I'm thinking about putting tow mirrors on my 2016 XLT and a set that I found are Power, heated and have turn signals. My stock Mirrors are Power only and that's it. My questions is, does Ford wire their trucks for options that truck doesn't come with?
I know it sounds like a stupid question, but I know GM does this to an extent. It's cheaper to build one wiring harness and install in in all the trucks than it is to build a harness for each individual truck or rather trim level. Basically an XL would be wired for every option that trim level is available with whether that truck has it or not. Just the same for an XLT, Lariat, Limited and so on.
With the Mirrors I'm looking at I don't necessarily want the heated part to work, though it would be a bonus, but would the wires be there for the turn signal part and if the heated connections are there, would it be a matter of swapping the heater controls for ones with the mirror switch?
I'm wondering the same about the trailer brake controller? Are the truck's pre-wired for those?

 

No they are not. Lots of threads on this.

 

From what I've seen and read, they do not. If you were to add those mirrors, you would have to add all the wire, switches and everything else that goes along with them.

 

For the second question. If you have the tow package, there is a pre-wired harness for the TBC. It is behind the little cubby hole to the bottom right of the steering column. Very easy to install.

 

Do you still have to go to the dealer to program the TBC?

 

forscan thread, code is in there

 

yes, unless you or someone you know has forscan

 

There's a triangular trim panel on the inside of your doors, right by the mirror mounts. Pop it off. If you have an 8 pin (squareish) plug, you'll need to replace all electrical wiring in your doors. If you have a 22-pin (rectangular) plug, you can swap in your tow mirrors and expect the same functionality you have now. I had the 8-pin plug on my 300A XLT and needed to replace the entire harness to hook up my tow mirrors. The wiring is about $90 and requires a substantial amount of time and effort to swap out. To gain certain features, such as power fold/extend, that requires even more wiring and/or programming.

TL;DR - This conversion will likely be expensive and time consuming unless you already have the 22-pin wiring.

 

That's unfortunate, it was nice with the GM's being able to swap most parts out with ease. I'm guessing I have the 8-pin since I have the 300a XLT too. Oh well guess I'll keep looking for the right mirrors.