C-MaxJaxon

Page 183 of the Owners Manual says why EV mode is disabled at high speed: "Why does my engine never shut down above 60 mph (96 km/h)? The engine is required to turn on above this speed to protect the transmission hardware. (For C-MAX Energi vehicles, you can travel up to 85 mph [137 km/h] in EV mode.)" I thought the lower final drive ratio in the Energi was to improve acceleration with the extra battery weight.

No long road trips yet, but I've driven mine 3-4 hours in a day and it was very comfortable. The ride is quiet and smooth and the seat is super comfortable.

The difference in annual fuel cost between 40 and 47 mpg is under $200 per year if you drive less than 15K miles. Hardly worth worrying about. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/savemoney.shtml

I've had the hatch do this a few times. I have to open and slam the hatch to get the lights to go out.

All car manufacturers have a certain number of lemons. When you sell thousands of vehicles that are each made up of tens of thousands of parts that are sourced from countless suppliers around the world, it's a minor miracle when nothing goes wrong.

On my first long distance drive on the interstate at 65-70 mph, I averaged 39 going out and 41 coming back. My overall average is down to 45 now.

The manual says 12 months or 10K miles. One sales guy at the dealership recommended the first oil change at 3K. The sales guy that I did the deal with gave me a card for a free oil change at 3K miles. I'm planning to go full synthetic, so I will likely have to pay extra.

There is another thread about jacking points here. No clear answer yet. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/topic/430-jacking-points/ A quality floor jack and jack stands should be used unless you have your own lift or a friend with one. No one should be using a spare tire jack to do routine maintenance like rotating tires IMO. They are for emergency use only. That is irrelevant since this car doesn't have one. I've never seen an owner manual that has detailed instructions on rotating tires or similar types of more complex maintenance.

Page 330 of the Owner Guide has a diagram. Fronts go straight to the rear and rears cross when moving to the front. Scheduled maintenance section says to rotate every 10,000 miles.

Read pages 178-181 of the Owner Guide. http://www.motorcraftservice.com/

I had EV+ for my home after about six trips, but it took a lot longer to loearn my work address for some reason. I've also seen it stay in EV mode and not go to EV+ on some random occasions, even though the battery seemed high enough.

A Network Solutions WHOIS lookup on the domains shows the Energi and Hybrid domains were registered in early 2011. The regular C-Max site was registered in mid 2008 and has posts from 2010 on the forum. They are all owned by Warner Robert Productions in Michigan.

My average dropped down in the 46 range and has climbed back to 47. I expect it to drop again as the weather gets colder. I had my first trip average (that I noticed anyway) over 70 mpg. I've been forgetting to check the average lately after I park. The newness and excitement of watching the trip average is wearing off and I expect I'll start driving it like a normal car soon.

I was looking for something with decent highway gas mileage that I can fit a bicycle in the back. Looked at the Focus hatch initially, but decided the cargo area was too small. Then I saw the C-Max and decided to take one on a test drive.

That forum is mainly for the European C-Max that Ford has been selling there for a while. There is also an Energi version of the forum that looks the same.

You don't save much per year going from 50 to 60 mpg. Just $186 according to the EPA calculator (link below), and that's at 15K miles per year. At 10K, it's only $124. But Toyota would rather have the customers be ignorant and feel good believing they're saving a ton of money on gas. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/savemoney.shtml

There is a recent Motor Trend article on the next gen Prius. http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1211_radical_new_toyota_prius_in_pipeline/viewall.html?ti=v3

I found some flaws in the paint that suggest the door was repainted. The dealer thinks it was damaged and repaired at the factory. They want to repaint it in their body shop with a higher quality job. Why does this kind of crap happen to me?

A few people are taking possession of them. http://fordcmaxenerg...orum/2-welcome/ Anyone can do an inventory search. http://www.inventory...013&segment=Car

There should be a link to the Owners Guide PDF in the C-MAX Tool Box in the right nav. I've quoted excerpts from it a number of times here when people should have been searching the PDF and finding the answer on their own. Not sure if there is an official download link from Ford. I think I used an unofficial link someone posted here or on another C-Max related site. Edit: Someone on the Energi forum gave this link: http://www.motorcraftservice.com/ Direct link to PDF, but it may be protected by cookie or referrer: http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pubs/content/~WODCMH/~MUS~LEN/41/13cmhom1e.pdf

I've seen mine in EV mode at up to 63-64 MPH when on a flat or downhill. This is from page 178 of the Owners Guide: The gas engine automatically starts and stops to provide power when it’s needed and to save fuel when it’s not. While coasting at low speeds, coming to a stop, or standing, the gas engine normally shuts down and the vehicle operates in electric-only mode. Conditions that may cause the engine to start up or remain running include: • considerable vehicle acceleration • vehicle speed above 60 mph (96 km/h) For C-MAX Energi vehicles, you can drive up to 85 mph (137 km/h) in EV mode. • ascending a hill • charge level of high voltage battery is low • very high or low outside temperature (to provide system cooling or heating) For C-MAX Energi vehicles, climate control demands by passengers do not directly cause the engine to run. This only occurs when the high voltage battery charge is low. • engine not warm enough to provide passenger requested cabin temperature

Here's a list of other sites I've been watching for C-Max related discussions. Hopefully this isn't a violation of the site's terms of service. I know some site admins are pretty anal about linking to any potentially competing websites, although I don't think any of these are capable of stealing users from here. C-MAX Owners, Ford C-MAX Hybrid, Ford C-MAX Energi, C-MAX Forum Ford C-MAX Hybrid - CleanMPG Forums C-MaxChat | Blogging on the all new Ford C-Max Hybrid. Ford C-MAX | Facebook These are general Ford sites that have little traffic, but I watch them as well. Blue Oval News I also watch the Google News results for the last 24 hours. Unfortunately, the search results are flooded with posts from Ford dealers with promos for cars on their lots.

Personally, I'd prefer to not have the HYBRID badges on the doors. Maybe the C-MAX logo on the sides (like the hatch has) would look slightly sporty and advertise the model name. But I'll probably have the dealer replace it on the driver side door in the interest of restoring the vehicle to proper factory condition.

I noticed that the front passenger door of my car has the "HYBRID" and leaf/road badging, just like on the hatch, but the driver side door doesn't have anything. Photos of other cars I've seen online have it on both sides. Anyone else have it missing from one side?

I haven't relied on the range meter. The fuel gauge turns yellow and then red when it gets close to empty. It actually turned from yellow to red during my first test drive (I think dealerships keep the tanks low to discourange thieves siphoning gas). I had it turn yellow on mine once and that's when I decided to refill.