I recently purchased a 2013 Ford C Max to flat tow behind my Thor Ace. I was trying to determine whether the mileage will go on to the vehicle when it is flat towed (which I'm guessing it will) or maybe if the vehicle is not running it won't add miles to the odometer when it is being towed.

We are towing our C Max four down. With the ignition turned to the factory required "ACC" position, no mileage accumulates. It tows like a dream, don't even know it is back there.The one problem we incurred was that the 12V battery ran down after 4+ hours of towing. After having it checked out it was discovered the 12V connection from RV to C Max had not been connected to the battery circuit. We have a Blue Ox Patriot brake box that requires 12V for operation. I will not know whether or not the battery stays charged until our next long tow (4+ hours) in a few months.

We also have a CMax to tow behind our ACE! First attempt at it will be Memorial Day weekend. Will bring the jumper cables just in case...

We tow a Ford Fusion Hybrid, with has the same engine, drivetrain as the C max hybrid.No, miles will not log on the odometer, nothing to worry about there. One thing you do need to do ASAP, to save yourself a lot of headaches and difficulties later on: Install a charge line from your MH to the C max, to keep the battery charged up. Pretty easy to do, and will prevent you from running down the car's battery.I actually put an ammeter on the battery to test it out. Found that even with EVERYTHING turned off, ignition in ACC position and tranny in neutral as it has to be when towing...Electrical system was still drawing around 3 amps from the battery all the time. If you have a supplemental braking system, in addition to any power it needs, the active braking system of your hybrid will also kick on every now and then, using up even more battery power. We found after just 4 hours of towing, battery was weak enough it would not operate the power locks. Only took ONE trip of that happening, before I installed a charge line. :) You NEED a charge line with these Ford hybrids, period. Good thing is, once you install it, you'll can pretty much forget about it, and never worry about battery charge again.

I have towed hybrids for over 5 years now (4 years with a Mercury Mariner and 1 year with a Ford Fusion). I have always turned the key all the way back towards the OFF position, not ACC. Have never had a problem with battery drain - - or any other kind of problem either. Why would u need to put the ignition in ACC position?? I have a Brake Buddy and plug it into the 12V outlet which is always "live" even when the key in not in ACC position. On long straight trips from point A to B I have left the toad set up that way for as long as 3 days while using pull-thru sites in campgrounds (or overnighting at Wal-Mart) and never had a problem with the battery running down.

DouglasC wrote:I have towed hybrids for over 5 years now (4 years with a Mercury Mariner and 1 year with a Ford Fusion). I have always turned the key all the way back towards the OFF position, not ACC. Have never had a problem with battery drain - - or any other kind of problem either. Why would u need to put the ignition in ACC position?? Well, two reasons:1. Owner's manual says to do it that way.2. When tranny is in neutral (which it obviously has to be when towing), you cannot get the key to OFF position like you are implying. Its either ON, or ACC position. Since Ford recommends using ACC position, thats what I use.How are you getting the key to OFF position, with the tranny in neutral? Have you disabled the inhibitor switch in the shift lever? It wasn't too hard to do that on Fusion models prior to 2013, but on the 2013 models, it is way more hassle than its worth (I already tried, hehe).I have a Brake Buddy and plug it into the 12V outlet which is always "live" even when the key in not in ACC position. On long straight trips from point A to B I have left the toad set up that way for as long as 3 days while using pull-thru sites in campgrounds (or overnighting at Wal-Mart) and never had a problem with the battery running down.Well, if you've found a way to keep key in OFF position when towing, battery drain would not be much of an issue. However, I'd be a little hesitant to do that, since it'd be going against the way Ford recommends you do it. There may well be other reasons Ford wants you to keep it in ACC position that we don't know about, that may bite you later.I'll stick with putting it in ACC position. :)Will

C Max Question | Good Sam Community

willald
Explorer II
May 31, 2013
stevenlit wrote:
I towed my Cmax Energi for the first time over the holiday. I don't have a key. So, I push the brake and push the "on" button (the car into EV mode), shift into neutral and push the "on" button again to turn the car off. A message appears in the far left display saying to put the gearshift in park. Now, I'm ready to tow. Steering is unlocked. The displays go out, and I'm good to go. However, I've yet to figure out how to start the engine when not moving, thus recharging the battery at intervals. Consequently, I had a dead battery on my 7 1/2 hour return trip. (On the trip down we used the car midway and it charged then.) Does anyone know how to start the gas engine while still hooked up and sitting still on the Energi?

With my Fusion hybrid, you force the gas engine to come on by pressing the gas pedal when transmission is in 'Park'. Owner's manual says to do that at the beginning of each day when you're going to tow it - Put in park, depress gas pedal to force gas engine to come on, then let it (gas) engine run for a minute or two. I think its mostly to make sure battery is good and charged up before you start towing.

I'm betting your C max Energi is the same way - depress the gas pedal when in park, gas engine will come on. However, as already discussed, you really need to look at adding a charge line, regardless. Otherwise you may end up replacing your C Max's 12V battery more often than you'd like.

Will

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