Forum Helpful for Buyers

[ScubaDadMiami]

Now that my new C-MAX is finally here :yahoo: , I just want to say thank you to everyone for sharing your valuable knowledge of the C-MAX.  This Forum is such a great and valuable resource!  :worship:

 

Thanks to what I have been able to learn here, my dealer was surprised, to say the least, at how I was ready to drive off the lot without needing the usual vehicle tour.  I got in, remembered to put my foot on the break to start, paired the phone and synched the contacts, and was pretty much ready to go.  (NAV was a new item that was not in my 24 hour test drive vehicle.  So, I did appreciate his briefing on that and some of the other features.)  I gave full credit to this Forum as the tremendous resource that it truly is, and told representative that this would be a great place for anyone thinking about the C-MAX to get solid information from actual drivers.

 

I am trying to put to good use all that I have learned.  So, since we were sitting with the air conditioning running while doing the vehicle delivery, I left the dealership, ran down the road charging the batteries, and then I found a gas station for the first fill up.  I reset all information including lifetime (which I would never have known about without this Forum), and drove the almost 85 mile trip home, making two stops along the way to show my new C-MAX to family members.  On my maiden voyage of probably 85 percent highway (AVG @ 60 MPH) miles after the reset, I am already getting 44.5 MPG. 

 

Thanks again!  :) 

[Laurel]

What a sweetie pie you are!  That was so well written and so nice to hear.

[mtb9153]

I think there is something wrong with my SEL.  If a brand new owner can drive home with A/C on and already capture a 44.5mpg reading.  Then there is something wrong with my car.  I've been driving since September of 2012 and I can't get above 41mpg running on premium while driving on flat roads with the A/C off.  This is really getting to me or can anyone tell?

[Jus-A-CMax]

I think there is something wrong with my SEL.  If a brand new owner can drive home with A/C on and already capture a 44.5mpg reading.  Then there is something wrong with my car.  I've been driving since September of 2012 and I can't get above 41mpg running on premium while driving on flat roads with the A/C off.  This is really getting to me or can anyone tell?

mtb - take it to your Ford service advisor and let them know you are getting poor mileage. They have the tools to see if your engine is running optimally or not. You are running a tier 1 gas correct, not the Arco crap?

 

Also, mind you, SF can be a hilly area and FL is flat as a tack and if you're like me, hills/grades will chew up more gas especially if you have traffic sticking to your rear like a toilet paper (as you once described).

Edited May 28, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[ScubaDadMiami]

It was cloudier than usual yesterday, and it only hit 87F.  So, I was able to set the Air conditioner to 73F, and to have the fan on about number three speed.  (I think the clouds and tinting allowed for this.)  I did use Recirculate.  I also used Eco Cruise on the highway portions (though there were a lot of times that I was looking at the screen and thinking to myself, "Really?  No EV here?  I could surely do better than this.")  Yes, it is pretty flat down here.  I sure hope the MPGs don't drop when it climbs to our typical 92-94F for this time of year.

 

It seemed that I could not get meaningful EV at 63 MPH, which is why I dialed it back to just above 60.  It was quite windy yesterday.  So, I have a feeling that this could account for the max EV speed limit being a little reduced.  Once I got down to city driving, the MPGs were going up, up, up.

 

I have to do some more highway driving today.  Today is a rainy day.  It will be interesting to try to learn highway driving under these conditions.

 

Overall, it seems that learning to find the right balance for highway speeds and techniques will take a while.

Edited May 28, 2013 by ScubaDadMiami

[fotomoto]

Scuba and other new owners,  reset the main AVG meter daily (let trip 1 or 2 keep track of the tank) to see how different driving scenarios affect mpg's.  Don't be alarmed if you see, like I do, sub-20's at the beginning as the meter will take wild swings right after a reset; especially with a cold ICE.  

 

I'm not too much north of you in terms of lattitude so our temps are fairly close.  Yes, heat and wind will have negative affects but the a/c penalty isn't as bad as folks needing heat up north during their winters.  I use Auto mode and I've watched the energy use in "My View".  After the initial cool down, power usage drops significantly.   Living along the gulf, wind is the killer for me.  Today we'll have sustained 20-25mph with gusts to 40 and forecast of near 50 for tomorrow!   Unfortunately, these moist winds are the fuel for tornadic activity in the central US.   :sad:    But every cloud has a silver lining because trips with a tailwind like these are awesome!   :rockon:

[mtb9153]

mtb - take it to your Ford service advisor and let them know you are getting poor mileage. They have the tools to see if your engine is running optimally or not. You are running a tier 1 gas correct, not the Arco crap?

 

Also, mind you, SF can be a hilly area and FL is flat as a tack and if you're like me, hills/grades will chew up more gas especially if you have traffic sticking to your rear like a toilet paper (as you once described).

Jus, just to let you know I made an app today to take it in on the 4th of June their earliest possible day.  Guess they are busy, as I left I drove through the service area and all the bays had cars in them.  I told them I wanted the outstanding field service actions performed.  I'm also going to mention that my fuel mileage is so much lower than all of yours, especially you in similar terrain and driving temps and conditions.  Today we hit 90 so I had the A/C on all day in my driving around the valley.  As for gas I never use rotten robbie or arco, it's crap.  I mainly use Union 76 or Valero because they usually have the lowest price.  Sometimes Chevron as a special treat if the price is decent, but they are always the highest around here.

Edited June 1, 2013 by mtb9153