2013 Ford C-Max problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (38) · Power Train (34) · Electrical System (28)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford C-Max model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
119 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (8)
Power Train:shift Linkage/Cable/Rod 2022-06-10 · campaign 22V413000 · 2,925,968 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
Risk: A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2020-06-08 · campaign 20V331000 · 2,147,323 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013-2015 Escape and C-Max, 2012-2015 Focus, 2014-2016 Transit Connect, 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and repaired under recalls 15V-246, 16V-643 or 17V-210, however the repair may not have been completed properly. A component within the door latches may break making the doors difficult to latch and/or leading the driver or a passenger to beli
Risk: A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the latch date codes to confirm if the repair was done correctly, and replace the side door latches if necessary, free of charge. Owners will also have the option to inspect their own vehicle's door latches and enter the date codes into a website to determine if the latches are correct. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S30.
Equipment:electrical 2018-09-10 · campaign 18V592000 · 49,197 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 120V Convenience charge cords that were supplied with and sold for use with 2013-2015 Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi vehicles and 2012-2015 Ford Focus Electric vehicles. Cords with part numbers FM58-10B706-AA, FM58-10B706-AB, FM58-10B706-AC, FM58-10B706-AD, FM58-10B706-AE and FM58-10B706-AF were manufactured without thermistors, and during vehicle charging, increased resistance in the house's outlet or wiring can cause the cord to overheat and
Risk: An overheated cord can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current cord with a new 120V convenience cord with a thermistor, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S24.
Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch 2016-09-06 · campaign 16V643000 · 2,046,297 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Ford Focus, 2013-2015 Ford Escape and Ford C-MAX, 2015 Lincoln MKC and Ford Mustang, and 2014-2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles. A component within the door latches may break, preventing the doors from latching and/or leading the driver or a passenger to believe a door is securely closed when, in fact, it is not.
Risk: A door that is not securely latched could open while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the door latches with an improved part, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S30.
Seat Belts 2014-09-26 · campaign 14V597000 · 746,842 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured January 19, 2012, to November 21, 2013; Ford Fusion vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to August 24, 2013; Ford Escape vehicles manufactured October 5, 2011, to November 1, 2013; and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to September 30, 2013. The coating on portions of the Restraint Control Module (RCM) may crack, and when exposed to humidity, circuits on the printed circuit bo
Risk: The short circuits could cause the frontal air bags, side curtain air bags and the seat belt pretensioners to not function as intended when needed, increasing the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RCM, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. The recall began on May 26,2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14S21.
Air Bags:side/Window 2014-05-07 · campaign 14V237000 · 594,785 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 C-MAX, and Escape vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the restraint control module (RCM) may have errors in the programming software which may result in a delayed deployment of the side-curtain rollover air bag.
Risk: If the side-curtain rollover air bag is delayed in deploying in certain rollover circumstances, the risk of injury to the passengers is increased.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the RCM, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S04.
Seats:front Assembly:recliner 2014-04-02 · campaign 14V164000 · 43,135 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured August 15, 2012, through September 10, 2013, 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, through August 12, 2013, and 2013-2014 Ford C-Max vehicles manufactured from July 23, 2012, through May 28, 2013. The driver and passenger seatback assemblies may have been produced with sub-standard weld joints used to attach the seat back recliner mechanism to the seat frame.
Risk: The back of the subject seats may become loose or lean while driving and potentially increase the risk of injury in certain crashes.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seatback, free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2014. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14C03.
Equipment:electrical:anti-Theft Devices 2013-10-17 · campaign 13V475000 · 23,000 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Focus Electric vehicles and 2013 C-Max vehicles equipped with the Intelligent Access Push Button Start System. In the affected vehicles, there is no audible chime when the vehicle is operational and the driver's door is opened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Risk: Without an audible door chime, a vehicle owner may open the door and exit the vehicle without being reminded that the vehicle is still operational, leaving the vehicle susceptible to theft.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the door chime, free of charge. The recall began on October 30, 2013. Owners may contact the Ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall number is 13C07.
Service bulletins (88)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Equipment 2024-04-24 · SSM 52476 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
all accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. if the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
Power Train 2022-10-25 · TSB 22-2396 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2013-2020 fusion, mkz and 2013-2018 c-max vehicles equipped with an hf35 transmission may exhibit a thumping/rubbing or grinding noise coming from the transmission. the noise may be present in all gear ranges including neutral when the vehicle is moving but will not be present when the vehicle
Equipment:electrical:infotainment 2022-08-03 · TSB 22-2309 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2013-2017 c-max energi, 2013-2018 focus battery electric vehicle (bev), 2013-2020 fusion plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (phev), 2015-2017 mkz/mkz hybrid/mkc, 2016-2017 mkx and 2017 continental vehicles equipped with 8 inch or larger center display screen may be unable to complete modem authori
Unknown Or Other 2022-06-21 · TSB 22-2230 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2013-2017 c-max energi, 2013-2018 focus battery electric vehicle (bev), 2013-2020 fusion plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (phev), 2015-2017 mkz/mkz hybrid/mkc, 2016-2017 mkx and 2017 continental vehicles equipped with sync screens 8 inch or larger may be unable to complete modem authorization af
Showing the 6 most recent of 88 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-04-07 · Vehicle Speed Control“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 syste…”
2026-03-31 · Unknown Or Other“the rear impact bar is completely disintegrated and is falling off of the subframe due to extreme rust. there is either no or very little amount of rust on the entirety of the rest of the vehicle. the impact bar is either manufactured with incorrect materials or is otherwise defective. the impact absorber is attached to the impact bar and due to …”
2026-03-12 · Unknown Or Other“rear view camera display is upside down. display was normal when the vehicle was purchased and then one day it flipped upside down and all overlay information disappeared (lines and distance indicators). …”
2026-02-28 · Service Brakes“i took it to the ford dealership and they diagnosed it as having a parasitic draw from the 12 v battery when the car is shut down so when you go to get into the car if the battery is dead, they will fix it for $425 however, this problem was a recall in 2013 and my car did have a recall done to it. however, the issue is still going on therefore i fe…”
2025-10-29 · Unknown Or Other“the backup camera always quits working while in the middle of reversing. it will work for a second, but then the display will flip upside down or go completely black and display a message saying "camera unavailable. please contact your dealership." it started doing this about a year ago, but was intermittent. it started happening more often over ti…”
2025-09-29 · Engine“engine light came on. mechanic said 2 codes showed up. one for low coolant, another for engine misfiring. the misfiring code had come on several times in past and spark plugs were replaced. upon inspection was told the engine block is cracked due to faulty design. i will need a new engine!…”
2025-09-10 · Unknown Or Other“the rearview camera is usually upside down. occasionally, a blank, black screen is displayed. infrequently, it appears normal. a few times, a message is displayed saying it needs to be replaced. in view of the fact many models have a recall notice for this very problem, i elected to report it.…”
2025-09-08 · Steering“steering stopped working but after restarted it began to work again. it was fine for a few days and then dtc came up indicating "service power steering" and the power steering has quit working. …”
2025-05-23 · Steering“while driving car, power steering will fail and deactivate leaving the steering extremely heavy and manual. can happen at any speed, and has happened on the interstate at highway speeds. information cluster states, "power steering fault - service power steering immediately" when this happens it is highly unsafe and happens instantly without warn…”
2025-03-16 · Vehicle Speed Control“while driving the dashboard instrument panel beeps and flashes the word "put in park" and "stop safely now", and the speedometer stops working, all kinds of warning lights start flashing on and off on the instrument panel, the heater goes on and off on it's own, then the instrument panel goes black, speedometer shows zero and car goes into shutdown…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.