Problems · by component

2013 Ford Cmax Hybrid power train problems

51 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Cmax Hybrid cite power train, 17% of all 298 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
51
17% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the power train

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact's wife owns a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated there was an abnormal hissing and crackling sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was informed that there were no recalls or warranties on the vehicle. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 12, 2024Power trainODI 11624737
“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…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 18, 2023Power trainODI 11550673
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 26, 2022Power trainODI 11486343
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 3, 2022Power train, Electrical system, Unknown or otherODI 11477476
“The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid. 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was able to restart after several attempts. Additionally, the vehicle remained on after the contact had pushed the Auto Start/Stop button to turn off the vehicle. The contact was able to turn off the vehicle after pushing the Auto Start/Stop button numerous times. The dealer and Five Star Ford Stone Mountain (3800 US-78, Snellville, GA 30039) were made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 1, 2022Power trainODI 11476859
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 27, 2022Power trainODI 11476235

Showing 6 of 51 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.