Battery dead

[Spaniel Owner]

I have a 2013 C-Max SEL....bought new in October of 2012 because the transmission went out on my 2007 Escape that I purchased new in 2006. This past Friday makes the third time I have experienced a dead battery.  The first time my dealer was replacing the battery and blew a module (or something) and I was without the car for four days. Several months later had another battery put in and now am having to deal with a car I can't drive for the third time. While I have grown to like the C-Max (it was more at my husband's suggestion that we got it), we are almost to the point of getting rid of it. I have been fortunate that all three times this happened my car was at home in the garage, but it also happened when I needed to get to work. The most important thing a car can be is dependable and unfortunately this car doesn't seem to fit the bill. I am also disappointed that the dealership acts like they aren't aware of this being a 'problem' with the C-Max, when obviously it is from what I'm reading here and on other sites.  I don't like being lied to and also don't like that the first thing they say when it is taken in is to accuse me of leaving something on.  I rarely use the USB port and am afraid to charge my cell phone as I fear it will drain the battery.  They have also suggested that I don't drive it enough to re-charge the battery.  While I don't drive great distances very often, I do drive it to work and back five days a week and run errands.  The only day the car might not be driven is on a Sunday.  All I want is a car that is dependable and I don't want to have to be a mechanic to drive it.

[ptjones]

Paul - Agree, all previous dead battery cases were related to the car sitting around for longer than usual (leaving the house in the afternoon instead of right away in the morning). We park in a garage, and so I park the car and leave. There is no way to hear anything from the house. However, I have heard stuff in the back in the past after the car was sitting for a couple of minutes already - but I was told that it was normal - cooling the battery off.

 

Zathrus - Thank you for sharing. I think that I will go for this. I will plug that thing in and try to see the impact of using Bluetooth, and also if it makes a difference how I leave the car - 1) go to park, take the keys out, leave it unlocked. 2) go to park, take the keys out, lock it, 3) go to park, turn the radio and bluetooth audio manually, wait 5 seconds, and then take the keys out..

When I heard the noise it wasn't coming from the HVB fan, but under the car maybe fuel pump. :)

 

Paul

[Zathrus]

ptjones...the buzzing sound in back of car I was referring to would last about 8 minutes AFTER car was shutoff for about 10 minutes....I can't imagine why the fuel pump would be on for that long after car shutoff. I still believe it is some sort of HVB maintenance (perhaps to balance voltage among the cells)?   A video of buzzing (about an hour after car was shutoff) can be found in post 14 of following:

 

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/560-help-buzzing-sound/?p=20952

Edited May 18, 2014 by Zathrus

[ceemax71]

The buzzing sound is probably the vacuum pump running during the Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Leak Check Monitor.

The EVAP leak check monitor executes on the EVAP system to determine if a leak is present. The PCM will turn ON the EVAP leak detection control module switching valve and vacuum pump to apply a vacuum to the EVAP system for EVAP leak check monitoring.  The EVAP leak check monitor is initiated at ignition OFF if the conditions to run the monitor have been met during the preceding drive cycle.

 

Non-hybrid vehicles use engine manifold vacuum for the leak check monitor.  Hybrids require a vacuum pump for the leak check monitor.

[Maxy]

Purchased a C-max SEL(302a)  2013 on April 7 of 2014 (built on Nov 24, 3013).  Mon, May 12, went out to start car and everything was dead.  Called Ford and got a jump start.   Called the dealer I got it from and they said to get it in to service ASAP to have it checked out.  Service said they could get the battery to fail for  them also and they ordered a new battery.   Did not have one in stock and  will have it installed on Monday.

 

Have had a problem with the radio not coming on using the dash button, since the car was new.  This usually happens first time I use the car for that day.  Have to go through voice command to get it to work.  Many times after that, on same trip, the dash button  might work.  The Service manager said the radio worked fine for him.   This is because I had had it on when I drove there.  Service does not seem to believe about the radio unless he can get it to not work also.   When I drive it in to get a new battery, I will be sure to not turn the radio on so they can become believers.  I know this is very minor, but wonder if it could be connected to the battery problem, somehow. 

 

Anyway after reading all these posts about the battery problem, I am feeling mighty discouraged about the battery being the 'final" fix.  Has anyone had the battery problem fixed with just a change of batteries?  

 

My husband and I are in our 70's and not "handy" with cars, so all the information from these posts has helped big time.

  

I have a 2013 C-Max SEL....bought new in October of 2012 because the transmission went out on my 2007 Escape that I purchased new in 2006. This past Friday makes the third time I have experienced a dead battery.  The first time my dealer was replacing the battery and blew a module (or something) and I was without the car for four days. Several months later had another battery put in and now am having to deal with a car I can't drive for the third time. While I have grown to like the C-Max (it was more at my husband's suggestion that we got it), we are almost to the point of getting rid of it. I have been fortunate that all three times this happened my car was at home in the garage, but it also happened when I needed to get to work. The most important thing a car can be is dependable and unfortunately this car doesn't seem to fit the bill. I am also disappointed that the dealership acts like they aren't aware of this being a 'problem' with the C-Max, when obviously it is from what I'm reading here and on other sites.  I don't like being lied to and also don't like that the first thing they say when it is taken in is to accuse me of leaving something on.  I rarely use the USB port and am afraid to charge my cell phone as I fear it will drain the battery.  They have also suggested that I don't drive it enough to re-charge the battery.  While I don't drive great distances very often, I do drive it to work and back five days a week and run errands.  The only day the car might not be driven is on a Sunday.  All I want is a car that is dependable and I don't want to have to be a mechanic to drive it.

I have a 2013 C-Max SEL....bought new in October of 2012 because the transmission went out on my 2007 Escape that I purchased new in 2006. This past Friday makes the third time I have experienced a dead battery.  The first time my dealer was replacing the battery and blew a module (or something) and I was without the car for four days. Several months later had another battery put in and now am having to deal with a car I can't drive for the third time. While I have grown to like the C-Max (it was more at my husband's suggestion that we got it), we are almost to the point of getting rid of it. I have been fortunate that all three times this happened my car was at home in the garage, but it also happened when I needed to get to work. The most important thing a car can be is dependable and unfortunately this car doesn't seem to fit the bill. I am also disappointed that the dealership acts like they aren't aware of this being a 'problem' with the C-Max, when obviously it is from what I'm reading here and on other sites.  I don't like being lied to and also don't like that the first thing they say when it is taken in is to accuse me of leaving something on.  I rarely use the USB port and am afraid to charge my cell phone as I fear it will drain the battery.  They have also suggested that I don't drive it enough to re-charge the battery.  While I don't drive great distances very often, I do drive it to work and back five days a week and run errands.  The only day the car might not be driven is on a Sunday.  All I want is a car that is dependable and I don't want to have to be a mechanic to drive it.

Sorry to hear and a sad welcome to the growing list of battery problem fused c-max owner's club. Incase you've not read further back on this forum, it is most likely the 12V battery failier issue not the main battery.

I've had so far my 6th dead car event last Thursday. 2 weeks after my 12V battery recall repair, that was supposed to fix this annoying problem! Has an appointment again for service and I hope they will investigate a little further this time, but I am pretty hopeless at this point. BTW when they test my 12V battery it had checked out fine, was not replaced.

Sadly I aggree, they make me feel like I am the only one who has battery complaints. I really like my car, but starting to think about the lemon law.

[salsaguy]

Don't turn on the radio in the morning and take a video using your cell phone or tablet of you trying to get it to work.then show it to the dealer.

 

 

Have had a problem with the radio not coming on using the dash button, since the car was new.  This usually happens first time I use the car for that day.  Have to go through voice command to get it to work.  Many times after that, on same trip, the dash button  might work.  The Service manager said the radio worked fine for him.   This is because I had had it on when I drove there.  Service does not seem to believe about the radio unless he can get it to not work also.   When I drive it in to get a new battery, I will be sure to not turn the radio on so they can become believers.  I know this is very minor, but wonder if it could be connected to the battery problem, somehow. 

Edited May 19, 2014 by salsaguy

[salsaguy]

## If ##  the dead battery issue is really caused by a bad batch of batteries and not from another parasitic draining source, then after 1.5 yrs of making these cars/batteries why hasn't Ford recalled all the bad ones yet to get them off the road instead of having brand new owners get a bad experience in their 1st year (sometimes first month) of ownership??? The negative effects of this quality issue is more expensive than replacing them all. The bad ones could be traced by a lot code/date code/mfg code.

I still don't think they know what the real problem actually is.

If there have been so many users who post here on the forum with this issue, I don't want to think of how many thousands who don't know about this forum that have the exact same issue (dead batteries)

. Usually posters/forum readers are only 1 to 3% off the total population of actual owners.

 

 

Greetings and Welcome

 

 SEL’s don’t seem to have very many battery problems.

Have you seen and voted on this POLL?

 

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1294-for-those-who-have-had-12v-battery-problems/page-10?hl=poll&

 

Defective batteries do happen, sometimes from day 1.

A friend works for GM, one of his jobs (several yrs ago) was to replace the dead batteries that wouldn’t even start the car to drive it off the assembly line.

 

[salsaguy]

This is ridiculous since the car is designed to not lose so much of a charge so that it won't get stuck. It's always trying to keep a 50% state of charge on the hybrid battery. Of course we are taking about the starting battery not the hybrid battery that has the issue here. Also there is no way they could allow a car to be designed to have to be driven a "special certain" way to prevent a dead battery issue. There are millions of drivers ands a hundred different styles of driving so no way to control that input variable factor. That would be impossible to do and no one would buy the car if it were true and they'd have to disclose that fact to you durng the take delivery portion of the sale when they show you how to use all the features, and it would also have to be disclosed in the owners manual.

 

Not buying that bogus excuse.

========

Spaniel owner said:

The most important thing a car can be is dependable and unfortunately this car doesn't seem to fit the bill. I am also disappointed that the dealership acts like they aren't aware of this being a 'problem' with the C-Max, when obviously it is from what I'm reading here and on other sites.  I don't like being lied to and also don't like that the first thing they say when it is taken in is to accuse me of leaving something on.  I rarely use the USB port and am afraid to charge my cell phone as I fear it will drain the battery.  They have also suggested that I don't drive it enough to re-charge the battery.  

Edited May 19, 2014 by salsaguy

[salsaguy]

I would suggest the first post be updated to include the list of user names  (along with car year and model (SE or SEL)) who have had a dead battery issue and if they had it more than once the have a 1x or 2x etc added after.like the highest mpg winners thread but this is the dead battery losers club instead. Should be a living post and be updated until this issue is resolved

 Lots of posts here but can't tell how many out of the population here have or haven't been affected.

Edited May 27, 2014 by salsaguy

[Spaniel Owner]

Got my car back after 7 days at the dealer. They contacted the 'hotline' for guidance which indicates to me that they still don't know what the problem really is. They were advised to do much of what I've read here....check for moisture in electrical connections, make sure the cooling fan is shutting off, etc. They were also told to reset all of the modules. Didn't replace the battery this time. Guess we'll see how long it lasts this time.

[Spaniel Owner]

## If ##  the dead battery issue is really caused by a bad batch of batteries and not from another parasitic draining source, then after 1.5 yrs of making these cars/batteries why hasn't Ford recalled all the bad ones yet to get them off the road instead of having brand new owners get a bad experience in their 1st year (sometimes first month) of ownership??? The negative effects of this quality issue is more expensive than replacing them all. The bad ones could be traced by a lot code/date code/mfg code.

I still don't think they know what the real problem actually is.

If there have been so many users who post here on the forum with this issue, I don't want to think of how many thousands who don't know about this forum that have the exact same issue (dead batteries)

. Usually posters/forum readers are only 1 to 3% off the total population of actual owners.

Totally agree. I have talked to a couple of C-Max owners in my area. One has had the same problem (3 times, the other hasn't had any problems.

[Spaniel Owner]

BTW...my C-Max is an SE, not an SEL. See, after not having it for a week I forgot what it was !!!

[salsaguy]

I'm pretty sure the dead battery issue is the secondary result/effect of the actual root cause of the problem which had still yet to be determined.

[Maxy]

Got my 12V battery replaced today. They did not found anything else wrong. They also did the latest recall 14S04. I just really hope this would be it, but reading other posts after battery replacement failure, I am not too optimistic.... I agree, they do not have a clue what is going on:(

[ptjones]

Got my 12V battery replaced today. They did not found anything else wrong. They also did the latest recall 14S04. I just really hope this would be it, but reading other posts after battery replacement failure, I am not too optimistic.... I agree, they do not have a clue what is going on:(

It would look like there are a number of things that can cause this including operator error in my case. When you have many possibilities it makes it hard to pin down to a specific individual problem. Specially when it happens once in 3 to 6 months. It could be something like a bad solder joint in a control unit. I don't think there is any problems with 12v batteries other than they don't like to be drained down all the way. IMO :) 

 

Paul   

[salsaguy]

Agreed about the batteries not liking to be drained down 100% just like your phone or iPod batteries. they say if you do that the life is forever shortened by a lot and it will never hold a full charge again.

Not sure about car batteries but doesn't seem unreasonable.

[Bill-N]

This from OASIS recently:

 

May 28 2014 4975 -2013-2014 C-MAX, Fusion Hybrid and MKZ Hybrid – Discharged 12-Volt Battery

Some 2013-2014 CMAX, Fusion Hybrid and MKZ Hybrid vehicles may experience an issue related to discharge of the 12-volt battery. This condition is currently being investigated by engineering. Detailed service information should be available 3rd Quarter 2014. In the interim, inspect the water pump connectors for damage, water and/or corrosion in C1812 and/or the water pump connector. Also observe if the water pump continues to run for longer than 2 minutes after the vehicle has been shut off. Only replace the water pump if damage, water intrusion, corrosion or an operational fault is found. Monitor OASIS for updates and continue to submit Global Concern Reports. 

 

Yet another possible reason for dead 12V battery.

[salman]

Bill-N

 

thanks for posting this notice from Oasis. New readers should know that this information is available to all dealers who bother to look up 12 volt problems on their computers.

 

My car had its coolant pump and gear shifter replaced in mid-April. i wrote it up here in post 1187 on April 18. Evidence of water intrusion  was found in the coolant pump's electrical connectors. They changed the shifter, too, on Ford engineering's recommendations because of my cursed repair history with the 12 volt problems. From April 18 through today I have had no problems. No rain or car washes to give it a good test, so my fingers are still crossed.

 

Anyone who takes their car to a dealer who does not perform the tests and fixes prescribed on Ford's own database should go to a different dealer. Likewise, the dealer should directly contact the engineering hot line. Dealer service departments that do not do this do not deserve your business, and your warranty is valid at all Ford dealerships. You do not have to go back to sub-par service departments.

 

 

May 28 2014 4975 -2013-2014 C-MAX, Fusion Hybrid and MKZ Hybrid – Discharged 12-Volt Battery

Some 2013-2014 CMAX, Fusion Hybrid and MKZ Hybrid vehicles may experience an issue related to discharge of the 12-volt battery. This condition is currently being investigated by engineering. Detailed service information should be available 3rd Quarter 2014. In the interim, inspect the water pump connectors for damage, water and/or corrosion in C1812 and/or thewater pump connector. Also observe if the water pump continues to run for longer than 2 minutes after the vehicle has been shut off. Only replace the water pump if damage, water intrusion, corrosion or an operational fault is found. Monitor OASIS for updates and continue to submit Global Concern Reports. 

Edited June 3, 2014 by salman

[jaczac56]

After our initial dead battery incident, Fords' inability to diagnose the root cause of the problem and while awaiting Fords' forthcoming epiphany concerning this issue I have come to the conclusion that our SE is a de facto  plug-in version of a C-Max SE. To address this anomaly when the car is parked in the garage it is on a Battery Tender and when on the road I carry a portable jump start battery. This way I hope to eliminate any more undesirable "surprises" ;)

[Blackhawkgeo]

Well, new member here, and count me as one whos car has died. My wife went out to the garage this morning, and the car (2013 SE) would not start. Everything was dead. Door locks, no lights, nothing. We bought the car back in Jan. of this year and it's got a little over 7,000 miles on it. We have had it into the service department once for a couple of minor issues, and the rear hatch operating intermittently. Of course, the dealer can not duplicate the problem with the rear hatch, and it still only works about half of the time. I guess I'll be calling the dealership in the morning and have them come and get the car. My wife really loves this vehicle, so I hope that this problem can be worked out!

[HotPotato]

I must admit, I'm pretty ticked off to have received an extended warranty sales pitch in the mail from Ford...I think until they figure out what's killing the 12 volt batteries, everyone's warranty should be extended free of charge, at least for this issue. Last time I had a car that couldn't keep a 12 volt battery alive, it was a 1982 Volkswagen on its fourth owner...not a new car. It has only happened to me once in the C-Max -- perhaps because I live in Southern California, where there's no rainwater to splash up on those apparently corrosion-prone connectors -- but I worry if and when it might happen again.

[SnowStorm]

Well, new member here, and count me as one whos car has died. My wife went out to the garage this morning, and the car (2013 SE) would not start. Everything was dead. Door locks, no lights, nothing. We bought the car back in Jan. of this year and it's got a little over 7,000 miles on it. We have had it into the service department once for a couple of minor issues, and the rear hatch operating intermittently. Of course, the dealer can not duplicate the problem with the rear hatch, and it still only works about half of the time. I guess I'll be calling the dealership in the morning and have them come and get the car. My wife really loves this vehicle, so I hope that this problem can be worked out!

For the hatch, do you have a kick-to-open problem or does it fail to release manually?  Ours sometimes refuses to open - you might here a click but it won't let go (do not have the kick option).  Had it to the dealer who said the lifting spring/shock thingies were defective and they were replaced.  That made the hatch go up quicker but it still occasionally sticks.  Not sure what happens now that we are passed 36,000 miles.  (But its still a crazy fun car - don't want anything else!)

 

We had one or two dead batteries back in the winter but nothing since.  I say "one or two" because the first one may have been due to leaving the ignition on.

[Blackhawkgeo]

For the hatch, do you have a kick-to-open problem or does it fail to release manually?  Ours sometimes refuses to open - you might here a click but it won't let go (do not have the kick option).  Had it to the dealer who said the lifting spring/shock thingies were defective and they were replaced.  That made the hatch go up quicker but it still occasionally sticks.  Not sure what happens now that we are passed 36,000 miles.  (But its still a crazy fun car - don't want anything else!)

 

We had one or two dead batteries back in the winter but nothing since.  I say "one or two" because the first one may have been due to leaving the ignition on.

We do not have the kick-to-open on ours. I have noticed that it mostly refuses to work when we try using the FOB. Sometimes when we go to close it using the button on the door, we will get three beeps and it will not close. There is nothing blocking the door, and we have to close it manually. We love this car and are hopeful that the dead battery will not become an issue for us.

[Blackhawkgeo]

I just got back from the dealership, and they told me that, according to Ford, the water pump is the problem. It will sometimes run even after the car is turned off. They also told me that Ford has not yet authorized a fix for this problem yet, so the service department charged up my battery and sent me on my way. Very frustrating! The didn't even do any paperwork for this, so I have no documentation.

[kc1174]

Add me to the list.

Have some interesting findings and I know it's my water pump connectors shorting out due to water and corrosion as I've seen them. Anyway, scangauge shows my 12v battery usually running around 14.2v when driving - starts around 13v then kicks up pretty quickly to 14.2v. A couple of weeks ago, after rain, I found it dead the next morning. Called Ford and they came out and jumped it. Worked the next morning. Ordered a cheapish jump starter from Amazon (I'll edit with a link later) just in case. Rain last week and dead 3 days in a row. Now here's what I found interesting when driving during and after rain and after a jump - the accessory my view was through the roof in battery consumption over halfway, and my 12v was stuck around 12.5v. Self-diagnosis - somethings shorting out. Looked at the water pump connectors and covered in water and a bit rusty. Took it in to the dealer - pump is okay and they did the latest safety restraint recall. Plan to take it into another dealer and called Ford.

IMO, the fix is to replace the water pump. Not sure how else we can get this corrected. Btw - that drain on the accessory from the short kills FE. It's past that level AC is at for the first few mins.

As an aside - am off to my other country England next week for a week and have a C-Max titanium ready - lighted door sills and equivalent FE from a little 1.0l engine. Their MFT screens suck in comparison but I'll be sure to post up some photos. As I haven't been in 3 years, a familiar car with the steering wheel on the wrong side and a stick shift should be a laugh.

 

Jump starter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D42AFS8/

Edited June 30, 2014 by kc1174