salsaguy

Be sure to report all Good and BAD dealers here so others are aware and look up one that is better for you http://www.dealerrater.com/

Please post some pix of the interior / seats with dash as Id like to see how it looks with the 2 tone look that I dont like We are pretty sure we will get terling grey one and I prefer the darker interior but wife may want tan but its so darn hard to stay clean yes darker shows more dust but hides marks that are impossible to hide on lighter seats will have to see one in person with both color options at the dealer before we make a decision enjoy your new car and welcome

The upgrade to the SEL is worth it as it increases resale value (trade in value if leased) and also adds lots of stuff you WILL end up using/enjoying a lot more. no reason to chimp when you are buying a $30k car the $2000 averaged out for the life of the car loan is very very little a month $33 on a 5 yr loan / $55 on a 3 yr loan

The card only includes MAPS, streets, highways, and Points of Interests updates (food,gas, businesses) that have changed since the last SD card was put out. There is absolutely NO software / patches to the Ford system on the card. TO update your synch system you download the software from the microsoft site and update it yourself on your own separate SD card see here for an example: http://support.ford.com/sync-technology/install-updates-sync-myford-touch and http://support.ford.com/topics/sync-technology-sync-myford-touch#topic-item-6\

Have you posted over on the Synch My Ride forums area or put in a trouble ticket with Microsoft / Ford?

Even if you drove the highway all the time there is still some street driving to get you TO the freeway and lights and traffic and onramps, are always present on your trip (I doubt anyone lives 10 feet from the hwy) so no way you can actually AVG 65 mph even if you drive highway all the time, hence why they have to assume a lower average # EPA considers anything above 48 mpg average for your entire tank to be 100% Highway driving.

Nice find wonder how everyones personal numbers match up to their site when you adjust the sliders to match your inputs on style and conditions of course they dont include cold starts which does negatively affect the numbers its nice to see BETTER numbers for the CMax for once

Didnt this happen in the past last year where someone had siad they drove their cmax thru water/puddle and water spashed up and a connector was found to have water intrusion causing a short and thus draining the battery? Also there is a way to move the shift lever to neutral, you have to open a little hidden latch to disengage the xmission lever check your manual

Tint isn't only for heat and uv protection bit also to avoid/cut down on glare on your eyes when the sun is to your left.with my extreme dry eye syndrome and with that super sensitivity to bright light/Sun, tint is a must for me. And good tint doesn't bubble or peel.or discolor, only the cheap stuff does that. Yes most cars come stock with some form of smoke/tint on the glass to begin with to cut down on uv days and glare.

Huh what white dots? What do they do?

Why did you have the # dealer # do the tint for you instead of a real tint shop that would do it the way YOU wanted it and most likely a better job and for cheaper?? :(

Map updates are not needed every year.they only change roads infrequently and it takes a LONG time before the construction is completed and they can officially update the road data that is then sold to the OEMs who make the GPS units. Only the pois really change a lot with business coming and going..I'd recommend getting new map cards every 2-3 yrs. It's not mandatory. You can go to the navteq site to see if there are actually new roads in your area.Most companies use their road data. You can compare different version of maps I believe and also send in fixes/adds/edits to road data when you see it's wrong on your GPS so that it eventually gets fixed in the next version. I agree the stock GPS units in cars are way overpriced and don't have as many features as the consumer GPS units like Garmin. It's all the testing and qualification that any car part had to go thru that makes parts so expensive. OEM stuff had to lay 10 years whereas consumer stuff is only expected to last 2-3 yrs before being replaced/obsolete. Consumer gpses also have alot more and cooler features than stock and some gps's can even be customized by the owner as they want. It's sad they charge so much. Garmin can do it for cheap because it's just the GPS part, not all the other stuff like HD radio and cars info screen that has to integrate with many systems to work. Some of you may have forgotten that the free maps and traffic units used to have a BUNCH of ads on them to pay for the free services. A lot of folks complained and I think they finally removed the ads in the newest models. Not sure since the last time I bought a new Garmin was several years ago now.

I use my Sun/moon roof in my Passat all the time when driving around town to let in air and not have to use the a/c. Also lets the hot air rise UP and get out when parked in the sun. Open windows are on the side and don't let out as much. Not planning on getting the pano roof on the wife's cmax as it's not worth it. And if it only gives the "sense" of a bigger space but it's actually smaller/tighter inside with it installed then no thanks. Also with the added pano glad w on top it will make you use your a/c to cool the cat MORE since the light will get thru it and transmit more heat into the cabin than a cmax without one. More A/C = lower mpgs They need to allow you to"pop the top"

No mention of the 2015 yet.the 2014 just came out so... Yes they is an engine block heater for the CMax The hybrid may not be the best car flee you if you live in a cold/snow state as many in the forums have had much lower gas mpg numbers like in the 30-35 mpg range.don't expect the full 40-50 as those here in California with perfect hybrid temps will see. Dark colors like dark blue and black will always show dust and scratches more than a white or silver car. The silver does not look good on the cmax.the most popular color I've seen is the platinum grey and the white and the ice storm which looks like light aqua blue/green.

Note if you don't want to lose your lifetime avg mpg data you won't want to do the master reset. I've heard others who have CMaxes here had to replace their GPS module as well when their car kept showing off road and wouldn't "snap" back to the road. Most GPS manufacturers have an algorithm to compensate for when you make turns so it shows you in the correct location. If he accuracy of the GPS is not good and its something like +/- 30 to 45 feet, then it has a delay and always assumes/thinks you are continuing straight until it senses you have gone past the envelope window set by the mfg for a turn parameter. Also remember that in the map/road data, it's set up so that the corner of the street where the sidewalk is located and you turn is actually located further down the street in the middle of the intersection, not at the corner, so some gpses can be fooled if the window is not setup correctly. It's called "rubber banding".

Not a good idea IMO. Super dark tint also makes it more difficult to see out your side Windows at night when you want to change lanes and verify no one is going to hit you.

Just get medium tint all around (the split color/shade looks terrible) . They usually don't ticket you just for Tint alone unless it's crazy dark. They will pull you over something else like speeding and then tack on the tint issue. I have tint all around on my pass at. No issues so far. My trick in case an officer pulls up near my car or I see one from a distance is to do a quick "auto down" on both front windows until they pass me or other pass them is they are parked still. Most cars come from the factory with a little smoke shade on the window already so adding a light or medium tint on top of that will name it perfect. If you add dark on top of smoke you may have the issue your worrying about. Gotta get the tint though with that large front window sucking in the heat. Can't tint the front but at least you can do all others around the car. There are several here with tint and a thread about it I believe. Search for it.

On my Passat I can track the avg miles per hour for the tank in my trip computer. I log this in my Fuelly.com starts when I fill up for gas and take my mileage. My trip to work's on the freeway but since a lot of time is spent in traffic on the streets to get to the freeway, I only average 21 mi/hrs for the entire tank. There is table/calculation that is put out by the EPA to determine your % city vs % highway driving, based on your avg speed for the tank ( in miles per hour ). I will post it here: So if you avg 48 mi/hrs or more over the tank you are considered 100% highway driving. 21 mi/hrs and under you are considered doing 100% city driving. Here is the breakdown by each 10% : You need at least the avg mph value shown to move into the next higher level for % highway... AVG mph. / % hwy / % city 48 / 100 / 0 45.3 / 90 / 10 42.6 / 80 / 20 39.9 / 70 /30 37.2 / 60 / 40 34.5 / 50 / 50 31.8 / 40 / 60 29.1 / 30 / 70 26.4 / 20 / 80 23.7 / 10 / 90 21 / 0 / 100 This is the table you are supposed to use when you enter your fill up info at fuelly when it asks you % city % highway, if you have your account setup to ask for that. Most just guess without having a way top actually measure it. I'm sure many would be surprised if they actually knew how much they spent driving city mph speed. EDIT: here is the formula where this table is based on: http://www.fuelly.com/tip/555/Find-your-true-cityhighway-driving-splits

Yes this has been proven many times over that it takes a car usually 10-15 mins or about 5 miles to fully warm up and get efficient. Short trips age the worst.but if you are on EV mode running on electric power you should do good. So for folks only driving around town most of the time, they should own a plugin hybrid or an all electric. For those who do both town and highway then a hybrid is the best option. For those that do power miles/long distance most of the time, a diesel is the best option to get the best mileage.

Regarding your first paragraph, that means that has prices are impacting you even more if you're salary hadn't kept up with inflation which is true for most.which is why it's so hard for average people (poor and middle class incomes) to keep up and stay afloat our make any money off investments. Might be interesting to update the graph for an inflation adjusted price so we can see what that 50 cents price way back when , means to us in today's dollars. And you are not alone in the "would be buyer" bucket on this forum. I've been here on this forum for over a year reading info and posting and still waiting to get the C-max for my wife. Welcome..keep learning all you can here so you are ahead of the mpg game once you do get it.

Welcome jyoder, you will enjoy it here.TONS of great info on the cmax and incredibly fun and caring people to help, unlike on other forms about this car. Drive safe and enjoy buying less gas.

Just curious, what happened when you test drove the hybrid but then saw the severely limited trunk/back cargo area in the Energi, once they actully had one for you to see? Did you freak out or did you know up front there was no space back there due to the battery hump (mountain) ;) We would love an Energi if there was no hump.it's a deal breaker for us for sure, as it is for many folks.

Thanks for confirming I CAN indeed combine the Costco or AAA member discounted no hassle pricing along WITH the dealer incentives on top. We are about to do the same for our CMax as we just got a new card in the mail from Ford on the CMax. Wasn't sure if they only let you do one or the other. As for answering the question of this forum topic... We will have to use the dealer that participates is the AAA/Costco pricing, as not all of them do that.the problem is that there are only about 3 Ford dealerships that are relatively close by to us her in North Orange county (Los Angeles). You have to contact them that you ate a member and ate ready to buy and then they call you back with the dealer that is in that program that is closest to you. I did the same when I bought my Passat using the AAA pricing approved dealer. We will buy it from that special dealer but have to service it at the best dealer with the best reputation, which I'm worried about since I've read many horror stories about bad Ford service.I've had to deal bad service for my VW Passat in at least 4 dealers before I found a good one. Sad that service never lives up to the car experience. . My wife loved her Toyota service all these years experience and I know she won't feel the same way about the Ford experience after all these years. Most likely I will have to end up taking in her car for service to avoid getting yelled at by her on "why did you make me get a Ford??!!" ;) she is a stickler for high quality customer service since that's indirectly what she does for her own job. If they mess up even a little she will go OFF of them. :rant: :rant2: :redcard: I don't want her to get gipped out on a crappy Prius with joke looks and 10 yr old looking tech inside and all the squeaks and rattles (tin can) and with limited (no) options on finding a Hybrid vehicle that gets at least 35 mpg AND that's not a sedan/car AND sits high up on the seat (like her current SUV) as the CMax does...we don't have much else to look at...so I'm hoping we love the car buying experience bit ALSO love the service experience when it comes around to it. Don't want to be one of the unlucky ones....but with tks car out seems like always a roll of the dice. :(

John S, thanks for your response and input and insights on the training program. Yes as a Senior Quality Engineer (and certified QE) for various manufacturing companies for over 20 years, I know all too well about first year issues with any product. You will find many posts by me here stating that fact to others here about their issues tied to buying a "beta test/first gen/brand new development car", which is always a bad idea if you don't want to deal with minor(sometimes major) issues, tweaks, fixes, etc. I've been thru many recall of product from the field or had to have our field service folks fix things later due to issues with our products at initial launch. In my second company I even worked for an OEM manufacture to one of "The Big Four" auto mcg companies (back then). I completely agree about the initial quality issues, just was wondering about how much training you guys/gals received, as it's been posted here many times in the forums that the forum users know a lot (ALOT) more than their dealers/service managers knew about this car, which is kinda dad if you have to bring papers/printouts from an internet forum to your dealer top tell them how to diagnose/fix an issue they should be aware of and be trained on. I knew that most companies spend way too little on trading people, sadly. The "let the users/owners be the beta testers" model, so prevalent with Microsoft, needs to stop though. Yes there will always be defects and issues with anything new but it seems to many just "let it work itself out in time" which upsets customers. As a quality engineer, I have to be the voice of the customer and look at it from there point of view as well as my own companies. The Kano model (look it up when you have time) states that it's not just enough to MEET customers expectations, but to EXCEED them and be one step ahead of them and also to try and predict what they want, before they even knew they wanted/needed something....not an easy task. I look forward to your "insiders" point of view on this forum. Glad we have a rep from the company who can provide a different perspective since the car owners don't always see what it's like from the car complaints side of the world. They have a lot of things going on and with that many employees and moving parts/logistics, it's amazing just how fast things do get resolved sometimes, sms other times they take clever, like the "dead battery issue" which I've read recently is STILL affecting new owners.... BTW, if you check my signature or profile you'll see I'm a POTENTIAL CMax buyer for my wife's new car, to replace her 1999 Toyota 4Runner SUV (gas eater). I have been "lurking" ;) top gain as much insight I can to learn (train myself) about this car and all the good and bad things, before spending $30k+ for it. This forum is like an @ngies-list for the CMax :) We dont have the CMax.... ye,t but I have been on here for a long time and contributed a lot to the discussions and learning all about the CMax. We are getting very close to getting it finally though, I believe. At last year's Ford Eco-boost challenge I came in second place for my designated hour (only got beat out at the last 5 mins) for obtaining the highest mpg of the group with 98+ average mpg around the test track, partly due to the info on these forums. Looking forward to hearing more about your results/testing. Cheers

Scuba, I'm sure you staying on top of your car maintenance and using the better gas and tire pressure has helped you get that great 49 mph Fuelly average, at least somewhat. Have a great and safe trip. Let is know how the service goes.