SnowStorm

Welcome - glad for a new member! At almost 197k miles, still love our 2013 SE. Also (except for some problems) I enjoyed a Saab 99 we had years ago - fun to drive.

EV+ mode helps keep the ICE off at the end of a trip to help deplete the battery (its supposed to be better for the battery to sit with a lower state of charge). In your case, you could turn it off and see if that leaves enough charge for these short "trips".

Well, I haven't towed so can't advise you (did buy a hitch off a guy but never installed it yet), but I wonder about trailer brakes. I wouldn't expect trailers this light to have them but they should be a good safety addition since the total, I believe, will be over the GVWR of the car. Also curious as to what MPG you get towing?

Well, well, end of an era for Mad Max but hope the new one will be even better. Now, since I plan on running The Enterprise quite a while longer, I might out run you on total miles - but I'll never catch you on lifetime MPG!

I've had a number of dead 12V events in the past and once it did what you describe. Once "dead", the voltage can be very low, like 4 volts in my experience, and I can see a charger easily going into an overload condition if it doesn't have adequate current limiting. In my case. outside lights on the car were flashing and, IIRC, there was also a clicking sound. My charger is electronic and can be set to 2, 10 or 15 amps. I don't remember if I changed settings or what but things eventually settled down and the battery got charged. I suspect your theory is correct. Something is always drawing enough current (3 amps) to prevent charging. If the voltage goes up enough, other things turn on, more current is drawn from the charger, voltage drops and you get the oscillation. The sneaky thing about all this is that the battery can go way past "100% discharged" (below 10.5 volts) and the car may still "start" since it only needs to turn on some electronics and close the contacter to the HVB. I think the cutoff point is at least as low as 8 volts. Below that value the car won't start but the battery was "dead" long before. Keep a jump starter with you and use that to start the car from under the hood (they can put out a lot of current). Eventually, these repeated deep discharge events will weaken the battery to the point it won't pass the stress test, but until then, it will test OK.

By any chance, are you driving in 'L' instead of 'D' or using the hill assist function (button on left side of shifter)? I remember some nasty clunks when using these modes - especially 'L'. I never use 'L' anymore - better to just use the brakes!

There's a procedure for "re-training" the auto functions - read this thread. I've had to do some windows but not the roof so don't know if procedure is the same.

Thanks for links. I had seen the torque/angle type spec before but didn't know anything about it. Now I won't confuse TTY bolts with teletypewriters! (There really was a day before email and texts!) I won't mess with them anymore but I do wonder about #4 - it doesn't seem properly tightened (and its not TTY).

Old topic but still relevant! A relative bought a C-Max some time after we did - has driven it for years but just recently ran out of gas. He was able to EV to a gas station so is now saying he'll never buy anything but a hybrid! (Of course when SnowStorm gets that electric car, he'll never run out of gas!)

Changed oil and tried checking torque (reference +3's May 7 post): Can't get torque wrench on these Over 35 ft-lbs. Tried 50 and bolt started to turn so would assume its OK (have no past experience to know how much torque increases with a torque/angle tightening sequence). Over 59. Around 50 - bolt seemed to turn slightly but car wasn't on a lift and I couldn't get any more torque. Good thing is that after a year and 23k miles everything is spotless - not a drop of oil anywhere!

Considering that this unit is totally unlike a conventional automatic (it has no clutches, gear changes, sliding parts, etc.), I bet it could go 500k or more easily. A sensor or shaft seal could fail but the gears are always meshed and spinning on roller element bearings - nothing to really "wear out". My old one likely ran 50k miles after the shaft "failed" with all the teeth corners knocked off one gear, a huge grove worn in the housing and a hole clear through the case. Yet, the other bearings and gears were still almost perfect. Ford had a problem for sure, but I still say the transmission is one of the best features of the car. It never "shifts" (not even for reverse!); just smoothly and continually adjusts drive ratio as needed. You go up and down mountains like they're not even there. And you can shift between forward and reverse without stopping!

My 2013 SE transmission failed at 172k miles after making a faint noise for, maybe, 50k miles. My suggestions are: Listen for any strange sounds; either as described here or, in my case, a faint whirring sound around 35 mph in EV mode that would start and stop as I pressed and released the accelerator. For this test, don't accelerate hard enough to kick on the ICE. Check to see if the transmission fluid was changed at 150k miles as specified. If so, find out who did it and see if they can tell you the color of the old fluid. If it was quite black, there may be a bad transfer shaft which can wear away the aluminum on internal surfaces. If the fluid was still rather clear and reddish, then there is likely no wear happening. The problem is that I don't really know what the fluid looks like at 150k miles from a good transmission. Mine was quite black and new fluid is clear with a reddish color. Have it checked for fluid level and lack of any leakage per this TSB. If the above items are all good, then I would think you have a good chance of hitting 200k (no guarantees!). My belief is that the problem involves an abrupt failure where something slips out of place on the transfer shaft after which noises begin and parts start wearing out. If it never slips, then you don't have the problem. Its not like things are wearing out from day one.

No, haven't ruled out anything yet. I checked some of the bolts in +3's picture way back last year - didn't find any loose but will check again at next oil change (couple of weeks) with the torque specs.

I have what sounds like the exact same problem! First noticed maybe a thousand miles after transmission replacement - still there after 20k+ miles. I also had new rear rotors/pads done at the same time (to pass inspection) so some folks thought it might be associated with that. I don't think it does it on real light acceleration but, as you say, only at initial takeoff. Its not getting worse - could be better, or I've just gotten used to it. Would certainly like to know what it is as its a bit disconcerting thinking of something shifting around under there. I have some other posts about it but couldn't find them.

Some things to consider: Its not necessary, but if you really want to check things, get a compatible OBDII adapter and Forscan software ahead of time so you can scan all the modules for codes, check 12v battery age (below), etc. Search for Forscan on this site (Plus 3 Golfer has lots of informative posts) and check the Forscan site. Listen for any strange transmission sounds - lots of info on this forum. On the good side, Ford's warranty is for 100k miles (hybrid components) so if you aren't going to drive that much, you'll be covered for quite a while. Check the 12v battery (its in the back under the floor) for age and proper model. If its not the original type, it likely wasn't replaced by Ford so there's a good chance the 12v battery age parameter wasn't reset (some Ford dealers miss this step as well). If the age isn't reset, the 12v battery won't get charged properly. You can check and reset the age parameter with Forscan. If possible, make sure all the updates have been done. Make sure it has a recent inspection and, obviously, check tires, brakes and all the normal used car concerns. Is it coming from a Ford dealer? No way I would try to dissuade you. After 194k miles I still love our 2013 SE.

Oh so stylish... Now if its meant to offset the need for wearing a face mask inside the car, its in the wrong place! Or ... maybe ... the car has been sneezing and coughing?

Glad to hear its fixed! After all this trouble did anyone tell you the code?

Yes, for my 2013 Hybrid its in the owners manual under Brake-Shift Interlock. I'm assuming the Energi has it as well.

Really? My 2013 goes to 999.9 mpg. I wonder when that change happened and why - I see you have a 2016.

There was a TSB 15-0174 that described a sealant failure / fluid leak problem in 2013/14 models. Maybe the problem came back.

Yes, those and many more. Smart phone apps will let you see them as you drive.

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

Mine does it too unless its really cold outside, then I think it will stay on recirculate. Certain changes to air distribution will also kick it back to outside. It is annoying - hate it when marketing and/or programmer folks think they know more about how I want to operate my car than I do.

And If you disconnect the battery, make sure you first close all the windows or the auto-close feature may get messed up.

Wow! Sounds exactly like my car - see here and here (actually see whole topic). More recently I had Forscan connected and saw a code for a grounded microphone so maybe that's the culprit. I haven't gone after that issue yet. I just leave fuse 79 out.