Ford C-Max Complaints

510 consumer complaints on file.

#11434532September 27, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY
The passenger side rear door plastic panel keeps dislodging from its metal casing, then gets stuck on part of the interior frame, causing the door to not be operational. The plastic overlaps the frame once it is dislodged; the metal part of the door is opening, but the plastic panel holds it back from being able to go past an inch. The door is, essentially, stuck. One must reach in and manually push the plastic panel back into place (sticking fingers in to first dislodge from where it's stuck, then guide it back to where it's supposed to be, then bang on it to get it back in place). There are plastic pegs that are supposed to hold the door panels on, but they don't (and they fall out). There are many message boards, Consumer Reports, and other sites showing this is a common problem for 2013-2014 C Max Hybrid doors. Ford is making consumers pay to replace the panels. They need to change the plastic pegs so that they actually hold, or affix the whole panel is a much more secure way! This is extremely unsafe because we cannot exit the car sometimes, and in an accident that could be dangerous. More importantly, it affects us every day because my children cannot exit our vehicle on the sidewalk side; they must open the driver's side rear door and exit the car into the street, oftentimes into traffic! They need to be able to exit on the SAFE side of the car!! Ford issued a repair for 2013 model cars but not for ours. They know this is a problem. Here is a link to the repair order: https://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/4807-tsb-14-0030-rear-door-trim-panels-loose-built-on-or-before-6282013/ I will put today's date as today was the most recent time my daughter walked into traffic outside school because her door was jammed. But this has happened many, many times over the course of our ownership, and has been getting worse over the last year (if we had driven more often -- like we did pre-pandemic -- I'm sure it would be even worse now).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433871September 21, 2021
STEERING
Sudden loss of power to steering....noted that many others have had this problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433461September 18, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving to work the car started to accerlate on its own. My foot was not on the gas and I had put my foot on the brake pedal to slow the car down. My work is only 3 miles away but for that 3 miles I had to ride the brake because the car wanted to speed up. The highest it got to was over 35 mph until I applied the brake harder. I even took my foot off of the pedals completely to make sure I wasn’t accidentally pressing both pedals. There were not obstructions or floor mats bunched up under the pedal.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432929September 14, 2021
POWER TRAIN
While my son was driving his / my 2013 C-Max Energi (on gasoline, the "battery only" range had been depleted), the vehicle lost power and shut down completely, and could only be coasted to the side of the road and not restarted or moved. Fortunately it was not on the highway at the time. The CEL was on, and unfortunately I do not still have the 3 codes which appeared, however the three codes were all for systems in the hybrid propulsion. When I did a google search on the three codes together, for the C-Max, I located a service bulletin from Ford showing that there are two low voltage wires which were improperly routed and insulated, in the back of the car behind the rear seat and under the steel cover over the Energi additional battery. Since the vehicle is a 2103, I had it brought to my home rather than the dealer, and I was able to remove the rear seat, rear carpet, rear seat belts, side panels and battery cover to get to the defective wiring. The "Ford Fix" involved replacing part of the wiring harness and rerouting the new harness, but with about 4 hours of my own labor, I was able to disassemble the rear interior of the vehicle, insulate the 2 defective wires and zip tie to another harness next to them so that they would not rub the steel housing over the Energi additional battery again. After thinking about this, after the fact, I realized that this should absolutely be a recall by Ford. **** Ford knows of the problem, Ford issued a Service Bulletin for the repair, and most importantly, the issue is incredibly unsafe because when the vehicle stops, it will only coast to a stop wherever it is, whether it is on a parking lot of the fast lane on the interstate, and cannot be moved under its own power. ****.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432782September 13, 2021
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-Max. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer for tire service and was informed they were unable to rotate the tire due to frozen lug nuts. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432503September 10, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Ford Cmax energi tire punctured by a nail. Took the car to a tire dealer who was unable to remove the tire because the lug nuts use a cap that slips when the correct socket was used. Took the car to a mechanic who had to fight with the lug nuts to remove them. The orignal ford lug nuts were then replaced with solid nuts to prevent this from happening in the future. This added an additional $92 (cost of the lug nuts plus labor) to the cost of the tire replacement. Ford said this is not covered even with my extended warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432183September 8, 2021
SEAT BELTS
The seat belt no longer retracts. It is available for inspection. The dealership has indicated they will charge us to replace the part and labor.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432032September 7, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rear backup camera intermittently does not show any image on the screen. When this happens the screen is either blue or black and camera image either flashes in and out or never shows up at all. This happens approximately 10% of the time the vehicle is put in reverse - the rest of the time the camera works normally.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430558August 25, 2021
STEERING
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11429321August 16, 2021
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-MAX. The contact stated that the transfer shaft assembly bearing had failed prematurely which caused an abnormal, grinding sound to come from the transmission while driving at various speeds without warning. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and had the transmission replaced under warranty. Recently, the contact stated that the same failure recurred with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle back to the dealer where they had test driven the vehicle and confirmed that the same transmission defect had recurred. The contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11428874August 12, 2021
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11428203August 8, 2021
STEERING
Power steering system failed while driving, just out of warranty above 60,000 miles; vehicle is currently at a dealer for repair within a week. This made it extremely difficult to safely maneuver the car off the road. Dealer confirmed the power steering system is inoperable and needs to be replaced. Warning light appeared when power steering gave out; no other warning was given.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11427457August 2, 2021
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
The contact owns a 2018 Ford C-MAX. The contact stated that the seat belt failed. The contact stated that while the driver’s side rear seat belt was fastened to the car seat, the seat belt tightened up independently on her grandchild’s chest. The contact’s grandchild was unable to breathe properly. The contact was unable to unfasten the seat from the clip. The contact had to cut the seat belt to be able to release the seat belt from her grandchild’s chest. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be inspected. The contact was informed that the seat belt operated as designed. The seat belt was not repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11424253July 10, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11421874June 22, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2016 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the display screen would not display any images and not allow the contact to use any of the functions. The contact also stated that sometimes it would take up to 5 minutes for the display screen to engage. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with nothing needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11421103June 16, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER
Component Failure The ABS system failed with only 14,500 miles on the odometer. Symptom The brake pedal became soft, Allowing more brake pedal travel than normal. Taken to Ford dealer Symptom described to service Representative and was told after several hrs that the brakes were normal. I told them that the brake pedal was always taut and the current behavior could become a danger to others and myself. It's after I provided my own OBD11 scan report ( Using a BlueDriver scan tool ) that indicated there is an Anti-Lock Brake module Code Failure That convinced them and Was told to leave the vehicle overnight. Dealer confirmed, that there is a definite problem and that it could be the brake master cylinder and brake booster. There were no warning lamps indication or lights except for the brake pedal losing pressure. The brakes did function, but the pedal almost when to the floor. Currently My Ford Cmax Sel Hybrid has been sitting in their service center for 7 days just waiting for Ford warranty service approval and was just notified that it was okayed and I would have to wait for parts to be ordered.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11420399June 10, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Government vehicle was parked and unoccupied when caught fire. Damaged another government vehicle parked next to it. Both total losses. State Fire Marshal was at the scene stated that it appeared the fire started around the engine compartment.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11420372June 9, 2021
STEERING
During last trip with car, parked car while shopping. When leaving store car lost steering and warning light came on in dash indicating power steering assist fault. Car was extremely difficult to drive after that. Waiting for appointment with dealer. Had this happened while turning at a busy intersection it could have been a problem. Car has 100,000 miles so I expect some problems, but I think this could be a safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11419314June 2, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2016 Ford C-Max. The contact stated that the mobile charger failed and the vehicle was unable to be charged. The contact stated that several different outlets were tried however, the failure persisted. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11416345May 12, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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