ScubaDadMiami

There are only certain combinations available. You can pick the left half of the screen and the right half. Scroll through all available choices on each side before locking in your final combination. From what I recall, all options available on one half are not available on the other. Count me in the group that wishes there were more combinations available.

After a while, you learn the shortcuts for voice commands. You don't have to say the complete command, once you learn the structure. For example, you can just say "DESTINATION-STREET ADDRESS" without first saying "NAVIGATION." Next time, try "DESTINATION-MY HOME." You'll get it. Just keep doing it, and it will become faster and second nature. Look, I am not trying to justify the shortcomings of the product. I am just trying to tell you the easiest way to use it.

I found that 67.5 gets the 47 MPG on mine, too. In fact, you'll see that I find that the sweet spot for highway driving on long trips in this post.

15,000+ miles, took delivery May 2013. Only issue was that the Panoramic Roof closure would close but then "bounce" back partially opened. Replaced a part under warranty. Lifetime is 48.4 MPG.

My understanding is that this was the area emphasized when Ford considered the candidates.

IGregor, try it for a while. It's not so bad. You'll find that you will only rarely have to look up a contact's address while you are already on the road. Mostly, you'll be able to look up whatever address or location you wish before you leave your house, and then you can just use Voice Command before you hit the road. It's not perfect, but this will work until the patch gets done.

There are many common sense things for navigation that have long been resolved in the world of computers that are not included in Synch and MFT, or that are not yet done well. Other than having that big, beautiful screen with the turn by turn directions, your cell phone is likely (depends on what you have) best at integrating your contacts with navigation, at least currently. The cause for why this is so has been reported in various posts as follows. One reported factor was that it takes car manufacturers a number of years to plan before the build, and they can't always know about the technology to come, so they have problems in being able to use the latest and greatest in current model vehicles. Another reported factor concerns the manufacturers' respective alliances with various companies, such as Microsoft. A third stated issue was the manufacturers' instance on trying to do everything in-house while there are better experts in the computer-related components in the field. Whatever the cause, there are some definite limitations of the system. Given this situation, I find that Favorites are just good for things that you will remember by name. So, I only have ever bothered to save My Home. It is useful for setting My Home as the Destination from wherever you are located. Other than that, I don't play with this feature very much. Previous Destinations are useful for when you are on the road in a place that you will be for a while but not very long, such as on a vacation. Yes, if you stay long enough, the list starts to grow long enough that you start forgetting which place is which. It isn't perfect, that's for sure. For the present, here's what I've come to for a workable balance of convenience and features. In most instances, before departing, I use my cell phone to look up either a contact or the address of my destination. I start up, and I use voice control to set my destination. Usually, if I need to go somewhere that I have not searched for in advance, that will typically be some kind of business establishment, not someone from my contact list. In that instance, I'll give NAV a try. I'll use voice command to search for POI By Category or By Name. If that fails, I'll resort to pulling over to search with my phone, and then I use Voice Command to set the address as the Destination. It is very rare that I need to look up someone's address from my contact list after I am already on the road, so it has not been so bad waiting for that feature to come. I am glad to hear that Ford is working on being able to look up the addresses of Contacts to set as the Destination. That will be great!

I can't say how long it would need to drain to become an issue. On the other hand, you should check to see about getting your cell phone installed with a connection that shuts off when the car shuts down.

+1. With the right speed (city/country roads), climate (no A/C), traffic pattern (long trips without stopping) and road conditions (flat or wave), almost anyone can do it.

The rumors fly. Search to find a thread or two that speaks of all of these issues.

Unfortunately, you can't set the address as the destination. For navigating to addresses, even of those in your phone book, I use my phone to look up the address, and then I use voice command to set the destination in NAV. I understand that this is a weak option, but it seems the best and quickest, given the circumstances.

My check is dated July 21.

Nice!

If I am not mistaken, before the last update to either Android or Spotify [not sure which], when streaming music using Spotify, you would see nothing on the screen other than showing that you were connected and streaming through Bluetooth. I have recently noticed Album and Song Information showing in the Entertainment section of the main screen. I still don't see any album art. I am just not sure if this has been the case for a while without me noticing, or if this just started happening with the latest updates.

I also hated having to get the leather seats. Usually, car companies make regional packages that take things like hot summers into account. I ended up getting nice seat covers from Wet Okole added. They weren't cheap, but they are very well made and fit nicely. That's about the best I could do in the circumstances.

I can't think of a time that I have gone EV any higher than two bars.

Message sent.

I use A/C almost always. There are just some things I must have, and enjoying the comfort of A/C in the South Florida summer is one of them, for sure. :thumbsup: I have tried several methods to initially cool my cabin interior with the least negative impact on fuel economy. Among these, I have tried start-up with Climate on or off. I've tried start-up with Auto as the setting, and I have tried the manual setting. I've tried different combinations of open circuit or Recirc. I have started with low battery SOC and high. At the end of trying all of the various combinations, here is my conclusion: If you are lucky enough to set yourself up to start with a high SOC, that makes the biggest impact of all and gives you the most benefit, and this is even more important than which method you use to start the cooling your interior. On the other hand, to get the minimal fuel economy reduction from A/C start-up, there are some best practices to follow that involve the timing of when you make your first power-up of the A/C. Here are some examples. If you park your C-MAX outdoors in the heat, as you approach your C-MAX, hold down the button on the fob for long enough to first unlock the doors but then to next open the windows. At least this gets the first hottest air out as you enter and start your vehicle. If you like, you can start with nothing turned on, and you can use the high SOC to taxi out and make your first speed increase, which can quickly exchange some fresh air inside the cabin to somewhat cool it down before turning on the A/C at first fire-up of ICE. This will make Climate have to work less to cool the interior, which will lessen the initial higher draw period. [At this time, I point out that you get additional help by having tinted the windows and selected Oxford White paint color.] Close the windows to let the A/C kick in for final cooling during your first ICE burn. Five bars or less seems to be least impactful of draw, per the meter. Make final adjustment to blower, which seems to work well somewhere between three to five bars. At home, I park in a parking garage, which means that I have to taxi to and from my parking spot. I typically have my air conditioner turned on from my previous drive, Recirculate turned on, temperature set at 73-74F, and fan speed on at about three bars [since cooling in the shade is quick and easy]. If I am juiced up properly, by the time ICE makes its first burn, I am nearly up to speed with traffic, and my cabin is cool enough that there is not such a sustained high draw on the HVB. The initial cooling phase after start-up will be the time of the biggest draw on HVB, and then the draw comes to rest after it decreases after a few minutes. [Highest fan speed has slightly more impact than lower, but not by much.] Since ICE will be already running anyway for your first charge-up of the HVB as you hit the road, it really doesn't make that big of an impact to have the A/C make it's first big current draw at that time. The only real effect will be to make the first charge up of HVB take a little longer, which is the price of the first ICE warm up of the day, anyway. In the end, no matter which way I started the A/C, whether Auto or manual with Recirc, and even pretty much independent of temperature setting [within the expected comfort zone], the impact on fuel economy was about the same: higher initial draw followed by coming to rest at final draw. Timing the first ICE burn to your A/C really seems to help, and it seems to help more than does the method by which you initially bring your cabin to temperature.

I've only run premium, so I can't say. The main report I hear is about premium giving the C-MAX a little more pep. I use voice commands for almost everything. After I command "set as destination," this screen briefly comes up while NAV is making the calculation of route. I have a few seconds to decide to press one of the options. If I don't, it will choose the route by my previously set preference, such as fastest or Eco. Maybe we know each other. I graduated from Haddon Township High School.

I also have a Galaxy Note II, and I do a lot of streaming. I have the upgraded sound system. I also agree about it being worth how much it costs versus expense and aggravation of trying to upgrade after purchase. I used to do more podcasts than lately. I recall that I could use voice commands to start and stop, and then use the paddle to move forward or backward. I do not recall seeing podcast information displayed on the screen. For music, I typically stream Spotify. My only issue has been that album art and album/song information did not show on the screen. However, I just recently noticed that album, song and artist information now displays. I still do not see album art.

Welcome aboard! Let us know how your learning curve goes.

I am using 0W20 for the last 5000+ miles, and I am not seeing any performance enhancement.

On June 2, I left Miami Beach, Florida for a big summer road trip that would include attending my daughter’s Vermont wedding, seeing the wilderness of New England, and visiting with family in and around Philadelphia. All in all, I drove over 5,400 miles in a month and a half. Here are some highlights of my travels in my 2013 C-MAX Hybrid. Just before leaving on this long trip, I had the 10,000 mile scheduled service performed, even though my C-MAX really only had just over 9,000 miles on it. I asked for all tires to be inspected, rotated and balanced, and filled to 38 PSI. Additionally, I had the dealership use 0W20 oil for the oil change. Since I planned to be on the road for so long, I purchased the new A-5 NAV card update before making this trip. Not having a spare tire, I upped my AAA to their very top towing tier (200 miles) in addition to my already existing GEICO coverage and Ford’s 125,000 mile extended warranty and tire warranty. Oh, and I also carry a tire plug kit. Hopefully, all of this would see me through a plan that included a minimum of 4,000 miles of driving. As always, I was accompanied on this trip by my pooch, who travels in his doggie harness seatbelt, in the back seat of my C-MAX. To avoid crowding him in, I elect not to fold down either of the rear seats, which raises quite a challenge for fitting my gear into the small rear compartment. Luckily, advanced planning made the end result come out pretty well. Slowpoke did still have to deal with some soft items being on the split rear seat next to his space, but not in it. There was plenty of room for him to stretch out or to get to his water bowl. He is not too demanding, and he seemed satisfied with the outcome. [/url] On travel days, I averaged about seven or so hours a day of driving, stopping off in Jacksonville, Florida, Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Cherry Hill, New Jersey before arriving at the kids’ house in Somersworth, New Hampshire. On the road, I elected to stay in motels that had real kitchens in them, such as Extended Stay America or Candlewood Suites, allowing me to make good use of cooking appliances (such as my Vitamix) and two big coolers of home cooking brought with me in my C-MAX. This system kept my junk eating from road stops to a minimum, and the savings from the reduced food tab at least partially subsidized the extra cost for the room with the kitchen. The first questionable thing that happened in relation to my C-MAX was that I followed the onscreen directions of NAV rather than following signs for a bypass around Washington, D.C. traffic. Of course, I don’t know what would have happened had I followed the signs instead of obeying NAV. Nonetheless, on that day, I was stuck in some of the worst traffic of my entire trip. BTW, I went back south via a different route, and that was also with terrible traffic. So, maybe there is just no way to win in DC. Driving all the way from Miami Beach to New Hampshire, I had no real issues with my C-MAX. I did have one incident where I was playing with the screen and trying to do so many tasks at once that I did have to restart my C-MAX in order to reboot. Other than this one-time happening, Synch and NAV worked well for me for my entire road trip. The most serious incident of my trip happened just as I crossed the New Hampshire state line, only about 45 minutes from the end of the first part of my journey. The tire pressure warning lamp illuminated. I pulled to the side of the road, got out, took a look, and I saw that it was not like I had an actual flat tire or nearly so. I decided to chance making the last part of the trip before dealing with the tire. If I would need roadside assistance, I planned on doing the waiting while at the kids’ house rather than the side of the highway. After successfully arriving at my destination, the next day, I checked with a pressure gauge, and the tires were down all the way around, with one down to 34 PSI. Even allowing for going from a place where it was about 93F every day to a place where it is perhaps 83F, I think that the dealer did not fill the tires during the service, and that the cooling of the environment finally tipped the scale on the pressure warning. Anyway, I drove to an air pump, topped the tires, and they have been steady for the rest of the trip and since my return to Miami. I am not going to blame that issue on the car. Thank goodness it was not a puncture of some sort. While in New England, I drove through parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, through the White Mountains and the Green Mountains, and in areas with as much as a 15 percent grade. [/url] These drives brought me to places like Lake Champlain, where I rented a lakeside cabin during the week of my daughter’s wedding. [/url] [/url] They also took me to places where Slowpoke and I hiked mountain trails, wooded trails and where we canoed. [/url] [/url] Heading back south from New England, I stopped in for a week in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, where I grew up and where much of my family still resides. [/url] Here is a picture of me with a relative that bought his C-MAX because of my favorable experience. At the time that we met up, he was getting around 40 MPG. When we met up about a week later, he told me that, just by following one thing that I told him, he already was up to 45 MPG, a big improvement! [/url] On this trip, I found a particular shortcoming of NAV that, while not a big deal, is an annoyance. When you try to use voice command to instruct NAV to add a waypoint to your current route, NAV will allow you to search for the POI or tell it the address, but then you get a message about not being able to add the waypoint to your route by voice command. To add the desired waypoint, you have to use the screen to tap the calculate button. It’s just a little annoying extra step, but it’s one that I’d prefer not to have to make. Even with its shortcomings, I am pretty satisfied with Synch and NAV. This is now the second big road trip that I have made in my C-MAX, and NAV has worked quite well for me in most instances. On the other hand, allow me to take a minute to again curse the dead pedal in the C-MAX. As it is, I have all kinds of back problems and other ailments that make it very difficult for me to stay comfortable on long drives. So, putting that stupid pedal in this vehicle, and especially on the driver’s side, was a big mistake in the design of this car. Making the space for the driver’s legs is something that I would think should have had a lot more attention. To this day, I curse that dead pedal everytime that I get in my C-MAX! The final shot shows my numbers for this trip. It would be hard to describe any one kind of driving as an average for this trip. Certainly, there was lots and lots and lots of highway driving. On the highway, I drove pretty much whatever was the speed limit. However, where the speed limit was 70 MPH, I probably was on Eco Cruise at 67 MPH. I did two weeks of significant mountain driving through New England. In New Jersey/Philadelphia, I spent a week doing city driving. Most days were very hot, nearing or topping 90F degrees. I nearly always had the air conditioner turned on, set to 73-74F degrees. I used premium gasoline. [/url] Speaking of fuel costs, I cashed in points from my credit card to get a prepaid Visa card that I used to pay for several fill-ups. So, even though I was buying premium fuel for my C-MAX, I got so much of it for free that, when combined with the great fuel economy of the C-MAX, my travel fuel costs were still quite low. In that column, I can certainly attest to the great fuel economy of our cars!

Sounds like you will be joining the ranks soon enough.

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