Transmission failed at approximately 126,000 miles putting the car in to fail safe mode on the highway

- Nashville, TN, USA

While backing out of the driveway, the brakes failed. In an attempt to stop the car from continuing into on coming traffic, attempted to put the car in park. After moving the gearshift into park, the car continued to roll into on coming traffic. The C-Max struck another another car and continued to roll until it was stopped by a small retaining wall on the opposite side of the street.

- East Grand Rapids, MI, USA

There is a grinding or rubbing sound emanating from the transmission while driving, at any speed (generally not while stationary but sometimes), and the check engine light turns on. The local Ford dealership (metro motors, St. Croix, U.S. virgin islands) found "transmission variator to drive chain loose causing noise" and "[N]O internal serviceable components" and recommended "[R]eplacement of hybrid cvt transmission." The dealership specifically recommends replacement of the transmission part, jm5Z-7000-arm, which is the same part indicated in the technical service bulletin 20-2219, published on June 29, 2020, on this same issue of grinding/rubbing noise emanating from transmissions in 2014 Ford C-max (among other vehicles). The tsb further provides the part is "eligible under provisions of new vehicle limited warranty, " however, the local dealership has stated Ford Motor Company denied the claim, and the Ford Motor Company has said it agrees with the dealership that the claim should be denied. However, the vehicle (mileage: 86,225 miles; years: Not yet 7) is under an active new vehicle limited warranty as the terms have not expired. The local dealership is willing to replace the defective part, however, it says it needs written confirmation from Ford Motor Company, which Ford Motor Company has not provided, despite two letters of notice of defective part and multiple phone calls with the customer relationship center.

- Christiansted, VI, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-max. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a loud high pitch wining sound was present coming from the engine compartment and the check engine light would remain illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer race Ford located at 436 w 250 N warsaw in. Who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 107,000.

- Warsaw, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-max. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal, an abnormal roaring sound came from the engine. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was a defective bearing within the transmission that needed to be replaced. The contact called green Ford (3800 w wendover ave, greensboro, nc 27407, (336) 292-8310) where he was informed that his vehicle was no longer under warranty and was then given an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,000.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

On November 26, 2019, pressed the "start engine" button. Dashboard flashed with check-engine, service wrench, and "stop safely now" indicators; car energized but would not engage in drive mode. Attempted to turn the car off but it would not. Fan motor began blowing although never selected. After several minutes, was able to turn car off. After several more minutes I was able to start the car and get home (approx. 2 miles). Could not get car to start for several days. Managed to get car started and bring to repair facility (carmax); they could not get started and had car towed to felix sabates Ford dealership. After about a week they indicated they reprogrammed battery modules and fixed problem; they returned car to repair facility. Went to pick up and exact same sequence occurred; car would energize but could not engage in drive mode and I could not turn off (12/10). Car was towed back to Ford dealer; 2 weeks later car was "fixed" and returned to carmax 12/23/19. Carmax could not start car. See NHTSA issue 11016422,10846313, 10783553,10633639 with similar issues. What happens to me when I'm on the interstate a 70mph and the car shuts off?

- Charlotte, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-max. The contact stated that the transmission started making a grinding and thumping noise. The contact initially took the vehicle to hoffman Ford Lincoln (600 Connecticut blvd, East hartford, ct 06108, (860) 289-7721), but they stated that they could not examine the vehicle for a month. The vehicle broke down on the way from the original dealer and was towed to another unknown Ford dealer where it was awaiting diagnostic testing. The contact researched and believed the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer had not been contacted. The failure mileage was 84,000.

- Coventry, CT, USA

Transmission makes a loud whining sound when warming up and in gas mode. It is diagnosed by technician as possibly the transmission bearings, but will not know until they dis assemble. Quoted $7500 for a replacement transmission. The car only has 84,000 miles. Ford will not work with me on the price.

- Cayucos, CA, USA

Wrench light came on meaning contact dealer asap about powertrain issue. I had noticed a few days earlier it seemed to not be switching between electric and engine as well or smoothly when driving. When stationary, the display screen for radio would not come on when getting into the car. Instead it gives message "turning off to conserve battery." Car has been well maintained and is at 78000 miles. Took to dealer. Cannot find issue. Codes it is throwing are for battery but they both test good. They reset codes and we went to pick it up. Now key fobs won't work unless the car is turned on. Alarm button on the fob makes the car sound like a fluttering noise, but no real alarm. The dealer is going to keep it more and check it out more. Still has the message about conserving battery on the screen. They hadn't found what caused the battery codes and now more things aren't working.

- Ringgold, GA, USA

2014 Ford cmax energi - 70,300 miles purchased new Nov. 2014. Was driving switch backs down hill with my car in low. I heard a noise and suddenly the car slipped out of gear in neutral. I braked to a stop. Put it in park and back to drive and it seemed fine. A week and a later, it did it again in the same down hill place on the switch backs. I really takes off when it unexpectedly slips out of gear. I took it to the Ford Agency the next day to have it checked. They kept it 42 days (including sundays) but never found the cause. They told me to take the car and come back if it did it again. They could not seem to get the transmission to slip therefore there was no problem. Today, July 12, 2017 the Agency called and asked me to pay 0ver $900 for the rental cars. I told them no. I called the Agency weekly to check on their progress and each time was told they didn't have an answer or they couldn't get it to slip. The slipping experience was very unnerving...those few seconds feeling you're out of control felt like minutes. I love my car and just want a guarantee it won't do it again. I'm not sure how many of this make, model and year have 0ver 70,000 miles thus, could this be a factor in the transmission problem with my car that hasn't shown up in a like car with less mileage. I did take out every extended warranty on the car at the time of purchase. The vehicle was definitely in motion when the problem occurred on a 2 lane road.

- Santa Maria (Billing), CA, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford C-max hybrid. After placing the vehicle in park and turning it off, the contact was alerted that the vehicle independently rolled backwards and crashed into another vehicle. The contact was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Upon entering the vehicle and inspecting it, the contact noticed that the vehicle shifted into reverse. The failure occurred on one separate occasion. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,900.

- Athens, AL, USA

Excessive torque is too easily applied to the wheels when taking off from a stop causing unexpected traction loss and tire spin even under light acceleration, especially when turning. When driving at speed while passing or otherwise using close to or full power (in a straight line), the car will suddenly pull to one side or the other unexpectedly. Any necessary steering correction causes the car to pull to the opposite side and often causes the car to wander across the lane back and forth as I try to maintain control. These issues seem to be related to the high torque of the electric motor as well as the electronically controlled "torque vectoring" differential. An intermittent problem that I've noticed is, when coming to a stop, sometimes the electronics controlling the internal combustion motor get confused, power is applied to wheels in a stuttering fashion, requiring extra force to be applied to the brakes until the engine shuts down (as it normally does when coming to a stop). Despite the required date of incident field below, this is not a one time incident and commonly happens on a day to day and/or intermittent basis.

- Madison, WI, USA