db22

Thank you!

It appears that Haynes does not have a manual for USA C Max vehicles. Does anyone know of a similar detailed manual for owners wishing to change filters, oil, etc themselves?

My 2015 C-Max Energi engine warning light is on most of the time. The car runs well most of the time, the only problem being a weird ICE miss/stutter/shut down at highway speed when the cruise control is on. If I pull over, shut the vehicle down, wait 30 seconds and then restart, the problem is gone. Sometimes all I need to do is turn off the cruise control and move the accelerator up and down a few times to speed up/slow down the vehicle. Also, the brake warning light and "ding" come on for no apparent reason, usually when the car has been sitting out in the sun and is hot, most often when the ICE starts immediately upon pressing the "start" button. The brakes operate normally, and the regenerative braking system seems to be functioning as it should.

I really like the car. Having driven a cramped 2006 Toyota Corolla until now, I am so impressed with the ergonomics. Ford did a great job with clear sight lines into adjacent lanes and to the rear. The seats are very comfortable, though very US-roomy (sized for big Americans). Steering, braking and acceleration are more than acceptable. The HVB takes up a fair amount of cargo space that I could have used, but I get to ride around locally in all-electric silence, 'til the engine kicks in. The vehicle has a big-car feel -- heavy doors that close with a solid "thunk", and a feeling of weight on the road. The CVT tranny is smooth and silent. My C-Max had nearly 150,000 mile on the odo when I got it. I wonder how long it will last before something critical and way too expensive fails, or until I am too old to drive. Until then, I have made my debut into the world of modern autos. I suppose that's better than tooling around in the old Toyota.

A couple of days ago I walked past a neighbor's house and saw someone hard at work on a recent Ford Escape. Turns out the car needed a new battery, and my neighbor had called a skilled friend to replace it. To change the battery in an Escape, you must remove the windshield wipers and the brake fluid reservoir. Several hours of careful disassembly and reassembly are required for an amateur owner to completed this job. Another example of a system engineered to encourage owners to give up and take the car to a professional for even minor service. The 12v battery on my C-Max is buried under the floor aft of the HVB, and looks difficult to remove. Oh boy.

Rock Auto has the right-side axle/CV joint assembly. A poster here described installation as a two-man job, and he probably had access to a lift. I will call around a see if there is a shop willing to install it if I provide the part. Thanks!

It's easy to blame the "damn gummint" for this sort of thing. But do we want the whole country to have Los Angeles-level air quality? I can think of two instances in my life where seat belts saved my bacon. Would Detroit have installed them if they hadn't been forced to do so? The "gummint" is certainly to blame for some things (gargantuan bureaucracy, a CYA leadership culture, too-cozy relations with the defense industry) but corporate greed is a major factor in cost-passing to consumers and embarassments like the current dumpster fire at Boeing. It has been my honor to know some government employees who were dedicated to their jobs and delivered terrific value for the taxpayer money that provided their pay -- meteorologists, air traffic controllers, and every career NCO I ever got to know (I worked for twenty years for a military contractor).

~148,000 on the odo. The noise is directional, coming from the front left, and the repair shop found the front left bearing to be failing. It's much louder in a right-hand turn or curve, and quiets in a left-hand turn or curve. So the wheel bearing diagnosis makes sense. Tires were new last fall -- higher-end General Tire radials.

Last week I bought a 2015 C-Max Energi. After a few highway miles, it became obvious that there was too much of what I thought might be tire noise. So I took it in to a local shop with a good reputation. After an hour's wait, I learned that the front driver's side wheel bearing was shot. Cost: ~$600.00. They also informed me that the passenger side CV joint boot was leaking grease. So replace the boot, right? Not a chance. The entire CV joint and axle is an "assembly" that must be replaced. 25 years ago any front-drive car that leaked grease from a CV boot just needed a new rubber CV boot. The 2015 C-Max needs an "assembly", cost: ~$700.00. I haven't bought a new car since the 1970s, and I usually drive ancient rattletraps. I bought the C-Max because I am now older than Methuselah and got tired of shifting a grabby 5-speed. The C-Max is comfy and gets great mileage. With a fully-charged HVB, I can do local errands without burning a drop of gasoline. But it looks like all that I save and more will be required to pay for routine repairs. So -- is there any good reason for this? Or is it just a way for the auto industry to shake down drivers, most of whom have no idea how to get by without a car? Your opinions will be much appreciated.

Thank you so much for the help! I suspected that the vertical post might be the negative terminal, but the manual photo isn't nearly as clear as the one you posted.

I tried to charge the 12v battery . . . the positive post is easy to find, but the owner's manual isn't clear as to where the negative post might be. There is nothing in the area pointed out in the manual that looks like a post to attach the negative lead. And -- where is the 12v battery located? I'll have to dig deeper into the manual. It's more like trying to get a new computer up and running than operating a car. Welcome to the 21st century, I guess.

Thank you, will do!

Good to see another 2015 buyer! Just brought my little red hybrid gumdrop home late last week. I hope your seller had both the key fobs for you -- my seller didn't inform me that he had misplaced one until he had the check in hand. Best of luck to you!

I happened to be driving my 18-year-old Toyota jalopy down a nearby county road when I spotted a maroon Ford compact for sale in a yard. Thinking it was a little Fiesta I might be able to afford, I stopped to check it out. The seller stepped out to talk about it: "2015 C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, flexible on price" (OMG -- only nine years old, might as well be brand-new!). By the end of the next day, I was cautiously pressing the accelerator to silently drive it home. By now, I have discovered many of the little surprises that come with a used car -- one missing fob (the seller promises he's looking for it), mysterious warning lights that come on inconsistently, the rear hatch latch that occasionally won't open, and a weird howl from the nearly-new General radial tires. But hey, I'm drivin' hybrid-style, going all of 15 miles on pure electrons before the ICE kicks in and starts burning dinosaur juice (didja catch that use of "ICE" to refer to the piston engine? Yes, I've been reading the forum while I waited for membership approval). So, I am extremely happy to have found this place to humbly (and occasionally stupidly) ask questions of the much more experienced C-Max drivers here. I have a few already waiting to be researched and/or written up. Thank you to all here who offer their knowledge and experience to newbies like me.