My new 13 CMAX

[MaddMatt]

So was looking around online for a new ride, not overly serious but open to what hit me when I stumbled upon a decent deal (I think) on a 2013 C-MAX SEL. Fully loaded with pretty much every option including the panoramic roof, power everything and heated seats. 25k miles for $18.7 and it happened to be 10 minutes away. Although I love my FLEX SEL, I like the idea of double + the gas mileage with lots of luxury and still enough room for the family and a weekend's worth of luggage for less per month. Big Kudos to the dealer for giving me the car for the weekend so I could tool around and fully explore every little nook and cranny. I also took a quick drive in my brothers prius. That really sold me on it, the pri was tinny and felt cheap by comparison.

 

I've read every thread on the 2013 forum so I think I know what I am getting into. It seems like the dead battery thing is more of a fluke than the norm and I've been happy with the mixed mileage I got of around 45 hwy/city so the mileage issue doesn't affect me. I even managed to get 77 mpg on a quick 1.3 mile trip to the store completely in EV mode! My two young sons think it is a fun game to see how good I can brake and how high I can get the MPG's!

 

I know that the unhappy naysayers will always speak the loudest but for all the rest of you C-Max'ers, am I missing anything?

 

How long do I have til maintenance issues start creeping up? Brakes? Tires? Weird electrical stuff (other than battery) ? Tranny?

 

Really my only long term concern is that I may never be able to go back to non-hybrid after getting this kind of mileage!

 

Thanks for all the great posts, it really helped a newbie!

 

MM

 

 

 

 

[Jus-A-CMax]

Welcome to the CMax family :) Glad to hear you have your kids becoming part of the drive :thumbsup:

 

The only maintenance is the oild change at every 10K, keep the tire pressure up. I run 51 psi myself and most of us hypermilers do that. Yeah, it's a lil rougher but BOY does she roll much better. Maxine (SEL) has 37K on it right now, everything smooth sailing with her. I can't think of a more trouble free vehicle that gives such awesome mileage.

 

Stick around, go snoop in the various sub-sections of this forums - there are certainly LOTS of useful information to be had, and most of all, go :shift: the car and enjoy her.

[kostby]

Welcome!

 

Always insist the dealer provide a CarFax, AutoCheck, or similar comprehensive report of any vehicle's title and accident history.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/which-vehicle-history-report-is-right-for-you.html

 

Review every part of the full report fully with the dealer before signing anything.

Multiple previous owners could indicate an unreliable car.

Poorly repaired but hidden accident damage (behind a new bumper cover) could come back to haunt you later.

 

With a price that low, it's possible the car began life as a rental, perhaps originally titled in Florida.

I came across many such used units in the midwest during my search for our C-MAX. (We eventually purchased a new 2013 SE in March 2014)

 

If you have the full VIN number, you can enter it online to see the Monroney Window Sticker with all the options.

Simply copy the following link and paste it into a new window in your browser.

Then replace the VIN number (after vin=  in the link below) with your actual VIN number in the link, and refresh the browser window again. Probably only the last 6 numerals are different.

 

http://services.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/inventory/WindowSticker.pdf?vin=1FADP5BU3DL520178

Former rental cars often have a SPECIAL ORDER designation, and may include daytime running lights, as illustrated in the Monroney sticker link I provided.

Edited October 27, 2014 by kostby

[fbov]

...Really my only long term concern is that I may never be able to go back to non-hybrid after getting this kind of mileage!

That's the only drawback I've noticed...

Frank

[Jus-A-CMax]

...not if the other car is a Jaguar  ;)

[kaptnk228]

The dead battery thing almost always happens when the dc/dc step down voltage module fails.  It just happened to us.  NO F***** WARNING, NO BATTERY ALARM, NO ALTERNATOR ALARM (no alternator in car), AND THE CAR CAN DIE ANYWHERE, EVEN ON THE HIGHWAY.  THEN YOU HAVE NO BRAKES, NO STEERING, NO FLASHERS.

 

The good news is for $3 you can buy  from amazon a plug in voltage meter (which is missing in the car) so that you can monitor the charging system and the status of your battery.  Any voltage when running below say 13.5 V  may show a problem.  A fully charged battery is 12.8 V+  A dead battery is 12 V.  Ford must fix this and it is must that they add a voltage meter on the left side with a temperature meter.

 

I believe someone programmed the battery alarm to trigger at 12 V verse 12.8 V (no charging)  The battery light did come on about 10 seconds before the car completely died.  Not much warning.  No time to get off of the road.  This mistake has BIG consequences.

 

Everyone should write ford to fix this.

 

Other than that, the car looks great for us.  We only have had this car for 2 weeks and drove it for 3 days and it has been the shop.  One tow job to the dealer.  We were lucky that the battery failed when we were going about 5-10 mph and I had one heck of a time stopping the car with the normal brakes.  Remember you have a parking brake.

 

I do like the Ford fusion rental with the 2.5 l engine which gets 40 mpg at 65 mph.

[plus 3 golfer]

The dead battery thing almost always happens when the dc/dc step down voltage module fails.  It just happened to us.  NO F***** WARNING, NO BATTERY ALARM, NO ALTERNATOR ALARM (no alternator in car), AND THE CAR CAN DIE ANYWHERE, EVEN ON THE HIGHWAY.  THEN YOU HAVE NO BRAKES, NO STEERING, NO FLASHERS.

 

The good news is for $3 you can buy  from amazon a plug in voltage meter (which is missing in the car) so that you can monitor the charging system and the status of your battery.  Any voltage when running below say 13.5 V  may show a problem.  A fully charged battery is 12.8 V+  A dead battery is 12 V.  Ford must fix this and it is must that they add a voltage meter on the left side with a temperature meter.

 

I believe someone programmed the battery alarm to trigger at 12 V verse 12.8 V (no charging)  The battery light did come on about 10 seconds before the car completely died.  Not much warning.  No time to get off of the road.  This mistake has BIG consequences.

 

Everyone should write ford to fix this.

 

Other than that, the car looks great for us.  We only have had this car for 2 weeks and drove it for 3 days and it has been the shop.  One tow job to the dealer.  We were lucky that the battery failed when we were going about 5-10 mph and I had one heck of a time stopping the car with the normal brakes.  Remember you have a parking brake.

 

I do like the Ford fusion rental with the 2.5 l engine which gets 40 mpg at 65 mph.

 

As I said in another thread, please file a complaint with NHTSA and then open a case with Ford directly (bypass the dealer in opening the case) and tell them you filed the complaint  if your car has stalled while driving due to a system malfunction.  If this is not a one off event  (others reporting similar problems), NHTSA may investigate (assuming the issue is safety related) to see if there is a design defect.

 

So, what was the DTC code? It should be on the service order that the dealer should have given you.  I would be shocked if the car stalled while driving, illuminated the battery symbol, and didn't through a code.  Are you sure your issue is the same  "dead battery / no start issue" that some are experiencing?  To me it sound that it is likely different as your issue occurred while driving.

 

Once the car is started, the voltage thresholds for DTC are shown below.   The voltage entry positions for most sensor monitoring OBD functions is 11 V, for more critical functions 8 V and for critical hybrid components 6 V.  

 

P0560:

 5V power supply out of range (4.75V > x) OR (x > 5.25V)

 3.3V power supply out of range (3.46V < x) OR (x < 3.13V)

 1.5 V power supply out of range (1.57V < x) OR (x < 1.42V)

P0562:

 Battery voltage when vehicle is running and in a torque producing state < 8.2V

 KAPWR voltage out of range (x > 19.0V) OR (x < 5.95V)

P0563:

 Battery voltage too high> 19.0V

P0A23:

 Generator sensor reference voltage out of range > 6V or < 4.50V for 500ms.

P0A18:

 Motor current sensor reference voltage out of range > 6V or < 4.50V for 500ms.

P1633

 Voltage below 6.0V for 20 seconds, or 5 seconds during module self-tes

Edited October 28, 2014 by Plus 3 Golfer

[ScubaDadMiami]

I rented a C-MAX for 24 hours before considering it as a finalist candidate, which is similar to what you did by trying your actual intended purchase. Sounds like you found a winner!

[MaddMatt]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I just brought her home and averaged 44 in mixed driving. I got the carfax and it was a single owner, 2 year lease. The last guy averaged around 37 so I am happy to be beating his numbers.

 

I'll continue reading and learning. Hopefully I can add to the knowledge base down the road.

 

Thanks again!

 

MM

[Adrian_L]

I have a '13 and it sounds like it the options you have.  Apart from a brake light bulb dying after 5 months, I have nothing to complain about.

 

With respect to Kaptnk, I have yet to hear of a SINGLE C-max dying while driving, other than his. 

 

Our family has the "moment of truth" at the end of the journey.  Being Canadian, it is great when it is between 4.0 and 5.0 (l/100km)  Not so great when it is 6.1 like it was last time (must be there weather up here?)

 

Adrian

Vancouver

[Telesrjyje]

Unfortunately my wife drives it about 60-70 miles a a day. Coupled with Minnesotas winter, were probably not going to raise the MPG too much. Wish it has the Volts battery size, that would be a perfect combination for the Cmax: Pat

[stolenmoment]

If my 6'2" son could sit in the back seat of a Volt, I'd have one of them instead of my Energi; twice the battery range.

[jestevens]

My 6' 7" friend sat in the front seat, it was a tight fit but he made it..I was amazed.

 

Some cars driven on the highway a lot have problems with transmission bearings, some have problems with 12V battery (although 12V seems to be more SE's than SELs?)  I have 73,000 so far; 36,000 of that is basically around town and weekend trips on the highway to museums and state parks.  Service-wise I have only had to take the car in for tire changes, inspections and oil changes.  Replaced cabin air filter, headlights and turn signal bulbs myself (what a pain).  I topped off the orange coolant for the inverter per Paul's advice on here.

 

You aren't kidding - I got into a fender bender and had to rent a Nissan Versa with a CVT - it was so noisy compared to the hybrid.  After owning a Prius and a C-MAX I forgot what it's like to drive a "normal" car.  It was especially cute that they programmed the CVT to act like it was shifting..geesh.  Sounds and vibrates like a prop (propeller) plane taking off..

Edited October 13, 2017 by jestevens