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darrelld

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Everything posted by darrelld

  1. They called and said it was a communications failure from the firmware updates to fix the recall. The SA said this normally clears after driving the car for around 50 miles and one of the techs was out doing that. I never was told that the inspection had never completed when they called to come pick up the car. I am hoping this is an oversight.
  2. I took my C-Max to the local Ford dealer to take care of the recall issues and get a State Inspection sticker. After 3 days the C-Max was returned without an inspection sticker and the service ticket had a note stating the emissions test had failed. This car has less than 20k miles and the dealer failed to address a critical warranty issue with 2 weeks to state inspection sticker expiration. Has anyone else experienced this?
  3. Good information about the PHEV C-Max Energi charging the 12v battery when plugged in. I am seeing the Ford Partner site listing the C-Max Energi at prices equivalent or below the regular C-Max. If you live in a state that offers additional incentives for plugins this may not be calculated in the Ford site discounts. I know in Texas there is an additional $3,000 credit available Ford did not calculate.
  4. Sorry to hear about your back and I hope the other drivers insurance compensates for you pain/suffering and lost time. My damage was only $5,000 and there are still some minor things left on my punch list they need to fix.
  5. Your C-Max too, what is it with morons rear ending C-Maxes lately. Hopefully everyone in your vehicle is ok, my wife was amazed at how the C-Max took the 50 mph rear end collision from a Lexus RX. I told her the C-Max weighs about the same as the RX and its simply a matter of kinetic energy transfer and mass. She understood and now wants a C-Max Energi. ;)
  6. I would have the dealer or maybe go to another dealer if one is available to verify the update was actually performed. I ran into a problem with my C-Max on the door chime recall, the door chime behavior has not changed since the update. I have to take the C-Max in anyway for items relating to the accident it was involved in.
  7. So far my dealer experience has been excellent and I wasn't naive enough to expect a first year car to be flawless. I take my Fusion Hybrid and C-Max Hybrid to the same Ford Dealer.
  8. We purchased a portable battery booster my wife carries in the C-Max hidden floor compartment similar to this; http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Ll1000-Li-Ion-Battery-Starter/dp/B005IU28AW/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1406287256&sr=1-2&keywords=stanley+simple+start There has been one occasion for its use, my wifes coworker had an F150 that wouldn't start. She let the coworker borrow her booster and within 5 min he was on his way.
  9. I like the C-Max so much I traded my 2012 Passat TDI for my current Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium. The Passat TDI has over 100 cases of turbo failures on the tdiclub so like those tornado sirens that go off in an approaching storm I decided to run for cover to the FFH. I totally agree with this assessment of the CR Methodology. http://blog.bluespringsfordparts.com/233/consumer-reports-rating-methodology-flawed/ Generally speaking, Consumer Reports provides useful and informative buying advice and product reviews for a wide range of products. From flat screen TVs to vacumn cleaners to car seats, Consumer Reports often uses a careful and refined testing procedure that generates some great advice. As a long-time reader and current subscriber, I am 100% satisfied with Consumer Reports…except for their automotive reliability rankings. Here’s why: Car rankings are based exclusively on surveys offered by Consumer Reports (CR) readers. This, in my view, is a fatally flawed approach. 1. CR subscribers aren’t representative of the general public. Quantcast.com, which estimates demographic and user data for millions of websites, has provided the following demographic “snap shot” of ConsumerReports.org (see the original report here): Demographic data about the ConsumerReports.org website audience, as determined by Quantcast.com As you can see, the typical ConsumerReports.org visitor is more likely to be wealthy ($100k+ annual household income) and college educated. While there’s nothing wrong with being wealthy or educated, I suspect these consumers are a bit biased against American car brands. Hybrid buyers, for example, are significantly more likely to be educated and wealthy (see Scarborough Research). The best selling hybrid? A Toyota.American cars don’t sell well in the country’s wealthiest cities, additional proof that wealthy people are biased against American vehicle brands.For anyone who thinks that Quantcast’s data might be off, check out this 2009 study of CR’s auto buying guide, which was sponsored by CR. According to the data on page 34, the average CR reader (either online or via magazine subscription) is wealthier and more educated than average. 2. CR data is noisy. By “noisy,” I mean varying quite a bit from year to year. In this year’s study, Volvo and Chrysler fell 10 and 8 spots in the rankings, while GMC, Cadillac, and Audi skyrocketed 10, 14, and 16 (!) slots. How can one brand’s reliability ranking surge from the bottom 5 to the top 10 in just one year? Because Consumer Reports data is very “noisy,” and hence not terribly accurate. Are we honestly supposed to believe that Audi was ranked as one of the least reliable brands last year, and yet somehow ranked top 10 in reliability this year? This is obviously a result of a limited amount of data, which brings me too… 3. CR uses as few as 100 surveys to rate vehicles! That’s right folks – 100 measly surveys is all it takes for Consumer Reports to assess a specific vehicle’s reliability rating. 100 data points is hardly enough to form a scientific evaluation – it’s embarrassing that CR would admit to this methodology, but they’ve done precisely that: …The scores are presented as a percentage better or worse than the average of all cars. The minimum sample size is 100 vehicles, but Consumer Reports often gets many more. While CR might “often” get 100′s or surveys, this hardly seems like a good system. It also explains Audi’s wild change in rankings, doesn’t it? The bottom line: Don’t trust Consumer Reports quality and reliability data, at least as far as automobiles are concerned. At best, use CR automotive rankings as a supplement to other data sources. See their official 2012 rankings here.
  10. I completed the CR survey and the JD Power survey and dinged the C-Max for all those areas that legitimately should have have worked at launch. Keep in mind CR ranks Sync locking up as a problem equivalent to a VW fuel system failing with $6,000 worth of repairs. I would certainly buy another C-Max again since it appears all of my complaints have been resolved satisfactorily and compensation received for the fuel economy discrepancies. I am still waiting for that last MPG adjustment check.
  11. We dropped to +15 degrees in Dallas overnight.
  12. http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/passat/2013/long-term-road-test/2013-volkswagen-passat-tdi-jump-starts-a-plug-in-hybrid.html
  13. I see several in the North Texas area, usually daily now. At least 2 in my neighborhood besides mine.
  14. I used F73 for battery and F86 for keyed power. My step daughter is from Tampa and graduated from USF so I have heard the stories about Florida. My motivation for the dash cam was created after being a target of insurance fraud that ended with the case getting dropped just before jury selection. A video would have ended that case immediately.
  15. I ordered one of these and a 2013 Focus spare;
  16. There is one famous incident involving a 100 mph Prius discussed here; http://green.autoblog.com/2007/08/21/woz-gets-700-ticket-for-going-105-mph-in-a-prius/
  17. Followed kc1174 instructions with the exception that SEL models have different voltage presence at these fuse taps. I used Hemostats to remove and insert the fuses, very difficult location to work in. Confirmed Powermagic Pro shutdown when voltage dips below my programmed 12v level. There is a deadspot between the glovebox and the trim panel I used to route Powermagic Pro control box wiring. Connect the Valentine1 and Powermagic Pro ground wires by ring lug to the chasis ground.
  18. darrelld

    IMG 1266

    From the album: Darrelld CMax

  19. darrelld

    IMG 1264

    From the album: Darrelld CMax

  20. From the album: Darrelld CMax

    Hardwired Cmax SEL for auto on key operation of Valentine1 radar detector and Blackvue DR500 dashcam.
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