Ford Cmax Wobbles On Turns

[LSeleen]

We have a Ford C-max as our TOAD which when we turn can suddenly start to wobble until we stop.

The car has been re aligned twice in the last year by the dealer and I don't know if the wobble caused the misalignment or misalignment cause the wobble.

We did notice the temperature of one of our tires was slightly elevated over the others right after we had a realignment.

We are suspicious that this tire was still out of alignment for wear on the tire looked like it.

We have been towing for 5 years and it is only in the last year we have started having problems.

Can it be a problem with the tow bar?

The wobble can be pretty violent and I worry about our hitch breaking .

[jimgunn]

I towed a C-Max for 3 1/2 years.  We had this problem occur on several occasions, always when turning a corner.  The wobbling was violent and we had to stop in order to proceed.  On the last occasion we were in Maine and went to a Ford dealer in Bangor.  The dealer was of no help with this problem after holding the car for a week. 

When we got the car back, I went to a local RV repair facility and explained the problem.  I only had the car with me but when I described the problem the owner of the shop suggested it might be a problem with the tow bar.  It is hard to remember all of the incidents when this happened, but upon reflection it was always on a turn combined with a fairly sizeable elevation change.  The owner of the repair facility suggested that I attend to cleaning and lubricating the tow bar so that it would flex to capacity with the elevation change on the turn. 

After I did that I never had another incident of this type in the next 18 months of towing.  I don't know if this will fix your problem, but I offer it as a solution to a series of scary situations on the road. 

We are now off the road, but if we were to return, I would again tow the C-Max. The other major problem I had with this car was a battery drain while towing.  I solved this problem with a T.O.A.D charge system that wired the chassis battery to the car battery.  The installation was easy and kept the car battery in perfect condition once installed.  The first year on the road I replaced the car battery and needed a jump start after towing the car 4-5 hours. 

I hope this information is useful to you and others.

Jim Gunn

[manholt]

Jim.  For whatever reason you hung up the coach key's, I wish you a happy return someday and in the meantime, please enjoy and share on this Forum!

Have a Blessed day

Carl C.

[LSeleen]

Thanks Jim... It sounds like our experiences with the C-Max are very similar... Scary, but we still love our C-Max.  We will try your suggested fix on our Blue Ox tow bar.  We also installed a trickle charger because of the battery drain problem.  Thanks so much for your suggestion.

[tedsfam]

I have had the same problem with my newly acquired C Max....I think it was both turning and braking at the same time.  Do either of the drivers with same problems use a toad braking system?  Just curious because at this point I don't but intend to.  I will clean and lube my blue ox...it does seem very stiff.  Thanks for the advice.

[wolfe10]

tedsfam,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

Please rethink "not using a toad brake on a 3,600+ pound vehicle". 

BTW, what motorhome/chassis do you have?

[curryra]

Wolfe10...please explain why to rethink. Any "unbraked " weight being towed will push the motorhome and increase stopping distance. Many states require it for pure safety reasons. Thanks

 

[wolfe10]

1 hour ago, curryra said:

Wolfe10...please explain why to rethink. Any "unbraked " weight being towed will push the motorhome and increase stopping distance. Many states require it for pure safety reasons. Thanks

 

curryra,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

Please re-read both my post and the one I am quoting. 

I ABSOLUTELY agree with you that an auxiliary braking system is needed!

Sorry if that was not clear.

[dickandlois]

Took so time to read up on the Ford power steering and it sure looks like they have been having some real issues with it.

Not being really well informed with the electric power operation. There have been issues with it on other makes. When they have been used as towed vehicles. 

Ford appears to have had problems with the electric steering racks binding when turning to the left. Not that it is the issue here, but something is off.  

When you are towing the C-Max is the ignition switch turned to the run position so the steering wheel is unlocked?

  Does this keep the steering system powered?

Should that be the case,is the steering system trying to self center when being towed ? Causing a resonant  wobble that continues to get more violent?  

Are you towing a C-MAX Hybrid1  or  C-MAX Energi1 ?

From one of the Ford forums discussing the regen braking system.

http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1567-regenerative-braking/

Posted 24 May 2013 - 02:08 PM

Regen does not work in reverse or in neutral.  The friction brakes are actuated in these events.  You can easily show this by shifting into neutral while doing a full regen stop.  You'll feel a slight jolt as the regen comes out and the friction comes in.   So does the transmission need to be in neutral when being towed ?

Rich.

[bobandwendy1972]

We have a 2015 Ford C-Max Hybrid, which are towing (Toad) behind a Nexus Viper 29V (30 ft).  We have the Roadmaster Sterling Towbar and the Roadmaster Invisibrake system.  We have not experienced any issues of wobbling while turning or while turning and braking.  One advantage with the Invisibrake system is that it provides a trickle charge to the battery of the toad vehicle, provided the headlights of the motorhome are turned on while driving.

[TJcole]

This is great information.  I just purchased a 2015 C-Max Energi to tow behind my Winnebago Reyo 25. I'm researching tow bar/brake systems now.  Thanks.