2013 Ford CMAX HEV - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"several times over the past 3 years, the 12 volt battery has been deeply drained while the car has been off/unused for ~3 days. (the problem has been described on your website: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/sb-10093862-2532.pdf.) this is a safety issue because there is a reasonable expectation of serviceability of a car, for emergencies or for returning to a safe place. just as one depends on the reasonable reliability of devices like fire extinguishers, elevators, heart monitors, etc., so does one expect cars to be reasonably reliable. there is no advance warning that the battery will be drained."

"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."

"the contact owns a 2013 ford c-max hybrid. the contact stated that the small battery in the vehicle had malfunctioned on several occasions and the vehicle could not be started. the contact indicated that the battery had been replaced by the dealer on at least 5 separate occasions. the cause of the failure was not determined. the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 25,000."

"the contact owns a 2013 ford c-max hybrid. the contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to start up or unlock due to a defective battery. the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer several times to have her battery replaced or her software updated; however, the failure persisted. the manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. the vehicle had been repaired as of her last visit. the failure mileage was approximately 48,000."

"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 that the radio operational after the vehicle was turned off causing the battery to drain. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who recalibrated the radio fuse however, a year later the failure recurred. the mechanic then removed the radio fuse from the vehicle which disabled all audible sounds from the vehicle. the contact stated that it was a major safety hazard for her as it took away the backup alert sounds that would alert her of imminent objects when reversing the vehicle. the contact then called hansel ford (3075 corby ave, santa rosa, ca 95407) and was provided an estimate for the repair. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vin. the contact was then referred to nhtsa for assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was unknown."

"tl* 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."

"tl* 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."

"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."

"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 $500.00 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 !"