fotomoto

When I read the headline, I thought you'd actually seen a never-before-sighted Ford "efficiency coach".  These were announced along with the first round of fuel rebate checks last year.

Hey, I didn't say it would be cheap just easy!   :)
 
Easy, cheap, fast:  you can only pick two.  ;)

:needphotos:

I regularly follow the prius forum and they are just now seeing an increase in failures of the HV battery at 10 years in.  In many cases, it's only one cell that is bad which can be replaced by skilled DIY types at home for less than $100 and the pack continues on.    Another popular solution is to either buy a used pack with less miles or a rebuilt pack sold by third party shops with a warranty.   Finally, the most expensive solution is a new pack from Toyota for about $3500 (nickel metal hydride).    I assume the higher tech lithium ion packs used by Ford will cost more than that though.  This will be of more concern around the years 2022-2024.   ;)

Yes the jack points are omitted from the manual but as has been mentioned there are triangles molded in the bottom trim piece (see photo).   Out of curiosity while I was doing a tire rotation, I found a point a couple of inches in front of the B-piller (the one between the doors) will lift both wheels (used a large floor jack for that).
 
NOTE:  bottle jack pictured below will not fit if tire is completely flat.  Use a scissor jack!
 

I use to experience the same thing with my grandmothers car.  I'd take it out and floor it till the smoke stopped.  That smoke was a mix of black and brown (rust).
 
Black smoke is typically excess fuel or soot deposits while blue is oil (bad rings or seals) and white is water (blown head gasket).  Grayish wisps can be confused for white but that's water vapor buildup before the exhaust system heats up.  
 
I like to occasionally floor it when I pass someone at highway speeds to keep the ol' pipes clear!  :)

I agree that this is normal..........for a hybrid that employs regenerative braking.   The rear two discs really haven't been used yet!  LOL  The fronts haven't fully completed break-in either.   I assume your brake scores are high.   Efficient hybrid drivers report getting well over 100k miles on the front rotors and pads.  :shift:

Well it comes with some the best LRR tires currently being made.   How many miles do you have on the originals?   I'm hoping for at least 50k.   Anyway, here's what I gleaned from the PriusChat forum I still frequent.  They have a lot of experience that shouldn't be discounted just because they own a different brand.  I have personal experience with the first three listed but they were on three different cars so I can't really compare.  
 
 
 
 
For those who just want to be told what to get here it is:

Michelin Energy Saver A/S = The ultimate in mpg, good wear but lacking in performance. Good wet braking. not great in snow. Low noise and comfortable. The hypermilers dream tire! My personal favorite!

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max = Great mpg but behind the others in road noise, handling, and overall road manners and performance. Great tread wear but lacking wet traction. Good snow/ice traction but behind the EP422, barely.

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 = Great mpg! It is behind the Energy Saver A/S but higher than the Fuel Max. Good wet traction, great snow traction, poor handling tire but lacking in dry braking and cornering ability. Comfortable and low noise. Tread wear average.

Continental PureContact with EcoPlus = Better fuel economy than the ProContact, very high tread wear, excellent wet braking and handling, great steering feel but rides a bit rough.

Continental ProContact with EcoPlus = Least mpg of those listed above (just behind Fuel Max by a few 10ths) but what it loses in mpg it makes up for with excellent handling and wet traction, very high tread wear warranty (but some say they wear out fast), low price, and low noise.

This evening the planets aligned for a nice photo of our new C-Max Energi.   :camera:  I think I'm going to format it to put it on the center screen which currently has the plain jane Ford logo.  
 

 
 

I added some additional wiring to the tiny, tiny wire leads to cover the distance to the relay up top.   I placed the relay and associated wiring under the front plastic clip (the one with the Ford emblem)  to hide everything when snapped back into place.  There are approx. 6 plastic push/pull pins to remove but you don't have to completely remove the plastic Ford grill from the car.  Just pry it away to gain the necessary access.
 

 
 
All button up and things stashed away.
 

 
 
The relay needs two power sources for this setup.  One keyed (ignition on) that I found in the fuse box (red wire):
 

 
 
and one this is switched on by the headlights.  I tapped into the yellow with green strip wire (bottom right) on the left headlight wiring connector.  I removed the left headlight (two screws) to get to it.
 

 
 
I grounded the relay (and lights) to the chassis ground point nearly straight down below the fuse box.  It's fairly easy to get to (see arrow).
 

 
 
 
 
That's about it.  Now the DRL's come on anytime the car is on but the headlights are off.  They are very bright.  
 
 


 
 
 
 
 

:needphotos:

Just had Ruby's first oil change at the dealer.  The young tech. didn't reset the oil monitor so I had to do it.  
 
 
1. Turn the ignition key to the on position. Do not start the engine. For vehicles with push-button start, press and hold the start button for two seconds without pressing the brake pedal. Do not attempt to start the engine.
2. Press both the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time.
3. Keep both pedals fully pressed.
4. After three seconds, the Service: Oil reset in prog. message will be displayed.
 

 
5. After 25 seconds, the Service: Oil reset complete message will be displayed.
 

 
6. Release both the accelerator and brake pedals.
7. The Service: Oil reset complete message will no longer be displayed.
8. Rotate the key to the off position.
For vehicles with push-button start, press the start button to turn the vehicle off completely. 
 
 

This was shared on the Energi forum so I thought I'd add it here too.  If nothing else, make sure and read the last page (#5) of the attached PDF.
 
 
 
 
 
Ford TSB 14-0155.pdf

Yes, no "action" required.  It's just a notice that the warranty on the sync/MFT was extended due to all the issues when it first came out; a goodwill gesture.  IIRC, it was extended from 3 yrs to 5.

Well it comes with some the best LRR tires currently being made.   How many miles do you have on the originals?   I'm hoping for at least 50k.   Anyway, here's what I gleaned from the PriusChat forum I still frequent.  They have a lot of experience that shouldn't be discounted just because they own a different brand.  I have personal experience with the first three listed but they were on three different cars so I can't really compare.  
 
 
 
 
For those who just want to be told what to get here it is:

Michelin Energy Saver A/S = The ultimate in mpg, good wear but lacking in performance. Good wet braking. not great in snow. Low noise and comfortable. The hypermilers dream tire! My personal favorite!

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max = Great mpg but behind the others in road noise, handling, and overall road manners and performance. Great tread wear but lacking wet traction. Good snow/ice traction but behind the EP422, barely.

Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 = Great mpg! It is behind the Energy Saver A/S but higher than the Fuel Max. Good wet traction, great snow traction, poor handling tire but lacking in dry braking and cornering ability. Comfortable and low noise. Tread wear average.

Continental PureContact with EcoPlus = Better fuel economy than the ProContact, very high tread wear, excellent wet braking and handling, great steering feel but rides a bit rough.

Continental ProContact with EcoPlus = Least mpg of those listed above (just behind Fuel Max by a few 10ths) but what it loses in mpg it makes up for with excellent handling and wet traction, very high tread wear warranty (but some say they wear out fast), low price, and low noise.

At 18K miles, it was past time to replace the cabin filter in our CMax so I looked around locally and no auto parts stores or walmart had any in stock.  Fram/fabreeze doesn't make one ATM so right now it's motorcraft or nothing thus I went with the above amazon link.  TIP:  if you buy two, you only get charged a dollar more for shipping thus saving $5 if order separately.  Besides, you're going to need another one down the road anyways.  Me, I got two CMax'es so it was a no brainer.
 
Installation was not easy and you really have to contort yourself to get it it.  You'll need a #15 torx bit or screwdriver to remove the one screw and a flash light is essential.   There isn't a ton of free space to remove or install it and I found you have to squish it a lot to make clearance; however, it did pop back into shape once in.   Overall, this is a crappy layout and I don't look forward to doing it again.   I you don't do your own oil changes then you probably won't want to tackle this.  
 
Interior side of filter at 18k miles:
 

 
 
Exterior side:
 

 
 
I won't wait as long next time. 

Ford is replacing my Trans and paying for rental car so I would say you are in good shape with 8yr/100Kmi hybrid warranty. :)
 
Paul

Prius "campers" have reported an approx. 3/4 gal/hr burn rate doing this (with lite a/c use) while sleeping in their cars.  So assuming a full tank and a similar "idle" rate, the CMax should go nearly a day doing this.  
 
On a more serious note, I've also read reports of hybrid owners having the cars left on for several days by valets at airport parking lots.  That will run the car empty of fuel and discharge the 12v shortly after that.     :banghead:    Now that more and more vehicles are coming with push button start, that situation will, hopefully, diminish.

Not any more!   :happy feet:  :happy feet:  :happy feet: <--- They're dancing to the new booming bass beat.

Drive the CMax exclusively for a week or so and then climb back in that ML350.  You'll think to yourself, "Wow what a clunky, awkward machine these traditional cars are!  We're stopped but why is it still running?"   etc.......    :happy feet:

Not any more!   :happy feet:  :happy feet:  :happy feet: <--- They're dancing to the new booming bass beat.

Sorry, couldn't resist the kitchy, topical title.  :drop:
 
I have an SEL with the optional Sony high end (and I use that term loosely) sound system.  I recently added a Cadence 8-inch powered subwoofer that fits underneath the front seats. I got it from Amazon several years ago for about $250 and installed in a couple of vehicles during that time.  Since the CMax has so much physical headroom, I have my drivers seat set fairly high which means I have more room under it so I placed the sub there.  I didn't bolt it down because A) it's very heavy and isn't going anywhere and B) access to the under floor storage.  
 
 
Since I wasn't going to access the Sony head unit buried in the dash, it's a fairly easy install.  Took me a couple of hours as I was charting unknown waters with the exception of the speaker wiring info thanks to jdbob and Marc Smith in another thread.  :thumbsup:
 
After removing the driver side B-piller and front/rear bottom door sill trim panels by hand, I tapped into the left rear speaker wires for signal.

 
 
 
 
 
Next I found an unused slot on the rear fuse box that was only hot with the power on or in accessory mode and installed a fuse tap for a power signal to activate the amp.  Note: this doesn't power the amp, only turns it on.

 
 
 
 
 
I powered the amp straight from the 12v battery with heavy gauge wiring and an inline fuse as per instructions.  You want a good strong source of power.

 
 
 
 
Ford provided a convenient grounding location underneath the door sill plate next to the drivers seat so I used that.

 
 
 
 
Finally, there is an adjustment dial to fine tune the output on the fly.  I used double sided tape to mount here by the e-brake so when I am resting my arm on the center console it is at fingertip reach.  I ran the telephone style wiring in the center console out of sight.

 
 
 
 
And that's it.   


 
 
 
Low end is greatly improved. :happy feet:   Although it can and will thump my seat, this kind of sub won't shake the ground, rattle your fillings or annoy your neighbors; rather it is intended to supplement and fill in weak bass.   It has three settings on the amp itself to help tailor it to your individual installation.  Depending on the quality of the source and volume level, I further tweak things with the fine tune adjustment dial at my finger tips.   I should have done this two years ago.  Yes, it's been sitting on the shelf that long and yes I'm a procrastinator!   :banghead:
 
 
 
 

Drive the CMax exclusively for a week or so and then climb back in that ML350.  You'll think to yourself, "Wow what a clunky, awkward machine these traditional cars are!  We're stopped but why is it still running?"   etc.......    :happy feet:

Coming from a Ti edition, I don't think you will be happy long term with an SE model.  The SEL has rear a/c vents.  
 
Good luck in your search.  The CMax is a great car and will be a nice upgrade from the Fiesta.   :shift:

Sorry, couldn't resist the kitchy, topical title.  :drop:
 
I have an SEL with the optional Sony high end (and I use that term loosely) sound system.  I recently added a Cadence 8-inch powered subwoofer that fits underneath the front seats. I got it from Amazon several years ago for about $250 and installed in a couple of vehicles during that time.  Since the CMax has so much physical headroom, I have my drivers seat set fairly high which means I have more room under it so I placed the sub there.  I didn't bolt it down because A) it's very heavy and isn't going anywhere and B) access to the under floor storage.  
 
 
Since I wasn't going to access the Sony head unit buried in the dash, it's a fairly easy install.  Took me a couple of hours as I was charting unknown waters with the exception of the speaker wiring info thanks to jdbob and Marc Smith in another thread.  :thumbsup:
 
After removing the driver side B-piller and front/rear bottom door sill trim panels by hand, I tapped into the left rear speaker wires for signal.

 
 
 
 
 
Next I found an unused slot on the rear fuse box that was only hot with the power on or in accessory mode and installed a fuse tap for a power signal to activate the amp.  Note: this doesn't power the amp, only turns it on.

 
 
 
 
 
I powered the amp straight from the 12v battery with heavy gauge wiring and an inline fuse as per instructions.  You want a good strong source of power.

 
 
 
 
Ford provided a convenient grounding location underneath the door sill plate next to the drivers seat so I used that.

 
 
 
 
Finally, there is an adjustment dial to fine tune the output on the fly.  I used double sided tape to mount here by the e-brake so when I am resting my arm on the center console it is at fingertip reach.  I ran the telephone style wiring in the center console out of sight.

 
 
 
 
And that's it.   


 
 
 
Low end is greatly improved. :happy feet:   Although it can and will thump my seat, this kind of sub won't shake the ground, rattle your fillings or annoy your neighbors; rather it is intended to supplement and fill in weak bass.   It has three settings on the amp itself to help tailor it to your individual installation.  Depending on the quality of the source and volume level, I further tweak things with the fine tune adjustment dial at my finger tips.   I should have done this two years ago.  Yes, it's been sitting on the shelf that long and yes I'm a procrastinator!   :banghead: