grege

Finally broke down and went the DIY route to install new brake pads and rotors on our 2017 energi and 2018 hybrid. Purchased DFC kits from RockAuto and all went well. Installed "coated" rotors on my wife's car and standard non-coated daily driver rotors on mine, but installed DFC's "5,000" brake pads on both. Will see how rotor differences stack up over time (i.e. coated vs. non-coated). Greg

Our 2018 cmax does that on occasion. The teflon tape is worth trying. There is a "breather hole" in our cap, so not too surprising. Greg

Hopefully just a cranky fuel pump but could be transmission bearing noise. Try to load a 30 second audio clip with noise for better guidance. Otherwise, drive it until it breaks. Greg

2017 energi cmax tires cupping- First, our 2018 Michelin energy tires cupped and now our 2017's tires are cupping. Michelin's suck! Tires on both vehicles have been rotated, but tires have proven noisier and more problematic over time. May not be ideal, but I'll try the "house-brand" NTB tires and see how those do; I've been running those on our minivan for 5 years with zero problems. Michelin tires I've tried thus far have been poor quality. Greg

2018 titanium - noticing moisture stains forming inside the cabin above the passenger-side upper windshield corner. My guess is it's a small/slow windshield seal leak that I will monitor to confirm. Windshield is original stock and never replaced or even chipped (yet). Has anyone else witnessed something like this and what is recommended for best way to repair? Reseal the OEM glass or replace all I wonder...??? And cost you've seen for this? I'm guessing without any chips/damage, geico will not cover under comprehensive coverage, but...there's always a hammer nearby... Thanks, Greg

Been using a dash camera for a few years in our 2018 cmax and recently, the camera died (or so I thought). Turns out the 20amp cigarette lighter was the culprit, not the dash camera ! Apparently, the dash camera lighter power cord insert unscrewed at the tip and shorted out the socket. If yours stops working, look for loose parts in the cigarette lighter first and then check your fuse. One owner had a button fall into their lighter, which shorted theirs. Good luck, Greg

Thanks for the info. Not looking forward to having this recall fixed, but far worse things have happened. Thanks !!! Greg

Just changed the cabin and engine air filters on both our cmaxes. As routine, I change both filters annually (although every two years seems more than adequate). Glad I did change all 4 filters, though, since one our engines sucked up something akin to a baseball-sized cottonball mouse nest (which the engine air filter trapped). Recommend to others to at least check theirs annually. To me, if you're gonna bother checking, probably worth it to simply change it at that time. Good luck... Greg

Happy to report the 19.5mm lug socket worked perfectly. There were still 3 lug nuts that were almost too swollen, but a little patience and voila, all lug nuts replaced. POS ford nuts no more. Greg

Happy to report I've removed the cap !!! Got fed up enough and said F-it, it's either coming off or I'm breaking it off. Finally popped it off with some aggression and then added silicone grease around cap o-ring and oh-what-a-difference-that-made. I was fully prepared to install a new coolant tank, but no need for that yet... Greg

As with most builds, it's completely hit and miss. Own 2 cmaxes (2017 and 2018) and both have had early problems (before reaching 36,000 miles), including all sway bar links replaced on both, transmission replaced on one, 4 wheel bearings replaced, half shaft, rotors, many misaligned seams and creaking noises, and all have swollen lug nuts. Love the way both drive, but repairs are premature and reflect poor build quality. Our 2017 rear bearings sound like those are going bad...again with still only 38,000 miles on that one. Greg

Just replaced all the swollen lug nuts on our 2018 cmax and need to do the same on our 2017 cmax. Ridiculous. Standard 19mm/3/4" lug wrenches don't fit anymore, so I purchased a 19.5mm socket to remove the swollen lugs. Two piece lug nuts suck !!! Greg

My immediate reaction is similar to fbov's - sway bar links quite likely. Both our cmaxes suffered from those and were replaced. Greg

Thanks for the replies. It's the factory alarm (not aftermarket) and all info I found was consistent with what you folks reported. Thanks again, Greg

2018 cmax titanium. Is there a simple way to deactivate the cmax alarm? First time auto train this year and we've read that it's recommended you deactivate your car alarm due to train shaking possibly triggering alarm and draining the battery. Thanks for any help! Greg

I've not gotten it off yet since I was afraid I was going to snap something. I'll try again when/if the coolant level drops significantly. Just annoying because it came off fine before the coolant was changed when the transmission was replaced. Now the cap alignment is off and it now lacks the "loose" feel when unscrewed. I expect I'll be replacing the coolant tank and cap before long. Greg

Just received a text yesterday (12/17/2021) about our 2017 energi cmax related to the 21B09 recall. If affected, I"m hoping this equates to being 100% covered by Ford for all, but we'll see... Greg

2018 titanium cmax and I can loosen the coolant reservoir cap, but the *(&^%$#@! thing will not come off. Seems to spin loose and then stops and will not budge anymore or lift up/off. Prior to this, my wife's 2017 energi cap and my 2018 caps were always difficult, but never had a problem ultimately removing either. Our 2018 cmax had the tranny replaced and the coolant along with it, so ford possibly dorked some cap alignment since it no longer perfectly"faces front" like it used to do (it's close, but not quite right). Any recommendations for removing this POS? Thanks! Greg

I believe the "standard" recommendation has been 1/4 turn past "hand-tight". That never seemed adequate to me, so I've been known to tighten until it bottoms out metal-on-metal; not recommending that, but more than 1/4 seems necessary. Greg

Bill, That's weird. Have not seen that on either of our '17/'18 cmaxes using motrocraft FL910s filters (which use flat/broad o-rings). Greg

After some brief research...ford switched to a yellow (greenish) coolant in 2020 that is "backwards compatible" with ford orange. So, I'll simply add my leftover orange coolant as necessary and not sweat it. First day driving car with new transmission (metal shavings found within original cvt from wearing bearings) and it's quieter, but mileage has not improved, so suspect the newer goodyear maxlife tires are to blame for that (was hoping the grenading tranny was partly responsible). If you want better mileage, do not use goodyear maxlife tires. Greg

New transmission installed along with two new rear hubs (agaIn). While I know coolant color doesn't matter, it's still disturbing to see green coolant now mixed in with my original ford orange coolant with the new transmission. That, plus the swollen lug nuts requiring two more to be replaced today adds to the chaos. Brakes are rusting and noisy, but functional. Anyone have any rotors/pads they'd recommend? Been eyeing up PowerStop Geomet-coated CRK6397 rotors to see if those actually do rust less. Thanks, Greg

Update: first dealer threw parts at the car and noises got slightly worse, so took car to another Ford dealer and...transmission is toast at 35,000 miles. Great. May be fixed by late September. Still not a fan of CVTs... Greg

2018 titanium since new and I'd swear my cvt is one of the original HF35s!!! Meaning at 36,000 miles, there are low rumbling/growling noises emanating from it especially when coasting. Ford said it was the half shaft and replaced that. Nope, guess again. That noise is sometimes overrun by brake rotor scraping noises that only get worse, so will likely replace rotors and pads before to much more time passes. Greg

Thanks for the response. Not surprised about the greater tread depth for the "max life" given they claim an 85,000 mile warranty. Tracking mileage daily, so... day 1: 50 mpg day 2: 51 mpg day 3: 53 mpg I do expect some tire "bedding"/wear will improve mileage, but doubt I'll reach Michelin energy numbers of 59-60 for my usual commute, but we'll see... Greg