C-MaxJaxon

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.

I've heard it before. I assumed it was the electric A/C. I think I've heard the same buzz briefly a couple times on startup even with the A/C off.

http://www.fordinsid...y-as-Sandy-Hits

In its first full month on sale, C-MAX sells 3,182 vehicles

"...we surpassed our own expectations for the first full month of C-MAX Hybrid sales."

The driver side visor has a weaker spring with a soft close on mine. My only guess is it's to reduce the chance of damaging the optional Homelink controls.

My power driver seat also has the sharp silver metal on the inside by the console.

I purchased my C-Max with X-Plan and got the $1000.00 incentive in addition.

Same here.

I wasn't interested in the Energi because of the cost and extra effort for the tax credit, the couple hundred extra pounds, lower gas mileage when using the gas engine, reduced cargo area, and an unknown wait time to order one. I was quite surprised and happy that it stays in EV mode for quite a bit of the time.

I do have to work at it being careful with the gas pedal, lightly applying the brake when I'm coming to a stop, and when no one is behind me I'll try to accelerate on electric only. If someone is behind I'll accelerate normally usually with the gas engine running.

This has been my strategy. The Empower view on the left screen lets you see how much power you can draw before the gas engine starts. The threshold is a bit odd because it sometimes increases as you press the accelerator harder.

I can stay in EV mode for extended distances when doing this and often have short trips in the 50 to high 60 mpg range. My average is down to 47 after peaking above 49 briefly and staying around 48 for a while. The weather has been cold, so mileage suffers when the engine has to warm up.

The LED brake light upgrade did not go well. They light OK up when the parking lights/headlamps or brakes are on, but they are still dimly lit and flickering rapidly when the lights are off. They may need a load resistor wired in to simulate the load of a normal bulb, but I won't want to hack it like that, so I'm giving up for now.

My previous non-hybrid car with key ignition didn't require pressing the brake to start. I am new to both keyless start and EV mode start. The only real difference between "started" and "no started" for me now is the dash showing the green arrows or the orange engine light. I think it should be made more clear by showing a message when you put the car in gear that the engine isn't in "running" state.

Might have figured out this problem. I got the same behavior when I pressed the Start button without my foot on the brake. The engine is off and not ready to be driven until pressing the brake and pressing Start again. This is confusing behavior and more of a bad design with lack of proper feedback than a problem.

Hi Jaxon, was the engine running when you experienced this, and do you recall if the green car with the arrows was lit (indicating the car was ready to drive)? Also do you recall the state of the battery when it occurred?

 

Do you think the engine may have been running (to charge the battery) when it was in the accessory position, buy the key was not fully turned to the start position?

It was in EV mode with the engine off. It is almost always on battery when backing out of the garage. I don't think the battery was very low. I didn't notice if the green arrows were showing. It has keyless ignition, so it is not a key problem.

If it happens again, I will try to request a Sync Vehicle Health Report to see if it shows any messages.

The reverse problem is discussed in this thread:

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/topic/338-anyone-noticed-a-problem-starting-in-reverse/

The only problem I've had with the screens so far is that one time the radio preset buttons were blank with no text on them. Turning the car off and on was the only way I could fix that.

This thread is supposed to be about dead batteries, BTW.

After taking possession of my C-Max, I looked more closely at the consistency of gaps and trim alignment. There are a number of places on the car that are inconsistent between the driver and passenger side. Gap widths are different and trim doesn't line up exactly. It's a bit disappointing that Ford hasn't made a better effort on fit and finish. Hopefully they are fine tuning the assembly process as they go.

My average after a week of city and highway driving under 70 mph has stayed in the 47-49 mpg range. I've had trips as low as the 30s and some in the high 60s. It may depend a lot on whether the engine is fully warmed up, but seems to mainly depend on how much you can keep it in EV mode.

This problem happened to me this morning backing out of my garage in EV mode. There was an engine light on the dash and I had no power steering. I power cycled the car and then the problem disappeared.

Is anyone from Ford reading this forum? It's ridiculous that I have to "reboot" my car to fix it. This type of problem should have been found in validation testing. Owners shouldn't be beta testing your vehicles.

Some of you may be aware of the tire shops that make you sign some kind of agreement to retorque the lugs on alloy wheels after 50-100 miles. I would guess most people don't ever do it, but I usually do check them with a socket and snug them down because they need it.

I checked the lugs on my C-Max and when I got to the rear passenger wheel, the socket didn't fit onto the lugs very wheel. And, clumsy oaf that I am, I rounded off one pretty badly and another slightly. It's odd that only one wheel had the problem. It appears that those lugs are slightly bigger, maybe 3/4" instead of 19mm like on the other wheels. Just wanted to warn others and see if anyone else had a similar problem.

I checked the pressure the evening after picking up the car from the dealer and they had 34 psi with the tires not cold, so they were probably around 32 when cold. I got no warning light on the dash from the monitoring system. After increasing them up to 38, the ride is firmer and less comfortable, but still acceptable. I had the same experience when I bought my previous car. I have to wonder if dealerships deliberately keep tire pressure slightly low so it feels more comfortable during test drives and after initial purchase.

The interior is light, but not leather, its cloth. They did say they make it look like leather. And from what I understand, Ford is the first to come up with Heated cloth seats which I have in my model.

Heated cloth seats have been around for years.

http://ask.cars.com/2007/10/heated-cloth-se.html

 

There is a vacuum pump, you might have heard that - I wouldn't loose any sleep over it

The Owners Guide also has this on page 184, but I'm not sure it sounded like a fan.

What is the fan noise I hear from the rear of my hybrid?

The fan noise comes from a fan located inside the high voltage battery. This fan turns on when the battery requires cooling air. The fan speed, and associated noise level, will change according to the amount of cooling required to maintain good performance. Maintaining the battery temperature at optimal conditions also prolongs the useful life of the battery and helps to achieve better fuel economy.

The PDF version of the manual I have says 30000 miles.

It was surprising to find out that a premium vehicle like the C-Max doesn't have LED brake lights, tail lights or turn signals. I've been thinking about swapping in at least LED brake lights so I don't have to worry about them burning out. It's actually a bit embarassing to see less expensive cars from other brands like Kia with LED lights everywhere. I've been looking at the LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com and trying to decide between the 220 lumen or the less expensive 140 lumen. If I'm the first to try them, I will report back whether everything is OK.

After parking in the garage today, I heard a buzzing noise coming from under the rear of the car. It continued until I started and stopped the car. Now I'm wondering if this is the cause of dead batteries or if this is considered normal. I haven't experienced a dead battery or heard this noise before, but now I'm wondering if I'll be needing a jump start one of these days. The excitement of being an early adopter, I guess.