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Hi, I hope that you can help a forum newbie. I have a 2014 SEL on loan for several days and have enjoyed it enough to consider buying. But reviews rate this car well below average and bad value used. Anyone care to explain? CU says "Electronics" are awful, and as a 1999 Taurus wagon owner I know all about random wipers, failed AC, etc. although the rest of that (analog) car has been solid and cheap to maintain. If electronics means just the inept MyFord+Sync "entertainment center" then I can live with that failure because I find radio vapid. I could get an SE to avoid it, but that model has unappealing interior aesthetics to me. So it's SEL or elsewhere if the rest of the electrical hardware sucks. Please enlighten me Thank you

Consumer Reports appears to have updated their car reliability survey results. That data is based on a large survey of owners. It is not CR editors' opinions. The 2013 C-max now shows up as "excellent" in all potential trouble areas except: Drive system - very good (2014 same) Fuel system - very good (2014 improves to excellent) Electrical system - very good ( " " ) Body Integrity - average (2014 same) Power Equipment - poor (2014 improves to average) Audio System - poor (2014 improves to below average) "Body integrity" includes squeeks, ratlles, wind noise, water leaks. "Power equipment" includes cruise control, wiper motor, lights, body control module, tire pressure monitors, and more. The overall reliability of the 2014 is rated as "average". They say they have insufficient data to report 2015 models. CR says that based on the data they expect reliability of a new C-max to be 17% below average. That is much better than the previous prediction (if I remember correctly it was something like 83% below average). I believe the improvement in the overal reliability score, and the improvement from 2013 to 2014, indicate Ford is fixing / has fixed many of the first model year problems with the C-max. The CR results are now closer to the pretty good reliability experience, based on a much smaller data set, reported at www.truedelta.com. I suspect that the below average overall scores may stem from above average numbers of C-max owners experiencing problems with the 12 volt electrical system (especially draining overnight and preventing vehicle start), and possibly the cold weather loud moaning vibration noise being counted as "body integrity". Elsewhere CR says the owner survey data show cars overall have continued to improve in reliability in recent years. Thus "average" is pretty good. These newest survey data should be good news for C-max owners -- especially those in the sunbelt with a new 12 volt battery.

On Mon we'll drive a demo car from 2 dealer consolidation; was told the car was forgotten on the merged lot. VIN shows 2/13 build so 8 months into year 1 :sad: , but only has a few hundred miles of demo driving and never licensed so sold new w/ full warranty :) . It's SE + MFT (no nav). I'd be keeping it for a decade+. If the sale is go I'd request 1) fresh fluids, 2) update MFT firmware, 3) new 12V battery. Anything else I should be concerned about on such an "old" car sitting in sun, so lightly driven? He's asking $18.9K+fees+tax, so high enough to haggle but thousands less than the increasingly rare new 2014 SEs (most w/o MFT) let alone identical 2015. I don't want SEL (unclear if failed battery is more frequent in SE or simply smaller # stats for SEL) heated leather seats or fog-lamps. What do experts here estimate is a fair settling price for this configuration? Kelly seems to indicate $17K, but I might well be mis-interpreting it. Thank you

I've finished a year in my 2013 C-Max Energy. I plan to post a report in the Energi forum, but I thought I would post a few comments here on things common to both the Energi and the Hybrid models for the benefit of those focused on the Hybrid who might not frquent the energi Forum. (at one year and 3000 miles) MPG in pure Hybrid mode: varies from low 40's to low 50's on return trips when I have no EV-only battery capacity left because I used all of the EV-only range on the trip out. I presume I would have seen the same with the Hybrid model. Reliability: I have not needed any service or repairs at all. Dead battery: I have not had that problem with this car. I did have that problem several times in my Camry Hybrid's first year of service. Recalls & TSB's: I have had the recall notice for the door chime fix, but since it does not actually do anything with the keyless ignition I have not bothered to get it done. I could use the double-kick hatch opening fix, but it rarely troubles me, so I have not bothered with that either. The headliner fix did not apply to my car, nor did the defective seatback problem. Engine oil: Not changed yet. I plan to switch to the 0W20 synthetic when I change oil. Noises: none. Roominess: Best I've had since my 1975 Coupe Deville. Utility: Best I've had since my 1968 Ford LTD Country Squire. A/C (added April 30): A/C is a very important thing here in Texas. We had many daily highs over 100 degrees here last summer. My C-max puts out colder air than any other car I've ever had. One day last week with outside temperature in the low 90's I measured below 40 degrees at the A/C outlet. Overall experience: Excellent.

I'm shopping for a hatchback hybrid and the C-Max SEL looks and drives the best by far. I'm totally sold on the car in every way, but like many I am squeamish about buying a model that is only in its second model year. I'm also concerned about long term reliability and repair cost of a Ford - which I have never owned. The decade of Prius ownership by friends and colleagues has convinced me of their reliability and low ownership cost, but I just like the C-Max way more. I've been reading this forum for the last week so I already know quite a bit about the short term issues/fixes. So, at the risk of asking a huge open-ended question... What are your opinions on the long term reliability and overall ownership costs of the C-Max Hybrid SEL?

Hi, fellow C-MAX owners! Yesterday I put in my order for an Ice Storm SEL with Charcoal interior and 302A goodies. Ice Storm (nice color name!) must be pretty popular as after much looking we had to order one to get what we wanted in that color. This is only the second US car I have owned, and it's very encouraging to see such a nice car produced nationally again. Sad to see that Ford has been rated second from the bottom of the reliability list by Consumer Reports, but happy to see that the SYNC and MyFord interface is one of the big reasons for that. As an aged software architect I don't think I'll have any problem with it, and it's nice to note that Ford has continually updated it for existing owners: next update Dec 10 and next year for some of us. Interesting to see how variable the MPG achieved is. Some reviews said that the longer-life batteries that can participate up to over 62 MPG did a lot to bump up the EPA rating in their tests and 47 MPG would be pretty hard to get in real life. But some others got pretty respectable MPG in their tests. I'm not going to be working to get 47; I'll just drive and expect that the car will take care of being pretty frugal. I have driven a VW Jetta TDI wagon for a while, and measured an actual 47 MPG highway average on a trip from Connecticut to California, and a normal around town rate of 36 MPG (I record mileage and MPG at every fillup and have done so for about 40 years!). I guess if the C-MAX comes close to that I'll be happy. Sorry to lose a bit of cargo space compared to the VW, glad to get more and nicer rear seat room. A big reason for choosing the C-MAX was the very nice interior and comfortable seating; leather is unavailable in the VW Sportwagen and not optional in our view. The active noise cancellation is brilliant and makes a noticeable difference on the road. BTW, some comments here about leather are wrong in my experience. Hot in the sun, harder to keep nice? We got leather because we had to back in 1982 but were surprised that leather heats up much less than vinyl or plastic in the sun, and it resists scratching, tears, and stains a lot better too, as our two rambunctious boys demonstrated. We would have paid to install leather at an upholstery shop if we had bought the VW. No comparison, in my view. To cloth, the big difference is staining and sweat absorption (with smell coming later). You do have to maintain leather, but you are talking once or twice a year. The 0-60 time for the C-MAX is given as about 8.8 seconds, much quicker than my first sports car, a Triumph TR3. Times have changed! The car feels very capable on the road too though I won't be seeking out twisty mountain roads! I'm looking forward to delivery in what? February? Jerry Mouton