New Ford S max

[Mr C]

Just ordered a new Ford S Max, 2L Diesel auto, test drive was very good, it was between this and the new Seat Alhambra, all and the reviews I have read are very good, but wonder if anyone here has any views, towing ability, MPG, etc,
appreciate any views, thank you

 

[Surfer]

We have the 2010 2.0L diesel auto Mondeo so same drive train. Tows very nice. Only drawback with auto is a problem when coming to a rolling stop and then accelerating. Nothing happens and the car hangs around for a second or two before gear kicks in, revs shoot up and drop as power is transferred to gearbox. This can be dangerosu at an intersection if there is an approaching car. Ford know about this abnormality and cannot get around it as it is a software glitch. mechanic told us that when we come up to intersections we shouidl move the car into manual as thsi rpevents the problem. HUH! We never had this problem with out Avensis auto or our Hilux auto.
Although the car is less than 3 months old the fuel vaporiser has packed in and the engine managment light is permanently on. Spare is not available at this time and car needs to be rebooked in for another servcie once the spare is received.
Although we like the car road holding, comfort and towing capabilities, we would certainly not buy another Ford at this point..

 

[nelmo]

Only drawback with auto is a problem when coming to a rolling stop and then accelerating. Nothing happens and the car hangs around for a second or two before gear kicks in, revs shoot up and drop as power is transferred to gearbox. This can be dangerosu at an intersection if there is an approaching car. Ford know about this abnormality and cannot get around it as it is a software glitch.

My 2005 Santa Fe does the same - very annoying and potentially dangerous but you get used to it and drive round it ie. always come to a complete stop.
I don't think it's a software glitch, just that the 'box hasn't changed down quickly enough (which is why changing to manual mode sorts it - you change down yourself).

 

[xtrailman]

Yet in a recent thread discussing "auto or Manuel" which is best for towing, the above "problem" was never mentioned?
Instead comments like "i would never go back to a manuel", "so relaxing to drive", were made.
Maybe some posts weren't being totally honest?

 

[JeffD]

I have owned a 2.2 diesel S Max for a couple of years now and towed >10k miles in that time. It has proved to be a capable and reliable tug, the main downside being heavy tyre consumption (apparently 12k on front tyres is good!). I chose this model specifically to control the car/ van weight ratio and it has towed without any problems with a 1480 kg van attached. It is also good to drive on its own.

It generally returns about 29mpg when towing and 38mpg solo.

Jeff

 

[nelmo]

Yet in a recent thread discussing "auto or Manuel" which is best for towing, the above "problem" was never mentioned?
Instead comments like "i would never go back to a manuel", "so relaxing to drive", were made.
Maybe some posts weren't being totally honest?

I only notice it very occassionally and then only when solo when you see that gap in the traffic you just 'have' to get into.

When towing, that situation never arises because everything is so much slower.
The other advantages of an automatic far outweigh this minor issue.

 

[Surfer]

On our 3 month old Mondeo diesel auto the fuel vaporiser packed in after 2 months and it has taken them over a week to order a spare. This delay impacts your fuel consumprtion and has a negative effect on the Diesel particulate filter which is an expensive item to replace.
Not only are we having problems accelerating from a rolling stop but now it "clunks" quite loudly into 1st gear and also reverse. When you sometimes select reverse and gently prod the accelerator nothing happens, then you hear it clunk into reverse and the car does a bit of a kangaroo jump before reversing smoothly. No joke when you are trying to reverse a caravan into a confined space. Ford know of this problem but to update the software is too expensive. We never had this issue with our Avensis or Hilux which were both autos. Getting really annoyed with Ford.
They need the car for a week and decided that they will give me a manual Fiesta until I gave them a piece fo my mind. One more issue with this car and the lease is cancelled! we never bought a ford for over 40 years because of unreliability but after reading such good reviews on teh Mondeo thought we woudl give them a chance. in 40 years they have not changed one iota!

 

[MichaelE]

Sorry to hear about the issues with your car and im sure Ford will resolve it, 1 bad car doesnt mean the rest are poor.
You wont be disapointed with the S max a really nice car to drive,loads of space and tows very well indeed.
The auto is raved about in all auto magazines so you have made a good choice.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Surfer,

I am intrigued by your statement:-

"Ford know of this problem but to update the software is too expensive.",

From your statement it is not clear which software you are referring to and what its job is, I hazard a guess that you are referring to the engine and gear box control software installed in the cars ECU. It also implies that Ford have a solution, so they must have already paid for the software revision.

I am intrigued to know how you know its faulty?, and if it is, it must have been faulty at the time of sale and is thus automatically covered under the Sale of Goods Act, which means you would be entitled to a repair under your warranty with the seller, not the manufactures guarantee.

 

[Surfer]

The Volvo S80 had the identical problem and guess who owned Volvo at the time. It took them over 3 years to update the software and then it did not cure the problem, but it did improve things. When I first noticed it, I took the car in for a check but at the time it had only covered 1500 miles.
The Ford mechanic told me that they were aware of the problem, but they were unable to resolve as the computer told them everything was okay. However if the computer only looks at certain defined parameters, it will not recognise some faults but mechanics these days have to rely on computers to tell them their job. If you took the computer away, many of the ypounger mechnics will nto have a clue how to remedy the fault.
There is a rolling road near us and they can resolve the problem but obviously at a cost and I don't just mean the cost of the updating the software. I am referring to other costs such as increased fuel consumption due to increased power etc and anything else associated along these lines.
The car has excellent road handling and towing capabilities but is let down by the auto box.

 

[erica11]

Hi,
We bought a new 2010 S-Max in august last year. Towed with it on several occasions and its brilliant for towing, can,t feel the caravan on the back at all its a good match for our Swift Challenger 530. 09 model. The fuel is good as well abt the same price per tow as our previous car. A Ford transporter disabled van. They match completely as well.

 

[sphen]

Hi erica1, I have just joined the forum and am looking to become a caravanner having been a motorhomer for the last 5 years. We are looking at the Challenger 570 with max weight of 1600kg and was also looking at the Smax. The caravan club woulds say the car needs to be heavier but I understand that if experienced you can go to 100% of the van weight.
Can you tell me if you have the 2 or 2.2 litre model and what sort of fuel consumption you get solo and towing.
Also any other car suggestions would be appreciated from members.
Many thanks, Stewart

 

[Surfer]

I am intrigued to know how you know its faulty?, and if it is, it must have been faulty at the time of sale and is thus automatically covered under the Sale of Goods Act, which means you would be entitled to a repair under your warranty with the seller, not the manufactures guarantee.

I drive the vehicle so I know it is faulty as none of my other automatics displayed similar symptoms. The car is on lease so no issues there except the morons at Ford who cannot fix a vehilce if the computer tells them there is no fault, but fault shows up when they drive it! Work that out!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Surfer, You have taken my last paragraph out of context. I am intrigued to know how you can be certain the fault lies in the software, and not the mechanical components? Best of luck with it.

 

[xtrailman]

programing is a specialized occupation, hardly the remit required for a mechanic.

Usually a service center will only have one or two technicians trained to read software.

Any software mods would be done by the boffins, back at HQ, to be downloaded by what you call morons.

It took months for Nissan software experts to sort a slight rough running, only at certain revs on the T30 xtrail euro4 engine.
So ford are no different to any other manufacturer.

Get shut of the car if its that bad, but don't blame the morons.

 

[seth1]

i dont think any technitions would be able to read software,considering most of it is in a binary code.The facility to desifer the language is only something the factory would have.Perhaps the most that could be seen would be a timer and zero and ones.I know we cant make sense of the datafiles we upload.As a matter of interest do car makers use pass through programming?

 

[Icemaker]

hey don't get me going about ford technicians, ive had a 57 plate smax 2.0 disel and a 58 plate galaxy 2.0 tdci both towed my coachman vip 530/4 with ease and complete control and gave me no real cause for concern reliability wise despite travelling a considerable mileage whilst i owned them both.
the problem i now have is i own a ford transit due to needing to take building materials to our home in france, having had nice cars i didn't want a "normal2 van and opted to buy a ford transit 2.2 tdci 140 "limited" this limited spec gives me all the luxuries of a ghia level car. i opted for the ford sat nav sytem at a cost of £900, this is a total waste of money, the screen is small and most of the detail is covered by un usable information and it can not display imperial measurements just metric, after just 3 weeks the unit failed and had to be replaced it then failed again and another unit was ordered, this one worked for around 6 weeks before this one too failed with the same fault (locking out). it was a nightmare having to constantly go back and forth to the dealer as they would want to see the unit before ordering a new one then i had to go back to have the new one fitted, this was so time consuming that after the last failure i went to an aftermarket supplier and had another make of audio / sat nav system fitted. when ford rang me to let me know that the replacement unit had arrived i took the brocken one back and asked for the new one so i could put it in the van when i sold it, they refused saying they had to take the old one out and fit the new one or they would not supply the replacement, ludicrous waste of time and money as i removed my set put theirs back in they took it out and fitted the new one which i immediately removed and replaced with my own, all in their forecourt.
the next problem came with a rattle on the front near side, ford replaced almost every single suspension item on the near side front before realising it was actually the fuse box under the bonnet that was loose, 5 trips that one took ! and now i have another rattle that is clearly behind the dashboard, i took the van in they heard it and said the dash needs to come out, i re-booked the van in and took it the next week, they had the van all day and when i went to pick it up they said they where unable to carry out any work on the van dashboard as i have got "aftermarket wiring" i asked what they meant and was shown a small digital readout that displays the distance i am from anything behind me, i looked at them in total dis belief and said are you serious ? when they said yes we can not work on the vehicle with that fitted i put my hand in the van and removed the item that was simply velcroed on ! the engineer once again said "we are not allowed to do that".
ford ! great vehicles but appalling customer after care.

 

[Mr C]

We finally got our nice new shiny Ford S Max and we love it, drives like a dream and so much more economical than the old Honda CRV petrol auto, a lovely car but not a great tow car, we should have gone for the diesel but my wife needs an auto because of her back and we were new to the great caravanning world, we went from Florida, Mexico, Mauritius to next trip and our first caravan trip in Henley, after picking the caravan up from Reading, and we loved that trip just as much !
Only problem we have found with the S Max, is it came with 13 pin electric socket and we have twin cable caravan, I have posted a Q in the Tech selection about this, I knew they were like this now, but just plain forgot dealing with all sorts of other problems, my mother has Alzehimers and we had to put her in a home which took a lot out of us, but she is happy and importantly, safe now.
Hope to test out the tow bar soon then our first trip away at Easter, no-where exciting, only down the road in Welwyn, but we have stuff on at home but we want to go away. We are really looking forward to our trip to the Lakes again in May, hopefully get further than Doncaster on the A1 before we have to fill up again now !
Here is to a great happy caravanning year for us all
Take care and all the best
Paul

 

[Mr C]

We finally got our nice new shiny Ford S Max and we love it, drives like a dream and so much more economical than the old Honda CRV petrol auto, a lovely car but not a great tow car, we should have gone for the diesel but my wife needs an auto because of her back and we were new to the great caravanning world, we went from Florida, Mexico, Mauritius to next trip and our first caravan trip in Henley, after picking the caravan up from Reading, and we loved that trip just as much !
Only problem we have found with the S Max, is it came with 13 pin electric socket and we have twin cable caravan, I have posted a Q in the Tech selection about this, I knew they were like this now, but just plain forgot dealing with all sorts of other problems, my mother has Alzehimers and we had to put her in a home which took a lot out of us, but she is happy and importantly, safe now.
Hope to test out the tow bar soon then our first trip away at Easter, no-where exciting, only down the road in Welwyn, but we have stuff on at home but we want to go away. We are really looking forward to our trip to the Lakes again in May, hopefully get further than Doncaster on the A1 before we have to fill up again now !
Here is to a great happy caravanning year for us all
Take care and all the best
Paul

 

[MichaelE]

Im pleased you are happy with your new S Max.
"Only problem we have found with the S Max is the 13 pin connector" trust me this is not a problem.
I would change the van to 13 pin or use an adapter although you dont get rid of the problems encountered with the twin plugs with an adapter.

 

[Mr C]

Finally got to tow with our new Ford S Max and only one word to say, BRILLIANT, head and shoulders above or Honda CRV, which was a lovely car if a bit juicey, but we found it to be not a great tow car, it worked, got us to Switzerland and back, but the S Max just feels so much better and such a lot less fuel used. Had the car 3 weeks now and first tow this weekend, felt like the caravan was not even there, fuel used on the flat was equal or even less to that used going downhill with the Honda.
I would recommend this car , as a great towcar to anyone, we are so pleased with it and happy.

 

[Mr C]

Finally got to tow with our new Ford S Max and only one word to say, BRILLIANT, head and shoulders above our old Honda CRV, which was a lovely car if a bit juicey, but it also proved not to be a great tow car, it worked, got us to Switzerland and back, but the S Max just feels so much better and uses a lot less fuel . The flat road from our storage site to the A1, we got 21mpg with the Honda, 38mpg with the S Max, accourding to the trip computers. Had the car 3 weeks now and first tow this weekend, felt like the caravan was not even there, I would recommend this car , as a great towcar to anyone, the coments others made about moving off from a rolling start has not been a problem for us, we have been looking out for it but not had a problem once, we are so pleased with it and are very very happy.