ArizonaEnergi

Semi-dumb phone here: LG 420G flip-phone from TracFone. Phone cost $15 and annual cost is less than $100. Syncs with C-Max just fine, before and after 3.5.1.

One error in the otherwise good review, the "shelf" behind the rear seats as a result of the large battery is about 7", not a foot. While it makes taking a nap back there a little difficult, so far it hasn't been a big deal.

After surviving a New Mexico dust storm near Alamogordo.

I saw this comment on a Ford Explorer forum. Don't know if it works so if you have a non-Sony radio try at your own risk.

Like: Remote starting Dislike: Lack of storage nooks in front

It might dozens or hundreds out of 10s of thousands. Hard to say, but I and everyone else understand your frustration and anger. Keep us posted on your vehicle and the fixes they apply.

As I recall on the Honda Odyssey forum, people who got run-flat tires as an option or feature couldn't wait to replace them. They almost universally hated them.

Here's a guy providing a shipping service using his Prius to tow a small trailer. http://greentechnologytransport.com/ Apparently a lot of people with Prius' are towing light trailers, and some not so light, with them.

I got pretty good on our recent 3,000 mile trip at using the Eco cruise controls to slow down and speed up in traffic to avoid having to move my big foot in its big shoe. A hand accelerator/brake control might be a good option for us geezer types I'm thinking.

I've towed a 1,500# trailer with a Honda Element, and a 3,500# one with a Honda Odyssey, but both those vehicles have tow ratings to meet those weights. The C-Max doesn't, and the manual specifies "never tow a trailer with this vehicle". I don't know the specifics, but the calculations that go into determining the towing capacity must include horsepower, torque, transmission capabilities, cooling system, brake sizes, wheel sizes, frame strength, and vehicle load capacity. It may be this vehicle could have a towing rating, but Ford didn't want to offer that as a feature in a car this small. That said, a hitch can be added and a light, small trailer could possibly be towed safely and easily for short distances at low speeds. The Europe C-Max (non-hybrids, difference engines and trannys) are rated for towing, but they have a different drivetrain and possibly other strutural differences. Euro models towing capacity: http://www.config.ford.co.uk/fordconnection/multimedia/gbr_en/009/yyh/gbr_en009yyhmodelspc.htm The big question is do you really want to take a chance with a vehicle not rated to tow that is somewhat, or very, expensive to buy and to fix if something went horribly wrong? It would certainly void the warranty. If I had a need to tow a light trailer a small distance at street speeds I would probably do it.

I suspect that's due to some states and locales having not supplied accurate or up to date info to the mapping database system, whatever that is. As I mentioned, I found the shown speed limits in AZ to be amazingly accurate. New Mexico less so. When in doubt about what the SL actually is, I would go with the Nav reading.

Speaking of the navigation, I watched on our recent trip through AZ, NM, OK and CO and noticed the speed limit shown at the bottom of the screen along with the highway name was generally correct. In fact, when entering or leaving a town, where the speed limit starts ratching down then back up, the label usually changed exactly when I passed the speed sign on the road where it changed. (At least in AZ where I noticed this happening.)

It was one of those horrific scenes that tend to stay in the recesses of the mind forever.

Nice obscure movie reference!

If a dream, at least it wasn't: "REALLY? The battery in mine was dead this morning!!!

Actually, the easiest way is to say "weather".

There are horizontal groves inside the center console that allow a shelf to be inserted that neatly separates the compartment into two halves. If the length of the shelf is small enough, say 3" like the spray-painted black one, it can slide to the front to access things underneath. I cut the shelf from a piece of stiff plastic, commonly used for shower walls I believe. It's about 1/8" thick. The critical dimension is the width, which is 5 3/4". Notches in the rear are required to fit or slide it all the way to the front. If its the large version, shown in white, then a cutout for the 12v outlet is required. If smaller, it can be slid to the front to allow access to this outlet.

The pause screen control now seems to be working with my USB flashdrive containing MP3 audiobooks. However, if I go to say AM radio, then back to USB it starts playing immediately rather than staying paused, even though I have the setting set to "do not start automatically". No impact on my garage opener programming which was setup without problem, for both old openers and a new one that I had to push a button on to activate the process. BTW, my "Where Am I" shows my location at about 90' from the actual, if Google Maps can be relied upon for lat/long coordinates. I have navigation and a new GPSM.

I found groves on either side of the center console that allows a "sliding floor" to be inserted, effectively creating an upper level and allowing items underneath to be somewhat hidden. I cut a piece of plastic, of the type commonly used for shower walls, at 5 3/4" x 3". I orginally thought it would have to be bendable, but found that it went right into the groves by inserted it from the front. In this size you can also slide it forward to access whatever is underneath. I may refine it by cutting a notch for the 12v outlet. I also have painted one side flat black to make it somewhat invisible to casual glances. On the old Element forum there was a huge topic on "where do you hide your cookies". Well, this is where I will be hiding my Ruger LCP on long trips.

Many people have it. Here's some threads: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1422-installing-the-torklift-central-hitch/ and http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/topic/1078-hitches-curt-1-14-or-torklift-2/ I went out and measured my 2" one and from the bottom of the hitch "lip" to the ground it's 10". I haven't noticed any dip when I install my two-bike rack and bikes, but now that I have that measurement I will check it the next time I load it up (this week).

I did the cargo area lights using the 28 LEDs recommended above. Here's a picture of the old and new, and both new. I would say the light output is about the same, but the white LED much more vibrant and pleasant.

I assume you can indeed leave the car running, if a fob is left in it, but can it be locked? Haven't tested that or read about it.

Heated or cooled air comes out of a tube about 8" wide underneath each front seat for the back seat passengers. A small amount comes out if the climate control is set for dashboard outlets, but much more comes out if the foot outlet setting is selected. This outlet is going to be perfect for routing, with a small hose, cool air to our parrot's cage in the back seat when we go on trips. Also, during extended stops, the remote start feature will allow us to keep the beast cooled while we're in feeding ourselves at In-N-Out Burger, or its regional equivilent. Putting a 90 degree fitting on these would also help cool/heat ones seat bottoms if the back passengers are less important it would seem! Here's a prototype. I used a small drainage hose I had, and duct taped the rest of the vent closed. A lot of air can come out of that vent and I'll be looking for a larger hose, but it worked!

Great story, and very interesting. We took ours in at 7:30, came back at 3:30, and got it at 4:30. I get in and immediately get a SD Card error message. It had the A4 card, so they took the car back and an hour later said they needed to keep it overnight and off we went in a rental. Got home at 7PM. But here's the interesting part. When I was looking at the error message on the screen I noticed the top of the screen was showing a single "--" where the time + temp should have been. I think this meant that on mine too the tech had not updated the software to 3.5.1, but probably only did the firmware update. Clearly Ford techs need a firmware upgrade too!

I went in with about 16 miles of EV range and when I got it back it was on the hybrid battery display at about 50%. I don't know how much "idling" uses in battery power in an hour, but it is either a lot or they went driving around, Ferris Bueller style, for quite a few miles! As you can see, the list of installed software has greatly expanded in SyncMyRide after this update! And here's the summary of the second day of installation after I went to pick up the car on the first day and discovered the update wasn't working.