CNCGeek

Only lawyers win when there is a class action lawsuit.

Agreed, for consumers class action lawsuits are a waste of time, better to use the small claims process if you feel the need to extract a reasonable settlement. 

The only possible win for consumers out of all this, would be manufacturers pushing for testing by the EPA which approaches real world conditions - given the state of things in this country, the most likely way that will happen is by pressure from industry lobbyists.  Based on the news, it is already happening with Ford talking with the EPA about the tests for hybrids.

Give the C-Max's camel-like ability to travel great distances without taking a drink, I nominate:

 

SPort Utility Dromedary, or SPUD for short.

 

If I take my time, maybe I can come up with an acronym that spells out TATER.

Awesome, I think you just created a new class of vehicle.

Sport utility potato

There is one more we should not leave out - Happy Robanukah!  It goes on for 6 and 1/2 weeks so there is still time to buy gifts.

I hope everyone has a safe and fuel efficient new year, with more mpg's than ghg's!

A wise man once said:

"I don't buy warranties often, but when I do, I choose the Ford ESP.  Stay well maintained my friends."

It is a good thing Ford chose to test the batteries in Phoenix which is probably the worst environment for both people and batteries alike.  I have to wonder what the secret sauce is that will keep something like this from happening.  Is it simply their arrangement for cooling the battery, or possibly because it is a hybrid and since most people would run the A/C anyway in those conditions, they limit the discharge on the pack until conditions are better for it's long term survival.  The only thing that the car has to use the battery for is backing up so maybe a strategy to help keep the pack in shape would be to back into parking spots in the hottest summer months so the car can be driven forward when the car heats up again.

According to an article I found, a test by the Phoenix Fire Department found this:

"When temperatures outside reach 100 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 138 degrees in five minutes and 150 in 15, even with a window partially open. Having the windows down even 1 inch causes only a slight temperature drop."

Thanks for the update, Scooter. And if any one does park on a hill, then I suggest using the hand brake before reversing to make sure the car is in gear and can move just as a precaution.

I thought this situation was exactly what the hill climb assist was for?  My understanding was that it applies the brakes until there is enough power to move the vehicle in the direction it needs to go in (and not roll downhill). 

See DashMat.  Their SuedeMat looks really good... 

Those look nice, thanks!

I've heard the Fusion's light normally comes on when the pressure drops to ~24 PSI in any tire - not sure if C-Max is the same - why did CNC's light come on at ~34, did it reset by itself ?

I added air and the TPMS light went off as they should after some driving.  I am not sure if they were really 34lbs or not (certainly not 24lbs though), could have been lower since the gauge I had at the time was not very accurate.  I've since added air twice (not a leak, just seemed to need a bit more), and will be equalizing the air pressure in all 4 tires this weekend with my handy-dandy new Craftsman tire gauge which has a bleeder to get the pressure just right.  Gonna set it to 38lbs I think.

I'll be standing outside with my baseball mitt hoping to catch the asteroid - guessing it would be an asteroid since they are God's wite-out.

My last vehicle was also in the same category and I moved on for similar reasons.  My driving has never been aggressive, and I have been pretty good on my brakes, so I don't feel that I have had to modify my driving too much - though I'm sure I have.  Probably the biggest change I notice is when I try the pulse and glide technique which takes some planning between lights and traffic in the city - to not waste energy and do it safely.  The feedback provided by the c-max is what will make most people adapt, even if it is imperceptible.  If the brake coach and instantaneous mpg were standard on even non-hybrids, fuel efficiency would likely improve.

I just bought a Thule rack second hand after deciding that a hitch was not for me (I don't want to have to explain it to the dealer if I am in, - especially if they are keeping track of such things).  I think the rack I purchaed was formerly on a Subaru, but the bars were the right length (53") and it had the traverse pillars so all I need is the fit kit.  I used the Thule fit tool online to check the vehicle it was off of, to make sure it should be the right size first, and then verified with the seller.  The 1683 fit kits were previously available on Amazon, but were sold out when I needed them, so I ordered them from ORS.  I also ordered some 3M clear bra material to cover the foot pad areas so they don't scratch up the roof - should be good practice to see if I want to tackle doing a clear bra on the front.

I've not installed the rack (waiting on the kit), but am so far pretty impressed with the Thule rack, it looks very solid and well designed.

This seems like something that does not really need to be an option.  The arrows are very unobtrusive, and I can't think of a reason not to show them, other than some minor confusion initially.

Osie, have you tried doing what ZHack suggested and just set the option on globally, to see if it disappears again?

Interesting article thanks for posting it.  Couple of the things I noted were the mention of their focus on weight savings (to improve fuel economy) and the decline in warranty payments.  I can see the result of the weight saving measures on the C-max with the lack of a jack and spare, plastic structures under the hood and even a missing transmission dipstick - and probably 100's of other things here and there.  It was also interesting to read about the decline in warranty claims, which is good for everyone.  However I'm a bit skeptical that the decline was entirely the result of quality improvement since there could be several ways to lower the warranty claims including selling extended warranties with higher deductables and being more aggressive in warranty claim denials.

I've also decided to forego panic in favor of patience.

I don't think anyone is panicking here.  Indeed if it were considered to be panic, I would hate to know what walking out ones door in the morning would be. :)

The SCC Super Z6 cable chains are the way to go. Low profile. I use them all the time with my Jags for a number of years on the 19" wheels with low profile tires and not much room in the wheel bay. Today I ordered a set for Max, same brand.

 

SZ137 is the model number, fits the 225/50-17 tires that are on all our CMaxs.

I'd be interested in what you think of the cable chains for the C-max.  The reviews are mostly positive on amazon, but most negative reviews mention fit problems, or failures possibly related to sizing.

I already talked to them  and they said ENERGI is an option not a separate car line. Fuelly is up to 40.6mpg and by the end of the month 47mpg. I have my ScanGuage installed so I can monitor water temp.,air intake temp, instantaneous mpg and RPM's. This will help fine tune my ideas. Stay tuned for further updates. :)  

They told me that they are going to add the category for the Energi soon, I don't see it there yet and they did not give a timeline - just soon.

Everyone expects real world for EPA tests, the only way to accomplish that is simulating real world conditions. My TDI will only vary about 2-3 mpg under the conditions I described.

True, and we'd need to further lower our expectations if there were a more realistic test (but it would certainly be better than what we have now). 

That's  great  and  go ahead and skew the numbers, there are people out there that are either driving to the store 2mi and back or driving 80mph on the fwy to get 31-33mpg average. What a diffence truck to CMAX. WOW! Both ends of MPG spectrium.

Maybe contact fuelly to request that they will an Energi category.  If Energi's are mixed with hybrids in the fuelly data, that will be a something that could be pointed out to explain higher numbers which may be legit hypermilers using the hybrid.

EDIT - I just emailed the to suggest splitting the C-max category into a c-max hybrid and c-max energi category.

Ford could add a feature to show average mpg based on the driver using the vehicle (similar to having a fob or key which sets your mirrors based on the driver), that would settle the debate.

I used it to fill my bike tires when I forgot my pump, did the job even if it was noisey, but thats expected.  The knob to set the goo or air was a bit tough to turn, I had to double check the manual to make sure I was not gonna set anything off.

On a side note, I ordered one of these the other day.  Hopefully it will help get a more accurate and even inflation on the tires.

Thats exactly what they need with the AC on. Then with hybrids run another test with temps in the 30's and the cabin climate set to 70 degrees.

The only way for a hybrid to get a good result with that type of test is if it was towing 400lbs of batteries or had a Mr. Fusion on board :)

You can look at the EPA MPG for the Energi to see that even with the unrealistic EPA testing, filling half the c-max with batteries will only get you so far on the highway.

The C-Max cannot be compared to other vehicles until a large number of vehicles have been on the road for a full year. Cold weather hurts mileage because of warmup time and because of winter blend gas. The average will come up once a lot of cars log higher summer mileage.

I agree (that the average will probably come up), there needs to be more data (especially on Fuelly and the EPA site) to hopefully get a better average. I suspect that over time the fuelly data will also show improved mpg since owners will likely adjust to the car even if they do not engage in all the hypermiling methods.

I disagree that the c-max cannot be compared to other vehicles - Ford already did that :D I get your point though, that the Prius comparison (in the real world) is really hard to make without a good amount of real world data which we do not have yet.

Got about 3 paragraphs into the article before the gag reflex kicked in.

Some of the articles take the low side of the numbers posted to make the case for the article while ignoring higher scores. The impressions they are trying to make is there is no one getting EPA and that is not true.

 

I look forward to the EPA retest, they already tested the Energi with 200lbs heavier batteries and still beat the Consumer Reports findings. I think they may lower the highway rating but most hybrids I have driven inflate that number. If you understand physics there is no possible way you can carry hybrid batteries, motors, and support systems to achieve the same economy as city driving. Most highway energy is expended overcoming rolling and wind resistance, diesel is your best option for pure highway driving. A gallon of diesel starts with 10% more energy by volume/weight than gasoline and the combustion process is more complete. My Passat TDI has electric heat in the cabin because the engine is so efficient there is little waste heat left over for climate control. VW's new EA288 TDI will be even 30% more efficient than the current models but you need it to make up for the fuel cost

I suspect that they were looking at the trend on the fuelly data, but I agree it can be cherry picked since there is no solid average yet - see below:

36 c-max being tracked by fuelly:

2 between 22-32 mpg

10 between 32-38 mpg

13 between 39-41 mpg

9 between 42-46 mpg

2 between 52-55 mpg

While there were 13 vehicles in the 39-41 mpg range, some owners are getting in the 50's. If they are looking at real world mpg though they should look at the 13 vehicles grouped in the middle of the chart.

I also hope the EPA re-tests the C-max, however I suspect they will just review the test data from Ford, and then put the report back on the shelf.