2015 FORD C-MAX Complaints

THIS CAR HAS 57,500 MILES AND IS INSIDE THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY PERIOD. THE POWER ASSIST STEERING FELT STICKY, NOT SMOOTH LIKE NORMAL, SO I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALERSHIP. WHEN ALMOST THERE AN ERROR LIGHT CAME ON SAYING THERE WAS A POWER STEERING ISSUE. IT CLEARED AND NOTHING HAPPENED, THEN SOON AFTER A POWER STEERING FAULT MESSAGE CAME ON, BUT THE PERFORMANCE WAS STILL STICKY BUT FUNCTIONAL. I PULLED INTO THE DEALERSHIP LOT AND POWERED DOWN, THEN BACK UP TO DRIVE INTO THE SERVICE BAY. THE POWER STEERING WAS NON-OPERATIONAL AT THAT POINT. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATES THE STEERING RACK NEEDS TO BE REPLACED TO FIX THIS ISSUE. THEY ALSO STATE IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN A RECALL ON OTHER FORD MODELS, BUT NOT THE C-MAX SO FAR. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, AND HAS OCCURRED FAR TOO EARLY IN THE LIFETIME OF THE VEHICLE FOR WEAR AND TEAR. THE FIRST SERVICE INTERVAL FOR THE STEERING IS 60,000 MILES AND THIS CAR IS NOT EVEN THERE YET.

AFTER STARTING THE CAR WITH THE KEYLESS IGNITION THE BRAKES REMAIN LOCKED. RESTARTS MAY RELEASE THE BRAKES. STOMPING ON THE BRAKE MAY RELEASE THE BRAKES. IT'S INTERMITTENT. SOMETIMES IT OCCURS WHEN DRIVING EG. STOPPING FOR A RED LIGHT AND THEN FINDING THE BRAKES GRIPPING. SOMETIMES YOU CAN DRIVE BUT THERE APPEARS TO BE A SLIGHT DRAG, OTHER TIMES ITS LOCKED AND THE CAR JERKS/SHUDDERS IF YOU TRY TO DRIVE. THE RED BRAKE LIGHT GOES ON ON THE DASHBOARD AND IF YOU DRIVE THE WARNING NOTICE MAY APPEAR. TODAY OUR LOCAL FORD DEALER SAID IT NEEDS A NEW BRAKE VACUUM AT A COST OF $900. THEY INDICATED THEY HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE AND WE SHOULD NOT DRIVE THE CAR. THIS CAR IS 3 YEARS OLD WITH 27,000 MILES. THIS CLEARLY IS A DANGEROUS DEFECT. FORD KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS REPAIR.

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, DOING ABOUT 35 MPH IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, WHEN I HEARD A LOUD ALMOST METALLIC "POP" FROM THE EXTERIOR REAR. I WAS LESS THAN A HALF MILE FROM HOME, AND THE BACK WINDOW, ALTHOUGH STILL IN ITS FRAME,WAS COMPLETELY CRACKLED/SHATTERED. NO SIGN OF IMPACT FROM ANYTHING HAVING HIT IT, IT WAS ACTUALLY BOWING OUT.

VEHICLE IS NOT HOLDING EV NOW/LATER MODES CAUSING UNEXPECTED BATTERY USAGE AND FUEL CONSUMPTION. AN EXAMPLE IS TRAVELING HIGHWAY SPEEDS (70-75 MPH); VEHICLE WILL UNEXPECTEDLY SWITCH INTO AUTO MODE AND REVERT FROM GAS/HYBRID PERFORMANCE TO ELECTRIC/BATTERY ONLY PERFORMANCE WHICH IS REDUCED POWER AND RESPONSE AGAIN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AS I HAVE FOUND THIS TO HAPPEN BEFORE I ENTER THE HIGHWAY AND CAN ADJUST MY DRIVE ACCORDINGLY. ADDITIONALLY, THIS HAPPENS IN EV NOW MODE WHICH HOLDS THE ELECTRIC ENGINE TO PREVENT GAS USE AT ALL BUT THE SYSTEM WILL INADVERTENTLY SWITCH TO THE AUTO MODE. CONDITION IS EXTREMELY SPORADIC AND DIFFICULT TO REPLICATE MOST TIMES WILL HAPPEN WITHOUT THROWING A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CODE. FORTUNATELY I DO HAVE A FEW INSTANCES WHERE A CODE WAS THROWN AND I WAS ABLE TO HAVE THE DEALER TAKE A LOOK AND MAKE SOME WARRANTY REPAIRS NONE OF WHICH HAVE RESOLVED THE ISSUE AS IT STILL COMES BACK IN THE SAME RANDOM FORM. ATTACHED ARE THE SEVERAL DEALER VISITS TO ADDRESS THE CONCERN AND AFTER SEVERAL VISITS, THE TRANSMISSION PUMP MODULE SEEMS TO BE A REPEAT ISSUE. UNFORTUNATELY NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE CAUSE OF THE MODES NOT HOLDING AS IT SHOULD.

DRIVING MY 2015 FORD C-MAX AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I LOSE POWER. I PRESS THE GAS AND NOTHING. I WAS DRIVING THROUGH A INTERSECTION AND HAD TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE RODE. BIG RED TRIANGLE SHOW UP SAYING "STOP SAFELY NOW". CAR HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER FOR 4 DAYS, THEY ARE TRYING TO FIND THE PROBLEM. I HAVE READ ONLINE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WITH MULTIPLE FORD VEHICLES AND A RECALL WAS CALLED FOR THE FOCUS. I GUESS FORD IS TO BIG TO GO AFTER AND THE NTSB DRAGS THERE FEET LIKE NO OTHER. CALL FOR A RECALL ON ALL VEHICLES THAT "STOP SAFELY NOW'. WILL YOU WAIT UNTIL PEOPLE DIE TO DO SOMETHING!!

WHILE DRIVING, GOT MESSAGE INDICATING A STEERING ISSUE. TRIED RESTARTING THE CAR AND THERE WAS NO POWER STEERING. HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP. WAS TOLD IT IS A STEERING GEAR THAT FAILED AND THAT THE WHOLE COMPONENT OF WHICH THE STEERING GEAR IS A PART OF NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

FOR THE 5TH TIME MY VEHICLE HAS DIED DUE TO A VOLTAGE DRAW ON THE 12V BATTERY. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE FORD SERVICE CENTER 5 TIMES THE MOST RECENT FOR 3 WEEKS AND IT STILL FAILS DUE TO A POWER ISSUE. THE VEHICLE IS UNRELIABLE DUE TO FREQUENT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURES. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURES STARTED ON 2/2/2017, AND CONTINUED THROUGH 3/12/2017, 3/22/2017, 4/3/2017 AND 4/26/2017

1. ON TAKING A TRIP FROM PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL TO INDIANAPOLIS, IN THIS CMAX WAS PARKED & LOCKED IN THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA BEACHES PARKING LOT AT APPROXIMATELY 9 AM CST 2. AT APPROXIMATELY 4:30 PM EST A TELEPHONE CALL WAS RECEIVED FROM THE AIRPORT POLICE INFORMING ME THAT THE CMAX WAS IN THE PARKING LOT RUNNING WITH THE LIGHTS ON AND I WAS ASKED TO GO TO THE PARKING LOT AND TURN THE AUTOMOBILE OFF. AFTER I INFORMED THE OFFICER THAT I WAS IN INDIANA AND COULD NOT COMPLY WITH THE REQUEST, I PROCEEDED TO MAKE NUMEROUS TELEPHONE CALLS; FORD MOTOR COMPANY, GARY SMITH FORD AND OTHERS IN AN ATTEMPT TO HAVE THE CMAX TURNED OFF BUT WAS TOLD IT COULD NOT BE DONE. I THEN RETURNED OFFICER'S CALL AND ASKED THAT THEY GO TO THE PARKING LOT, BREAK THE DRIVERS WINDOW, AND PRESS THE START/STOP BUTTON TO TURN THE CMAX OFF. THE OFFICER CALLED ME BACK TO INFORM ME THAT WHEN THEY WENT TO THE LOT, THE CMAX WAS NOT RUNNING AND THE LIGHTS WERE OFF. 3. UPON RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT ON 2/8 I HAD TO USE THE KEY TO ACCESS THE CMAX SINCE THE BATTERY WAS DEAD AND THE GAS TANK WAS EMPTY. 4. A JUMPER BATTERY WAS USED AND FUEL WAS ADDED TO ENABLE THE CMAX TO RUN. 5. THIS VEHICLE HAS NUMEROUS INDICATORS, AUDIBLE AND VISUAL TO ALERT THE DRIVER IF EXITING THE VEHICLE WHILE THE CAR IS IN THE RUN MODE. THE EXIT FROM THE CMAX ON 2/2 WAS NORMAL. NOTHING WAS ON. THE LOCKING INDICATION WAS NORMAL AND NO LIGHTS WERE ON ( I KEEP THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH IN THE POSITION WHERE IF THE VEHICLE IS IN THE RUN MODE, THE LIGHTS ARE ON ). THIS PROBLEM HAD TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY A SIGNAL FROM AN AIRCRAFT OR A RADIO, RADAR WITH ENOUGH POWER TO BROADCAST SOME DISTANCE. 6. MY CONCERN IS THAT IF THIS TYPE IGNITION SYSTEM CAN BE TURNED ON ACCIDENTALLY, IT COULD ALSO BE TURNED OFF ACCIDENTALLY AND THAT COULD BE DISASTROUS IF THE VEHICLE TURNED OFF WHILE IN MOTION CAUSING THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 FORD C-MAX ENERGI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DOOR FAILED TO REMAIN SECURELY LOCKED AND OPENED TWICE WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE TWO MONTHS AGO. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS NO MANUFACTURER RECALL TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER PROVIDED NO REPAIR SOLUTION. THE CONTACT LATER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V643000 (LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES), BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE NOTICE INDICATED THAT THE PARTS MAY BECOME AVAILABLE IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2017. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

REVERSE GEAR SETTING ACTUALLY PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AFTER STARTING THE PARKED CAR ND ATTEMPTING TO BACK OUT OFPARKING SPACE. I TRIED TURNING OFF ENGINE, AND THE SAME THING OCCURRED, THE CAR CONTINUED TO CREEP FORWARD UNTIL THE CAR MADE CONTACT WITH THE PARKING SPACE SIGN. THIS IS NOT A SMALL ISSUE AS 1) IT PROBABLY OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY WITH THE SAME MODEL IN THE SAME FLEET AND LEASER CHARGED ME UPWARD OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS TO FIX VOSMETIC DAMAGE CAUSED WHILE PARALLEL PARKING AND 2) THUS COULD CAUSE BODILY INJURY HAD THE PARKING SPACE NOT BEEN BLOCKED IN FRONT. THESE CARS ARE PART OF A MEMBERSHIP BASED RENTAL FLEET, AND SHOULD BE HIGHLY MAINTAINED. AFTER CONTACTING THE EMERGENCY NUMBER OF THE FLEET LEASER, I WAS A FEW MINUTES LATER ABLE TO REENTER AND START THE CAR, AND THE REVERSE GEAR OPERATED PROPERLY. THE LEASER HAS PREVIOUSLY RAISED MY INSURANCE RATE BASED ON SMALL AMOUNTS OF DAMAGE TO A FLEET VEHICLE INCURRED WHILE PARKING. MY GUESS IS THAT THEY KNOW OF TE PROBLEM AND HAVE CHOSEN TO BLAME THE DRIVERS RATHER THAN THE MANUFACTURERS OR MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS.