FORD C-MAX · model year

2018 FORD C-MAX

12 NHTSA complaints, 2 crash reports, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018FORDC-MAX carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 2 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 C-MAX is steering with 2 filings, followed by electrical system (2) and air bags (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 177 investigation files overlapping the 2018 C-MAX, and 8 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

12
Complaints
2
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

12 filings

Crashes Reported

2 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
STEERING2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2
AIR BAGS2
SUSPENSION1
VISIBILITY/WIPER1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1
POWER TRAIN1

Recalls (1)

22V41300010/06/2022

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

Recent Complaints

20231106CrashAIR BAGS

I recently rear ended a car and the front of the vechical was damaged. The air bag censor was destroyed, however the airbags did not come out. This was on a 2018 Ford c-max. Many people pointed out this malfunction and how my life was put at risk.

20230919CrashAIR BAGS

I totalled my car. The steering wheel airbag failed to inflate

20230818POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2018 Ford C-MAX Hybrid. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop at a red light, the vehicle inadvertently stalled and lost motive power. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality; however, the failure had since become a regular failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was unknown.

20230306ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Steering locks to the point that it can't turn. Happened while driving. Unknown cause. Warning light came on for driver to park. Issue unresolved and can no longer drive car.

20230306STEERING

Steering locks to the point that it can't turn. Happened while driving. Unknown cause. Warning light came on for driver to park. Issue unresolved and can no longer drive car.

20220914FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Recently, there has been a whiff of gasoline around my garage but there is more than one vehicle in there so I didn't figure out what the culprit was for a while. After completely filling up my car 9/3/2022, I parked it in the attached garage and in minutes my whole house smelled like gasoline. So I immediately parked it outside and ventilated the house. I took the car to a local shop and they said yes there's a gas odor but they didn't want to touch the repair because it's a hybrid. So all this time later on 9/14/2022, the Ford dealership saw the car and stated that it requires immediate repair and park it outside while we wait for parts. My C-Max has always gotten regular normal maintenance like oil changes and brakes, it got new tires recently. There was one major repair Ford did when the car was assembled incorrectly at the back hatch hinge seal so water was pouring into the circuit board and the battery compartment which screwed up the electronics, and the touchscreen needed r

20210802SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

The contact owns a 2018 Ford C-MAX. The contact stated that the seat belt failed. The contact stated that while the driver’s side rear seat belt was fastened to the car seat, the seat belt tightened up independently on her grandchild’s chest. The contact’s grandchild was unable to breathe properly. The contact was unable to unfasten the seat from the clip. The contact had to cut the seat belt to be able to release the seat belt from her grandchild’s chest. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be inspected. The contact was informed that the seat belt operated as designed. The seat belt was not repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000.

Mileage: 14,000

20200215ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ELECTRICAL GREMLINS SINCE THE FIRST DAY. TOUCHSCREEN WENT ON AND OFF, PHONE DIDN'T CHARGE, DOOR HANDLES DON'T WORK, GARAGE DOOR OPENER FORGOT SETTINGS, PRESETS ON DASH WOULD BLINK OUT OF MEMORY. ULTIMATELY THE CAR DIDN'T EVEN START. BUT FOR ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES THEY WOULD WORK, SOMETIMES THEY WOULDN'T. ULTIMATELY GOT THE YELLOW WRENCH OF DEATH. BROUGHT IT IN REPEATEDLY AND THEY COULD NEVER REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM, UNTIL THE DAY IT WOULDN'T START AT ALL AND THE WRENCH WAS ON THE DASH. FINALLY DIAGNOSED OPEN SEAMS ON THE BACK HINGES TO THE HATCH. SEAMSEAL WAS MISSING ON BOTH HINGES. WATER WAS COMING INTO THE JUNCTION BOX WHICH WAS SOAKED. THE BATTERY WAS SITTING IN A POOL OF WATER. THESE PROBLEMS HAPPENED WHETHER IT WAS PARKED OR RUNNING.

Mileage: 46,500

20200215UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL GREMLINS SINCE THE FIRST DAY. TOUCHSCREEN WENT ON AND OFF, PHONE DIDN'T CHARGE, DOOR HANDLES DON'T WORK, GARAGE DOOR OPENER FORGOT SETTINGS, PRESETS ON DASH WOULD BLINK OUT OF MEMORY. ULTIMATELY THE CAR DIDN'T EVEN START. BUT FOR ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES THEY WOULD WORK, SOMETIMES THEY WOULDN'T. ULTIMATELY GOT THE YELLOW WRENCH OF DEATH. BROUGHT IT IN REPEATEDLY AND THEY COULD NEVER REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM, UNTIL THE DAY IT WOULDN'T START AT ALL AND THE WRENCH WAS ON THE DASH. FINALLY DIAGNOSED OPEN SEAMS ON THE BACK HINGES TO THE HATCH. SEAMSEAL WAS MISSING ON BOTH HINGES. WATER WAS COMING INTO THE JUNCTION BOX WHICH WAS SOAKED. THE BATTERY WAS SITTING IN A POOL OF WATER. THESE PROBLEMS HAPPENED WHETHER IT WAS PARKED OR RUNNING.

Mileage: 46,500

20200211VISIBILITY/WIPER

THE RIGHT-HAND OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR CONTAINS A SMALL INSET MIRROR INTENDED TO PROVIDE A DIFFERENT ANGLE OF VIEW SO AS TO GIVE THE DRIVER VISIBILITY OF VEHICLES ALONGSIDE OR IN THE "BLIND SPOT." IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE MOUNTED AT AN ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE PLANE OF THE MAIN MIRROR SIMILAR TO THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR, BUT ON MY CAR IT IS MOUNTED IN THE SAME PLANE AS THE MAIN MIRROR SO THE VIEWS ARE IDENTICAL. FORD DEALER'S SERVICE MANAGER SAYS IT'S CORRECT, BUT EVERY OTHER FORD VEHICLE I HAVE SEEN HAS AN BLIND SIDE MIRROR THAT IS ANGLED. FORD'S CUSTOMER SERVICE CONSULTANTS REFUSE TO DISPUTE THE LOCAL DEALER'S OPINION. I BELIEVE THIS MIRROR WAS MANUFACTURED AND INSTALLED IN ERROR. FORD'S OWNER MANUALS FOR VARIOUS MODELS ALL DESCRIBE THE BLIND SPOT MIRRORS IDENTICALLY, BUT MY MIRROR DOES NOT CONFORM TO THOSE DESCRPTIONS. MORE CRITICALLY, IT DOESN'T PERFORM ITS INTENDED FUNCTION.

20190501SUSPENSION

2018 TITANIUM FORD C-MAX WITH RATTLING/CLUNKING NOISE EMANATING FROM VEHICLE UNDERCARRIAGE. VEHICLE PURCHASED NEW NOW HAS FAILING STRUT BRACES (WHICH ALSO FAILED ON OUR NEW 2017 C-MAX). BRACES ARE FAILING APPROXIMATELY EVERY 10,000 MILES AMONGST OUR TWO VEHICLES.

Mileage: 9,500

20181013STEERING

STEERING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IS UNSAFE AS VEHICLE WANDERS WITHIN LANE PURPORTEDLY DUE TO ELECTRIC-ASSIST POWER STEERING. SPEEDS ABOVE 40MPH, VEHICLE REQUIRES EXCESSIVE STEERING INPUT TO STAY WITHIN LANE.

Mileage: 3,000

Compare 2018FORDC-MAX to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 8 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 FORD C-MAX have?
The 2018 FORD C-MAX has 12 NHTSA complaints, 2 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 FORD C-MAX?
Yes, the 2018 FORD C-MAX has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL). Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 FORD C-MAX?
The most-complained component for the 2018 FORD C-MAX is STEERING with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and AIR BAGS.
Is the 2018 FORD C-MAX safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.