ArizonaEnergi

Thank you for that additional information. I will try the m4a format, and a different USB drive, and see if I can get a pause to stick. I also need to see if the music I have in the top USB drive will pause, as perhaps it has a problem with the bottom USB input where my audiobooks drive is located.

Well, it all depends on what their taxable income is. If it's high enough that they are making quarterly estimated tax payments then they could reduce each of them by 1/4 of the credit, or possibly reduce an earlier one or two by more to advance the benefit of the credit. Testing that via TurboTax or one of the others could determine how much each payment could be reduced to avoid a penalty. So probably not a complete early benefit in their case, but possibly some!

Nice analysis, although depending upon withholding or quarterly payment opportunties, the tax credit could be "taken" sooner avoiding the need to do a present value I think. Being a retiree, I see no need for a 240v charger.

It's beginning to look to me as if the problem is a bad batch of GPSM devices. I'm on 3.1.3 and the dealer confirmed I already had the software from the TSB 13.1.11 installed. Build date 12/20/12. The floating remains and now I'm thinking I'll go back in with the reported info on the GPMS and get it replaced. It's annoying to have to educate the dealer on this problem. My video on the problem:

The C-Max sold 3,769 units in March, with 9,677 for the quarter. So, maybe 40,000 for the year. Not bad, but I'd like to see it higher to insure the survival of the product line. (I'm a former Element owner, may it RIP.)

Thank you for that detailed explanation. That will be very useful in showing the tech!

No. I wanted to document the condition so I could show the tech in order to proceed with the GPMS or other solutions. However, I will probably wait a few weeks to see if 3.5.1 arrives before going back for another few hours at the dealership. I would like to know if those who have gotten a new GPMS, whatever that is, have software version 3.1.3. or 3.5.1.

I uploaded an example of the GPS tracking problem. Hello Ford, are you paying attention?

This is what I've determined in a short test and what the video will show. My GPS location lags behind my true location. If I take a 90d turn without stopping the GPS location icon will turn, but because it was behind me it will now be parallel to the road I am on, indeed moving over houses. However, if I have to stop before turning, the GPS will make the turn too as it has time to catch up. Here's a typical example - my car is where the yellow arrow is, while the GPS had been showing me on the road to the left and then jumped off to drive through the houses. And indeed pictures might do, but I think some YouTube videos and a wide distribution might be more effective in getting Ford's attention so they can speed up release of the software that may fix this, software that has been on production vehicles for nearly two months now.

Were you able to pause the song, turn off the car, and it resume in the same place when you started the car? This is the sequence I am unable to do successfully.

I was making a video yesterday of the GPS tracking error in my CMax with 3.1.3 software, and wanted to show how inaccurate the Ford GPS is by comparing it with my $150 Garmin, so I tried to attached it to the semi-smooth dash area in front of the CD player, but it fell off within a few seconds. So I ended up just holding it with semi-poor results. Wouldn't it have been nice if Ford made that area really smooth to hold suction cup devices! I plan to post my video on YouTube and it will be the subject of another thread, but here's a picture showing the about 30-50 foot lag error in the Ford GPS verses reality, and the Garmin. I was stopped at the intersection of the two two-lane roads.

No, the orginal-adopters version does not have that nifty graphic, nor the combination time-temperature at the top, nor the mp3 pause functionality, nor, I suspect, an accurate GPS system. We gave Ford all our money months ago and we want the nifty stuff now!

Riddley, I'm glad to hear it works on your CMax as that gives me hope for my SEL Energi! What version of the software is yours running? 3.1.3 or 3.5.1? Mine is the old 3.1.3 that is still waiting on the update and I suspect this is the source of this problem.

More like a high-end sandwhich bar with really good chocolate chip cookies! I'm just happy that the money I paid for the "Desert Protection Package" actually went to something of value for me!

I'm in the Tucson area if you want to drive down! But what I noticed this time was a very specific tracking error that was exactly the same error that I saw a few days earlier at the same location driving the same route. I also don't see this error, I believe, when I'm just driving with the Nav with no destination entered. I'm going to ramp up and get this documented (being retired helps in doing this) but I will probably wait until the new Sync/Nav software is released before bringing it back to the dealer because I'm thinking its a map data error of some sort, and not a GPS error. Stay tuned. BTW, the two hours+ spent at the dealer wasn't an entire waste. The Tech guy gave us coupons for $15 worth of food at their cafe and we got a car wash that was worth $5!

Everyone that has the keyless system should be aware that there is a way to exploit it to open a locked car, and even drive it off. At most risk are cars parked outside next to one's home where the key fob inside is relatively near. I could also see this happening in some business locations. Here's an article and video showing it happening: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/04/high-tech-thiefs-use-new-gadget-to-gain-keyless-access-to-vehicles-in-long-beach/ Basically, this is done by having extended range loop antennas that find the key fob and unlock the car. Most thefts are a few yards away from where the key fob is (inside the house). The car is “tricked” into “thinking” that the fob is closer. A examination of the process is described in this paper: eprint.iacr.org/2010/332.pdf Prevention may involve keeping the fob in a metallic container such as offered here: http://www.keyvaletinc.com/keyvalet/keyFob/ A friend wrapped his up in aluminum foil and that blocked the signal from allowing his Lexus to be unlocked. I park inside a garage so I am not concerned about this, but if you don't you might want to learn more about it. I don't know if Ford or any other car maker has a way to prevent this at this time, but if anyone has more information it would be interesting to hear.

Took mine in for this update today as my Nav has been showing me driving about 150' off and mostly parallel to where I am on some segments of the route we commonly take to our home. The tech guy knew nothing about it but he got someone to print it out and so we spent two hours watching Gator Hunter on TV (actually reading books) while they had the car. The Service Advisor finally got me and said "Good news. You're already updated!". Yes, I already had that version, so it refused to re-install when the service guy tried to. I gave him a ride for a few miles and sure enough it worked perfectly, but on our drive home, and at, I believe, exactly the same place it always does it, and in exactly the same way as it has done before, it malfunctioned and showed me off the main road driving through peoples' houses. So I'm thinking this is a mapping error with the coordinates for that road segment somehow screwed up, rather than an electronic error with the GPS receiver etc. My plan is to use the Nav every time we go out, and see if the error is indeed reproduceable. If so, I'm going to record it and post it on YouTube so that the service people (and the rest of the world) can view it and know what exactly is happening.

I went in today to have TSB 13-3-11 installed (post that story in that thread) and asked the tech guy about the 3.5.1 update and he said he didn't know when it was coming, but he had tried to install it using copies he had in a couple of vehicles and it failed. So he thought it was requiring some extra work at Ford to make it installable in the older Hybrids. And now it looks like I will need that update for fix my Nav problem as 13-3-11 didn't do it. More on that elsewhere.

It is tinted too, but the windshield is behind it in that picture so it looks lighter. Here's another picture and you can see the tint in this one.

I finally got a halfway decent picture of my 35% - 5% tinting job done by the dealer's sub-contractor.

I've driven to California many, many times in my various Arizona heavy tinted cars and have never been ticketed. I would recommend not worrying about that issue, and get whatever your state allows or less and enjoy it. We're at 35% front, 5% back, and like it very much.

Here are the posts under the hood. The Positive has a red cover, here removed, and the negative is just a metal post.

I think it would be useful to know what everyone's 12 volt battery voltage is after the car has not been run for awhile, such as first thing in the morning or several hours after using it. I am seeing 12.4, which is below the optimum of 12.6, but perhaps it's somewhat normal for the C-Max? Let's find out! General instructions (open to refining) 1. Measure before driving the car, or several hours after driving it to eliminate the charging impact. 2. Measure from one of the 12-volt outlets, or the jumping connections under the hood. 3. If measuring inside the car, allow the various circuits and light that are activated by opening the door to go off before recording the voltage. 4. If measuring under the hood, leave it unlatched the night before to get access without triggering the interior circuits.

Ran another set of voltage tests today. Opening the door and measuring from the 12v outlet is not the optimum method because the various lights and electronics puts a fluctuating impact on the voltage. Mine started out at 11.9 then went to 12.2 after 10 seconds, and the 11.9 when I opened the door again, finally stabilizing at 12.4v. Measuring from the jump points under the hood is easier, and the calculation of any voltage drop to the battery at the rear of the car shows a 12.0 reading at the battery might be 11.98v under the hood, assuming 10AWG wire. Close enough for the convenence. http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html?material=copper&wiresize=3.277&voltage=12&phase=dc&noofconductor=1&distance=10&distanceunit=feet&amperes=1&x=62&y=13 I ran the car EV for 5 minutes and it showed a 14.5v charging voltage, so that seems to be working. I then let it sit for an hour and the voltage returned to 12.4v. So I put a battery charger on it which showed 12.5v and 75% charged. After 10 minutes a 8amps it was fully charged according to the charger, but measuring it after 3 hours shows the voltage back down to 12.4. So, while the battery has enough power to run the HV relay and start the car, it clearly is not maintaining a full charge. When I take the car in next week for the NAV service bulletin fix, I will bring this up and have them check the battery and see about getting a new one.

I think I'm going to measure battery voltage every morning and post the results and see if others can post theirs too. As a preview, I measured 12.0v this morning, and then started it with the voltage jumping to 14.3 for a few seconds then dropping to 13.8v while the engine ran. After a minute I shut if off and it read 12.2v, but that may have just been temporary. I also checked the final reading at the jumpstart connection with another voltmeter and it was the same. A weekly charge may be a very good idea, especially as a test to see if the battery will hold it overnight!