alanstri

The rest of the story: I filed a complaint with the Missouri Attorney Generals' office. Within a week I received a call from FMC in Dearborn. After a couple of weeks of back and forth Ford agreed that the failure was covered by the warranty and I received full reimbursement -$6,000 - for the replacement transmission and $700 for rental car expenses.

Adrian, Sorry you don't understand the situation.... If anybody from Ford had offered an evaluation and explanation of how the determination was made it would be a different issue. The only diagnostics performed were listening to the noise and looking at the fluid. It has NOT been disassembled. I contacted the CSM on this forum twice (first time on 6/27) but have not received a response. I also have started the process with the BBB on their website as outlined in the warranty booklet. The response is "We will send you the forms to fill out and try to resolve all complaints within 40 days"

*********** Update************** I received an email today from Ford customer service manager Leah Shulga (still no "reply within 4 hours as her voice mail said) stating: "I have reviewed your case with the Service Manager, John, at Lou Fusz. It was determined that the transmission failure occurred due to improper flat towing. The dealer has reached out to Ford’s technical division on your behalf to assist in the case. Ford warranty covers manufacturer defects under the coverage period timeframe. The dealership determines coverage under Ford warranty. The current concern was deemed as damage rather than a manufacturer defect, in which case, it is not covered." Nobody has told me what I did that was "improper flat towing". The manual instructions have been followed. She suggested that I get a second opinion from another Ford dealer who might perform the repairs under warranty. HUH??? Now the dealer is the final arbiter of warranty claims!!! I don't know what recourse I have now, other than being told to pound sand... If a Ford rep is on this forum, I would appreciate a little guidance.

I received an email today from Ford customer service manager Leah Shulga (still no "reply within 4 hours as her voice mail said) stating: "I have reviewed your case with the Service Manager, John, at Lou Fusz. It was determined that the transmission failure occurred due to improper flat towing. The dealer has reached out to Ford’s technical division on your behalf to assist in the case. Ford warranty covers manufacturer defects under the coverage period timeframe. The dealership determines coverage under Ford warranty. The current concern was deemed as damage rather than a manufacturer defect, in which case, it is not covered." Nobody has told me what I did that was "improper flat towing". The manual instructions have been followed. She suggested that I get a second opinion from another Ford dealer who might perform the repairs under warranty. HUH??? Now the dealer is the final arbiter of warranty claims!!! I don't know what recourse I have now, other than being told to pound sand... If a Ford rep is on this forum, I would appreciate a little guidance.

Another transmission failure to add to the list: 2013 C-Max Hybrid VIN 1FADP5BUXDL529282 build date ~2/2013 47k miles grinding noise (car is at dealer's shop -I don't have access to door sticker) I special ordered car and accepted delivery 3/20/2013 See my thread on eCVT forum Trans failure - VERY unhappy with customer service. I flat tow behind my RV in accordance with the owners' manual but I think Ford wants to deny warranty claim based on this...

I have a 2013 C-Max SEL that I flat tow (in accordance with the Ford owners' manual) behind my motorhome. 2000 miles into an extended around the country trip the transmission started making grinding bearing noises. I have rented a car and purchased a tow dolly so that I could continue my trip. After taking it to a dealer in St. Louis on 6/27/16, they confirmed that it was transmission failure. They ran it while on the lift and localized the noise, and the fluid contained lots of metallic particles. On 7/7 the service advisor called me and said the dealer was not willing to replace the transmission under warranty because they may be stuck with a $6,000 bill if the factory disallowed the claim. They seemed to be concerned that because I was flat-towing, it could be a issue. The car is well within the term of the warranty (47k miles of the 80k). He suggested that I call the Ford customer care number 800-392-3673, which I did on 7/8. Customer care assigned me a case number and referred me to the regional service manager, Leah Shulga at 866-631-3788, x 53764 I have left numerous voice-mails since then, all following a recording that promised that someone would respond within 4 hours, even though Leah was out of the office last week. I also sent an email summarizing the situation, with only an automated "out of office" response. I have called the customer care number several more times, only to be transferred to the same voice mail... I was promised a call back by close-of-business yesterday, but did not receive one. When I called back yesterday afternoon (7/11), I was told that there was nothing else they could do and everyone had gone home for the day. I asked to talk to the supervisor or manager, and was told "she doesn't take live calls".??? Has anyone experienced this horrible lack of concern? Does anyone have a contact that could help cut through the automated phone system wall? Besides the obvious issues, I have had to modify my trip plan to be able to return to St. Louis at some point to reclaim my car. I live in Georgia, and had planned to travel to Canada and Alaska this summer, both of which are now on hold.

A continuation of the post above - and the trip... Day 1 of our return trip; I think I did exactly what I did on day 2 above. Drove almost 300 miles up the east coast of Florida through torrential rains, 7 hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror! Arrived at our over-night and had to un-hook (no pull-through available). Doors unlocked with a touch, started right up. I will pay closer attention in the AM.

Reporting back after my first 2 day, 800 mile tow (keyless entry) using my idea of defeating the mechanical shifter lock: :sad: Day 1: Didn't pay full attention to how I got to neutral. I had pressed the button, then shifted to neutral while disengaging the mechanical lock. I noticed the left display showed "shift to park". I got out, locked the door and towed about 7 hours, 400 miles. That afternoon, battery dead, had to unlock door with POS key (that's not point of sale) and jump start. Day 2: Started car & pulled into place to hook up; placed shifter in park with my foot on the brake; pressed the On/Off button without my foot on the brake with my door still closed. The left display showed the recap of mileage as usual. Pulled my little wire that defeats the mechanical shift lock and moved the shifter to neutral - The left display didn't change! Got out, locked the door, the dash faded to dark as it usually does. I'm thinking success this time. Towed another 6 hours, 300 miles to our destination. Ready to un-hook and the keyless entry doesn't work - battery dead again... Unless I learn something on my trip home later this week I will be joining the toad charge gang.

Second that... I was reviewing the owner's manual last light. The listings of fuses, relays etc. lists a transmission lube pump, but it notes that it is only for the Energi and not the Hybrid. I'm thinking with all the reports of towing with a dead battery, someone would have toasted a transmission by now if battery power was necessary to keep things from melting down. I will stay tuned, but I'm going to try towing with the key off & trans interlock manually overriden to get to "N". I have a 400 mile trip planed towards the end of next month - Will report back.

The owner's manual instructs that you leave the key in accessory position while towing. It does not speak to keyless system but one would assume that you would do the "touch button without your foot on the brake" thing. I think that this imposes enough drain to kill the battery over a days' time. This raises an interesting question - I manually defeated the shift interlock (by pulling off the shifter boot & moving the interlock lever). The car is free to roll and the steering is not locked. (I don't think the the C-Max locks the steering column at all.) All this, without having the ignition on at all. But if there is a trans lube pump that needs to run while being towed, my idea would not be too bright :( Does anyone from Ford visit this forum?

The second time it only takes 15 minutes... ;) I followed the instructions and cut it all away. I thought about that night and took it back apart the next day. Trim the top edge of the air duct back to the 2nd rib and notch for the socket mounts. I cut the ends and bottom lip off the energy absorbing panel to where it fits between the adapter brackets, and re-attached it with 4 heavy zip ties.

I had mine up on jack stands when I first tried this. The front wheels were free to steer and rotate. I don't think this car has a steering lock! I ran out of time last night, but I think a small hole at the front of the parking brake handle recess and a pull string or wire attached to the lever will do the trick.

I just got my C-Max last week - Ordered it for flat towing behind my Gulfstream Tourmaster, and just got through installing Roadmaster base plates for my All-Terrain tow-bar. Everything fit OK, but the instructions had me cutting away the energy absorbing panel and removing the air duct to the A/C condenser. With a little trimming, I was able to retain the air duct and replace the majority of the panel when I re-installed the bumper cover. I think Roadmaster needs to re-think their instructions. I also installed independent rear lights so I didn't have to interfere with the existing wiring. I searched for more info regarding the keyless entry & towing, and found this forum. After reading this thread, I am not thrilled with the dead battery issue. Even if it is easy to jump start, the battery is not a deep cycle battery and totally discharging repeatedly it will shorten its' life. This afternoon after I finished the installation, I tried this for my test tow of about 5 miles. After hooking up, I touched the start button to turn everything off and then got out and shut the door. I then re-entered the car and manually over-rode the shift lock to put it in neutral without touching the button or the brake pedal. My owner's manual showed removing the right side of the console to reach the shift interlock latch, but it didn't provide access. I pulled up on the shifter boot / trim plate around the shifter and it popped loose. Looking down into the opening, on the left side towards the rear of the opening there is a white plastic lever. If you press the start button, touching the brake pedal will cause this lever to move. If you manually move this lever to the rear, the button on the shifter can be depressed and the transmission can be shifted into neutral. I haven’t made a long trip, but it dash was dark, and it was not nagging me to put it in park. I tried this with the car on jack-stands, and the wheels were free to turn and steer.