Ford refusing to honor Bumper to Bumper Warranty

[Trigganometry]

Well that blows that theory (or I am too weak too).

Maybe the guys who deleted the steering wheel lock, didn't tell the guys in the Tow Neutral team they don't have a lock anymore, so Park should work just as well as Neural in Tow Neutral mode?

We have fly by wire steering. All electronic

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[deleriumtremor]

We have fly by wire steering. All electronic

I think my steering is decidedly non-steer by wire, especially when the power boost is off.

I wonder if the "electronics" inside the steering wants that key in the cylinder for some other reason, like anti-theft, etc?

It sure seems they want that key cylinder (and its cousin in the push button style) to be in a mode gated by the Neutral transmission position. It clearly doesn't want that key removed from the cylinder while the transfer case has both sets of wheels disconnected from the transmission.

 

[mtsoxfan]

OK, full disclosure, I didn't read 13 pages...

What about having a Ford dealer hook it up? Sounds like good documentation...

 

[Jason B]

We have fly by wire steering. All electronic

No, we have electric power steering. There is still a physical link from the wheel to the steering mechanism in case (or when) the electric power steering motor takes a dive.

 

[BettaRanga]

You forgot to stand on one foot and put your left hand out.

 

[deleriumtremor]

My flat tow set up is a battery feed from rv through tow cable to foreward biased diode (and fuse) to Ranger battery. It should only supply current from the rv to the Ranger when the Ranger supply voltage is greater than 0.6 v under the rv battery voltage. As for why the trans. might implode without power, the only thing I can think of is, once shifted to flat tow, the transfer case is held in neutral by an energized solenoid. So it would un-shift with power loss.

If I get time today, I will setup my truck in Neutral Tow mode and then disconnect my battery.

It won't be a definitive test as a slow drain down might affect the battery management software differently than a quick disconnect, so not definitely eliminating the possibility the battery management commands the TC into 2H when power gets low, but should address the question whether the TC is "held in Neutral" by constant power only.

 

[NotBudule]

You forgot to stand on one foot and put your left hand out.

 

[deleriumtremor]

OK, I did a test where I enabled Neutral Tow, left the transmission in Neutral, turned the key off. I waited until everything timed out (truck as off as it gets) and then disconnected the battery. I left it disconnected for 5 minutes and then reconnected.

When I got in the cab, bells were ringing and the "Neutral Tow Enabled leave transmission in Neutral" came back up. I went out and verified the transmission was still disconnected (TC in Neutral).

It doesn't appear removing power affects the TC status or the software's awareness of that status.

 

[Trigganometry]

Ok, I’ll throw another twist to this dilemma. Some users on here have reported that they get into their trucks and go to start them and nothing, zip, zilch, nada. And wonder if their battery is dead. Some wait a while and then like magic it starts. Others have disconnected their battery’s to reset the system and problem resolved itself. No one has ever figured out what causes this to happen.

Just wondering if this could potentially have happened to the OP and they did do everything right but this gremlin decided to appear!

 

[Squatchranger]

This from the F150 manual. F150 uses same 10 speed transmission.
LE - 4X4
WARNING: Do not disconnect the
battery when recreationally towing your
vehicle. This prevents the transfer case
from shifting properly and could cause
the vehicle to roll, even if the
transmission is in park (P).

So, if the battery runs down, you should expect bad things to happen to your transmission.

I don't think you understand what you copied and pasted nor do I get how you came to that conclusion.

 

[deleriumtremor]

Ok, I’ll throw another twist to this dilemma. Some users on here have reported that they get into their trucks and go to start them and nothing, zip, zilch, nada. And wonder if their battery is dead. Some wait a while and then like magic it starts. Others have disconnected their battery’s to reset the system and problem resolved itself. No one has ever figured out what causes this to happen.

Just wondering if this could potentially have happened to the OP and they did do everything right but this gremlin decided to appear!

From what I have found so far, I don't think power affects the Neutral Tow status, once it is properly set.

From everything I have tried/tested, I would have to say the chances are very high anyone who has experienced a trashed transmission from flat towing is most likely due to user error.

Along the lines @t4thfavor posted above, I think if I worked at Ford and had this area of responsibility, I would change the software to make user error less likely to happen. I think changing the user interface to make getting out of Neutral Tow and getting into it the same vehicle setup menu item with an engage and disengage option, users would be less likely to inadvertently disengage Neutral Tow before they set out.

The fact that you currently cancel Neutral Tow by turning the key to on (or pushing the button with the brake off on button start models), placing your foot on the brake and shifting to Park, is likely at the root of some number of the neutral tow user induced disasters. Those are very natural actions for anyone preparing to leave the vehicle (like before you set off on a trip).

If you could only cancel Neutral Tow (take the TC out of Neutral) by using the same setup menu you used to engage it, to disengage Neutral Tow, it probably would eliminate some portion of those that suffered a blown transmission from inadvertently cancelling Neutral Tow before they set out to tow.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

From what I have found so far, I don't think power affects the Neutral Tow status, once it is properly set.

From everything I have tried/tested, I would have to say the chances are very high anyone who has experienced a trashed transmission from flat towing is most likely due to user error.

Along the lines @t4thfavor posted above, I think if I worked at Ford and had this area of responsibility, I would change the software to make user error less likely to happen. I think changing the user interface to make getting out of Neutral Tow and getting into it the same vehicle setup menu item with an engage and disengage option, users would be less likely to inadvertently disengage Neutral Tow before they set out.

The fact that you currently cancel Neutral Tow by turning the key to on (or pushing the button with the brake off on button start models), placing your foot on the brake and shifting to Park, is likely at the root of some number of the neutral tow user induced disasters. Those are very natural actions for anyone preparing to leave the vehicle (like before you set off on a trip).

If you could only cancel Neutral Tow (take the TC out of Neutral) by using the same setup menu you used to engage it, to disengage Neutral Tow, it probably would eliminate some portion of those that suffered a blown transmission from inadvertently cancelling Neutral Tow before they set out to tow.

Hi Bill

There you go again, lapsing into logic!

Best,
Phil

 

[deleriumtremor]

Hi Bill

There you go again, lapsing into logic!

Best,
Phil

It is a curse.

PS - The good news is now I know enough about how Neutral Tow works, I won't have to be disconnecting the driveshaft if I decide to use it.

 

[Jason B]

I just don't see how the T-case switches out of neutral if power fails.
Here's a question for 4x4 owners: If you park your truck with 4x4 engaged, will it still be in 4x4 when you start up the next day, or does it always reset to 4x2 when keyed off?

 

[deleriumtremor]

its too flipping hot outside for me to go try this, but i do recall from winter driving...its stays in 4x4 if i leave it in 4x4

Yes, the TC doesn't change between power cycles.

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