Can someone reassure me to buy a 2013 SE (read a lot negative things)

[supercell]

Hi

this is my first post, glad there is a forum.

 

I love the car and drove it many times at the dealer. 42k miles, 2013 SE, $14,500. Certified.

 

I was all happy and pysched to buy this next Monday till I started reading all the negative things about the batteries failing, etc and other issues on this forum.

 

Now after months I am having second thoughts cause of what I have been reading.:(

 

The purpose of this thread is :

 

Can someone please reassure me with some POSITVE things about this car cause I am really bummed what I just read.

 

Is it really all that bad?

 

Are there certain 2013s to avoid?

 

Obviously the decision is up to me but I want to make sure Im not getting too upset by what I read on here.

 

Im really confused now and dont want to give up on this so please someone say something good! :)

 

thanks

 

Jeff

Edited May 13, 2015 by supercell

[Marc Smith]

Jeff,

 

I have a 2013 SEL,  I got it used with 11k miles on it about 10 months ago.  I now have close to 24K miles on it.

 

It has only been in the shop once  for the seat back recall.

 

It has never failed to start,  no dead 12v battery.  my life time  MPG is 42-43.  my last tank was 46.  I like certain aspects of the car when compared against other comparable hybrids.  but there are a some things I don't like

 

 

I would buy another c-max or even consider the energi  Since my commute is 15-18 miles  the energi would work well for me..

 

I would take the VIN to a ford dealer and have them run a vehicle check to see how many times the car has been seen by a dealer.  That might indicate  if it has any problems...

[Kelleytoons]

This is the best car I've ever owned in nearly 5 decades (and many, many vehicles) of ownership.  Nothing else even comes close -- if you liked it when you drove it, you know why and that feeling will NOT go away (unlike many other cars whose "novelty" wears off).

 

There's no question the battery issue is the sticking point -- and 2013 SE models without MFT are more likely to have it than others.  That would be my ONLY concern about that particular vehicle you're looking at.  It doesn't mean that all of them have that issue, or even the majority, but you always have to wonder about it.  If Marc is right and you can do a background check on it that would be *extremely* helpful, because if it hasn't been in the shop more than once or twice it's unlikely to have had that as a problem.

 

Note that without MFT the Kelley Blue Book (no relation :>) on an EXCELLENT car (and only 3% of cars meet that criteria) with that mileage is $13.5K.  So I would at the very least counteroffer that to your dealer (actually, if it were me I'd offer him 13K and if he didn't want it that would be his own loss).

[plus 3 golfer]

I assume it's a Ford dealer selling the car?  The Ford dealer should be able to give you the service records.  If there's no history of the issue, then buy it.

 

We don't know "how bad" the no start issue is (% of vehicles affected).  We also know one recent poster indicated 7 no starts.  If you can live with the possibility of "no starts", then buy it.   You can carry a Jump Start battery in the car which virtually always will get the car started thus mitigating inconvenience (there may have been one time I recall where it failed to start the car).

 

I'm not familiar with what Certified means with respect to Ford.  But, the no start issue is likely a 3/36 warranty item.  So, since the car is past 36 k miles, will it be covered?

 

Otherwise, IMO the C-Max is a very reliable car with great attributes. :)

[scottwood2]

I was thinking the same thing before I purchased mine.  All the problems listed had me thinking twice about the purchase.  Then I started looking around other car sites.  Both the Prius and the Volt had a long list of problems stated too.   My conclusion is that people post problems and they all have some issues.  Most people that don't have an issue never say that.  Sure some do on this site and others but most just enjoy the car and never even come to the forum unless they have an issue.  

 

I have had a few issues with mine but I also did with my highly rated Scion xB too.   I am glad I decided to buy it.  It is a fun car. 

[fbov]

This is the best car I've ever owned in nearly 5 decades (and many, many vehicles) of ownership.  Nothing else even comes close

I'm early in my 5th decade of car ownership, but I agree with the rest of the statement. Only thing I've paid for is oil changes (and a tire I holed).

 

Another place to check the VIN is Ford's etis site. Enter the VIN on the Vehicle tab. 12M02 and 14B03 should be the only things listed under "Outstanding Field Service Actions."

https://www.etis.ford.com/

 

Have fun,

Frank

[supercell]

Jeff,

 

I have a 2013 SEL,  I got it used with 11k miles on it about 10 months ago.  I now have close to 24K miles on it.

 

It has only been in the shop once  for the seat back recall.

 

It has never failed to start,  no dead 12v battery.  my life time  MPG is 42-43.  my last tank was 46.  I like certain aspects of the car when compared against other comparable hybrids.  but there are a some things I don't like

 

 

I would buy another c-max or even consider the energi  Since my commute is 15-18 miles  the energi would work well for me..

 

I would take the VIN to a ford dealer and have them run a vehicle check to see how many times the car has been seen by a dealer.  That might indicate  if it has any problems...

Hi thanks for the reply!  The car is from a Ford dealer, actually the original one where it was bought from. I would love the energi, I had a Volt as well but yes you are right need to check the service records.

 

This is the best car I've ever owned in nearly 5 decades (and many, many vehicles) of ownership.  Nothing else even comes close -- if you liked it when you drove it, you know why and that feeling will NOT go away (unlike many other cars whose "novelty" wears off).

 

There's no question the battery issue is the sticking point -- and 2013 SE models without MFT are more likely to have it than others.  That would be my ONLY concern about that particular vehicle you're looking at.  It doesn't mean that all of them have that issue, or even the majority, but you always have to wonder about it.  If Marc is right and you can do a background check on it that would be *extremely* helpful, because if it hasn't been in the shop more than once or twice it's unlikely to have had that as a problem.

 

Note that without MFT the Kelley Blue Book (no relation :>) on an EXCELLENT car (and only 3% of cars meet that criteria) with that mileage is $13.5K.  So I would at the very least counteroffer that to your dealer (actually, if it were me I'd offer him 13K and if he didn't want it that would be his own loss).

Hi thanks, is the MFT = My Ford Touch Im guessing. This SE doesnt have that it seems. I know about the KBB value on the car is lower than they are selling however from exhasutive searches all over the USA, this price and mile combo seems to be a good deal, the dealers always jack up their price but with some haggling I always get it lower.  Background check on its service is the way to go it seems.

 

I assume it's a Ford dealer selling the car?  The Ford dealer should be able to give you the service records.  If there's no history of the issue, then buy it.

 

We don't know "how bad" the no start issue is (% of vehicles affected).  We also know one recent poster indicated 7 no starts.  If you can live with the possibility of "no starts", then buy it.   You can carry a Jump Start battery in the car which virtually always will get the car started thus mitigating inconvenience (there may have been one time I recall where it failed to start the car).

 

I'm not familiar with what Certified means with respect to Ford.  But, the no start issue is likely a 3/36 warranty item.  So, since the car is past 36 k miles, will it be covered?

 

Otherwise, IMO the C-Max is a very reliable car with great attributes. :)

Yes its a Ford dealer. And I will get all those records for sure. Certified suppose to carry a huge inspection and they restart the bumper to bumper coverage (though its not as complete as the orig new car one) and also the powertrain goes to 7 yrs and 100k but that also resets back to the orig date I think.  I love the car though so I will check it all out as far as past service.

 

I was thinking the same thing before I purchased mine.  All the problems listed had me thinking twice about the purchase.  Then I started looking around other car sites.  Both the Prius and the Volt had a long list of problems stated too.   My conclusion is that people post problems and they all have some issues.  Most people that don't have an issue never say that.  Sure some do on this site and others but most just enjoy the car and never even come to the forum unless they have an issue.  

 

I have had a few issues with mine but I also did with my highly rated Scion xB too.   I am glad I decided to buy it.  It is a fun car. 

Hi thanks. Yes I  had a Volt and a Prius as well so yea probs with all cars.  I was trying to see if it were from some disgruntled people and didnt want to be biased and glad you guys are replying cause I feel a bit better about it all now.  As long as theres a long warranty with the Certfied car, then Im more inclined to buy.

 

I'm early in my 5th decade of car ownership, but I agree with the rest of the statement. Only thing I've paid for is oil changes (and a tire I holed).

 

Another place to check the VIN is Ford's etis site. Enter the VIN on the Vehicle tab. 12M02 and 14B03 should be the only things listed under "Outstanding Field Service Actions."

https://www.etis.ford.com/

 

Have fun,

Frank

Thanks, this is very helpful! I will check this today.  There were some cars at the dealer called RAV?  They told me these were buybacks and they all were branded this way on the carfax and titles and they were all 2013s btw. Interesting. But again I will get the service records, thats all I can do as this is most likely very individualized as far as issues with the battery. 

[supercell]

This is what the FordEtis shows on the VIN:

 

Outstanding Field Service Actions

12M02 - SYNC WITH MYFORD/MYLINCOLN TOUCH - WARRANTY EXTENSION COVERING ACCESSORY PROTOCO L INTERFACE MODULE (APIM)
14B03 - FUEL ECONOMY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
14S21 - RESTRAINTS CONTROL MODULE REPLACEMENT

 

I think fbov said it supposed to only have the 12M02 and 14B03 on there but I see:

 

14S21 there in addition, dont know what that is though. Restraints? Is this a seat belt issue?

 

thanks J.

Edited May 13, 2015 by supercell

[plus 3 golfer]

 

This is what the FordEtis shows on the VIN:

 

Outstanding Field Service Actions

12M02 - SYNC WITH MYFORD/MYLINCOLN TOUCH - WARRANTY EXTENSION COVERING ACCESSORY PROTOCO L INTERFACE MODULE (APIM)

14B03 - FUEL ECONOMY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

14S21 - RESTRAINTS CONTROL MODULE REPLACEMENT

 

I think fbov said it supposed to only have the 12M02 and 14B03 on there but I see:

 

14S21 there in addition, dont know what that is though. Restraints? Is this a seat belt issue?

 

thanks J.

 

No, it's not a seat belt issue.  The parts are of limited supply.  So, the dealer will only do the recall if one has had the problem. I still haven't had that recall done.  I believe we should get a letter from Ford when the parts are available.

[SnowStorm]

We have a 2013 SE (no MFT) at 64k miles.  Still crazy about the car and looking forward to the next drive.  Had two dead batteries in Jan 2014, one from leaving the ignition on (apparently) and the other most likely one form of the "problem".  Dealer changed the 12V battery and may have reprogrammed something.  Anyway, no problems in 16 months.

 

Bottom line: Knowing all I know now, would buy the car even quicker today than when I was "blissfully ignorant".  Knowledge of faults hasn't removed the bliss!

[obob]

No, it's not a seat belt issue.  The parts are of limited supply.  So, the dealer will only do the recall if one has had the problem. I still haven't had that recall done.  I believe we should get a letter from Ford when the parts are available.

 

My dealer told me in the fall.

[obob]

Some of the transmissions on early built 2013 C-maxes are failing this may or may not be a problem, the understanding is still developing.  I am not sure where the cut off it as far as manufacture date.  The later ones had improvements.  There are some messages about this on this forum.

 

I might be worth a look on cars.com to see how much a new c-max would cost.  

 

The battery thing can be a pain, but a portable battery jumper has made it more of an inconvenience.  

 

I really like my car.  It is big, great driving position, very good visibility, yet small on the outside and easy to drive and park.  Plenty fast enough for me.

Edited May 14, 2015 by obob

[fbov]

...14S21 - RESTRAINTS CONTROL MODULE REPLACEMENT... Is this a seat belt issue?...

I had this fail before the recall when I hit a good pothole.

 

The RCM includes accelerometers that I believe are the root of the issue. I lost antolock braking, roll stability control, and likely seat belt tensioning upon impact. All I saw were a bunch of dash lights; the lack of RCM was never obvious otherwise.

 

As Plus 3 noted, parts in short supply; mine took a week or two.

 

Frank

[Madmax98]

I have 2 weeks with a 2013 Energi.  Car is very cool, I'd be pretty confident of getting 40Mpg with regular Cmax.

 

Dealer chose to jump battery the 12v battery first time I went to test drive at an indy lot in Chicago.

I can tell you that another dealer had one with 40K miles which was declared 'lemon' title,but no detailed reason shared, although a replacement battery was in the carfacts.   These guys were still asking like $19 for it or something crazy, claiming they could still sell it to auction houses... 

 

3rd party 'independent' Ford Dealer Mechanic thought my battery was 'OK' , taking a charge, noticed some slight corrosion near contacts on battery back under trunk, and it's possible it's been weakened from time at dealer lot.

 

I also managed to kill the battery once thus far, but I think it was because I actually left the car 'on' and left it for an hour, after it had been only driven on EV for a couple days, and I was playing with the lights, getting in and out of the car all morning.

 

I was able to get a jump start thankfully, I kept cables with me.

 

There is a bit of a trick with the jump start to make sure you are not on EV, and to rev accelerator while in park or in neutral.

 

My sense is that worst case the battery might need to be replaced prematurely, however I  have a sense that most issues with dead battery reports could be due to 1) owners driving in EV mode all the time, not 100% clear to me that driving in EV mode and charging actually charges the low voltage battery or not in the Energi.

and/or 2) not knowing that car is still really on, leaving car. Different theories on whether engine should kick on automatically in that mode.

 

not sure if that helps, but other than not being able to hook up my ford mobile yet after trying every day for 2 weeks, I like the car a lot.

 

Mine had 90K miles (high for a 2013) , I paid $10,500.  Had to put some money into 2 tires, alignment, really could have used 4 tires due to some pretty uneven tread wear, strange rumble in rear tires at lower speeds. Had to rotate to put the old tires in the back, but the new ones up front.  

 

Opted not to do brake work yet, though will likely also need rotors when I do it due to their current thickness allegedly a bit too thin to machine again....

[stevedebi]

...

 

My sense is that worst case the battery might need to be replaced prematurely, however I  have a sense that most issues with dead battery reports could be due to 1) owners driving in EV mode all the time, not 100% clear to me that driving in EV mode and charging actually charges the low voltage battery or not in the Energi.

and/or 2) not knowing that car is still really on, leaving car. Different theories on whether engine should kick on automatically in that mode.

...

The Energi charges the 12V from the HVB via a converter, regardless of the mode the car is in. 

 

There is a thread over on the Energi forum where we are waiting for someone to explain their statement that we should use a trickle charger periodically. So far I've not read why that might be true.

 

I think yours is the highest mileage I've seen on a C-Max Energi.

[jestevens]

I love my SEL with panoramic roof, technology package..the SELs do not seem to have the same 12V battery issue as the SE.  I average (according to computer) 39-40MPGs.

 

We have a few SE's at work and one of them had dead battery and needed a jump.  Ford seems to have several proposed fixes for the 12V issue on the SEs..I'm not sure how they diagnose which issue fits with the symptoms of particular car.

 

A customer satisfaction program was recently issued by Ford that allows customer to take the vehicle in to dealership to have it inspected for any 12V battery issues and the dealership will get reimbused by Ford for the work.  My SEL has never had battery problem and I still received an invitation to participate in the program.

 

The letter mentions not leaving a bunch of USB and 12V stuff plugged in to charge while the "engine" isn't running - e.g. the high voltage battery isn't charging the 12V battery.  Maybe the original software was a little TOO convienient and generous with sharing 12V DC power when the engine is off.

 

So far the only build quality issue I experienced is the glue on the carpet in the hatch area - right at the hinge where the seats fold down has given way and so those little carpet squares are loose.  I could get a can of 3M 777 as others suggested but I think I will take it into the dealer and ask them to glue it back down.  Thing is, I don't go in for service very much because otherwise nothing is wrong with the car and oil change interval is 10K mi.

 

Just make sure to have all of the recalls/reprogramming done for the TSBs.  The recent PCM update fixed a weird issue I was having where every once in a while I would press the engine start button in a "hurry" at just the right time when hitting the brake where the engine would fail to even try to start.  Hitting it a second time always fired right up.

 

The built in Microsoft "infotainment" software on the touch screen of the SEL sometimes leaves a lot to be desired (typical MS software) with respect to a few glitches every once in a while, responsiveness updating displays while driving, etc. but it is still nicer than some of the other touch screen systems I have seen.

[Tom]

 I have a 2013 SE and have experienced three no start incidents.  Other than that, no problems what so ever.  Just got back from a trip to the Carolinas and had no problems.  Got low 40's MPG using AC constantly and driving the speed limits.  It's a great car.

[B4804514]

Given the selection of hybrid cars the C Max is the clear top choice even with the small percentage that are having issues. The battery issues if further investigation was done would most likely lead to human error. They have programmed a lot of lights and interior screens to come on when the doors are opened and i mean a lot of power must be drained as you keep the doors open and do not start the vehicle, They do shut off automatically but it takes time. At any rate I owned a Prius for 8 years and got amazing 50 mpg but the car was painful to drive. I am 6'4" and even with the seat extender there was no comfortable position for long road trips. The C Max has the most comfortable seats for long distances. If you ask any chiropractor they will tell you the knees should be lower than the butt to keep pressure off the lower back. Very few cars are designed with seats that do not put added pressure on your lower back. All these fancy seats can not be raised high enough to make your thigh level while driving.  Also the Prius was noisy,slow and driving it was totally unappealing,

It was very low maintenance with the exception the HV battery failed. This was covered under warranty but another 5k miles and I would  have paid $4000. No car is without issues I just love the C Max interior the exterior is rather odd looking IMO. Why not take some ques from the BMW suv design? Driving the C Max for best MPG takes some learning as you have to lift off the accelerator to get the electric to engage. Once you get acquainted with the gauge that tells you when and how much to use the accelerator your mileage will go up. I am not sure why Ford did not design the computer to automatically engage the electric as it does with the Eco cruise as you drive along and have enough battery?  The car will pay for itself in gas saving and paying an additional $200 a year if fuel cost well out weighs the benefits.