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Ford C-MAX

Every model year 2016–2018: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

3 Model years 2016–2018
5 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years
91 Complaints owner reports, all years
A Newest grade 2018 Safety Signal
2017 Best on record cleanest filed year
Ford C-Max — photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Ford C-Max · Photo: M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Every Ford C-MAX model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year
YearPowertrainsSafetyRecallsComplaintsCrashBest efficiency
2018HybridA110★★★★☆40 mpg
2017Plug-in hybrid HybridA125★★★★☆40 mpg
2016Plug-in hybrid HybridB356★★★★☆39 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road
Best on the record 2017

On the filed record so far, the 2017 is the cleanest C-MAX year we hold, and the 2016 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

YearSafety SignalRecalls /yrComplaints /yr
2017A0.13
2018A0.11
2016B0.36
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What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record
  • 2018: dropped plug-in hybrid; 2 → 1 EPA configurations
  • 2017: best combined mpg 39 → 40

Common questions about the Ford C-MAX

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Ford C-MAX year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2017 C-MAX comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade A (92/100), 1 recall and 25 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

How many recalls does the Ford C-MAX have?

Across model years 2016–2018, NHTSA has posted 5 recall campaigns for the Ford C-MAX. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.