2013 Ford C-Max Powertrain (other) Problems

Summary of Safety Issue The vehicle repeatedly experiences sudden loss of propulsion while driving, accompanied by a “Stop Safely Now” warning message and various other dashboard warnings . During these events the accelerator pedal becomes completely unresponsive while the vehicle remains powered, indicating a failure of the hybrid propulsion system or high-voltage battery control system. The vehicle and video footage of the failure are available for inspection upon request. Timeline of Events January 13, 2026 – The vehicle displayed a “Stop Safely Now” warning message and lost the ability to accelerate. The vehicle had to be towed to Lehighton Ford. January 21, 2026 – Paid $866.85 for repairs including battery service, Rear Control Module replacement, and PCM harness repair. Lehighton Ford stated the vehicle was repaired and safe to drive. Within minutes of leaving the dealership, the vehicle stalled again in active traffic and had to be returned. The issue was escalated to the Ford Engineering hotline and a Field Service Engineer. February 17, 2026 – The dealership attempted to return the vehicle after performing a BECM reprogramming. Upon pickup, new issues were immediately observed including near-stall conditions and hybrid system malfunction, so the vehicle was left with the dealership again. February 18, 2026 - The owner brought forth concerns about Ford’s Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 17-0015 which identifies potential damage to the traction battery interlock harness as a root cause for intermittent stalling and "Stop Safely Now" warnings. Although the dealership recorded Diagnostic Trouble Code B11D8—a fault directly related to the stall condition—the dealership later stated that no diagnostic codes relevant to the TSB were present and this component was not inspected. February 20, 2026 - Dealership claims that the vehicle has been test-driven for over 100 miles and is “functioning perfectly” and that a ‘battery rebalance’ was causing the issues experie

NHTSA ID

11729640

Incident

Mar 6, 2026

I have owned this car for the last 9 years and have kept It well-maintained. For over a year, the car stalls in the midst of driving, even on a highway, leaving me the only option to find a shoulder or safe area to park. After I turn off the engine, wait for a few minutes, and turn it back on, the engine turns on just fine and I am able to drive. Lately (for about a month or so) this has been happening more frequently(every other day, sometimes twice in a short while compared to once every 3-4 weeks). A few months ago I took it to the local Ford dealership and they told me, that they would need to replace the hybrid system, with an estimated cost of $15000, which didn't make any sense as even car is not worth that much. I also called Ford customer service and even they didn't offer much and just told me something to the effect of "tough luck". I came across this post [XXX] which matches exactly with the issue I am experiencing. That particular car owner was able to get the transmission replaced by Ford, under a California law and the issue was resolved. This seems to suggest, that Ford bears the responsibility for this manufacturing fault and they should own up to it. It is not fair that after paying over $35000, for the car, the only options I am given is to either take the risk of a catastrophic accident with the car stalling in the midst of a highway (with no safe place to stop) or just junk the car. I am pleading that your department should make it a required safety recall and Ford should be required to either fix this issue, at no cost to the owners or compensate them fairly for the present value of the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11550673

Incident

Oct 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, a loud whining noise was present coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be serviced. No additional information was available. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was also notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000.

NHTSA ID

11486343

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

Mileage

86,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11477476

Incident

Jul 1, 2022

In addition to the recall gears of not staying in park the transmission also shifts to early or too late. And also a few years ago before the transmission recalls and problems came to surface one time I noticed car was accelerating all by itself with the foot off of the gas. Once foot was off break it was automatically driving. Once I pulled over stopped turned off the problem went away and hasn’t occurred.

NHTSA ID

11476235

Incident

Jul 27, 2022

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11475789

Incident

Jun 10, 2022

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-MAX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11474681

Incident

Jun 10, 2022

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. ****.

NHTSA ID

11432929

Incident

Jul 9, 2021

FAILED TRANSMISSION BEARING AS DESCRIBED BY TSB 14B07. DIAGNOSED BY FORD, DOCUMENT ATTACHED CONFIRMING THE FAILURE.

NHTSA ID

11389184

Incident

Dec 25, 2020

Mileage

88,412 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11387894

Incident

Oct 10, 2018

Mileage

85,000 mi

TRANSMISSION BEARING FAILURE, AS SPECIFIED BY RECALL TSB 14B07. LEFT STRANDED.

NHTSA ID

11386803

Incident

Dec 25, 2020

Mileage

88,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11374650

Incident

Oct 14, 2020

Mileage

71,114 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE A WINING TYPE NOISE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WOULD REMAIN ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000.

NHTSA ID

11351085

Incident

May 1, 2020

Mileage

105,000 mi

THE VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A RHYTHMIC NOISE THAT ACCELERATED WITH AND INCREASE IN SPEED. THERE WAS ALSO A NOTICEABLE VIBRATION IN THE STEERING ABOVE 45 MPH. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACED A BEARING THAT DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE. I WAS THEN INFORMED THE TRANSMISSION NEED REPLACED. THE VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. THERE ARE DOZENS OF CASES OF TRANSMISSION FAILURES ON 2013 C-MAX VEHICLES. FORD NEEDS TO FIX THESE TRANSMISSIONS WITH KNOWN ISSUES.

NHTSA ID

11337618

Incident

Jun 30, 2020

Mileage

115,000 mi

MY VEHICLE IS HAVING A TRANSMISSION ISSUE AND IS A KNOWN RECALL THAT THE DEALERSHIP IS SAYING IS NOT A RECALL ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

11328587

Incident

Jun 4, 2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKING UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TITUS WILL FORD (3606 S. SPRAGUE AVE, TACOMA, WA 98409, (253) 475-4151) AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATIONS: TSB-14-0085 (POWER TRAIN). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000. *BF *TR

NHTSA ID

11328485

Incident

May 1, 2020

Mileage

53,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE OVER 30 MPH WHILE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A GRINDING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC CAME AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE BEARING IN THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT CONTACTED WINNER FORD AT 250 HADDONFIELD-BERLIN RD, CHERRY HILL, NJ 08034 (856) 428-4000, AND INFORMED THE DEALER OF THE FAILURE. NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 143,000.

NHTSA ID

11327210

Incident

Jun 1, 2020

Mileage

143,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SHUDDERED INTERMITTENTLY AFTER SHIFTING FROM FIRST GEAR WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

NHTSA ID

11319871

Incident

Nov 1, 2019

Mileage

75,000 mi

THERE WAS A GRINDING SOUND FOR WEEKS AND THEN ONE NIGHT AFTER I STOPPED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM AND I WAS ON MY WAY HOME ON WAYNE, RD. AND THE CAR WAS JERKING REALLY BAD AND WOULD NOT CHANGE GEARS AND THEN ALL OF SUDDEN THE CAR WOULDN'T DRIVE AND THE WRENCH LIGHT WENT ON.

NHTSA ID

11278035

Incident

Oct 13, 2019

Mileage

100,397 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO LES STUMPF FORD (3030 W COLLEGE AVE, APPLETON, WI 54914, 920-731-5211) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED AN ESTIMATE FOR THE REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 103,000. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ID

11268707

Incident

Sep 24, 2019

Mileage

103,000 mi

TRANSMISSION MAKING SLIGHT GRINDING NOISE, MORE NOTICEABLE AT LOW SPEED (20MPH).

NHTSA ID

11206775

Incident

Apr 15, 2019

TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND NO PARTS AVAILABLE. I HEARD WHAT I THOUGHT WAS ANOTHER WHEEL BEARING NOISE WHICH HAPPENED A MONTH AGO AND WAS REPAIRED. THIS TIME IT TURNED OUT TO BE TRANSMISSION IS BAD. STILL OWE 4100.00 TO FORD ON 6 YEAR LOAN. CAR PURCHASES 3/2014 NEW. THEY CAN'T FIX IT DUE TO NO PARTS AVAILABLE AS NOTED ON THIS REPAIR BILL. (QUOTED 8100.00 IF THEY COULD GET THE PARTS)

NHTSA ID

11203182

Incident

Apr 23, 2019

Mileage

109,000 mi

TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 99K. FORD SENT A LETTER A FEW MONTHS BEFORE I PURCHASED CAR FROM OWNER. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF PROBLEM FIX IS $8100.00 CAR ISN'T WORTH THAT. CAR WAS MAINTAINED PERFECTLY BY BOTH OWNERS.

NHTSA ID

11165109

Incident

Dec 1, 2018

Mileage

99 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C- MAX. WHILE DRIVING AND ACCELERATING, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL, HIGH PITCHED GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. ALSO, "PLEASE PULL OVER SAFELY" WAS DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,211.

NHTSA ID

11160591

Incident

Nov 15, 2018

Mileage

111,211 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY CAR LOST POWER AND A "STOP SAFETLY NOW" WARNING POPPED UP ON MY SPEEDOMETER. I MANAGED TO GET TO SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND STOPPED THE CAR. I LOOKING ONLINE FOR A SOLUTION AND I READ THAT I CAN TURN ON AND OFF THE CAR A COUPLE TIMES AND THAT WILL FIX IT. I READ THERE WAS THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND THERE WAS A RECALL TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE PART. THE FORD C-MAX HAS THE SAME ISSUE BUT WAS NEVER ISSUED A RECALL. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE SINCE IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE WHILE ON THE FREEWAY AND I HAVE A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND ACCELERATION. FORD SHOULD ISSUE THE RECALL TO THE C-MAX AS FOR THE "STOP SAFETLY NOW" ISSUE ON THEIR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

11155711

Incident

Dec 3, 2018

Mileage

180,000 mi