CNCGeek

I have never experienced the loss of power steering with the problem I had seen backing up. Do you know if the engine was running, and did it seem to be struggling, or did all this happen in EV?

I hope your dealer can find the problem.

The EPA test just does not cut it with hybrids since the Prius has spoiled everyone with it's as good or better than EPA fuel economy. People don't think much when a non-hybrid cannot attain it's EPA fuel economy rating in the real world, but mpg is the HP/0-60/quarter mile yardstick for hybrids, and it has to attainable in the real world to stack up to the Prius. Since Ford targeted the Prius, I don't buy their explaination for the poorer than advertised real world fuel economy in the article - which is very un-Prius like. Right now they can get away with blaming drivers, but as the data stacks up, I don't think that will be realistic.

That said, I would have still bought it if they advertised 42mpg, since that is really good fuel economy, and the C-max works better for me than the Prius or V. 42-43mpg is really just 2 more fill ups every 10k miles anyway, which is 2 more than I should have to, but not huge deal. I am going to try the technique that Nick suggested which will hopefully bring things up a bit (it is close to how I normally drive though so I'm not expecting much).

Just to add a couple things - the X-plan pricing is before any incentives (so you get those too), also Ford limits the doc fees to something like $100 so if you live in a state where dealer gouge on those, it will save some more money. The dealer should also show you a print out with the x-plan price (they have to show it to you if you are qualified), but any dealer options are not going to be discounted and should be negotiated separately. They will tell you that they are not making much on the car which is probably true in comparison to the shakedown most of their customers receive, but they will get something, so don't feel like they are doing you a favor when it comes to negotiating the extras.

The lowest I have found for the Ford ESP warranty so far is www.andersonandkoch-ford-warranty.com - I passed since I doubt I will keep the car beyond a couple years. If you want to get out of the finance office quicker you could ask them to match the online quote.

Thanks for posting, but that really sucks. I'd suggest keeping a log of everything they tell you, when, and who is saying it - it may come in handy later. Hopefully Ford is taking problems like yours seriously so if it is some software problem they can address it.

You could probably get a loaner from the dealer if they need your car for a day or more. It is not reasonable for them to sell you a new car and have it end up in the shop 3 weeks later without at least providing a loner vehicle.

Wet Okole now has the pattern for the C-max. I loaned them my car today and ordered covers for all the seats. I will post pictures when they are installed (3-4 weeks).

Would you share the price for the covers?

I just checked their site and it looks like they offer heaters with the covers as an option, the prices appear reasonable too (for the heaters). The cover prices are steep, but it looks like a case of getting what is paid for more than being expensive.

The cheap-o covers I bought while I await some more quailty choices are airbag compatible. Most are, and will says so, but there are some that appear heavy duty which are not compatible (I think they were Dickies brand). IIRC there is an airbag label on the front seats.

I was a bit surprised to see the EV+ working with the SE (Base) no NAV, but it does. The article says that every SYNC equipped vehicle has a GPS built in. It has been pretty consistent also, a nice feature on a hybrid or EV.

 

In my experience, Ford dealers vary greatly in their service. Currently I have a wonderful dealer that does service on my car. My parents, who live in another state, can't find anyone to fix an oil leak in their Explorer after 2 weeks. Maybe http://www.dealerrater.com/ will help some?

Thanks for the link. There is no way I would take my car to the dealer I purchased from, but I found one which is not too far away and had received a very high rating.

I have been on the fence with regard to the warranty, since although I like the c-max, I don't think I will keep it more than a couple years. If I were going to keep it 7 years, I would get the ESP warranty since it is both a new vehicle and a gadget laden. There is just a lot to go wrong.

If you do buy - do not buy it from the dealer. No matter what kind of "deal" they suggest, they are very unlikely to match an online price - and if they will match it, you may want to re-evaluate the deal from ground up since dealers will pinch the copper off a penny before they would give it up.

This was one of the cheapest places I found when looking online for an ESP warranty (before I decided it was not for me)

http://andersonandkoch-ford-warranty.com

I've experienced this twice. Both times after starting new C Max and trying to reverse. Once was after an overnight sitting-the second today after an hour. The car finally lurched strongly in reverse which required sudden braking. Wondering if I need to wait longer in Ready Mode. My Prius occasionally lurched forward but never had reverse issues. Strange feeling to press the gas and have no reverse movement whatsoever. Has there been any response from dealers?

I've only seen the lurching a couple times when it seemed to be acting normally, but required a bit of pedal to get off it's butt - but was ready on the brake so it was not a big deal. The other times it made enough noise from the engine (without any movement) that it was clear something was not right so I just backed off and it did not move, then reset. I have not discussed the problem with my dealer since it is intermittent and I have not been able to document it. I did check for codes, but there were none. I think I'd have to get this on video to have a case with them.

I think it looks like a pregnant Prius. But then the Prius looks like a door stop (IMO). Like the grill though.

 

I believe the C-Max horsepower tends to cause less than EPA rated economy. When you drive a car without power even under full throttle the engine doesn't waste much fuel. FE is porportional to mass x linear acceleration = kinetic energy.

A vehicle such as the Prius is incapable of generating much linear acceleration so fuel economy is more reproducable and achievable.

 

http://www.physicsfo...ad.php?t=306809

Please send that to Ford (and cc the EPA) ;)

I'm really not unsatisfied with the C-max FE, but I think that the EPA numbers are a much bigger reach for the C-max vs the other hybrids I mentioned. Slapping a hybrid label on a car will automatically lead to a comparison with the Prius, and thats because the Prius has filled that roll pretty darn well, and delivered more than advertised for many owners*. The C-max (IMO) won't get that same reputation where it counts for a hybrid (mpg), but that's not being fair to the C-max because it is not the Prius (or the V).

*Yeah, CR is not the final word on real world mpg, but it is interesting that nearly all the cars tested did provide more than the advertised hwy mpg. I also didn't see where or if they have tested the c-max yet.

Hi Mike B., you are correct. I've observed the reconditioning just a couple times while driving. The first time I thought it was a bit odd that I could not get it into EV when the battery was over 50%, but it was soon clear that it was bringing the cells up to 100%. I have under 1500 miles on the car and I only witnessed this twice so far. The engine does work quite a bit harder with mpg usually around the 20's when it is charging while driving.

Hopefully the battery management system has been fully worked over by Ford, lithium ion is not new, but they are picky.

I just had the tire warning light pop up (solid), but the pressure in my tires is around 34psi (though I need to verify with a better gauge). None of the tires appears to be low, but I added a couple pounds for good measure and will get them to 38psi once I have a gauge I can trust. I still have to drive it around to see if it will reset.

According to the Vehicle Health Report I ran it says the following (in case somebody else runs into this):

Light Stays On: Check the tire pressure to ensure tires are properly inflated. After inflating your tires to the manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure, the vehicle must be driven for at least two minutes over 20 mph (32 km/h) before the light will turn off.

Flashes for about one minute then Stays On: The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) may not be able to detect or signal low tire pressure. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.

Awesome, I'm buying one. Thanks for posting the pics. I really like that the adhesive is placed along the edges so they won't easily get lifted if by chance something catches an edge.

Your install looks great too, I think this is better than the clear factory one. If I did not know and had to guess I'd think it was factory.

I don't seem to have any problems finding the key hole, and it is located in a position that you would have to bend a bit if you did have to sight on it (so simpler just to feel around if necessary).

If you want to go all pimp my ride with this, you could get a laser cut ring (check ebay) and then glue in some small LED's. Maybe use translucent acrylic or sand it so it will disperse the light more evenly.

 

 

Can you still find gas stations that do have 10% ethanol content? Every gas station I've filled up at now always have the disclaimer for the ethanol mix.

http://www.buyrealgas.com/

However by looking at that site it seems like I would burn more gas going to get a fill up than it would ever save taking the ~2mpg hit from an ethanol mix. I suspect this is because of the regulations in many areas which require seasonal blends or some other blended fuel. Here is a map showing the various regulations and the areas where they apply (it does not explain what the regs are though):

http://www.exxon.com/USA-English/GFM/Files/US_Gasoline_Map.pdf

I just use the "regular" gas and am at 42mpg average currently (indicated).

I've always had silver vehicles because I feel that silver ages the best but I'm ready to shake it up a bit with color. I think the Ruby Red is my favorite but while I like the color, it's not important enough for me to pay extra for so I'm aiming for the Ice Storm Metallic.

If you like silver, but want a color, the Ice Storm Metallic looks perfect.

This happened to me for the first time today. Going to lunch with temp in the mid 70's. Hit the start button, release the brake, and shift to R...nothing. I double checked to make certain the brake was released the display said ready to go and the transmission was in R, still nothing. I did not do anything other than wait to see what would happend and after about 10-15 seconds I heard a click and the C-Max starting moving backwards in EV mode. Battery levels were around 50%.

The click is interesting, it could have been a relay. Was the engine running when this occured? Do you recall if the engine turned off when it did begin to work?

If this happens again I will try waiting instead of shifting back to park or power cycling the car, and will report back if I hear the click - would be good to know where the click is from, back or front of the car.

Most of the time I had this occur it was after the car had been sitting overnight or for several hours. Once it happened after sitting maybe 20 minutes, but I think that may have been triggered by the e-brake being set and attempting to place it in reverse (the incident I described above). One thing which seems consistent is that the engine will be running when it occurs, and it has always occurred when starting in reverse.

I ordered the exact piece from ebay and I just got it yesterday. I'll install it this weekend. My first impressions are good. It's made of thick hard blick plastic that does bend much.

It shipped in a long 3.5 ft 1/4" thin box about 8" wide. It had a "DO NOT BEND" sticker and was delievered "Un-Bent".

The installation instructions seem fine and it comes with 2 alcohol prep pads for cleanning the bumper top.

I can give you more details regarding the installation and final look after I install it in on Saturday.

Jay

Thanks, it sounds like a winner. Do you think they provided enough of the 3M tape to keep it in place long term, and is it arranged around the edges of the panel?

Floor mats, cargo mat & seat covers will be crucial for me to get ASAP (dogs). But I might have to do the homemade route for awhile too.

The only bad thing about the entire floor mats is that it makes it much more cumbersome to access the floor storage compartments which I really like.

You could probably use the floor storage to keep emergency essentials or some tools which you hopefully would not need to access frequently. The Husky liners were mentioned before, but I did not see any for the C-max yet (they look better than the weather tech ones though). If you are interested in the wethertech digital fit liners, they have a form you can fill out which will let them know you are interested - just search for the c-max digital fit liners at the site and there will be a link to the form.

What I am doing in the mean time (since I can leave the back seats folded most of the time), is to use a couple $6 cargo blanket from Harbor Freight which I stitched together and turned into a liner. It also protects the doors and side trim panels in the back from my dog's nails and hair.

Thanks for posting. It gives me some mixed feelings about the way Ford is building these vehicles, but there are obviously competitive pressures driving them to do it this way.

I had been flashed by drivers a couple times in the past couple days. Initially I thought it was due to the angle of the road I was on, but last night I was on a level road and somebody flashed me so I knew my lights were not adjusted properly. I went through the adjustment proceedure in the manual pg 298 and set the height for (B) in the diagram to 31" and found that my lights had to go down over a turn on the adjustment screw, both were pointed too high. The adjustment is simple and nothing needs to be removed (just open the hood), but only the vertical alignment is adjustable - it is the yellow plastic cup on top of the headlamps that accepts a phillips screwdriver.

I could have asked the dealer to do this, but I am pretty fed up with them.

Thanks Spinner, great info!