Was transmission bearing inspected by Ford when under warrenty?

[BrendanC]

Seeking clarity:  Did owners under warranty receive recall notice advising Ford dealer inspect bearing and install kit, or change transmission?  Or was it only when it started to give?

 

Low mileage, early model year C-Max cars are starting to be sold by government (I've had good experience buying a govt vehicle).  There are other economy cars I could buy from same lot, so unless I can get a super fantastic price, why take a chance figures me?  But if Ford notified GSA, and these cars were inspected, I'd maybe take a chance for.right price.

[homestead]

No recall.  Transmission would have to be removed to inspect, too costly plus I think they knew when they started putting the correct parts in.

My 2013  has about 62k, no problem yet. (fingers crossed)  I think most the transmissions failed around 100k.  If yours failed before 8yrs / 100k miles

ford would replace under warranty.

Edited November 5, 2021 by homestead

[BrendanC]

Thanks.  I bought a tdi around that time.  I would not have thought Ford would conduct business like this, but as I recall it was under immense pressure to bring average mpg of its fleet down, and wasnt going to tamper with high margin trucks and SUV's.

 

Would you pay $5k for a 2013 in good shape and 50k (with new tires), then have kit installed?  Or just pay $7k for a Hyundai or Chevy something?  These are as-is auction prices, but govt isn't turning back miles or hiding problems.

[BrendanC]

There are a couple of C-Max cars that might go less than that at auction, given this and as-is nature of sale. 

[homestead]

On 11/5/2021 at 5:43 PM, BrendanC said:

Would you pay $5k for a 2013 in good shape and 50k (with new tires), then have kit installed?  Or just pay $7k for a Hyundai or Chevy something?  These are as-is auction prices, but govt isn't turning back miles or hiding problems.

 

5K is a good deal I think they are going for about 10k now.  As far as the transmission it will be expensive to pull it and install the correct part.

But the c-max may get 100k without doing anything.  Look at the 2016 C-max's, no transmission problem and sync 3 to boot.

[BrendanC]

I'll clarify:

I checked prices before registering and posting here. That was easy.  I know replacing the bearing involves dropping transmission.  How did did you put it - it's expensive?  Thanks for the insight.  I'm not asking you to tell me what I should do, I'm asking 2013/2014 C-Max owners what they would choose, knowing what they know now: bid at this auction, which has a few 14/15's in good shape, or stay away. Ford built this throw-away to get mpg down on its fleet, buying time till it stopped selling sedans altogether.  If you knew that then, would you have bought?  

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by BrendanC

[homestead]

I wouldn't buy a 2013 -2015 with the transmission or sync 2 problems.  I bought in april 2013 before these problems where known.   I would find the cutoff date when Ford started putting in the correct trans. part and buy that year or later.  I would also steer away from SE models as they had battery discharge problems from wet wiring.

2015 may be ok for the transmission but it still has sync 2 thats why I suggest 2016 model.

I haven't had any serious problems with my 2013 SEL so far.

I was considering buy a 2017 Energi to replace my 2013 but decided that I wanted more storage area in the back so eventually I will probably go with a PHEV Escape.

My son has a 2016 Energi that has been working well too.

[cr08]

Just a small nitpick, but I wouldn't pit Sync 2 as a make or break. Get it updated to 3.8 or 3.10 (the last versions released that basically fixed the major bugs and made it reliable) and you're good. Before I made the jump to Sync 3 in my '13, my Sync 2 APIM had been updated to 3.10 and has been rock solid for some times. No complaints from me. Unfortunately too many people forget the fact that we are in an age where we do have to deal with software updates that actually do provide tangible improvements and fixes. And with Sync you at least have the option to do this DIY with nothing more than a USB drive (caveat being if the PO -never- updated it from the factory specs. There was a specific version where if you are on a version prior to that you'd need to have a dealer do a low level firmware update on the APIM so it could get past that hurdle. You can infer this from Ford's SyncMyRide website and seeing what update level you are at and any updates it offers to you.).

 

Or if you're interested, budget for an upgrade to Sync 3. The prices are slowly coming down and so many sell kits now with everything you need plus programming for your vehicle ahead of time so it is 100% plug and play with zero vehicle modifications. Sync 3 is still receiving updates (in fact just received an 'unofficial'/unreleased update on 10/20) and has been rock solid in my experience. And it gives you access to Android Auto and CarPlay which are invaluable IMHO.

 

Other than that, the rest I agree with. The transmission is going to be one of the biggest question marks on these years and the main thing to be aware of when shopping around. Other than that the vehicles are pretty reliable. I've been very happy with my '13 Energi. 86k on the odometer and knock on wood no transmission issues just yet. Just basic maintenance so far. Oil changes and tires and that's it and I've had it for 4 1/2 years now and tacked on about 35-40k miles myself.

[homestead]

On 11/5/2021 at 10:00 PM, cr08 said:

Just a small nitpick, but I wouldn't pit Sync 2 as a make or break. Get it updated to 3.8 or 3.10 (the last versions released that basically fixed the major bugs and made it reliable) and you're good. 

 Before I made the jump to Sync 3 in my '13, my Sync 2 APIM had been updated to 3.10 and has been rock solid for some times. No complaints from me.

 

Glad your sync 2 was working great for you and yet you decided to spend hundreds to upgrade to sync 3.?

I upgraded to 3.10 several years ago and didn't notice a difference from 3.8 except they removed the car self-test.

It is currently working ok with a few quirks, sometimes I need to press the home button to refresh the screen.  Sometimes

it will display the wrong fm radio station as being selected and you have to change stations and re-select the correct station.

And the worst a couple times a year it will freeze up entirely and you have pull the fuse so it will reboot.

Just barely OK for us but not willing to spend $$ to upgrade unless it starts having more serious bugs.

And I wouldn't buy another sync 2 car or truck.  Even the Ford Engineers call sync 2 a polished turd.  ?

[cmaxski]

2013 Ford CMAX SE. Bought it brand new in July 2013. Dealer just confirmed my suspicions. Transmission bearing failed at 79,995.0 miles.

 

Called FORD Customer Relationship Center on 02/10/2022. This is a known problem on 2013-14 CMAX and Ford Fusions.  TSB14-0214.

 

FORD response (very polite) a TSB is not a recall, we will not pay to repair the vehicle.

 

Case# CAS35361204.

 

OPTION 1. Looking for any information I can find for a local shop to replace with a rebuilt transmission other than by the dealer. Their quote was of course, astronomical.

 

OPTION 2. Anyone want to buy it, fix it themselves? Taking offers.

All documentation, recalls done, and service records since new.

One owner, adult driven, non-smokers, no accidents. Ruby Red. TEXAS car, no rust ever!

New 12 volt battery Nov. 2021. Oil and filter change Dec. 2021. Two new tires and alignment Jan. 2022. 

You can see I did not intend to part with it.

 

Contact me at richardurbanski@hotmail.com

Located in Mansfield TX 76063.

 

Best car I ever owned until this happened.

 

Also own a Ruby Red 2016 Ford CMAX SEL with 45,500 miles on it. It is still under Warranty.

[homestead]

Yeah, known problem.

My 2013 has about 62k, holding my breath.

I think some bought a used tran and had it replaced to to save $$.

How much of your driving was city vs highway?

Good Luck!

[SnowStorm]

FYI, the 14-0214 TSB has been superseded by 16-0105 available here. It outlines either replacing the whole transmission (if the housing is worn internally) or just installing a tranfer shaft kit.  Lots of $$$ either way, no doubt.  What was the dealers quote?

[cmaxski]

Before 2020 probably 90% city, less than 50mph; commute 25 miles per day. Then we moved and commute was all highway 65 miles per day at 70mph. That is when things started quickly going south.

 

[Ramjm]

On 2/12/2022 at 4:02 PM, cmaxski said:

Before 2020 probably 90% city, less than 50mph; commute 25 miles per day. Then we moved and commute was all highway 65 miles per day at 70mph. That is when things started quickly going south.

 

Sorry to hear about your issue, I’m thinking I might have the same problem. I purchased a mint fully loaded 13’ SEL last June that has been a joy until I noticed the whining sound at start up and when the ICE kicked in this winter. I chalked it up to the cold weather and maybe an inverter issue since it only occurred when the ICE was on. I have 88K on it now but it was a Dec 12 build date so I’m screwed I’m sure. We got a decent deal on it so if the dealer doesn’t take care of me I’ll be looking for a rebuilt unit as well. Do you mind sharing what the dealership was going to charge? Mine runs great at the moment just has the whine but I know it’s only a matter or time. Would having them change the oil in the transmission be beneficial? Are folks just waiting until it self destructs and then repairing? Or will waiting ruin more than just the trans?