So i got my truck back two days ago from the dealer who was fixing my bed from getting hit (did a great job) all body work on the bed, nothing mechanical.

However, when i drove home i noticed my dash screen was now slightly different... it had what gear i was in... see pic below. My dash never had this before, and didnt think much of it.

I assumed it was from a software update or something when the dealer had it... maybe i am wrong? Anyone else have this?

And, unrelated... but i noticed my trans temp running a little hotter...

Up until this, i have never seen it go above 185 degrees.... now it seems to be running hotter and noticed it even hit 201 degrees which i haveny seen before.

All normal driving... highway and city mix. Not towing... and the weather has been about the same.

What is normal trans temp? Like i said i was always at 185 regardless... i have the 3.55 rear end (fx4) and on stock tires.

I know 10 degrees moght not seem like alot but i havent seen it above 185, let alone at the 200 mark before. Is there some update ford did for it to run warmer?

Note jn the picture the gear indicated on the right side... and the 195 temperature

 

I can't speak for the transmission temp but the gear your in being shown is actually a standard feature that can be turned on or off on your column when your just in drive (not manual) hit the +/- and it should turn it on or off. It seriously screwed with me the first time I did it, I got back from a vacation bailed in my truck and must have hit it and all of a sudden it was there, a definite wtf moment

 

I would need to know what year your truck was, but I believe that early 2011 F-150's took a software update to make the gears show up. Later 2011's had the update pre-installed.

For more recent models, the gears disappear if you hit the "+" key on the shifter, and reappears if you hit the "+" or "-" button on the shifter. Note: this is just based on my experience... There may be other model years with different reasons.

As for transmission temp, my 2011 ran 194 degrees solid (after about 30 minutes of highway driving). And then I wrecked it less than a year in, courtesy of a lady who decided to make a right turn from the left turn lane, and pushed me into a phone pole. I hit the pole at ~30 mph, and was in a skid, with the wheel turned, trying to correct the skid. My front bumper actually missed the pole, and the turned wheel caught it. Sucked the truck in, split the rim, and bent the frame. Not too much body damage. Cost ~$15k to fix, if memory serves, and they bought a new frame, lifted the body off the old frame, and put it on the new. After that, my transmission temp ran about 201 degrees, and I never got as good of mileage. I always assumed that it was the truck working harder, b/c the truck was no longer quite true.

Check the space between the cab and the bed. Is it the same on each side? Is the bed further away from the cab now? There are a lot of guys that know more about the specifics than I do, but hotter transmission means the engine is working harder, from what I understand.

 

Truck is a 2015.

I did press the +/- button and it does turn the gear indicator on... So that wasn't a software thing.

I did have any frame damage when I got hit I wasn't moving and she was only going 15mph or so, so it was all cosmetic. Shop did put it on alignment rack and checked the specs of the bed to make sure it was square.

I'm going to keep an eye on my trans temp over the coming week...

I wish ford published what is "normal"... I know anything over 225ish is bad.

I just never saw my trans temp over 185 (didn't check it that often tho) and now it consistently seems to be in the 190s... Up to 200

I do have the trailer package with the additional trans cooler, but I'm not sure at what temp the valve opens to use this cooler?

 

I ran mine, after that wreck, and it was consistently at 199 - 204 degrees for the next 120,000 miles. This was with the cruise set at 77-78 mph, on long trips. I got rid of it at 150,000 miles, and the guy that bought it hasn't had any issues, so I'd say you're fine at those temps.

I think that my issue was more from my truck not being true aerodynamically, rather than from the frame being damaged. I could see that the bed was a bit crooked, about 1" closer to the cab one one side. I think this aerodynamic change caused the engine to work harder, and fuel efficiency to go down a bit, causing the transmission to run ~5 degrees hotter as a result.

Either way it's less than a 5% difference, and likely won't make any difference for your truck. Would be interesting to see if your fuel efficiency is down just a bit after the fix.

 

Mine runs right around 188 most of the time. I just hauled my enclosed trailer through the mountains and it stayed right there but it was only 20 degrees out. I did notice that the digital read out was higher after they did the 5-4 tsb. Before it never seemed to go above 160. As a side note, I also noticed my oil life was reset to 100% when I got the truck back after the tsb.