10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 42,297 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH in the rain, the windshield wipers became inoperable, and the headlights inadvertently turned off. The contact stated that the horn would beep independently but failed to operate while depressed. Additionally, the heater and A/C unit became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle also failed to start. The contact had to jump start the vehicle on several occasions. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
- Dublin, CA, USA
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" I have a 2013 Ford C-Max SE that is having terrible white noise and static from the speakers. I see that this is common with the SYNC system and not limited to C-Max models How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I have not had a diagnostic run but I have seen so many listservs with the speaker issue. The car will be quiet and then blast static to the point of having to pull over to get the car over to get it to stop. It's so loud sometimes that it is hard to drive. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I am taking the car in on November 10th for an inspection. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I am taking the car in on November 10th for an inspection. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" No, this has gradually be increasing in severity over the last few months.
- Beaverton, OR, USA
This Vehicle has given us numerous numerous issues and left us stranded it has been a safety issue for my family we recently had to have law enforcement involved to try to save us from where we got stranded due to the unreliability of this vehicle and after already having a transmission replacement and having the car right now in the shop for approaching one month and they still cannot find the issue There has been one problem after another forward keeps giving me the run around when I contact them directly and the dealership Is just giving me extremely generic responses and telling me that their staff is not available this week and that they have many other customers to have to worry about and that I basically can go rent a car if I have a problem with not having a vehicle, I do not want to continue to have to risk my life or the life of my wife or children because of the lack of ownership from the dealership and the manufacturer in this situation I keep losing out and being told to just wait and wait, please help! There is a current safety recall also, butbi feel like this entire vehicle is a safety concern at this point for my family and myself.
- Belfair, WA, USA
12 volt battery had been drained of all power and would not start. Bought new battery, same thing happened. Jump started several times. 3 batteries later, Ford said it was a cooling fan fuse. Radio and window worked sporadically.
- Hillsborough, CA, USA
Lift gate opens randomly when vehicle is off.
- Dublin, OH, USA
While driving, the Cmax displayed a red hazard, STOP SAFELY NOW, and lost all propulsion. The car was unable to be moved and is stranded in the driving lane.
- Honesdale, PA, USA
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.
- Bexley, OH, USA
Car will stall and brakes and steering lock up. This has occurred in when pulling into traffic. It always occurs when on a hill. Very dangerous but Ford denies any problems. It has occurred since 2014. Last time was as below
- Redding, CA, USA
I bought this 2013 Ford C-max energi used in 2017, right off the bat after checking out vehicle, the Toyota dealership had to jumpstart the car. Now, the current issue is that this vehicle has to be jump-started every time I try to start the car. This has been occuring since November 2020. These issues had occured sporadically, even after replacing the battery in 2018 with other brand battery, though not as frequently, and every day as it does now. Sometimes the vehicle would not start after sirius software update got stuck at 0%, this occured a few times in 2018. In late 2018 I bought a portable jump starter because this vehicle became untrustworthy to start. Though, if I had known about service bulletins and not just recalls I would have taken the car in to have it repaired earlier when issues presented themselves. So I finally took in my C-max in to a local hybrid repair shop, but the technicians were not able to replace the specific part, they referred me to the dealership to replace it. They printed out materials that stated there had been a few technical service bulletins for discharged batteries. I unfortunately missed the repair window by 6 months and will incur the costs. My car as of 1/13/2021 has been in the shop for two weeks now at dealership waiting for parts. The manufacturer defect will cost me around $1,100. It seems there has been many battery discharge bulletins for this model throughout the years for this year, make and model. The Ford dealership at manahawkin, NJ even stated this vehicle is not as common, so parts were not available immediately. I feel Ford should issue a recall to be reimbursed for the trouble this car has caused. These issues should have been fixed by first owner of vehicle. There are several reported issues on carcomplaints.com for this issue. This should be investigated if recall can be made on this year and model.
- Galloway, NJ, USA
I was driving on the highway and the car stalled. Warning light came on that says, stop safely now. The car completely lost power on the highway. I was lucky because that put me in a dangerous situation. Finally got it towed to the dealership and module-engine control. PCM get too hot and the ignition switch. The car has been in at the dealership since 10.14.20 and has not been fixed and there still is not eta. Part is on backorder. This car has been tag a lemon and it should not be able to be sold. I didn't know this prior to purchasing the vehicle.
- Kansas City, MO, USA
The outside drivers side tail light assembly is getting so hot the plastic is melting.
- Coal Township, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-max. The contact stated the vehicle failed to start-up after several attempts. Tri Ford Inc located at 12610 il-143, highland, il 62249, (618) 654-2122) was contacted by phone and informed of the failure. The contact stated that the battery was drained. The failure was caused by the radio remaining on and the door locks actuating independently after the vehicle was turned off and parked. The contact found information online, which stated that replacing the radio fuse would fix the issue. The contact replaced the fuse however, the failure recurred. The contact recharged the battery however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
- Breese, IL, USA
Very loud popping initially. Deafening pops that sound like your windshield was hit with a high velocity object. At first you cant tell where the sound is coming from. It does resemble the sound of a speaker blowing. It does not always occur when the radio or bluetooth audio is being used. In the beginning after it pops the blue tooth will not work for a few minutes to a few days. The sounds are terrifying and distracting. I believe it does place one in an unsafe predicament. You are not sure if you hit something or something has struck you. You feel like your windshield is broken. On other occasion it is clear that the speakers are cracking and again it very loud and dangerously distracting
- Bardstown, KY, USA
Bought the car in May 2017. No problems until October 2019 car didn't crank everything dead. Took it to one dealer and they laughed at me. They replaced the 12V still didn't run. Had it towed to riverside Ford October 2019. They worked on it didn't get the car back until Dec 13, 2109. Paid the bill in full. And drove the car home. Two weeks ago. Dead again. My car is sitting in my yard because I can't afford to take it back to riverside Ford or any other dealer to be fixed. What can I do now?
- Byron, GA, USA
The contact owns 2013 Ford C-max hybrid. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to southwest Ford located at 3000 fort worth, weatherford, tx 76087) and was diagnosed. The contact was informed that an unknown module needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure occurred four times and was taken to the same dealer. The technician was unable to retrieve a fault code. The battery was replaced as a courtesy. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in customer satisfaction program 15B04 and provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
- Weatherford, TX, USA
Radio intermittently would not turn on. Then car was completely dead at home and could not unlock doors etc. Had to call aaa to have towed to dealer. Receipt states 'ids fault code B1D19:49 acm cd internal electrical failure stays on randomly causing voltage drain. Replace acm and program, perform coordinated hybrid battery module programming of PCM, ABS, sobdm-C, and DC/DC module, software updates to enhance driving and hybrid battery charge'. my husband was told by dealer this is common with this car. Paid over $1500. Originally was told it would be over $3000. A ' second' diagnosis was completed after my husband complained. This happened also in Jan of 2019 car was also towed to dealer but we were told nothing was found to be defective.
- Hacienda Heights, CA, USA
Since I purchased the 2013 C max there has been an ongoing problem. It starts with the clock, time is wrong. Next the radio will not work unable to shut it off, change volume basically nothing works. After a day or 2 the car will not start, no power. Once we jump start the car everything will be ok until the next time. Currently radio is not working again and now engine light is on and I am getting a warning to pull over safely now. It took multiple times to try to shut vehicle off. Ford tells me 'we never heard of this'. they want $500 dollars to just diagnose the problem. This is insane because it is not the first time we had the vehicle in for the clock, radio and dead battery. What had to happen before this gets fixed" a serious accident" I read all the comments on here and it looks like that this is an ongoing problem! Ford needs to fix this problem !
- Fort Worth, TX, USA
This vehicle's ev charge cord had an incident that seemed to heat up / bend the cord near the plug back in 2016. I reported to Ford at the time, they said do not use the cord and said they had a resolution upcoming. To keep anyone from using the cord, I cut it up and sent off the parts for recycling (copper). No recall notices sent by Ford, no articles online, or even common sense suggested I should keep this dangerous cord in my household to possibly be used again (and the liability would be on me for being so stupid). What the recall and articles did suggest was the cord replacement would be done by vehicle VIN number (that vehicle would be checked to see if it has received a new cord). When I went in for service this year to finally get this recall processed, it was denied because I no longer had the cord even though my car had previously been serviced with this cord in the car (before it had an issue, Ford said do not use, and I disposed of once I read the recall notifications). I would like to request the NHTSA get involved and make Ford replace my ev cord. Their records clearly show my vehicle never got a new cord, but they are making some claim that without the old cord, they have no way of knowing if it was an ev cord that had the problem. However, my cord was produced pre-2013, they all were covered under this recall. Just seems like Ford is trying to save themselves money and deny me this recall. I do not know why they are doing this because they previously indicated by phone call this would not be a problem. However, the service rep apparently called Ford multiple times trying to get this processed, but Ford simply declined saying I should not have destroyed the cord even though not language was provided I needed to keep and even insinuated I should destroy to keep from being used. Sounds like Ford covered their legal liability and saved money.
- Gainesville, FL, USA
Rear folding seat latch disengaged. No longer able to fold 60% of rear seat. Now faced with charges upwards of 600$ because entire seat needs replacement. Car was stationary when opened and on level surface. Was lightly used, maybe 15 times in entire life. Also, apim module draining battery on several occasions. Field service announcement made, but car is now out of applicable time.
- Brentwood, CA, USA
- Vienna, WV, USA