BIG ROCCO

Well, we are pretty darn far from Surprise - in Fountain Hills - maybe could meet somewhere in the middle. We had a '13 SEL - totalled it after 30K miles - now have a '15 SEL exactly the same interior/exterior color and options - we tried to find something different that we liked better - could not do it!

116K miles? That's a lot, Paul, and I don't think you have reported a lot of issues with reliability. I'm old enough to still think of anything over 100K as a lot and living on borrowed time...or at least for a car that is reliable, runs and looks good, and doesn't cost a lot to own and repair. How did you accumulate so many miles so quickly? Is that the most total miles we have heard of? Where did you go in AZ? We live in the Phoenix area.

OK, folks, I expected your reaction, but how would a police officer know if you are in N - does anyone know someone who was cited for that? I suppose the suggestion to press on the accelerator ever so slightly to eliminate regen without engaging EV propulsion is valid, but maintaining that is hard work - it's so much easier to put in N. Scuba Dad Miami - when you write : On rolling hills (not steep enough to increase or maintain speed without some assistance when going downhill) at highway speed, I use ICE on the way up, and then I use HVB on the way down you describe the exact scenario I like to us N, except using HVB uses more energy than N, right? If I start at the top of the hill doing 50MPH, put the gear selector in N, and max out at 58MPH, before finally slowing back to 50 MPH a the road levels out, is that not more efficient than feathering the "gas" pedal to maintain speed? As far as not producing a charge, I think you would only capture a portion of the kinetic energy and potential energy of a moving vehicle, once converted into electrons and then later back to kinetic energy, no?

For long gradual descents, I still prefer "N" - that seems the most direct and efficient way to recapture the potential energy at the top of a hill. When approaching a peak, I let my speed drop, then with a constant pedal position, the car will automatically speed up up, then shift to Neutral, and let gravity speed up the car. So, let's say the speed limit is 65 MPH - if there is an upslope coming up, followed by a downslope, I let my speed drop to maybe 55 MPH going up the hill...or 2 bars...or 3,000RPM; then, at the top of the hill, I keep my foot on the throttle until ~60 MPH, then let off the throttle and shift to N and let the speed increase to 70 or maximum 75MPH. I am not a hypermiler by any means, but our '13 lifetime average for 30K miles was 45.9 MPG, and a lot of that was highway and mountain driving. The '15 does not have a lifetime average, and it's not even broken in yet, so that's why I mentioned the '13

Oh - sorry - that is totally different than what I thought you were describing. Now that I hear it, I can tell that door and latch are obviously not aligned. What a mess! That is so blatantly defective that I do have to ask the question: I'm not saying that, in a perfect world, you shouldn't have had to, but did you not try all the doors before accepting delivery? I can understand missing something minor like the small scratches in the paint and some of the other issues you have noticed, but this seems like a pretty obvious problem, no? I actually notice a little more whine in our '15 vs. the '13

We have purchased 2 CMs, a '13 and a '15 - both were delivered in absolutely perfect condition. You got a raw deal - sorry to say you may be in for a frustrating process if you want the car to be perfect. I will say that both CMs exhibited the "slow" closing of the rear doors you described. I don't consider that a defect, just a peculiarity. I would rather it be a wee bit tight when new; after a few years the weatherstripping will probably dry out and shrink a little bit and be perfect!. I think I read about that elsewhere on this forum and there was a recommendation to clean and then apply something to the vertical weatherstripping on the door in that area to help it slide better. I have been using some kind of plastic/vinyl protectant - whatever is handy on the shelf in my garage...I use that on all the weatherstripping on the car, but especially in that one area. Also, I make sure to clean the actual B-Pillar and apply paint wax to that area. The Vaseline from post # 10 might also work for this purpose.

Frank - I agree with everything you wrote, except maybe the need for oil testing, because I think that's the idea behind the oil monitor, no? I know the monitor does not actually evaluate the oil in the crankcase, but don't you agree it does indicate the quality of the oil, based on the history of operation of that particular vehicle and extensive testing by Ford? Also, our Winters in Phoenix are quite mild - maybe like your Spring and Fall in Upstate NY, so Winter driving and lack of warm-up is not the issue here - it's Summertime temps >100 degrees every day for ~4 months - that's why I use M1, just for that added bit of extra protection

Right - with the engine only running ~ 1/2 the time in our experience, 10K miles on the C-Max is more like 5K miles...and we use M1, so ~10K miles, when the change oil message appears, seems very safe to us

Fair enough, but did anyone actually like the look in any previous year? How would anyone even describe the previous look? Nondescript? I might agree with you, but at least new look has some style, so someone could, at least in theory, like it...

We had a '13 SEL, no real problems in 30K miles - we did have the small carpet pieces come off behind the seat in the cargo area...also, we kept getting the service engine soon light for something related to the fuel filler inlet, but didn't ever actually bother to deal with those things or have to go back for anything in 2 1/2 years. Now we have a '15 SEL equipped exactly the same, even the same color. We notice a few minor changes, like the fuel inlet valve, but it is essentially the same exact car. So thew choice is yours...but the real question is, should you wait for a '16?

Engine oil overfill could be a result of the incorrect dipstick. Also, any fluid (coolant? Fuel?) leaking into the crankcase would result in too high of a level and the crankshaft/connecting rods hitting the oil and causing frothing/foaming and increase in pressure. PCV systems used to have a fairly large movable valve - nowadays a fairly small fixed orifice is common - not sure what the CMax engine uses, but if that valve/orifice is plugged, that will cause the pressure to rise and blow out seals. Another cause of high crankcase pressure is excessive blow by past the rings...probably not the case at such low mileage, but it is possible if something broke like a ring or a piston land

Compared with the old days, rear main seals have become really, well designed and built and are usually trouble free. I would suggest the dealer investigate the possibility of excessive crankcase pressure (defect in PCV system? Engine oil overfill?) Also, while there are no driven accessories off the front of the crankshaft, there is a front seal, for the harmonic balancer

The tread depth might have more of an effect than you think...??? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=177 At the bottom it says: ConclusionWhile many of these individual differences may seem insignificant, it is easy to understand that when they are added together, the new tires may appear to reduce vehicle fuel economy. It also means that a Toyota Prius appearing to get 50.0 mpg just before replacing its worn-out tires with new tires of the same brand, type and size, might be reduced to registering just 47.25 mpg afterwards, even if all of the driving conditions were identical.

I bet the same people who prefer pencil and paper also prefer magazines printed in paper - the rest might prefer e-zines or viewing content on a website...there is no correct answer - just a matter of personal preference.

I like the pencil and paper versions

Kind of a big move to make for a check engine light and rough idle, but as you said, I guess it wasn't worth the stress. I was wondering why you chose to replace a '13 C-Max with a Focus and not a '15 C-Max? Was it because of the problems, or because you just prefer the Focus? Our '13 C-Max with 30K miles was totaled a couple months ago. We considered other cars - nothing seemed to offer the same package of utility, fuel economy, comfort, power, and purchase price. OK, so it was going to be a C-Max...but with what options and what color exterior and interior? Well, we decided to get EXACTLY the same car (SEL, 302A, White Platinum/Medium Stone). I think we actually paid a little less than we did for '13, and we are happy as pie with the '15.

This is one reason I don't buy extended warranties . You pay for the extended warranty up front, may never use it, and then when you want to use it, they try to weasel out of standing behind the warranty. There is no right and wrong to it, but for the extended warranty to be worth it, you need to believe that the company has underpriced the warranty...that will all that they know, you believe that the total financial exposure is greater than the price they are charging. Sure, when it comes to insurance on your home or health or even the car (fire/theft/collision), the result of a tragedy is so devastating that are compelled to buy the coverage, but for small matters like tires and car repairs and electonics, I prefer to self insure.

We have an SEL with the upgraded Sony head unit - I consider the base radio sound quality fair to poor - the Sony unit only fair, at best. That assessment is based on the sound of the Sirius radio and USB drives; I have heard that CDs sound better, but I have not tested that (who uses CDs anymore? I say that, and I work for a CD/DVD company!). I consider the operation of the system to be good to very good. Yes, some functions are controlled with small buttons on the touch screen, and I have a few more minor quibbles, but the system does usually recognize my voice commands and does what it's supposed to do.

"Elsewhere CR says the owner survey data show cars overall have continued to improve in reliability in recent years. Thus "average" is pretty good." Exactly! We had our '13 SEL for 30K miles - it never had to go back to the dealer for anything but software updates. Our '15 SEL has been perfect so far (OK...only 600 miles LOL) Let's suppose that the average car has a problem that requires a repair once during the 3 year warranty period, and a specific model has a problem that requires a repair once every year and half, then that is twice as often, and yes, much worse than average...but still not too bad

Well, I don't think they are gimmicky, if they actually do something, and if there are reasons why each mode could be the best under certain conditions. For example, if a car has adjustable suspension, but the sport setting always seems to be the best setting, regardless of driver or road conditions, then sure, the adjustable suspension is nothing more than a gimmick.

2 modes - I like it! Softer acceleration sounds like less aggressive gearing and lower revs for a given speed and throttle position - nice for long uphill climbs without reving the engine like crazy I wish we also had more than 1 hill descent mode. Going down steep grades to and from the AZ mountains, the hill descent mode gets the engine screaming at ~4,000 RPM. It's probably not harmful, but it sounds bad

Our 2013 SEL rear door handles did seem to have the sensors, our 2015 identically equipped (even paint color) SEL does not appear to have the sensors... so I think that is a vote for: yes, LESS intelligent

OK thanks for your reply and also the photo. At this point, the 2015 has only traveled 350 miles. I know (from owning the 2013) how to change the oil, rotate the tires and inspect/replace the air filter and cabin air filter. Everything else should be covered by warranty for the next 3 yrs/36K miles. Based on your input, I think the online subscription seems to be better than the DVD and might be worth checking out...someday, when I need it. Thank you again.

Thank you. I bought a 2013 CM manual on e-bay for ~$20 - it is supposed to be the same as the dealer uses - it does not seem that way to me. It did not seem to give a lot of explanation and verbiage - just mostly symbols and drawings for the procedure. Maybe that's the way the manuals are nowadays, and I'm just showing my age? The manual is on DVD and yes it needs to be in the DVD drawer when accessing the manual. We recently replaced our '13 with an identical '15 CM, so I'm not sure how different the '15 manual would be - maybe a 72 hour subscription would be a good way to investigate. Does the one your friend sent you seem the same as your online access manual you purchased from Ford? Thank you again.

What Workshop Manual? Do you mind sharing where you got it and how much it cost?