salsaguy

Yes I agree Ford is best to stay on top of it. GM will be scarred flee life with their bad handing of the issue. And yes it's difficult to inspect for weld issues. Some are surface issues you can see with a loupe. Some you need to use NDT methods and special X-Ray fluorescent testing or dye penetrant to detect. Most likely the seats are done outside by a subtler supplier. I know when I was interviewing for a job one time for the company that made the heated and cooked seats in the Cadillac and Lexus cars many years ago. Most car companies outsource alot of the sub assemblies and only do the key components and processes in-house. Hope they get past it quickly. It is critical since a bad welds can crack and not maintain the strength of the seats during a crash. Since welds can be done manually or by robots they have to determine if the person was not trained properly or doing bad work and not checking after them selvesor if the machine was out of whack that caused the lesser quality weld joint. Hard to believe it wasn't caught sooner if they were doing random spot destructive tests to verify the quality. I worked in the automotive industry for an OEM supplier of electronic equipment that went into Chrysler cars at the time. Knowing what I know they do crazy amounts of testing and not just once but repeatedly each month and quarterly and there is an insane amount of paperwork the supplier has to submit to Ford to show their process / manufacturing system is set-up correctly and there are controls and systems in place to prevent problems. and if there is a problem it's usually caught earlier on when the part is still at the suppliers site instead of getting out into the field or to the end user/customer, as was the case here. With the millions of cars sold each year it is amazing just how few problems there are. I'm sure Ford is on top of it unlike what GM did (err, hump, DIDNT do). Even the smallest quality issues can cost someone their life. salsaguy Senior Quality Engineer for a manufacturing company

Perhaps the Ford rep can assist on this one? And get an answer directly from one of the engineers.

Great idea about the insurance.and if they balk or say no, contact Ford corporate and demand it. Or take them to court. They are lucky to get off so easy. They could be looking at a wrongful death suit if you had an accident on the freeway and something really bad had happened.

Cool. Good catch spotting of the CMax. Hope none of you have the same problem with yours. Never seen that one myself on tv Based on the release date in 2013, it was obvious they were riding on the hot cmax right after it was released to the public.

Be sure to park it in the garage as much as possible and use some car cover when not. Use a high quality wash and wax system like meguiars gold class or better. Do a clay bar deposit removal frequently and don't use a rotary device to polish so you don't get swirl marks.must be an orbital. Even with all that it's still impossible to keep clean out cool. Good luck

Yup truly stinks. I will make sure that is written in on the service ticket by manager before we pick up our car , when we end up buying it. Unless it's written they don't have to do it. A5 or walk out the door. Yes it's not much but it does add up if everyone dogs this. Hope ours is new enough build that it comes with A5 or we build it from scratch.

Ouch. Dog house for a month for sure on that one. :)

very nice car and very nice pix good camera work what camera did you use. you mentioned a DSLR in one of the pix

Not good glad u got it back lets hope that doesn't happen again and to others here not a very comforting thought for a brand new car guess the ghosts and still in the machine and all the bugs not yet worked out

Finally they have a different car to pick on in the news and forums instead of the poor CMax ;) they got the story wrong when they called it the Fusion CMax though :)

I guess it depends on when it was BUILT not when it was purchased. Your car could have been mfg 6 months ago and at that time the A4 card was the newest available and what was installed at the factory or at the dealer on receipt from factory. I believe the card is in the glove box when you pick up the car from what ive read here?

Welcome be sure to read all the tips and tricks posted by Just-A-CMax he is a WEALTH of info see these threads as a good place to start the CMax is a different animal than other hybrids and takes some changes to get the most out of it http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1751-jus-another-cmax-review/ http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/2599-my-2c-ev-driving/ http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1306-ford-cmax-irvine-pow-wow/

How cool is that

Just buy some LCD/Plasma TV screen cleaner and get a eye glasses cloth or lint free glass cleaning cloth and keep it in your car sealed in a zip lock bag to keep dirt out, or do it on weekly maintenance at the end of the week. The one I have is blue in color not green but its the same stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SVC2548G-27-Cleaner-Computer/dp/B003DNS89G/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401524142&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=panasonic+plasma+tv+gel+cleaner I use it for my tvs and tablets And after using the gel cleaner it should better resist fingerprints I would think Just wipe again with cloth to remove prints if they appear frequently Dont need to use the gel all the time

Yup looks like I sent it to the Canada rep instead :) DOH I resent it to you today so...

Yeah I can understand your pain. not easy for sure. 600 club is a challenge even for the most patient

Youll be glad you got the Hybrid instead keep up the great mpgs yeah if they made the Escape Hybrid that got the mpgs that the CMax got it would be a no brainer. lots more room, more SUV like seating/space and great mpgs thats all we want

Yes chips and scratches suck big time especially on a car less that 1 yr old I seem to be cursed on every new car I get and always have something happen to mess up the body or paint in the 1st year of all my cars. lets hope when we get my wifes CMax she wont be cursed the same way My Passat has 2 nasty long scratches on both left and right front doors (one i think from car wash and other I think intentional) :( I need to get these taken care of and I dont trust myself so I will have to pay a place to do it I have some chips on my front I can have them work on as well at the same time I have the Grey metallic with clearcoat like the Sterling Grey CMax color so....Im sure its harder to touch up Dont like the Oxford white for it being non-clear coat (or not as nice and glossy/pretty as the other more expensive white color for the CMax) but its a lot easier to touch up as you stated

If you buy a brand new CMax after the A5 came out though it would be acceptable to expect to get the latest A5 card with the new car, correct? you should not have to pay for an upgraded card

And dont forget to check out all these important and helpful owner videos on a lot of different topics for using your CMax efficiently: http://owner.ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/OwnerVideoPage

@ Marc Smith, why weather tech mats and not Monster Mats? the weather tech seem like they arent very attractive? unless you really need side protection from mud/snow? I see you live in VA so I guess that means cold rain/snow weather? :)

Huh? The SEL does have NAV. u just need to get the correct package level you dont need sirius subscription to use nav the gps maps are on qn SD card in the middle armrest compartment

Congrats on your CMAX good color choice U can get a warranty anytime later hope it doesnt have to be used but on a hybrid car that is only 2 yrs old its a crap shoot for sure

Agreed about the batteries not liking to be drained down 100% just like your phone or iPod batteries. they say if you do that the life is forever shortened by a lot and it will never hold a full charge again. Not sure about car batteries but doesn't seem unreasonable.

If getting an Energi be sure the smaller cargo area in the back is going to work for you. The hybrid had a much bigger cargo area which is still a lot less than most SUVs. Don't forget to locate the nearest charging stations around your town to charge for free, if you go that route. I say never lease a car as the always get you on the back end with even minor dings and scratches sms a little over max mileage and you get reamed big time with a big add on cost. If you do that start saving now for that unexpected expense. But with the electric car it may may sense and especially since a new CMax with new design is supposed to come out in 2015 so a short term may let you upgrade with a new model sooner.