hayesdt

Thanks for the information. I've decided also to go the route of a 12v jump starter that I store on the right rear floor of the car, plus I plan to use a regular 12v battery charger about every 2-3 months or so to charge the battery up fully. May even put it on a Battery Tender overnight once a week or two. All this until Ford develops a real solution. Just can't have this dead battery issue keep happening. Too much of a pain and so completely unreliable. P.S. My wife and I both have C Maxes. Really love the cars except for the 12v issue. Mine's been towed in with Roadside Assistance 3 times, hers 2 times. My highly cooperative dealer has tried everything Ford has suggested several times -- couldn't ask for more effort on the part of my dealer's Service Department. But Ford needs to get this corrected once and for all.

Is there a brand of aftermarket 12V battery that fits the C Max, one that is not designated as a Ford product or that is acquired through one of their 12V battery suppliers? Have any of us that have experienced several instances of 12V battery failure tried a 12V battery provided by someone other than your Ford dealer?

Have any of you used a Battery Tender (or comparable trickle / slow) charger for the 12 volt battery in your C Max? Motorcycle and Scooter riders (myself included) often use them to keep their cycles and scooters charged (which the Battery a Tender does without overcharging). Just wondering if anyone has used one to avoid the 12 volt battery problems so many have reported with hybrids ( yes, I'm told it happens not only with The C a Max but with Toyota and Honda hybrids too!).

Hanging in there as best I can with it. I have to say that my dealer has been exemplary in trying to solve the problem, but they're stumped too. The problem is that Ford Motor Company simply doesn't know for sure what the problem is! The Service Manager at the dealer now believes that the previously installed 13-7-10 patch did not "take" (which is possible, I suppose), so this afternoon they have tried it again. (When the patch was "installed in early October, the technician remembers it taking over two hours. Today it only took several minutes.) They also replaced the battery today, which they had not done before. The car is now still at the dealer's, and they are going to retest it tomorrow morning to see if anything has drawn battery current overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow morning; since it's a weekend, and we have my wife's car and my trusty old Dodge Ram pickup for transportation, I may even ask them to keep it until Monday morning to see if it (the battery) somehow still has significant current drawn by something. Three days sitting rather than merely one overnight might be more revealing about whether there's still a problem. My wife also has a 2013 C Max she bought about two weeks before I bought mine, both purchased this past February. She hasn't had any problems at all with her C Max. With mine, I've had to date five electrical-related problems, three of which have required Roadside Assistance towing to my dealer: 1. A Check Engine light wouldn't go off (computer reset done). 2. Check Engine light that wouldn't go off a second time (part replaced and another computer reset done). 3. 12V battery dead, tow to dealer, first battery software patch installed; 4. 12V battery dead, tow to dealer, second battery software patch (13 7 10) installed, perhaps incorrectly (?!? just don't know yet). and 5. 12V battery dead, tow to dealer, second installation of TSB 13 7 10 and battery replacement.

I had a dead battery after the car sat overnight in the garage back in May. Roadside Assistance towed it to the dealer where TSB 13-4-13 (to correct the 4.2 Inch screen from drawing too much current from the 12V battery) was installed. http://www.fordservicecontent.com/pubs/content/~WT/~MUS~LEN/3569/tsb13-04-13.pdf No battery problems until this morning, when the battery was completely dead after the car had been sitting outside overnight. Again I had Roadside Assistance tow it to the dealer, where the software was again updated (for the same screen problem causing excessive battery discharge) with an updated TSB, 13-7-10. http://www.fordservicecontent.com/pubs/content/~WT/~MUS~LEN/3560/tsb13-07-10.pdf My serviceman just called to let me know the software's been installed and the car and battery are now fine. These seemingly simple software (how's that for alliteration?) updates, I might add, can be more complex and time-consuming that an iPhone operating system update! In this case, according to the serviceman, it took 90 minutes for the software update TSB 13-7-10 to be installed. JUST CURIOUS, HAS ANYONE HAD MORE 12V BATTERY PROBLEMS AFTER HAVING TSB 13-7-10 INSTALLED? As a final note, my wife has a C-Max too, and though she's had not battery problems (yet!), since her car was also built well before June of 2013, the Serviceman advised me to get the TSB installed on her car as well.

My dealer after calling Ford is waiting on an overnight shipment of a canister purge valve. Ford noted in its conversation with my dealer that this part has generally been a problem for new Fusion hybrids and C Maxes and that new versions of the part have had to be manufactured by Ford's suppliers. Will keep everyone here posted on whether this, in the long term, solves the problem.

Just wondering if this (description above) resolved the problem for you? My C Max had the check fuel inlet etc. light come on at 900 miles, dealer service did a reset, two days ago the service/check engine light came on and it's at the dealer's literally now. I am doubtful that they'll be able to get a correct code/diagnosis reading because of the newness of the defective part(s). Just curious as to whether the new purge valve really solved the problem. P.S. Would have sent you a private email, however since I am new to this forum and haven't logged 10 posts yet, the forum wouldn't let me.