swj

My 2018 F150 SCrew 3.5 turbo, max tow pkg tows a loaded 7000 lbs FRiver Surveyor 251RKS. Heading north on I25 in CO, I had the truck in tow haul mode. I topped a mountain and started going downhill. The truck downshifted, the tack was at 5800 and the trucked slowed to 25 mph on the Interstate. I tried tapping the accelerator and I could not get the truck out of low gear. At 25 mph the truck got out of low gear and I could speed up to the flow of traffic. Going 25 mph downhill on a Interstate is dangerous.I could have been rear ended or damaged engine at 6000 tack.

i talked to a Ford service advisor and he said don’t use tow haul mode to tow a travel trailer. Filed a complaint with Ford and they referred me back to service advisor. Something is not right hear. Comments?

Wicked ace

Traveling through Vermont a month ago I had a revelation on tow/haul as well. While going down hill I noticed the engine winding up more than I had heard it before. I looked to see and I was in second gear doing 45 MPH. Until then I know for fact I hadn't gone over 3500 RPM even pulling my TT, the RPMs were pegging over 4500 downhill and the transmission temperature was climbing rapidly. I tried the lockout / manual shift switch on the shifter to bump up to higher gear with no response. I came to a complete stop and the transmission reset as I started out again only to go through the same ordeal. My transmission temperature was pushing 230 deg. by then. I stopped once more to reset and switched to normal mode. That worked, I stayed in a higher gear and the temperature went down to 204 deg. The rest of that leg I stayed in normal mode. Lesson learned, tow / haul is not for mountainous roadways and steep descents.

swj

A number of Ford owners on this forum and other forums have all had similar experiences. I have a case number where I told Ford, twice, about the tow haul mode slowing/stopping the truck/trailer. Need to get the word out to other Ford150 owners about this problem. If anyone blows an engine or is rear ended; their attorneys need this info. Best solution is a software/firmware update or a recall.

Skwerl

Pull shifter down one notch into manual, click + button to force an upshift, shift back into D.

swj

Nothing in owners manual about your fix.

Wicked ace

You aren't addressing the problem. The downshift would work in the days of big block engines or a diesel but anyone who drives a 3.5EB knows there is no engine braking. While towing programmed downshifting will only lead to troubles.

Skwerl

Yes I do.

I haven't experienced this in tow mode but sometimes in Sport mode it hangs in a low gear for a long time after letting off the throttle. After accelerating from a light I'll coast in 2nd gear at 45-50mph and it won't upshift. So now whenever it hangs like that I bump it down, hit the + once or twice and bump it back up. Forces it out of whatever funk it was in.

Eventually I'll put a tune on the truck and not have to worry about Ford's messed up shift parameters.

marshallr

Well, apparently there is or your truck wouldn't have slowed to 25 when it downshifted.

Not that you don't have a problem. It is supposed to downshift, but not that aggressively. But until it is corrected I'd drive in manual mode instead of tow/haul mode. I don't mind my 2014 in tow/haul mode on level ground, but as soon as I get into mountains use manual mode all the time anyway. Loaded or not. Last month we were visiting CO. I filled up in South Fork, drove 460+ miles on a tank. We drove to Lake City, back to South Fork, then across Wolf Creel Pass into Pagosa Springs then Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgeway and finally filled up in Gunnison. Stayed in manual mode the whole way, never got over 4th gear and got the best fuel mileage of the trip, 21+mpg.

Wicked ace

Not talking about or even concerned with your stop light antics. After you travel down a hill varying 5 - 7% grade for about 7 miles with a 8300# TT hooked to your rear axle you can let me know what an expert you are.

Skwerl

I've had a CDL for over 20 years and have been pulling trailers for almost 40. I don't own a TT but currently own 3 trailers, the heaviest is a 20,000 lb GVWR dump trailer. I think I might have just a little bit of an inkling about what it takes to pull a trailer. And I had no intention of putting anyone down, was simply offering a small tidbit relating how I dealt with my transmission acting in a similar way (albeit different circumstances). If that is cause for you to insult me like a jackass then that's your issue, not mine.