Battery dead

[Naplesfred]

Cmax SE back in shop 5th dead battery. I went away for 5 days came back, even the dome light would not light. I now have met the Florida lemon law requirements. Will pursue to get another car. 

[Naplesfred]

Cmax SE back in shop 5th dead battery. I went away for 5 days came back, even the dome light would not light. I now have met the Florida lemon law requirements. Will pursue to get another car. 

[rtshinn]

Mine died today but I know for sure I left the headlights on overnight.

[salsaguy]

sorry to hear this Naples. can you have them sell you a new cmax that does work after you get the money?

what are you looking at getting instead of you do lemon it out?

[Bill-N]

Mine died today but I know for sure I left the headlights on overnight.

I thought the entire car was supposed to shut down, including headlights, before the 12V was run down.

[Naplesfred]

 

Tier 1 Email - CRCFMC

4:26 PM (18 hours ago)

 

to me

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Frederick,    

 

My name is Marigold and I am from Ford's Customer Relationship Center.  I received your email regarding the battery concern on your 2013 Ford C-Max.

 

I am sorry for the inconvenience that this has caused you.  I have looked into this matter for you. Our records indicate that the Ford Field Service Engineer diagnosed your vehicle and you were advised that has completed, if he becomes dissatisified with the outcome.  I regret that I am unable to provide you with a more favorable response.

Please note that I can no longer continue discussions regarding potential resolutions. Please have your attorney contact Ford Motor Company's Office of the General Counsel (OGC) in writing for potential resolution at the address below.

Ford Motor Company
PO Box 70
Dearborn, MI 48121
Fax (313) 845-5555

 

Thank you for contacting Ford Motor Company.

 

Marigold

Customer Relationship Center

Ford Motor Company

 

Should you feel that we have not adequately addressed your questions, please feel free to contact us via telephone at (800)392-3673 between the hours of 8am and 5pm, local time, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Saturday).  Hearing-impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact 1-800-232-5952. Should you need it in the future, your case number is CAS-2863037-M3B4L1.

 

For online support visit us at: www.owner.ford.com which contains answers to frequently asked questions and links to other key product and service information.

 

Ford Confidentiality:

--------------------

For security reasons, please do not submit any sensitive personally identifiable information, such as credit card numbers, driver license number, SSN, DOB, etc. Thank you.

 

Received: 7/24/2013 12:16 PM
To: Tier 1 Email - CRCFMC
Subject: Vehicle Service Issues

WHAT IS YOUR VEHICLE SALES OR SERVICE ISSUE?:. I HAVE FILE THE LEMON LAW WITH YOU; AND FLORIDA states attorney, Tamiami Ford Naples.5/1/2013 I have had dead batterys; 1/11/2012, 1/3/2013, 4/24/2013, 5/9/2013, 7/20/2013. Went in to shop 9/20/2013, Tamami Ford car still there. The Florida Lemon law states, after three attempts to fix you have one more time which was April 25, 2013. I'm a new Ford customer and to pay $28000. for a car I cannot depend on is disheartening to say the leased.
WHAT ACTION HAS YOUR DEALER TAKEN TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?:They have changed the battery two times. Down loaded a patch in too the computer. Reset some modules. It seem this car cannot be fixed!
WHAT ASSISTANCE ARE YOU SEEKING FROM FORD MOTOR COMPANY?:I want a full credit off of another Ford car. For you to take this car back.
Are you the owner of the vehicle :Yes
VIN : 1FADP5AU2DL502482
MILEAGE : 9,600
WHERE IS YOUR VEHICLE NOW : AtDealership
HAVE YOU CONTACTED THE DEALER :Yes
 

 

Tier 1 Email - CRCFMC

4:26 PM (18 hours ago)

 

to me

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jus-A-CMax]

Thats sickening Naplesfred, hope it works out for you.

[Naplesfred]

The dealer called with a price I could not refuse on a 2013 Energi. hope this is the answer. The dealer is Tamiaimi Forde Naples FL

[Adair]

HOORAY!!!!!!

[Adair]

NAPLESFRED, did you have to go the lawyer route? Or did this offer come directly from the dealer?

[Jus-A-CMax]

Good news indeed... :congrats: ....but alas we'll lose you to the Energi boyz forum  ;)

[Naplesfred]

This offer came directly from dealer. I sent them a copy of the email from Ford. Guess they want to keep as a customer,

NAPLESFRED, did you have to go the lawyer route? Or did this offer come directly from the dealer?

[Kauai cmax]

Fourth time my battery is dead!  Purchased in April, 2013 and just over 1,000 miles!!! Help!  Last time at Ford, a new battery was installed and I was assured that the problem was fixed.  It is frustrating to have a brand new car that won't start.  Anyone out there still having this problem?

[salman]

Kauai Cmax

 

This thread and one or two old threads (now closed, but still available to read) have a lot of information in them. There are 40 pages of posts but you will see that a great many posts can be skipped, so you can fly through pretty quickly looking for detailed discussions of the several fixes that have been tried.

 

You'll want to have the relevant TSB numbers at hand to ask your dealer if they have been tried.

 

You'll want to have the list of electrical connectors tht have sometimes been found to suffer from water intrusion, and have the dealer check the connectors for water or water damage.

 

A few cases have reportedly found malfunctioning modules in the instrument panel and/or entertainment console. There are reports of possible problems with the Sync system not shutting down.

 

Swapping out the battery has been a good practice when other problems are addressed.

 

I might be leaving something out but I think this is a summary of the major targets that have been tried. In the end, it does not seem that a definitive cause has yet been identified, though it is also possible that there is more than a single cause. Some cars have gone a few months now without re-occurence. But, as you can see, some cars are still having trouble in July after repeated repair attempts.

 

Last but not least, read up on your State's Lemon Law and keep a complete file on your car's repair history. Ford's record on Lemon Law buy backs seems pretty good so far. Be polite, be thorough and clear, make sure your case meets all the criteria of the State law, document everything, and patiently go through Ford's channels to make a Lemon Law demand by starting with your dealer.

[Adair]

Well said Salman! Thanks for posting this.

[Bill-N]

Well said Salman! Thanks for posting this.

 

Agreed.

[Greenstyf]

Ok. My battery turned up dead one morning, everyone blamed the kids for leaving electronic items plugged in. The only problem is I don't think they did. Fast forward to today when I couldn't get the dome lights to turn off. Checked the doors, all shut. Finally the car shut the lights off when I hit the control that tells the car not to turn the lights on when the doors are open. I had tried this earlier with no success. Could there be a sensor that thinks there is a door open and if so why doesn't it show up on the dash as door ajar? My dealership has no clue how to maintain my car, which makes me sad because I love my C-MAX.

[Don O.]

Update. Been 3 months now since my 3rd battery issue.

One thing, my gas mileage has gone up from mid-30's last winter to low 40's this Spring & Summer. That is the main reason I bought this car.

I don't use any of the high-tech features & have chosen to turn my AC on & off after I start & before I stop simply as a precaution. I am up in years...

 

Sidebar: Just a heads-up. Owners should be getting notices about re-doing the roof on many CMAXs. A check indicates dealers should start doing this about Aug. 19, 2013. Don't think there have been problems, but this is supposed to strengthen the roof integrity as a safety issue.

[Bill-N]

Sidebar: Just a heads-up. Owners should be getting notices about re-doing the roof on many CMAXs. A check indicates dealers should start doing this about Aug. 19, 2013. Don't think there have been problems, but this is supposed to strengthen the roof integrity as a safety issue.

 

(Emphasis mine)  Are you referring to FSA Notice 13C02 - HEADLINER HEAD IMPACT PROTECTION, or something else?

[Adair]

Update. Been 3 months now since my 3rd battery issue.

One thing, my gas mileage has gone up from mid-30's last winter to low 40's this Spring & Summer. That is the main reason I bought this car.

I don't use any of the high-tech features & have chosen to turn my AC on & off after I start & before I stop simply as a precaution. I am up in years...

 

Sidebar: Just a heads-up. Owners should be getting notices about re-doing the roof on many CMAXs. A check indicates dealers should start doing this about Aug. 19, 2013. Don't think there have been problems, but this is supposed to strengthen the roof integrity as a safety issue.

Hi Don! So glad to hear your battery issues seem to be resolved! Did they replace the battery? And also good news about the better gas mileage! Have you gotten the 3.5.1 SYNC upgrade yet? There were some tweaks included in that that have improved some folks MPGs.....mine included. And there is another upgrade that has just been released. Who knows what you will be seeing by fall!

[N1NAZ]

My Wife had the dead battery problem, the car was in and out of the dealer for about two months,(more in than out) a Ford repair rep came out and replaced a wiring harness and the battery. This was two months ago and she has not had a problem since. No information about what harness was replaced though. Though I would pass this along. Dealer was Auto Fair Ford in Manchester NH

 

 

George

[salsaguy]

glad to hear no new issues since the fix.let's hope it stays that way.

[Don O.]

Adair. Your question about the battery replacement. My battery was replaced after the 1st dead situation. Couldn't find anything work with it, but dealer service mgr. decided to replace it anyway. Could find no identifiable problems with the (new) battery after the 2rd & 3rd dead times. No additional battery replacement. I shall check on the 3.5.1 SYNC upgrade. As indicated above, I only have the 201A package (tailgate lift) & don't use any of the SYNC features.   

[andeeca]

Had 2nd dead battery yesterday (first was in March).  The 13A01 "Sync with Myford Touch-Appllication Performance Upgrade" was done almost 2 weeks ago.  Also just started using the phone connection again last week.  

 

We needed to start it twice to keep it going and the yellow wrench light was on.  Today it's off.  I can't bring it in until end of next week because the dealer said they'd need car for several days. 

 

I went to use the phone today and there's no sound.  The radio is working, turns off when I dial the phone, then nothing.  After the phone disconnects, then the radio doesn't have sound.  It looks like it's still on, but then I have to turn it off and on again to have sound.  

One question, if someone could check, what happens to the screen when you turn the radio off?  Mine is staying with the same screen as if it's still on, I don't think it did that before??

 

Update Aug 9:  Car was dead again 4 days later.  Brought car in to dealer yesterday and got back this evening.  

10654C1 Battery test, failed 230CCA, battery replaced.

Reprogrammed powertrain control module and SOCB-B per 13B07 (for the warning light that came on).

GPS off route, cause TSB13-08-02, A99 130802A reprogrammed SYC to V3.6.

Edited August 10, 2013 by andeeca

[Lance]

I bought my C-max in January of this year and sometime in February the battery was dead one night after work. I did talk to the dealer, but thought it might be a fluke, so I didn't do anything. About two months after that it happened again, and this time it went strait to the dealer. They said they found a technical bulletin about "battery discharge" and that a simple computer upgrade would fix it. This time it was about three months inbetween, but it happened again. So it went strait back to the dealer again. They kept it for a week, and couldn't find anything, they pretty much were just hoping it would do it for them while they had it. They then told me that they couldn't do anything else unless it was given to them "in condition" as they call it, and said next time I needed to have it towed to them without jumpstarting. So I picked it up on a Friday, drove it to a weekend getaway, and then it wouldn't start Sunday night to go home.

 

I figured this was good, we could finally resolve it, I arranged for it to be towed to the dealer, everything seemed fine. Then unfortunatly, to put it in neutral to winch it up on the trailer, the tow truck driver said it had to be jumped. I explained that would defeat the purpose for the tow, so we tried to just give it enough to put it in neutral without a full jump, but as soon as we hooked up the portable charger, the car came alive. I drove it to the dealer instead to complain some more, and they said there is a manual relese for the shifter, and pretty much blamed me for not knowing that, and said there is nothing they can do.

 

So naturally I came to the good old interweb, and would like to point out that if you google "Ford C-max" then in the top 5 searches are "C-max dead battery" and "C-max battery issues."

 

Thank you all for your suggestions, I have taken notes to demand  that the dealer do some of the things other dealers are doing for you. I haven't read this forum all the way through, 42 pages is a little much, so I apologize if this is duplicated informagtion. I did see that not jumping it and instead having it towed to the dealer, but I didn't see anything about needing the manual release, so I wanted to mention that.

 

I have also called the corporate customer relations line, and gotten a case number started. I told them that it has happened 4 times, and if this happenes again after they try and fix it, they will get a "notice of final repair" as a step in my state's lemon law process.

 

I'll update if anything new develops.