2013 FORD C-MAX Complaints

After making a stop at a rest stop traveling from Portland, OR to The Dalles, OR, when we got back into the car and started it, a warning light came on saying “service power steering. See your dealer.” From that point forward, we had no power steering and had to drive home that way. We know after doing research that Ford has a recall (15S18) for this exact problem but because there weren’t as many CMax vehicles sold, they did not include it. We had to drive home almost 60 miles at highway speed to get home.

We have a recall notice relating to the door latch that may come open while driving and the Ford dealer in Longmont, CO says they don't have parts to replace the defective door latch part. We have been waiting for several months now and the Ford dealer doesn't have the parts. We don't feel safe driving the car until this recall can be fixed.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut-off without warning. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer on three separate occasions for service. Each time the vehicle was towed to the dealer, the vehicle would resume normal operation upon arrival and the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

The car was parked and turned off, I came out to the car and found the electrical charging cord had caught on fire at the base of the handle that inserts into the car. The area melted/disintegrated. It was covered in soot. The charger had been plugged into the car for about 1 hour. Fortunately my car or home did not catch on fire. This charger was a replacement from the recall in 2018.

THE RADIO WOULD NOT SHUT OFF OR CHANGE STATIONS AND THE VOLUME CONTROL DIDN'T WORK. THE DASH SCREEN SAID THE RADIO WAS OFF. COULD NOT CHANGE AUDIO INPUTS FROM FM STATION IT WAS TUNED TO. THE RADIO STAYED ON WHEN THE CAR WAS SHUT OFF EVEN WHEN THE DOORS WERE OPENED. I GOOGLED THE PROBLEM AND FOUND IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT CAN DRAIN THE BATTERY COMPLETELY. THE SUGGESTED FIX WAS TO PULL THE RADIO CIRCUIT FUSE FROM THE MAIN FUSE PANEL UNDER THE DASH, (#79), WHICH I DID. THAT RESET THE AUDIO SYSTEM AND HAS RESOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR NOW AT LEAST. THE LAST TIME I HAD WEIRD AUDIO PROBLEMS WAS WHEN THE 12V BATTERY STARTED TO NEED REPLACING. I THOUGHT IT WAS DUE TO IT BEING 4.5 YRS OLD BUT NOW AM WONDERING IF IT WAS HASTENED BY BATTERY DRAIN FROM AUDIO SYSTEM WHEN VEHICLE WAS PARKED. THIS PROBLEM COULD STRAND DRIVERS AND LEAVE THE VEHICLE INOPERABLE DUE TO DEAD 12V BATTERY (WHICH IS IN A VERY HARD TO REACH COMPARTMENT IN THE BACK HATCH). I'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT THE BACK HATCH UNLATCHING SWITCH DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK AT THIS TIME, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED (SAME ISSUES HAPPENED LAST TIME THE 12V BATTERY DIED 4 YRS AGO). COULD THIS BE RELATED TO SOME OTHER ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE LOCKING SYSTEM WIRING PERHAPS? FORD NEEDS TO SOLVE THIS AND ISSUE A RECALL TO REMEDY SINCE THE PROBLEM SOUNDS PRETTY COMMON.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR UNEXPECTEDLY OPENED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DOOR AJAR WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT RELATED THE FAILURE TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V643000 (LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES). RIVERSIDE FORD (2089 RIVERSIDE DR, MACON, GA 31204, (478) 464-2900) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

GAS LINE LEAK UNDER CAR LEADING FROM TANK TO ENGINE. REQUIRES REMOVAL OF EXHAUST SYSTEM AND TANK TO REPLACE NEW LINE. COULD HAVE CAUSED FIRE W/ FUEL LEAKING ON TO EXHAUST SYSTEM (HAVE HAD TWO PREVIOUS FIRES IN DIFFERENT VEHICLES CAUSED BY FUEL LEAKING ONTO HOT EXHAUST SYSTEM). NO APPARENT PHYSICAL CAUSE FOR LEAK - DOES NOT SEEM TO BE COMPONENT ONE WOULD EXPECT TO LEAK OR NEED REPAIR REGARDLESS OF AGE OR MILEAGE. POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SERIOUS PERSONAL AND PHYSICAL DAMAGE IF I HAD NOT SMELLED AND NOTICED LEAK. SEEMS TO ME THAT MANUFACTURER OR SUPPLIER OF APPARENT DEFECTIVE LINE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACEMENT REPAIR. LEAK COULD RESULT IN UNANTICIPATED CATASTROPHIC EVENT. VEHICLE HAD BEEN RECENTLY DRIVEN AND PARKED WHEN GAS SMELL WAS NOTCED AND MOVED ENOUGH TO SEE FUEL PUDDLE ON DRIVEWAY.

TURNED THE CAR ON IN A PARKING LOT AND SAW THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. HAD TOTALLY LOST POWER STEERING AND ACCELERATION, AND BRAKING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. ROLLED DOWN THE PARKING LOT AND WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR WITH THE PARKING BRAKE AND TURN IT OFF. TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AND ACCELERATOR WERE BACK. DROVE THE CAR HOME AND TRIED TURNING IT ON AND OFF A FEW MORE TIMES. POWER STEERING SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY GONE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX ENERGI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40-50 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMALLY LOUD SOUND COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT BEFORE OR AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION BEARING FAILED, WHICH CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO LEAK FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT PERFORMED HIS OWN INSPECTION AND NOTICED THE BEARING HAD CREATED A HOLE IN THE TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 152,000.

POWER STEERING FAILS WITHOUT WARNING MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO STEER THAN MANUAL STEERING. TURNING CAR OFF RESETS ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE BUT THAT IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE POWER STEERING WON'T FAIL AGAIN WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY.