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Is the AC used to cool the battery? Would I ever see this problem if I never used the AC to cool the passenger compartment?

Thanks...and great information!

On 7/25/2020 at 10:05 AM, LoricG1 said:

This is probably a dumb question - but is there some reason Ford dealerships would be avoiding servicing a 2013 cmax hybrid SEL? 
 

I can’t get any of my local Ford dealerships to call me back or respond to emails about scheduling service for an Advancetrac warning. Tried calling today and when I went through the prompts to connect to the service department - I  could heard the phone being picked up and then was promptly hung up on. I haven’t had any kind of exchange or contact with these dealerships prior or anything. 
 

I’m at a loss. Can I just bring this issue to most corner shops and have it fixed reasonably? 

I bought a 2016 used from a dealer, and they don't even want to call me back for service. I have to say that Covid has messed everything up.....my salesman was laid off....but why the dealership does not want to speak with me, I am not sure. (They owed me  sale repair and never did it....I think they know they screwed up)

7 hours ago, Carrie said:

This is Carrie. I have my car purchase narrowed down to 2016 CMax Hybrid, 62,000 miles vs. 2015 Toyota Prius, same mileage. The only advantage to the CMax is it's more fun to drive. My brother owned the CMax Hybrid and he is dead set against it. He had nothing but trouble. There was a knocking sound, he said the engine was loud. Did he have a lemon, or is this a problem? Thanks!

 

2016 was the first year that the CMAX actually had very good reliability.....at least with respect to the transmission, which is a high cost fix. I have a 2016 and have had it for about 7 or 8 months now and it has been great. My big complaint is the radio / audio system.....and particularly bluetooth pairing.....it is unreliable and you had better get used to pulling the fuse to get it back.

I don't know much about the Prius. If you buy the CMAX, drive it into the ground because the trade-in values are not so high. It is an abandoned car line and the Prius is not.....so if you ever plan on trading, go with the Prius.....in fact, you should be able to get the CMAX for a far better price than the PRIUS even as they sit today.

On 6/13/2020 at 9:38 PM, PewPewMedic said:

New member here. 
 

so I’m probably going to get flamed here but. My car I like it this was. Dropped around 3-4mpg hwy but I’m not a purist. Keeping the miles off the truck while I drive 870 mile round trip to work and back each week. 
2013 Cmax Energi 22k when purchased a few months back now sitting at 34k 

Welcome to the forum. I was a new member about maybe 10 months ago and I found wonderful information on my 2016 car and lots of people who are  happy to answer questions. (and plenty of answers to my question in the prior forum posts that you can just search through)

Welcome aboard!

22 hours ago, stratosurfer said:

All,

My daughter needs a car and I will be hanging on my to my 2013 for at least another year and 50K more miles. If anyone is selling a 2013-2015 that the HF35 has been replaced no matter how many miles I am willing to discuss.

Thanks

Mark

Why not consider a 2016, post transmission fix? I ask because it is not clear to me that every transmission that was "replaced" was done properly or through a dealer where it might have the benefit of the "new" fixes. I bet some were just replaced with transmissions from junk yard same year wrecks which might just be transmissions that have not hit their day in the sun.

Also, I bet there are folks who went in and "fixed one themselves", which might actually be better, but how do you judge that?

Just curious what your thinking.

-Quentin

On 3/9/2020 at 1:41 PM, kyledamron1 said:

The thing about Fuelly is that it will include the diesel and gas models as well as the hybrid/plug-in variants. It doesn't separate them into different categories.

 

Here is the filter that pulled out the 717 2.0L 4-Cyl ELECTRIC/GAS......which still looks like a 40MPG car (on average) to me.

1 hour ago, dang10010 said:

$5000 with 158,xxx at a dealer, 'm hoping the battery would get me a good 15+ miles, that'd cover my small commute to work and maybe somehow the transmission has already been replaced under warranty, I'll check with Ford tomorrow. I'll be sure to listen for that transmission whine if I test drive. I'm hoping with the age and miles maybe the big stuff has already been replaced, a man can dream. Besides the trans, anything else I should check for?

I assume when you say dealer, you mean Ford dealer. I suspect they would not sell a car they didn't feel good about. The Ford dealer that sold me my 2016 also had a 2013, and they elected to sell that one through their Kia dealership. I think they knew the potential issues with it and even though it was good enough to sell at a dealer, it would be far better for a problem with a Ford to come back to a Kia used car dealer....they would not be expected to have the leverage with Ford and it would just be a straight "whatever portion of the factory warranty is left)

The dealer should have insights into all the major work done on it....especially if there was a transmission. If that was done, make sure it had a newer one put in.....you know, one made after Aug 15, 2015. If it was an earlier one, I am not sure lightning really can't strike twice.

Also...obviously with cars of high mileage, all the typical wear stuff should be looked at.....I hear the steering rack is expensive on these cars, but it is electric, so probably has nothing to leak. But looking for leaks and weird suspension sounds and feelings as you drive.....also make sure the plugs have been changed lately...and filters. A lot of stuff is not straight forward to do, so you want it to be as nuisance free as possible.

50 minutes ago, jmcgliss said:

All Ford needed to do since 2015 is refer people to Fuelly.com. Graphs clearly show many people getting high miles per gallon in real-world conditions. Every make of hybrid will show a bell-shaped mileage curve based on driver usage, correct?  Educating the consumer would have helped overcome the 2013 setbacks.

I know what you are saying, but I don't see incredible numbers on Fuelly for the CMAX.....don't get me wrong, they are good....but what I see is basically a 40MPG car with outliers on both sides. Yes, it is possible to get 50MPG, but in very specific situations, which is how I interpret the graph below. Oh, and this is what I seem to get when the weather is not that cold.

BTW: My car does not register more than 99.9MPG, so some of those shown here over that are clearly Energi just driving around in all EV mode....which means very short trips, which is very a-typical and probably nothing like the EPA testing.

Here is a Honda Insight for a comparison:

Yes, the CMAX is a bigger car...so it makes sense. But I don't see the high mileage showing up on Fuelly.com.

7 hours ago, fbov said:

FWIW, my first tank in the Escape went 500 miles (37.3 MPG). The second is looking like 550 miles, the only changes being 91E0 fuel and Eco mode as soon as I remember to press the button twice.

What do you mean "press it twice"? Is that different from the CMAX? I only pushed it once, and never again. (So far)

-Quentin

4 hours ago, SnowStorm said:

Forscan is it.  Go to the Forscan site and also do a search on this forum - especially posts by Plus 3 Golfer.

Will Forscan display battery state of charge (SOC) and thing like battery temperature?  I would like to watch these things as I drive....I find the resolution of the dash displays a bit coarse.

4 hours ago, Plus 3 Golfer said:

Ford did promote it well (the reason I test drove it) early on - the performance both power (fun to drive) and fuel economy of the C-Max beating the Prius heavily on TV in fall 2012 (see sample video below).   Problem was owners and especially reviewers couldn't get 47 mpg.  Ford's defense was basically this in Dec. 2012: https://www.mlive.com/auto/2012/12/ford_not_shying_away_from_mpg.html  Even knowing I wouldn't get 47 mpg, after my test drive buying the C-Max was an easy decision over the Prius.

 

 

Wow...I have NEVER seen those commercials, but then I never really watch TV. My perspective comes from my telling people about the 2016 I bought a few months ago, and not a single person has even heard of the car.....I am amazed! So I guess I assumed it was not promoted.....if it was, it clearly wasn't able to post into the mind of any of the people I know. (Literally....no one I have told knows about the car)

-Quentin

I see that the CMAX wheel specification is 7Jx17 ET55. The ET55 refers to a 55mm offset. (I forget when the J refers to) 

Anyways, I bought 7x17 ET40 wheels to mount snows on, and I wonder if the 40mm wheels will be OK on the CMAX?

I understand the 15mm difference will mean that stick "out" almost an extra 0.6 inches. Any thoughts on if that will that interfere with the fender metal or some part of the wheel well?

-Quentin 

On 3/2/2020 at 4:52 PM, fbov said:

Toyota treats Prius like a brand, not a car model that can disappear.

Ford treated C-Max like a cash grab that went south when the EPA issues broke. Remember how well they promoted it? I think we saw 1 or 2 ads.... Up to three now for the Escape... base car. 

 

Frank

This I agree with......I don't think Ford promoted it well. I was NOT a hybrid buyer back in 2013 because I thought they were too expensive and the extra complexity would make them less reliable than an uber small 4-cyl which would get decent mileage. (I still feel that way but the CMAX I bought was so cheap) But what I remember is not really knowing about the CMAX......I don't think Ford promoted it very much, and I think you saw the same.

-Quentin

1 hour ago, raadsel said:

 

One other issue, that had nothing to do with Ford, was that gas prices tumbled (and have stayed low) around a year after the C-Max were released. With gas prices in some locations down to $1.50/gallon, hybrids in general were not selling, not only the C-Max.

I know what you are talking about, but the resale value of just about any Prius is right up there....so gas prices can't be the answer. Honda's Insight is also selling at higher prices, even though they tend to have an oil consumption problem in a couple of years because of defective piston rings. (Again, I don't think most people know about that)

So yes....lower gas prices affect prices, but I would think it would have a similar affect across all high fuel economy cars.

I was trying to add some  fuel additive and I pouted it into the capless fuel door and it seemed to fill up a small cavity in there and then start flowing out over the outside of the car. I then thought there was some sort of "inner door" that required a longer nozzle, so I pulled the gas can filler tube off my 5 gallon can and used it as sort of a funnel....but I guess that wasn't long enough ether and the gas line cleaner just came out again.

Anything special I need to do? What am I missing?

Thanks,

-Quentin

On 2/16/2020 at 4:42 PM, James said:

I have had the same problem 3 times with the radio not turning off which drains the battery.  Now Ford is replacing the radio which is under my extended waranty.  Will this fix the problem?

Radio is now out of stock and may take 3 months to get one.  

This is the dumbest thing I have heard.....I had a radio / SYNC problem where something went catatonic and at first Bluetooth radio seemed to be dead, (that took the car battery being unplugged because fuse 97 didn't cut it) and then a day later, SYNC did not work, and at least the Fuse 97 fixed that.

This is all very important considering how important it is to keep the 12V battery up to charge.

People have asked why Ford no longer makes the car....there are a lot of dumb things like this that seem to exist, and maybe word gets around. (Who wants to be nickle and dime'd by their dealer)

On 2/20/2020 at 5:33 PM, Ctgriffi said:

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll start by running some Techron through and making sure the plugs are torqued appropriately. It the code continues, I'll probably start looking at O2 sensors (upstream/downstream) as well as the fuel injectors themselves.

I know this isn't something anyone asked for, but I am a Seafoam used and knew nothing about Techron.....so I searched and found an interesting YOURTUBE video that I thought others might find interesting too:
 

On 2/27/2020 at 2:39 PM, Briang72 said:

We have a 2013 Cmax we got from my parents who don’t drive anymore. We have an electric vehicle that we use a 30amp 240v charge with. Can that be used on the 2013 cmax. Have not been able to find anything on that. 

Is it an Energi or just a Hybrid version? If it is an Energi, the trunk lid badge will say Energi.

You can also tell by the charge port on the driver side fender:

I have a CMAX Hybrid, which has no port there.

As for compatibility with level 2 (240v) chargers, they are standardized in the USA around the J1772 EV plug.

Finally.....one other thing to realize is that the "charger" for all cars is not on the wall unit that you plus into the car. It is actually built into the car. So the charger on an Energi is only 3.3K Watts which is not a very high speed charge rate. The car will be throttled to that rate no matter which charger you attach it to.

I hope this is helpful,

-Quentin

On 2/28/2020 at 5:15 PM, ptjones said:

It's been a month since I've posted on here. I filled up today for $2.339 for Premium at BJ's Newnan, GA  and got 49.6 mpg actual fuelly.com mpg. With temps here in 40's to 50's*F with some rain. 

 I usually see 2 mpg loss in mpg's in the rain. This time of the year it is hard to get the ICE up to operating temps of above 202*F even on the Fwy with the Grill Covers on and City driving you can't even get close.

 

Paul

Paul,

This is one of the most valuable posts on this site. There are so many, but this one was the one I found so useful right off since fuel economy was one of the main reasons I looked at the CMAX. But I have to say the think I love about a Hybrid vs a pure Electric car (I had a Honda Fit EV) is that while you can drive it "carefully" to get MPG, and can also drive it as you "need" to say get to work on time or even in the coldest weather without fear of incredible range anxiety. The Hybrid auto is a lot more like the car a non-hybrid person is used to.

Even so, learning the secrets to squeezing out MPG is something most Hybrid drivers would love to know....so this thread, and your video (linked to below) are absolutely top notch for learning the techniques for this car:

I post it again so people looking for it might find it more easily.

On 2/28/2020 at 11:39 PM, Buggs1a said:

So the air stays inside when the windshield vents are not on. What gives?

I  think this is standard on many cars, I can think of two reasons.....first, they might use the vent at the windshield as the "input" for the recirculate. But even more important, I think most cars turn on the AC a little to dehumidify the air pointed at the windshield so that if the windshield is cold it does not frost or fog up there.

Causing frost or fog on the windshield would be a safety issue, so they dehumidify the air when it is pushed onto the windshield.

On 2/29/2020 at 6:03 AM, jbird8675309 said:

Vehicle sold for 6k.  Very happy with that.  Glad to sell it.  I Did like the concept fun car to drive and was decent on fuel economy.  Had alot going for it just wasn't that big enough hit on sales.

Congrats on selling it. It is indeed a nice car, and sadly an unloved one....and this is why prices are depressed when compared with other Hybrid autos.

I would like to say it is because of the early Transmission reliability, but I don't find many people who even know this issue existed (beyond the owners who were burned by it) and so it must be something else.

As a Ford stock holder, it bugs me that the company was not able to effectively market a car with such great utility.

13 hours ago, Roger Eastman said:

Just saw the reply from ptjones in an earlier thread.  I''ll give that a try. Thanks.

I will post the instructions from that post here so others searching can find it more directly:

It's not the center console screen. Rather...

1. Turn the car on.

2. Using the left-hand set of buttons in the steering wheel, press left until you can't go any more screens left.

3. Go down to Settings, and select Settings.

4. Go down to Tire Mobility Kit, and select it.

5. Change the reminder timing on the Tire Mobility Kit. Options on my car are 1 through 4 years.

It had been set to "1" so I set it for "2", backed out of the menu. Powered the car off then back on, and the warning no longer appeared. I then went back into the menu and set it back to "1" year. The entire kit had been replaced under warranty when the pressure gauge failed. I travel with a full-size spare when I take long road trips; otherwise, I call my insurance company who sends a tech.

On 2/26/2020 at 10:17 AM, AbuDia said:

I'm sure that ford is not telling the truth. 'cause as far as I know, even models up to 2017 and 2018 had problems with the gearbox.. same problem and same bearings are changed!!!

 

I am a little surprised by this. Do you know people or even posts that show this to be the case?

I'd love to see what their specific problem was since I have a 2016 myself.

9 hours ago, Plus 3 Golfer said:

Mass. is one of them.  I think you can go to Ford website and check your eligibility. 

https://www.myfordtouchclassaction.com/

Nope...only for folks who bought before a date in 2013.....not on the car, but the buyer. (I am a recent buyer)

Thanks though.....I might still speak to my dealer. (They still owe me a mirror)

3 minutes ago, Plus 3 Golfer said:

 I have 3.08 installed and the latest version is 3.10 which is available for dealer free install for states that were in the Sync / MFT class action lawsuit.  

Where can I find that list of states....I wonder if Massachusetts is one of them, and if not, I wonder if I can just travel to one of those states? (Or do I need to be registered in the state?)

Thanks,

-Quentin