Reverse sensing system with hitch bike rack

[Dusting_for_vomit]

Any other owners out there who use a hitch rack for bikes or other gear? My problem is, with my bike rack installed (loaded or not), the reverse radars get tripped-up and assume im about to hit something. Meaning, any time the truck is in reverse, I get beeped at until I go insane....or I finish parking.... whatever. Anyway, is there an easy way to deactivate the reversing sensors only? My googling has left me high and dry. I even entered that I was "towing" a 6ft trailer to see if that solved it... no luck. Any ideas? Hopefully this is an easy one.

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[Deleted member 1634]

There's a button in the cluster next to the 4WD selector knob (the area with auto start/stop, locking diff, tow/haul, traction control, etc. buttons) that turns off parking sensors. But note that it turns off all parking sensors, fronts and rears.

 

[dmeyer302]

Matt is right about the switch. If you can find something along the lines of this that would cause the truck to think a trailer is hooked up, it will disable the rear sensors only.

 

[Dusting_for_vomit]

Matt is right about the switch. If you can find something along the lines of this that would cause the truck to think a trailer is hooked up, it will disable the rear sensors only.

OK! That seems like a clever idea. I dont ever tow anything.... But I guess this means that when a trailer is properly wired-up, the truck knows to disable that alarm?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Any other owners out there who use a hitch rack for bikes or other gear? My problem is, with my bike rack installed (loaded or not), the reverse radars get tripped-up and assume im about to hit something. Meaning, any time the truck is in reverse, I get beeped at until I go insane....or I finish parking.... whatever. Anyway, is there an easy way to deactivate the reversing sensors only? My googling has left me high and dry. I even entered that I was "towing" a 6ft trailer to see if that solved it... no luck. Any ideas? Hopefully this is an easy one.

Hi Alex,

Set your "Trailer" to 3ft. It will make the sensors work again with your bike rack.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retried

 

[Dusting_for_vomit]

Hi Alex,

Set your "Trailer" to 3ft. It will make the sensors work again with your bike rack.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retried

Ill try this again, but it didnt work when I tried it earlier before I posted. Do I need to restart the car after I set it or something? I also tried a "6ft trailer" just in case, but alas.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Ill try this again, but it didnt work when I tried it earlier before I posted. Do I need to restart the car after I set it or something? I also tried a "6ft trailer" just in case, but alas.

Hi Alex,

I set it for 3 ft after reading in the owners manual as I had a string of LED lights under the tailgate. It worked next time I started the vehicle, and I believe in another thread others did the same thing and it worked for them with bike racks. Follow the directions in the owner's manual should give you good results...at least I hope so for your sake.

I did it wrong the first time I set it, but do not recall way I made an error or I would advise you how to not do it wrong like I did. I just took my time and did it again and it worked!

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[dmeyer302]

Ill try this again, but it didnt work when I tried it earlier before I posted. Do I need to restart the car after I set it or something? I also tried a "6ft trailer" just in case, but alas.

You got it set up, but there needs to be a load on the trailer plug before it activates the trailer settings. The thinking here of course, is that if there's nothing plugged in, there is no trailer attached. Hence my little plug in thing, or a light bar like Phil mentioned, or any similar accessory.

 

[Dusting_for_vomit]

You got it set up, but there needs to be a load on the trailer plug before it activates the trailer settings. The thinking here of course, is that if there's nothing plugged in, there is no trailer attached. Hence my little plug in thing, or a light bar like Phil mentioned, or any similar accessory.

Nailed it..... after a closer look at the owner's manual, thats exactly what I was doing wrong. It seems a little silly that I'll NEED to hook up an accessory (or tester, as you suggested) to make this work, but at least im only out $6 for the cheap option. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Jon Olivier]

I would probably add a brake light to the bike rack, so the plug is always with the rack when needed. Knowing me, I'd accidentally leave the tester in place and it would go missing at some point.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Nailed it..... after a closer look at the owner's manual, thats exactly what I was doing wrong. It seems a little silly that I'll NEED to hook up an accessory (or tester, as you suggested) to make this work, but at least im only out $6 for the cheap option. Thanks for all the help!

The whole plug in a trailer and it automatically deactivates the rear sensors and allows extension of the BLIS radar is a wonderful feature, if you use it for that purpose. But those select few who have other things in mind like you, I can see how it would seem silly.

 

[Dusting_for_vomit]

The whole plug in a trailer and it automatically deactivates the rear sensors and allows extension of the BLIS radar is a wonderful feature, if you use it for that purpose. But those select few who have other things in mind like you, I can see how it would seem silly.

Oh I totally get why the system you just described is a slick setup for hauling. The silliness I'm referring to is that nowhere in all the menus/controls is there a way to deactivate only the rear radar. The solution, it seems, is to trick the truck into thinking a trailer is wired up (or to install additional lighting... which, honestly, IS a little safer). Thats all.

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