kc1174

Yep I know all that and never questioned the need for the compressor to run, just that it ran when the ac light was off, but this is a resurrected thread from February and I have since sold the C-Max.

Ignore everything I said above. Cheers.

As someone who switched from a 2013 C-Max to an Audi A3 TDI in February, all I can say is bollocks. Look it up lol At least I still have my gaspods :)

I haven't looked at the Passat or CC or Golf to compare, but to be honest it sounds like a gas engine. There is pretty good sound suppression in the A3 though. Not sure if the other VW's have it. Can only really tell it's a diesel when it's running and I have the hood up. Had a go in an RS7 the other week while mine was getting its first oil change and that's noisy for other reasons. Managed 44mpg in that on a 20 mile round trip, such is the effect on me after driving the C-Max and now the A3... 560hp V8 engine too :)

It appears to me that all technical help passed on from one user to another by virtue of say, a forum, is in effect passing on proprietary information. We're in effect copying Ford manuals and illegally reproducing them right here when someone asks what pin 15 is on connector C175E is. Half of this site therefore contains "pirated" material. Pin 15 is for the engine coolant sensor btw (oops).

Yep, it does have an EGR valve. I've read they can pack up after a lot of miles, but I have this VCDS OBD-II scan tool to diagnose or code and bypass it if need be. Being a car that's been out since 2012 in Europe, parts seem pretty easy to come by even though it's new to us. On carbon buildup, it seems to affect gas engines from what I've read. My lifetime mpg is going very well. Finding a decent Audi forum, less so.

Ta! :)

I'm happy enough with it. Only annoying thing is my C-Max is still sat there unsold at the Audi dealer... http://www.crownaudi.com/used-Tampa+Bay-2013-Ford-CMax+Hybrid-SE-1FADP5AU6DL502467 I told them - take a photo of the lifetime mpg showing 48. Nope. Also offered them to give whoever buys it my number so I can show them what's what. We'll see. It was sad to say bye to the C-Max. I will admit when I went back to reset the MFT (I forgot), that I felt bad it sitting there. Still do a bit. It's funny how bad in my experience Ford sales were/are at selling the car, which is why I offered the Audi dealer my services if needed. Trade in btw was $14k ish so it looks like they're trying to get rid. Anyway, on the Audi - I'm taking the same roads to from work and getting 48 before and now 54 after 1,000 miles. Managed 65 on a freak day with no traffic and tailwind. I have a photo I'll find. Lifetime is at 45.4 and going up and last 13.2 tank with 0 remaining was 645 miles. Trick is the S-tronic dual clutch thing where you get to 6th in manual around 40mph and use cruise a lot. My commute is mostly 45mph roads. Yep, it's costly to maintain but I have this Audi care thing where scheduled maintenance is prepaid to 45k and the warranty is a year longer.It costs more, but it's nice. Maybe if I had an SEL with Sony, I'd be less impressed with this but mine was an SE. This will sound odd, but I prefer MFT over the MMI Audi has. AC doesn't appear to affect mpg either, and Scangauge backs me up. Weird. Maybe it's the gaspods.. To be fair, if I based things on cost to buy, maintain and get good mpg, I'd get a Fiesta :) Overall I'm happy, I just wish they'd sell my C-Max and give it a good home...

Takes some getting used to - especially falling into the car vs. stepping into the C-Max. I got the driver's assistance package so lane warning and a flashing blind spot light if someone's in the next lane. The Fusion I found I could see out less than the Audi, especially the rear window. I miss being above everyone like in the C-Max but the view isn't too bad in this compared with the C-Max. I'm 6'0 and the Fusion seat wouldn't go high enough for me to be comfortable looking out vs. the C-Max and the A3. If the eTron A3 makes it here, or the Blumotion TDi or even the A1 TDi, I would definitely take a look if I was you. I felt bad leaving my C-Max. Saw it sat there when I went back to reset my MFT on Saturday.. Served me well and is a great car, I just saw the value vs the loan balance and figured it's time. Maybe in a few years Ford will revamp it and make it a bit more aerodynamical (and fix the 12v issues) and I'll take the plunge again. Fusion, not so much, and that Focus electric.. Unlikely. :)

Cheers! Yeah Audi's are basically squashed beetles, but the diesel engines aren't bad. Think they also do Passat or Jetta hybrids. Quality may not be the same as an Audi, but it's all VW. If they ever get round to the Blumotion here - that's definitely one to go for.

:) Yeah the rain sensing wipers are a bit odd - basically on what I've always known to be the intermittent setting. Wipes whenever it feels like it - and always on in fog.. Talking of which - rear fog lights! Missed those since moving from the UK 12 years ago. Repair bills can be high but I have a 4 yr 50k warranty and Audi care for the scheduled services for I think 50k miles for $800 so I think I'm good there. Plus they always give an Audi loaner when it's in the shop vs Enterprise :) Fill ups - agree diesel costs more but it's not far off what we were paying 6 months ago, so I'm good. For now! I think overall I feel more relaxed in the Audi than the C-Max. Don't think it's the comfort, just the ride and people don't ride my ass anymore like they did in the C-Max. The hybrid badge seemed to be a magnet for idiots to cut me off despite me doing the same speeds in this (with, I might add, less torque and horsepower in the Audi)! Those forums suck and it's all about VCDS and Can-bus hacks in there, which I'm not prepared to bother with. If it ain't broken, no need to fix it!

Okay, so it's not a hybrid and the only battery in it is, well the 12v, but I'm posting this here as I let my C-Max go last Monday and got one of these. My 2013 still had some value (trade in SE 15k miles with MFT - $15k) vs the loan balance, so I decided to get an Audi diesel. I was looking and a Fusion Energi titanium, but the Audi was less ($35k), even with a Ford X-Plan on the energi. First week with this - I'm getting the exact same mpg as I was getting babying the C-Max - 53mpg on both the Audi display and the Scangauge. Car only has 400 miles on it so it's not yet broken in either. And I'm just driving it like a car. I miss the C-max CVT and strangely MFT too, but don't miss the brakes ;) Anyway, I figured this was the best place to say bye and throw out there an alternative. Doubt it's a competing product per-se, but on FE, and cost for a nice interior, it's not too far off. Diesel costs more, but these engines last forever. The A3 has the same size gas tank as the C-Max, so if I break 600 miles, I'll see if I'm allowed to post it up ;) One thing I will miss is this forum though. Lots of help from everyone here. When there's issues and recalls, we're all in the same boat which is great too. Audi forums kind of suck. I have an unused oem cover and oddly a couple of headlights from when I swapped the originals out with some nice European ones, so I'll post them up in the forum sometime. Cheers, and I'll still be about seeing what's going on. Kevin

Thanks! I seem to have been playing it fast and loose with the SoC vs. kwh in my posts. I'll go back in and change kwh references to SoC. You're right about the battery gauge - the Scangauge II I use was probably the most useful thing I've bought for the C-Max, after tint. Thanks!

Hiya. Not sure why, but EV+ off does help on my 44 mile commute. Ran it with for 6 mos Jan to June last year, and since July it's been off. My trip is basically 2 or 3 mile 45/50mph stretches with lights in between and some stretches a bit longer. Great fun... Anyway, I think starting off with a good SoC gets me into a good rhythm where I'm cruising along while charging at 60 SoC, brake to 65 or 66 at the lights, then accelerate to 60 SoC - rinse and repeat. With less SoC at the start of the journey, it throws that whole SoC rhythm off if you know what I mean. EV off for me maybe helps because I'm driving trying to keep the SoC high, so using ICE more than maybe I should. Btw, I think EV+ was designed to inflate the trip mpg, so I think the engineers knew what they were doing ;) The way I guess I see it is - if we start a trip at 60 SoC and end at 60, and got 50mpg, that was a true 50 mpg. Start with 60 SoC and end at 40 - the mpg may be higher than 50, but that 20 is more use to me tomorrow. At least that's what I think. I dunno, I could be wrong :)

I'd like an EV mode "never, unless I'm slowing down or braking", or a "keep the blue bar just under the white bar" mode :)