salsaguy

so they downloaded post data from your car not just that days test drive with the engineers? Did they say they were doing that? how long can that data be stored in the car? i know it can store a few minor bits/bytes for trouble codes but not weeks worth of full blown engine data. surely it can't hold too many days worth of engine performance without some sort of HDD drive. RAM/ROM only holds a little and usually resets at power down but yes I'm sure they used those events to make tweaks to 2014 or beyond models.

wish there wer 2 cmax owners on this forum who lived close enough to each other so you could do a 10 miles drive in court and highway and then switch drivers in same car and so the same route as 1st driver to compare.obviously some traffic will be different but you get the ideas how 2 can get the same or different results in the same car. or have them swap cars and both do the route at the same time then switch it. and compare notes.

sounds great kind of like a self study and then get graded by the masters like Jus and recump and get feedback. can't wait to see.be sure you mention of you are going up our downhill or if it's flat and if you are in eco cruise or pulse and gliding or featheribg the pedal.Will really help others here I'm sure. kudos to you.

i think it's not just premium gas but the brand as well. premium Arco crap gas is not the same as Premium Shell, Mobil, 76 or Chevron . there was an interesting article i read where it talks about how if you change brand each time you fill up you are creating a new gas blend so it's best to stick with one brand for at least 5000 miles then switch to a different to get the best life in your car and minimize deposits and crud in your tank. what brand did you use snig? see here: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

hey twolazydogs, welcome. i am also a potential cmax buyer. would love to hear your thoughts **in a separate forum** on why you add looking to get the cmax and how did you hear about it and what you expect out of the car, etc.the whole story.lots of good info here in the forums and great friendly folks willing to help you learn all about your next car and how to get the best mpg out of it.

wow lots of wires.looks like a roll bar. can't wait for the vids.do you have a list of things you plan to shoot first? are you taking requests? maybe you can sell a setup to Jus and recump so they can shoot some vids. put a standard threaded camera bolt there so anyone can mount any small digital camera in the bottom tripod mount threaded hole in their cam

i think having the cmax designed for fun in mind and the entire driving experience instead of just for hypermilers (not everyone wants to be a geek in that club, many of who Prius owners think they are better than the rest of the world) does hurt the C-maxes mpg a bit but as most owners and reviews have said, they would rather drive a cmax for the pleasure of driving than a prius any day. i do agree they should have lowered the epa numbers a bit but hopefully we will see it all worked out for the betterment of the car community.

most companies do usually release cars at the last quarter of the year, historically. but then the next year model is released when the total quota for the current year is made and shipped out, so if they made all 200,000 cars planned to be made for 2013 (for example) then the 2014s Would come out very quickly instead of waiting a full 9-12 months as per the norm. i do think all hybrid mfgs should rethink when to release them as they seem to be very susceptible to cold temps. I'm surprised they didn't realize this, but maybe because all their final testing on the tracks were done in the early to middle of the year which was when it all looked good. then winter came and BAM!!

yes with the lithium ion battery in the cmax, it won't be the same as driving in a prius with their old tech nimh battery. CMax also has the highest mph threshold to stay in EV where prius gets out of EV at a pretty low number. it's all about knowing your tool/car and maximizing it for what it can do and minimizing the areas where it is weak.

recump, add a keyboard and a few more radios and you have the full blown police/highway patrol setup there. :)

in my Passat you can play DVDs but only in park. once you go over 5 mph or some low speed it shuts off the video but you can still listen to the voices/audio. some folks figured out how to recode it to put the speed threshold at a much higher value so you can watch "DVD in motion" but of course of you get caught you will get a ticket since it is illegal. hence why Ford doesn't want you to get video there.it's too much of a temptation/distraction and no way to know who is watching or not.

no worries Jus. yeah we will use costco or AAA when it's time. this also makes it harder to get a test drive since we aren't ready to buy yet but still want to test it out on the road, but dealers are less likely to just let you drive it "for fun" (in their eyes) when you aren't a buyer in the next month. and since we can't find any CMaxes for rent..... hope the 2014s have most of the bugs tweaked out by the time we get one.wish they had some differences but looks like nothing will change, at least on paper but I'm sure there will be changes not mentioned but done to fix some issues esp after that JD Power report.

until they switch to median mpg instead of average mpg, it's all subjective. avg is such a worthless statistics when trying to speak about a sample set to represent the population due to it taking the extreme values and skewing the data because of them. simple stats 101 students know this.why can't these websites? you don't see avg home prices, do you? nope it's median home price for a reason. to minimize the effects of the extreme high/low value which DON'T represent the majority of the other owners/values that do. one day.....

best of luck fixing it. i agree call around and see all your options to figure out what to do. go with a pro. perhaps someone in your are can recommend someone? to ensure they stick with the magnet you need the rare earth neodymium (sp??) magnets. Will make it hard to remove them too. Will need a soft bottom so it won't scratch the paint. might make it hard to position since the mag will be quickly attracted to the metal and force your hands to where IT wants to go not where you want it positioned. needs to be a balance of staying power but still movable.

Jus, yes i know but remember the Cmax will be for my wife not me as I already have my 2012 Passat. the hold up is that my wife (cutie75) has been out of work for over a year now, and a good chunk of that to take care of me while i was out on medical leave last year (almost 3 months in the hospital). she has been interviewing a lot but still waiting on the offers to come in. when she gets the job we can then think about the purchase of the CMax. not many dealers will let you buy a car without a job. having 2 car loans at the same time is a big negative, but she is due for a new car for sure. in fact she was supposed to get the new car before i did but when my last 2004.5 Passat for rear ended by a semi truck and for totaled out (not the reason for me being in the hospital), i had to replace it and so hence how i got the Passat before she got her new car. CMax soon but yes not soon enough. can't wait.

+3, why do you say this? you make Ford out to be crooks when in fact EVERY car mfg has to put "your mileage may vary" in fine print because it's true. if they didnt every sue happy person would have a claim in court. the mpg # is just that, it's ONE SINGLE number, not a range which we know has to be applicable since every car is different as well as every driver and route. there is variation in every product made by humans and even by machines since we don't live on planet Perfectia. blame the regulations for not allowing a range to be used for mpg instead of a single number. that is the true problem. please sell your Cmax immediately if you feel cheated and don't ever buy another car again as all mfgs will be deceiving you with their "bogus mpg" number. and if you get more than the posted mpg value be sure to return the money to them since you didnt get the posted mpg number either.

Sean welcome to the cmax club. we hope you are enjoying your car. lots of great tips and tricks and experts getting 50-60 mpg and over 600-750 miles on one tank of gas. I would suggest to reset your lifetime average so you start it clean to wipe out whatever the dealer and test drivers did to for mpg. Also there is a view on the dash to show what the load is and how much each is affecting your mpg. Also if you have MFT 3.5.1 there is a display in the 8" center display where you can see how the engine and battery and loads paths are being used.

Adair, you should record a video on your cell phone to show the dealer it's real and not something you made up.

KAL, if you keep pumping gas to get to the nearest 25 cents after it has clicked off, then your mpg numbers will be off, usually lower than they could be.

wamba, i think you meant to say "...is NOW a 1 kick operation." instead of NOT :)

garage might help a little bit but the diff from garage temp vs. outside temp is maybe only 20-40 degrees but the engine needs to warm up to what line at least 160-200 degrees? so engine will still have to come on to ensure its lubricated enough and warm enough to not cause damage to the parts. I'm sure running with full synthetic oil will help as well esp in the cold area.

yeah it would help to have someone sit in the backseat behind the driver to show road and then close up of dash display. I'm sure it's hard to do it with one person only and try to figure out how to mount the can for best view. with 2 you can zoom in and out. the mpgomatic videos on YouTube are ok but he shows the cam facing him instead of on the road or the dash display which counts more to help learn the techniques. we needed one for city/ town roads, and one for highway/freeway for the double tap thing.

the pix i saw on their website shows them installed on the roof and yes the center pod was right in front of the GPS/sat radio antenna. see step 3.and i guess you didn't see step 5 when doing yours eh? :rant: http://www.gaspods.com/installation/

still waiting for the commercial to re-air on tv. only saw 5-7 seconds of the end.

thanks for the video link Hannah. it's very good to see a more recent test drive/review with better mpg for the cmax since most of the early reviewers were done in Oct/Nov 2012 with the bad cold weather hurting its mileage.i wonder what all those cmax haters who said it couldn't get more than 30 mpg will say now. glad they were objective. both do offer good and bad things so it's up to the driver to pick. if you're gonna live inside of a car for a good part of each day, for about 5-7 years of your life, you better pick the car that is more comfortable and upscale with tech and features (c-max) than the other out there. in a few years i can see how a buyer would regret getting a prius if they had been in a c-max for any amount of time for a test.