salman Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Just got a letter from Ford announcing Customer Satisfaction Program 13B12 to address 12 volt battery problems. This is not exactly a recall, but similar to it. For will test the battery and replace if necessary, and Ford will reprogram the "Multifunction Display computer" to correct the problem of "an electronic module" (does not say which one) that "fails to transition to 'sleep' state." It says the procedure takes half a day and that dealers are authorized to give you a rental at no charge if you need one. It is not clear form the letter whether the re-programming for the display screen is new software or the software called for by the older TSBs. But the fact they are sending out the letter shows that the problem is fairly widespread. Has everyone been getting this letter? Or just people who have brought 12 volt battery problems to the dealer for service? fotomoto, C-MaxSea and hybridbear 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotPotato Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Never brought a 12 V battery problem to the dealer for service, but I rec'd the letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 No letter yet. My battery died.... Thats cause someone left the blinking headlights on. Man, the car was dead. It's DEAD JIM! A quick recharge, and it was fine - even this morning. This might work out well as I have other updates to do since the car accident. Thansk for the headsup Salman :) hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Never brought a 12 V battery problem to the dealer for service, but I rec'd the letter.so everyone will get the letter. That means all owners will soon know that some non-trivial number of CMaxs have been plagued with dead batteries. I'm trying to guess how Ford is thinking about this. The letter is the right thing to do in terms of ethics, but it is bad publicity for the car. I wonder if Ford thinks this current round of re-programming is the main fix to the problem, if indeed it is a new bit of firmware as opposed to the older update.If it is not the fix and bad battery cases continue, then they'll have a real costly mess on their hands since they've alerted all owners that they know it is a real problem. Points for doing the ethically correct thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 No letter yet. My battery died.... Thats cause someone left the blinking headlights on. Man, the car was dead. It's DEAD JIM! A quick recharge, and it was fine - even this morning. This might work out well as I have other updates to do since the car accident. Thansk for the headsup Salman :) but they are supposed to shut off automatically after some time period, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 ..apparently not, as I found out. I looked at the head light switch and it was ON. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamalou16201 Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 We left lights on. Didn't drive car for 3 days. The battery was dead. Just plugged in charger and jumped Cmax, started right up and no problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 some more digging led me to this site, which says the FSA and Customer Satisfaction program is also a "Delivery Hold" on new cars: 4413 - Announcing Field Service Action 13B12 DELIVERY HOLD - Customer Satisfaction Program 13B12 - Certain 2013 C-MAX Hybrid Vehicles with 4" Multifunction Display - Check Battery and Reprogram the Front Control/Display Interface Module (FCDIM) - Refer to FMCDealer.com http://www.vrep.fordtechservice.dealerconnection.com/vdirs/oasis/oareq.asp?broadcast=ON&from= hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotPotato Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I love that the lights turn on and off automatically. I used to occasionally kill the battery on my old car by leaving them on; the C-Max is pleasantly foolproof in this regard...as long as you don't manually override it by moving the switch to the manual position, eh Jus? ;-) I'm guessing the letter is going only to SE owners without MFT, as it references the 4.2" screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) I am deleting the gossip I heard since it is gossip LOL. Edited December 15, 2013 by Laurel Jus-A-CMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I'm guessing the letter is going only to SE owners without MFT, as it references the 4.2" screen. The letter refers to the "Multifunction Display", not to a 4.2 screen or to microsoft sync. The letter refers to the "C-Max Hybrid" and makes no mention of trim level. All the CMaxs have a multi-function display screen and all the trim levels have had dead 12 volt cases, even the Energi. We'll see over the next days and weeks whether the letter goes to SEL and Energi owners as well as SE owners, if owners post when they get the letter. My car is an SE (and also in the process of lemon law buy back or replacement, already agreed to by Ford). If the letter and fix is only for the SE, then that leaves a problem for SEl & Energi owners, and for Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmedia Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 We just started down the road of a buyback for this issue and 2 weeks later we got the letter. It's in the shop today for the reprogram. Haven't heard yet that it is done. Hoping it solves the problem because we love the C-Max otherwise. :shift:C-Max 13B12 recall-1.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmedia Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 SALMAN, I've posted a copy of the letter in my entry above. My letter doesn't mention anything about trim or model nor "multifunction display". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmedia Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 Sooo, my wife just let me know that we're scheduled now to get a swap. They're going to give us a C-Max that (supposedly) doesn't have this problem. Not going to hold my breath on this until we're looking at our license plates on a (new?) vehicle. I have no idea if they lpan to give us a new one or a refurb. We'll see. I fully expected that we'd have to wait for it to die again before anything happened. We had 4 episodes, spaced about 3 months, 3,000 mile. Shop could never find anything wrong. Louise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 SALMAN, I've posted a copy of the letter in my entry above. My letter doesn't mention anything about trim or model nor "multifunction display". You received exactly the same letter that I received. It does refer to the "Multifunction Display computer." See the paragraph on what Ford says it will do. You also have had Ford agree to a replacement/buy back. There is a thread about that. Please post about your experience there, also. It will help others who end up in the same boat. So far it seems Ford has responded reasonably well to Lemon Law requests for buy back or replacement. Louise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Moore III Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 I just brought my c-max into the shop for the 13b12 upgrade and I didn't know about the rental car situation. They told me at the dealership this morning that I'd have to rent a car if they kept it overnight. Is there somewhere online I can find the information about them paying for the rental that I can bring with me when I go back this afternoon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Moore III Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 We just started down the road of a buyback for this issue and 2 weeks later we got the letter. It's in the shop today for the reprogram. Haven't heard yet that it is done. Hoping it solves the problem because we love the C-Max otherwise. :shift: Is there a second page to this detailing rental car coverage? I need to find that out before this afternoon so I don't have to rent the car. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobJustBob Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 Hoping it solves the problem because we love the C-Max otherwise. Me too. I got this FSA 13B12 applied today. If it succeeds in fixing the dead battery problem, then it will be a welcome Christmas present for me. I love my C-Max, but suffered four dead batteries in my first year of ownership. It is a horribly frustrating problem which I hope is now behind me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 I just brought my c-max into the shop for the 13b12 upgrade and I didn't know about the rental car situation. They told me at the dealership this morning that I'd have to rent a car if they kept it overnight. Is there somewhere online I can find the information about them paying for the rental that I can bring with me when I go back this afternoon?you could google to see if it has been posted on line. or call Ford Customer Service at their Dearbon HQ and ask them why you have not received the letter for 13B12. The letter is 2 pages and does say Ford will pay for a rental car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 Hi everyone, If you're looking to see if your VIN falls under this CSP, I recommend checking out this link. If your car is at the dealer, and you're having trouble with a rental, send me a PM with your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info. I'll try to get to the bottom of it. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salman Posted December 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 I guess Ford is in fact reading the forum. I think it is safe to say we all hope the bugs can be corrected and worked out of the C-Max. It is a great design and drives wonderfully, but bugs like the 12 volt system problems have been a lot of trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Rowland Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Ford just gave us a rental car(after having the advisor read the back of the letter), but we have to pay the 10 dollars a day tax for the car? Huh, same as my payment amount per day:) They took my wife halfway across town to get a car? Did not have any near the dealership.... Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathrus Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Well, add me to the list of owners who encountered a dead battery/no start . First occurrence for me. Purchased base SE car in August 2013, and it has about 6K miles. Was tempted to jump car, but called Ford Roadside Assistance to have it towed to local dealer. (See Dead Battery thread for more details) I entered my VIN using link Ashley provided earlier in this thread, but CSP 13B12 was not listed. (In fact, no recalls were listed). Should I still have dealer perform CSP 13B12, or has it already been done on Car built in August 2013? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Well, add me to the list of owners who encountered a dead battery/no start . First occurrence for me. Purchased base SE car in August 2013, and it has about 6K miles. Was tempted to jump car, but called Ford Roadside Assistance to have it towed to local dealer. ... Zathrus, I responded to your PM! Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullDurham Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 I had this work done on December 13, 2013. Prior to that time, I had not had a battery failure. However the dealership told me that the battery was almost completely drained, and they replaced it. Yesterday, I went out and found the battery completely dead. I could not open the card with the key fob and nothing was working. I called Ford Roadside Assistance and they sent someone who tried to jump it. That caused the dashboard lights to come on, but the car would not crank. (Battery warning light was illuminated on the dash, as well as various error messages.) I called Ford Roadside Assistance again and got a tow truck. We towed it to the dealer who told me that they couldn't even look at it until today. So. . .I will soon have my third battery in little more than a year. I have less than 5800 miles on the car. I did not buy a new car in order to have these kinds of problems. I am 64 and have never owned an American-made car before. I am beginning to think that I've made a big mistake. I no longer have any confidence that Ford has identified, let alone solved, the problem. Louise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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