Ford Redundant C-Max Hybrid won't start problems

Filed Jul 23, 2019 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · CA

My car has been completely electrically dead approximately 4 times. When it is fixed it eventually happens again. I have to use the key in the key fob to open the car and when I push the start button it doesn't start. The batteries in the key fob are not dead. It is very worrisome to not know if my car will start. This happens in a parked and turned off situation.

Filed Mar 16, 2019 · Electrical · 54,000 miles · CA

I purchased my car used from a dealership in april of 2016. I leased the same model previously with no problems. I went out of town for an extended time and came back to find the battery dead. I was surprised, as I often travel and had no problems like this with the other c-max. I called a service, they got it started (with some difficulty) I drove it for about 45 minutes and it seemed fine. Several months passed and I went away, came back and car was dead. Aaa started it. I drove it for some miles, then stopped it . It wouldn't start. I had it towed to the dealership. It was sunday, so they were closed. They went out the next morning and it started. They went through my car and could not find any problems. It drove fine for several months, and I went out of town again for extended time. Came back-car wouldn't start. This time I had purchased a battery charger, in case this happened again, but it was not powerful enough to get the car going. Called aaa and they started the car. I drove the car for about 1 hour, on the freeway, came home and everything seemed fine. Dealership told me that "something must be draining the battery" but could not find a problem. Today, 2 weeks later, my car is once again not starting. I noticed yesterday evening, that everytime I got in the car, it would not start. A message would come on saying it was shutting down to save the battery. A blue line would appear and when it had "loaded" all the way, I could start my car. Today it is totally dead, and wouldn't start even with a "jump". So I am stuck until monday. Even if I get it started, I don't trust that it won't start the next time I turn it off.

Filed Jun 9, 2018 · 53,748 miles · NE

Two months ago the sync would not respond. I was unable to make or receive calls, change the volume nor turn off the radio. I took it to the dealership. They said there is something wrong with the vehicle. Two days later I drove my vehicle to work, parked it and went inside. After my shift my vehicle would not respond to the fob. I removed the manual key and attempted to start the vehicle. The engine would not turn over. I took it to the dealership. They did a 120 point inspection. They said nothing was wrong with the vehicle and did a master reset. I contacted ford customer service and they told me to resolve it with my dealership. I informed ford that I had read about this problem online and there are hundreds of complaints about this same issue with owners of ford cmax and ford focus. The vehicles simply die and the dealerships cannot diagnose the problem. Ford customer service told me they were not aware of this problem and again referred me to my dealership. Three weeks later the same thing happened again. My vehicle was parked in front of my apartment. I had just returned from the store and needed to run more errands two hours later. The volume on my radio was not responsive. I could not change the volume nor turn the radio off. I immediately went to the dealership. Again, they could not diagnose the problem and simply did a master reset. The issue was never resolved and I'm afraid this could happen every month.

Filed Feb 17, 2018 · Engine · 32,000 miles · WA

Car won't start nor can the doors be opened with the fob or keys after sitting in garage overnight. Car is completely dead. Has happened 3 times since dec 2017, towed to ford dealership. First time battery was replaced. Car died 4 days later. No warning that the car is dying. Ford has no idea how to fix it and plan to return dead car to me since they don't know what's wrong. Can't drive for fear of car shutting off without warning creating dangerous situation, or stranded in crime area, or with no cell service. Car was in my home's garage stationary every time it wouldn't start in the morning. Nothing left on inside car. Mileage around 32,000.

Filed Nov 16, 2017 · Electrical · 5,000 miles · OR

Third time, electrical components were acting wonky (radio, no controls worked, no shut off, not turning off when door opened, after car turned off, phone part of sync didn't work), then, not sure when, but, after parking in driveway, and not driving for a day or two, car was dead, no response to fob, wouldn't start. Each time, dealership has told me they've fixed it, but, it happens again. Very irritating, to never know for sure, if I'll have a working vehicle. I have also experienced having the windows roll down, all at once, car was off, I'd pressed fob to lock doors. There are many complaints about these problems! Ford needs to figure out what is wrong! I am disabled, no one to help. A dead car is a very hard thing for me to deal with.

Filed Nov 28, 2015 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · 65,000 miles · MD

At first the cmac would not start followed by all the electricity in the goes dead (horny lights radio now have everything). I was then driving at about 45 MPH the car slowed down by itself while I was pressing the gas to about 5 MPH and I could not go above that. The slowdown was immediate like the car downshifted in the lower gear. The dealer says they do not know what caused it but they saw the 12volt battery add a bad cell and so they believing that that's what could've caused all the problems.I contacted ford and they said to let the dealer handle it. My main concern is the car coming to almost a full stop in the mitts of high-speed especially with no prior warning or indications.

Filed Nov 20, 2014 · Engine · AZ

My cmax was working fine after owning it for about 6 months. I started it one morning and it would not turn over. Very fortunate to be at home in my own driveway. Talked with dealer and ford customer service. Had car towed car to ford service center. I was leaving town, had ended lease for home with no place to live the day after the car quit working. Stayed with friends while ford tried to fix car. After a couple days mechanic first said water pump problem, then radiator problem. Said they had been trying to remove defective parts. They had contacted their own service people and were told to unbolt brackets above parts to remove them. They said that was impossible because the brackets were welded in. No solution in sight and I had to leave town. No choice but to buy another car. Bought a smaller 2014 ford fiesta, but went from a $9k loan balance to a $15k loan balance. Received two cmax recall notices for subsequent problems because my cmax apparently still has my name on the registration from april, 2014. It's now november 20, 2014.

Filed Nov 9, 2014 · Electrical · 24,200 miles · MI

Just bought an off lease 2013 ford cmax for my wife and in the passenger visor mirror I found a note from the prior owner stating that the vehicle is a lemon because it didn't start 7 times in the 2 years he leased it. What are we in for? I read that non start is a problem with the cmax.

Filed Oct 24, 2013 · Electrical · 6,200 miles · NC

Car will not start. Electrical system totally dead. Only variation ambient temperature dropped to 32 degrees last night. No other logical reason for electrical system to fail. Called service department to inform of car trouble, mechanic informed me he has several new cars on the lot with the same issue.

Filed May 21, 2013 · Electrical · 3,800 miles · CA

I could not start my car at a school parking lot on 3/30/2013. It showed a red triangle warning and wrench light. I called the ford dealer. They sent people to help me. However, the car would not start for a half hour. There was no issue until 5/9/2013. It stopped three times on my way home when I was stopped at traffic light or at traffic jam. The only way to start the car was to turn the power off and re-start the engine. It might not be able to start right away. It took a few seconds to a few minutes on that day in each case. That is very dangerous on the road. I drove my car directly to the dealer that day. Dealer had taken one week to fix this issue. I picked up my car on 5/16 after they told me that it was ok. My wife drove to school to pick up my son the next day. It happened again at the school parking lot, where she could not start the car again. There was no power for a while before she could start this car. Dealer is still trying to fix this car. It is not easy for local dealer to find the root cause. I think the designer should take over and debug this issue. It is not safe for any driver to drive a car that could stop anytime and anywhere. There is no warning sign until it happens. Driver can't plan a trip to meet the schedule because you don't know when the car will stop running or whether you can re-start the car in short period. I hope ford can find the root cause and recall all the cars if it is a design issue. Otherwise, someone will have an accident sooner or later for anyone who drive this model car.