What accessories or add-ons would like you to see for the C-Max

[asb]

On the SE model, something besides compass and efficiency leaves on the right display.  What a waste.  Not sure why the entertainment module can't display there.

 

I see a lot more than that on mine.  The entertainment module and phone calls, messages, etc.  I like it when I am running nav because the display is simplified and easier to follow sometimes than the center display.

[Mark426]

Accessory/add-on/option...Daytime running lights and memory seats.

 

Not an accessory /add-on but as said earlier...get rid of the shifter and use push buttons or go with a Prius style shifter. The center console would then be actually useful. I don't really understand the purpose of a huge shifter in the 1st place.

[Phil1336]

Accessory/add-on/option...Daytime running lights and memory seats.

 

Not an accessory /add-on but as said earlier...get rid of the shifter and use push buttons or go with a Prius style shifter. The center console would then be actually useful. I don't really understand the purpose of a huge shifter in the 1st place.

Just because Daytime Running Lights is only available as a Fleet Only Option # 942 for $45. you can still have them activated/enabled on your 2013 C-MAX if you insist and go to the right Ford Dealership.  The Dealers will tell you that the Body Control Module "BCM" can no longer be modified within the IDS Programmer to allow for DRL activation.  2 Dealerships confirmed this lie including a reply from the Ford Tech Support Center.  3rd Dealership pulled the Rabbit from the Magic Hat.  $100 labor charge and now my C-MAX has DRL`s!  Having U.S. Spec Ford Vehicles that are not destined for Canada to have Daytime Running Lights is like having impacted wisdom teeth removed.  In this case, "Stupid Teeth"!

[fbov]

DRLs are a safety feature, but not a free one in a hybrid. You pay for the electrical load at the gas pump. Granted, I expect the affect to be small, but many small affects is where you get the big gains.

 

In this case, I'd be standing at the pump saying " stupid DRLs" so I don't ahve to blame my poor hybrid driving skills... maybe that's not such a bad idea!

 

HAve fun,

Frank

[Phil1336]

DRLs are a safety feature, but not a free one in a hybrid. You pay for the electrical load at the gas pump. Granted, I expect the affect to be small, but many small affects is where you get the big gains.

 

In this case, I'd be standing at the pump saying " stupid DRLs" so I don't ahve to blame my poor hybrid driving skills... maybe that's not such a bad idea!

 

HAve fun,

Frank

The issue Ford has with DRL`s is (not) simply with the C-MAX and its Hybrids.  They refuse to make them available on all their Vehicles except for Fleet purchase.  Toyota and Honda have had DRL`s on their Prius and Civic Hybrid`s for years.  If a fraction of less then 1 mpg in fuel economy is not worth the small potential is safety an oncoming Vehicles seeing you better in all driving conditions much like Motorcycles, like 99% of all other Car Manufacturers equip their Cars with, so be it.  Other then Ford, Chrysler(where DRL`s are an option), Mazda, and Nissan, who else takes issue with Daytime Running Lights? Make them available for those that will sacrifice .25 mpg and have a default switch to disable/deactivate the DRL`s for those that choose to.  Its quite simple!

PS:  Nice choice of Color, Frank.  I chose Ice Storm too!

Edited August 20, 2013 by Phil1336

[HPRifleman]

Why not just turn the headlamp knob to ON?

[Noah Harbinger]

Why not just turn the headlamp knob to ON?

 

DRLs run only the headlights - no marker lights, tail lights, or instrument lights, which I'd guess adds 50-100 watts of load. 100 watts continuous demand is an extra full battery discharge for every 14 hours of driving. Then I think DRLs run the headlights at a lower power - if they ran at half power, that's another 50 watts of load with headlamps over DRLs.

[asb]

The problem with the odd sensor on the Ford cars is that the lights don't come on when it is raining or if you are driving into the sun, etc.  In Florida with rain on and off all summer long, I often have to remind myself to turn the lights on.  My Toyota Camry spoiled me.

[Phil1336]

The point of DRL`s is to minimize electrical drain during Daytime driving conditions by leaving "off" the Rear tail Lights, marker lights, either in headlamp assembly or on side of Vehicle depending on make and Brand.  Usually brake lights are satisfactory to warn Vehicles behind you of your intention of slowing down or stopping where having Tail Lights illuminated all the time is really unnecessary. Even when DRL`s utilize the regular Headlamp, be it on low beam or high beam, it is reduced (by law) to either 75/80% Power illumination.  Prevents unnecessary glare from effecting oncoming vehicles as well as reduces energy needed for lower illumination output.  Why should  one want or need to remember to put their Headlamps on during the Daytime to achieve this safety benefit automatically.  Like I Posted earlier 99% of Auto manufacturers that sell in the U.S, market equip their Vehicles with DRL`s.  Ford refuses except for (Fleet Orders) Chrysler although not standard equipment offers the DRL`s as a Factory or Dealer installed plug in option. Only Mazda and Nissan continue to refuse allowing DRL`s to be available along with some Hyundia and certain Kia Models. HKAG simply can`t make up their mind on the issue.  Half their Models have them, some only on their top of the line Trim as a LED DRL fashion feature.  It simply makes no sense.  Kia`s SX Model Sorento`s and Sportages have LED, DRL`s.  Their Rio SX`s have LED`s but are only wired as Parking Lights, (not) DRL`s, go figure? Hyundia has DRL`s on their Sonata`s and Elantra`s regardless of Trim Level  but (not) on their smaller Accent`s.  Maybe someday our NHTSA will (finally) make a decision once and for all.  Decide either its a good idea or a bad idea.  Tell all Auto Manufacturers selling Cars and Trucks in the U.S. after a certain future date, either make them mandatory or simply instruct that they (not) be installed in new future Vehicles after a certain date.  The added (cost) factor is "not" the issue.  They can utilize the regular Headlamp Assembly at reduced illumination if they chose or opt to utilize the more expensive LED configuration on certain Models if they prefer to do so.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Phil1336

[HPRifleman]

Maybe someday our NHTSA will (finally) make a decision once and for all.  Decide either its a good idea or a bad idea.

 

I certainly hope not. I shouldn't have to rely on a government entity dictating whether my headlights should be on or not.

 

I had DRL's in my last vehicle. They turned on by default so to turn them off I had to push the Dome Override button on the dash four times in two seconds. The system reset every time the car was turned off. So I had to do the button push every time I started the car and did not want the DRL's. Royal pain.

[slampro]

I certainly hope not. I shouldn't have to rely on a government entity dictating whether my headlights should be on or not.

I agree with this. IMO having lights on during the day is not that much of a safety issue that all vehicles should be "forced"  by government to have them. That being said I have had a couple cars that had them, didn't notice any difference, never bothered me, never really cared. I have seen cars with them on driving at me, it does not affect me one way or the other. My grandma used to turn her headlights on right after starting her car.

 

I do think though, any manufacturer would be wise to just let the customer decide if they want them. I don't understand why a company would not. That part does make me :headscratch: . It is easy enough to do, wouldn't seem to increase manufacturing costs, and could be another option to profit off of.

[bigalpha]

I do think though, any manufacturer would be wise to just let the customer decide if they want them. I don't understand why a company would not. That part does make me :headscratch: . It is easy enough to do, wouldn't seem to increase manufacturing costs, and could be another option to profit off of.

 

Especially in a car such as ours.  I don't know why more of the features aren't selectable by us. 

[rek]

What accessories or add-ons would I like to see for the C-Max?

This :)

Edited August 22, 2013 by rek

[Phil1336]

I certainly hope not. I shouldn't have to rely on a government entity dictating whether my headlights should be on or not.

 

I had DRL's in my last vehicle. They turned on by default so to turn them off I had to push the Dome Override button on the dash four times in two seconds. The system reset every time the car was turned off. So I had to do the button push every time I started the car and did not want the DRL's. Royal pain.

You Sir are in a distinct minority.  Look around your, what Vehicles other then Ford, Chrysler, Mazda and Nissan (don`t) have DRL`s?  Got an issue with another example of the heavy hand of our Federal Government forcing more regulations on us?  You think the average "CAFE" Fuel Economy numbers would be where they are if left to the "free marketplace"?  Seat Belts, Shoulder Belts, pollution controls, all further intrusions?  China has no Government oversight  on safety and emissions.  Check out the air quality there.  Perhaps if the U.S. joined with Canada and mandated Daytime running lights, we would risk running down that slippery slope of Socialism like Canada has an you can see how bad things are up there.

[Phil1336]

I agree with this. IMO having lights on during the day is not that much of a safety issue that all vehicles should be "forced"  by government to have them. That being said I have had a couple cars that had them, didn't notice any difference, never bothered me, never really cared. I have seen cars with them on driving at me, it does not affect me one way or the other. My grandma used to turn her headlights on right after starting her car.

 

I do think though, any manufacturer would be wise to just let the customer decide if they want them. I don't understand why a company would not. That part does make me :headscratch: . It is easy enough to do, wouldn't seem to increase manufacturing costs, and could be another option to profit off of.

I agree, if you don`t want to make DRL`s standard equipment like 99% of Auto Manufacturers already have, at least offer the Option to those who want it.  Chrysler does.  Mazda, Nissan and Ford are the only hold outs and even Ford for some odd reason makes them available across their entire line of Cars and Trucks (only) for Fleet Purchase as option #942 for only $45.  Sorry, Retail buyers are not allowed that choice.  No one has an answer either and Ford will not give one!

Edited August 24, 2013 by Phil1336

[Noah Harbinger]

I agree, it's always boggled me that the option is available for fleet customers only. I can only imagine that there is some regulatory requirement to make it available for government vehicles, which make up a huge portion of Ford's fleet business. 

[mnrobitaille]

I agree, it's always boggled me that the option is available for fleet customers only. I can only imagine that there is some regulatory requirement to make it available for government vehicles, which make up a huge portion of Ford's fleet business. 

Most of the government vehicles around here are the Police Interceptors or 2010 Escape Hybrids. That would be nice to see a C-Max being used by a government entity.

[Jmonty]

Did they update so the headlights turn off when the key is off?

 

I was shocked that they didn't turn off automatically before. My 1995 Subaru has that feature, FFS

[Noah Harbinger]

Did they update so the headlights turn off when the key is off?

 

I was shocked that they didn't turn off automatically before. My 1995 Subaru has that feature, FFS

 

So you can't leave your headlights on without leaving the key in the ignition? Do you have to leave it running too? 

 

Why hasn't Subaru updated their vehicles to allow you to use your headlights whenever you need them? 

[ptjones]

I  would like to see the advance cruise control system the Fusion and Explorer have.  It makes drafting easy.

[Jmonty]

So you can't leave your headlights on without leaving the key in the ignition? Do you have to leave it running too?

 

Why hasn't Subaru updated their vehicles to allow you to use your headlights whenever you need them?

 

Yea so it'd be easy to kill the battery. It's pretty sad that a low end car from '95 has a better feature then a '13.

Edited September 2, 2013 by Jmonty

[Noah Harbinger]

Yea so it'd be easy to kill the battery. It's pretty sad that a low end car from '95 has a better feature then a '13.

 

I don't think it's "a better feature". I have had dozens of times on my previous car, where the lights were forced off, when I wished I could leave my lights on; whereas on my CMax, thanks to the alert chime and being a generally observant person, I have NEVER left them on accidentally. (Besides that I have the auto headlights, which can either be left on if you have the lights on the Always On position, or automatically turn off when the engine is turned off in the Auto position). 

 

In fact, turning off the lights when the accessory circuit shuts off is a lack of a feature - it takes active design to add in an additional circuit to allow the lights to continue to run.

 

I like options, and auto-off with no choice to leave on deprives me of options. 

Edited September 2, 2013 by Noah Harbinger

[Noah Harbinger]

One thing, I wish the ambient lighting were stronger - I feel like the intensity is designed for the grey interior moreso than the black. 

[Jmonty]

I don't think it's "a better feature". I have had dozens of times on my previous car, where the lights were forced off, when I wished I could leave my lights on; whereas on my CMax, thanks to the alert chime and being a generally observant person, I have NEVER left them on accidentally. (Besides that I have the auto headlights, which can either be left on if you have the lights on the Always On position, or automatically turn off when the engine is turned off in the Auto position).

 

In fact, turning off the lights when the accessory circuit shuts off is a lack of a feature - it takes active design to add in an additional circuit to allow the lights to continue to run.

 

I like options, and auto-off with no choice to leave on deprives me of options.

Ohh.

 

I thought you were joking.

[Jmonty]

Ugh. Battery died again. No apparent reason this time.

 

I would like a feature where my car would start off of the large battery.

 

Plus a key hole on the hatch. And mechanical lock latches on the rear doors.