I think it was less than 50%), and the car had been setting for a day, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. Has anyone else noted any weirdness like this?

While searching for something else I came across an interesting link to a forum discussing the HF35 hybrid transaxle in the C-Max with some general technical details of the transmission, motor and battery design. Discussion: http://www.fordinsid...ansaxle&p=53392 Interestingly the PDF linked there indicates that the DOE spent $62.5M with Ford paying the same in the developmemt of the transmission. The "electrification strategy" timeline shown in the doc however does justify the government investment IMHO (along with the >1200 Jobs in MI) - if Ford holds to it. Though it is just a broad outline with no exact dates shown.

I don't see any belts in there at all, not a single pulley in fact.

Got this info when I chatted with Syncmyride support (names changed to protect the innocent): Hxxxxx: The complimentary subscription is only available to C-Max vehicles that have the My Ford Touch system. By your vehicle having the basic SYNC system (My Ford), the complimentary subscription is not available to your vehicle. Not doubting that some people received the free offer on the SE base, but I'd say that it is not guaranteed without MFT. It is otherwise $60/yr, personaly I feel like that is probabaly a good deal if you don't have a smartphone, but otherwise I think there are other ways to get it done.

Thanks, I will have to look into this since the free 3 year offer was not listed when I registered with my vin. They only offered the regular sub, will definitely jump on the free offer though.

If you do find out please post back. I am also waiting for the weathertechs or something similar to become available.

Thats a pretty good number for the Energi, even if you down-rate it a bit for real world driving, but the numbers don't add up if you take the EPA estimates literally. The EPA says it will get 92mpg on the highway, and it has a 14 gal tank according to the manual (p348) so that should be a range of 1288mi! I suspect however that the real world mpg on a road trip without any stops to re-charge will be closer to the hybrid after the battery is discharged since there is only so much charge that will go back in from re-gen. I got almost 500mi on my first tank in the Hybrid, which is below the EPA measure, but even that will improve, if it were to get 47mpg consistently on the highway, the range could be over 630mi (47mpg x13.5gal) - my mileage on the first mini road trip was 40mpg average so that is still a respectable 540mi range - and that was out and back through some mountains so not the best case. It's cool that the Energi has a really good road trip range, but it's bigger strength would be a car for commuting anyway since it will get incredible fuel economy for a commute to work within it's EV range if it is juiced up beforehand.

My sync account does not show any offer for free sync services, but I have the base SE, and they want $60/year. I think it may require the nav option to get the free services. However, even the non-MFT sync does work with some Android and I-phone apps (Applink). I can control pandora running on my phone using the base sync system which is pretty cool, and there is an app called Scout for nav (which I have not really used). http://www.syncmyride.com/Own/Modules/FaqManagement/FaqDetail.aspx?faqId=552

Thanks for posting this, I found a few new things out. I did not see the temp display when I was setting mine up, so will check that out again. My SE only has the leaves and compass on the right side (no entertainment or phone options as shown in the video), I'd really prefer to see RMS and temp over there though.

Thats a cool idea, it does look a bit unfinished, but until dtorres posted the pic I would never have thought about it :D

Ouch, but it is probably due to dealers needing to have some on their lots. The only upside is that Ford will be actively curing any problems found with squeaks, leaks and rattles that are reported in the first batch.

Haha, thanks, but if you saw my sewing you would probably have a different opinion. I hoped to use a borrowed sewing machine, but found it was missing a part when I got it home.

Ford got back with me regarding the locations on the vehicle where it is safe to place a jack. This is what they said: <...>"I was advised by one of our Technical Subject Matter Experts that there are 4 lift points under the vehicle at each corner of the vehicle on the under body pinch welds. There is a picture of the location of these points in the workshop manual. However, we are unable to provide the picture to you. Their best recommendation is to either ask your local Ford dealer to show the location or the customer could purchase a copy of the workshop manual. Shop Manual is available from Helm at 1-800-782-4356 or atwww.helminc.com. If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We are more than happy to address them for you." Not the best answer in the world, but the last person I corresponded with got me the best answer he could from the techs. The diagram would have been better, but I am guessing they have a policy against giving out the service manual pages to just anybody. Hopefully the dealer can copy the page from the service manual for me to carry in the car. Missing the lift points in the owners manual is a big oversight by Ford IMHO, especially on a hybrid where you don't really want to guess where to place a jack - it's doubtful that the AAA guy would have that info handy in the case of a blowout. I am also still looking for a lightweight jack that will work with the C-Max, any suggestions?

I'll look into the husky liners, I just hope it is not a year before accessories become available for the C-max. In the mean time I am going to make my own cargo area cover.

Mine is the same.

Thanks, I'd be interested in knowing how it operates when you receive the C-max. I'm going to wait on ordering the accessory until I have more info on it.

I saw some cargo blankets at Harbor Freight today and thought of the sleeping bag idea so I picked a couple up. I am going to make a fitted liner so I can release the hound (to play) in the back of the C-max. I got most of the sewing done today, but now I have to wait on some plastic clips and stuff before I can finish it. http://www.mystoopidstuff.com/cheap-cargo-cover-for-a-ford-c-max.html

Thanks, after taking a closer look at the pics it looks like the mats are not the kind that cover the entire floor, like the weathertech liners. I am going to wait for those since I need to cover as much of the floor as possible.

Simple math, he needed more seats. Not many choices for plug-ins at this time either.

Cool, I was reading the manual to find some info on the cruise control (surprisingly I did not see it in the index). I last used mine a couple days ago and it worked pretty much as expected. One odd thing however is that I have to reset the ECO Cruise every time I use the car, and that is buried several screens into the menus. ECO mode now seems to be the default setting when I use the CC.

The fact that the C-max is built here (Ford's Wayne, Michigan) was one of the big reasons I bought one - the other reasons were the HP advantage over the Prius and more appealing design (though it is no beauty queen). My friend was suspect that it was built here since so many cars are now built either north or south of the border, happily not the C-max. I have read some stories online from Escape Hybrid owners needing replacement transmissions who were quoted north of $10k because the transmission would have to be built in Japan (by Aisin) and shipped over, and others who had problems getting the car to talk to replacement transmissions. Those problems may have been resolved later on, but by Ford bringing this in-house, it is a good move for their customers as well as the folks who will be employed to build them. This is especially true since they decided we don't need to check the fluid ourselves - no dipstick on the C-max.

Can't see the point of that. Additionally it will probably reduce the load capacity of the roof - my co-worker bought an Escape Titanium and was told that the load capacity would be reduced drastically (something like less than 100lbs) if he bought the pano roof. I'd also be suspect of the crash worthyness of a car with a glass roof. It's too bad they did not even offer the option of a traditional sunroof since there is plenty of headroom in the C-max.

I have the SE Base, and had been thinking about adding remote start, but I have a couple questions for anyone who ordered one with that feature from the factory: 1. I found 2 at ford's accessory site, one is square and does not seem to be bi-directional, while the more expensive one is (go figure): http://accessories.ford.com/vehicles/c-max/2013/electronics/remote-start.html Which one is the factory option remote start (bi-directional or not)? 2. Does the car shut off after some time limit - and can you set it? 3. Any other impressions of the system - is it worth it?

I was looking over the manual and noticed that there does not seem to be any info on where to place a jack. I emailed ford about this and hopefully they will provide some info. There are some areas which I suspect are the correct places to seat a jack, but hopefully Ford will verify it. Additionally I am looking for a compatible lightweight jack I can carry on road trips. I also read in the manual (pg 341) that once the goo is put in the tire, the TPMS and valve stem will need to be replaced by the dealer. I may have to pick up a spare to add to my road trip kit - any Ford people around here know the part number?