Community Forums

superlucky · 11-28-2016, 09:32 AM

In case you missed it on the Ford threads.....

I loaded the 5 Star Tune and it enhanced the shift patterns even more than the Ford Fix. Almost, but not quite, too much.

The extra power and torque is also nicely appreciated.

I like the combination. No more smoking brakes for me!!!!

Bill

halfprice · 12-01-2016, 12:41 PM

Got back from the Ford dealer a couple hours ago. Tow haul all fixed. Now when in tow haul if a press the brake the transmission downshifts. If I hold the brake down it keeps downshifting as it slows.

Should be a BIG improvement when going down hills and the mountains.

Jerry

1badhemi · 12-10-2016, 10:30 PM

When is the tsb coming out or is it out already this is a good thread I don't think mine was working either 2016 vista lx 27n

hfbundy · 12-10-2016, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1badhemi

When is the tsb coming out or is it out already this is a good thread I don't think mine was working either 2016 vista lx 27n

The TSB has been out since August. Ford will not contact you on this. It is on you to get it fixed.

halfprice · 12-10-2016, 11:36 PM

When is the tsb coming out or is it out already this is a good thread I don't think mine was working either 2016 vista lx 27n

Go to the first post and print out the info on the fix. Bring it with you to the dealership it will help them. Took less than an hour to do

LarryJB · 03-16-2017, 06:04 PM

Had mine done today. Took them almost 2 hours while I waited. Wow! What a difference. Did tow/haul even work at all until the fix? I really could not tell if it was doing anything before the update. There are a couple of big hills on my way home. I only had to tap the brake a couple of times, where before I was riding the brake all the way down the grade.

davet911 · 04-04-2017, 09:54 AM

Many Thanks to the pioneers on this issue. Your knowledge and persistence with Ford has helped many of us with a problem that a lot of us didn't know we had.
I didn't have any experience with this transmission when I bought this MH and my owners manual is less than clear on the proper operation. I just kept thinking, "why did they make it so hard to get to 3rd gear on a down grade?" 3rd seems to be just the right gear for many of the hills out here in the west. At my local Ford dealership (now my former dealership) I was told that the transmission would only downshift to 3rd when using cruise control for grade braking. This works, but its like juggling snakes while driving. You can do it , but it's not any fun.
Then I discovered this thread and lo and behold the answer to all my questions (transmission related anyway). And then thanks to Brushbuster for his quick response and information on a different local Ford dealer that knew what they were doing.
This dealer worked on my MH yesterday. Wow, I feel like I have a brand new MH. This is a wonderful feature and will make driving the MH much easier and more fun in the mountains. You can't drive very far without driving in the mountains here. (Portland, OR area) Again, Many Thanks to you pioneers on this issue. I will be thanking you every time I drive down a grade this summer.

hfbundy · 04-04-2017, 11:12 PM

Dave, thanks for the kind words. I believe I was the first owner to declare the inoperable tow haul feature a design defect in this forum. However, once I got it going several other owners joined me. We had to deal with many naysayers. We had a least a half dozen threads going in this forum. I took it to the Freedom Roads forum and was treated like an untouchable. I think the turning point was when I persuaded other owners to file NHTSA complaints. I filed the first one in December 2015. Finally I was able to get the Ford manager of the F53/F59 division involved. Unfortunately, I had to take mine in for the software upgrade twice. the first download only allowed a downshift from 6th to 5th. I live up north of you in Anacortes, WA. I will be driving through your area this coming weekend.

randomguy · 07-27-2017, 01:37 PM

I normally take it very easy when driving - I am a new RV driver, and didn't know HOW a Tow/Haul feature should work. Since I have been taking it easy, I didn't know anything was up.

On this 3 week trip I am taking now, I was coming out of Tahoe down into Carson City and the slope and length of the grade pretty much had me riding my brakes the whole way down. When I reached the bottom of the hill in Carson City I could barely stop, almost had to stand on the brakes. Glanced out my window and brakes were SMOKING.

Pulled to the side and let them cool down for an hour while having lunch. Luckily started researching and came upon this thread. Called up AutoNation Ford in Fort Worth, TX and they got me in same day to apply this fix. Even NOT in Tow/Haul mode I can say that it was handling better when braking, getting an occasional downshift on steeper grades. I also had some issues with Cruise Control where if I were to set it at 64, every hill/head wind that I encountered would slow it down, and it never really went back up to 64 (even after 15 minutes flat). This seems to have fixed that issue as well.

I don't understand why this isn't a recall issue. If not for this fix, I could have slammed into a few cars after coming down that hill from Tahoe.

Cover Dog · 07-27-2017, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayzor

I was coming out of Tahoe down into Carson City and the slope and length of the grade pretty much had me riding my brakes the whole way.

Never a good idea to "ride" the brakes when going down a hill. It's better to apply and let off, brakes cool, apply and let off, brakes cool, etc.

Glad you were able to get the tow haul program fixed.

nothermark · 07-28-2017, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayzor

I normally take it very easy when driving - I am a new RV driver, and didn't know HOW a Tow/Haul feature should work. Since I have been taking it easy, I didn't know anything was up.

On this 3 week trip I am taking now, I was coming out of Tahoe down into Carson City and the slope and length of the grade pretty much had me riding my brakes the whole way down. When I reached the bottom of the hill in Carson City I could barely stop, almost had to stand on the brakes. Glanced out my window and brakes were SMOKING.

Pulled to the side and let them cool down for an hour while having lunch. Luckily started researching and came upon this thread. Called up AutoNation Ford in Fort Worth, TX and they got me in same day to apply this fix. Even NOT in Tow/Haul mode I can say that it was handling better when braking, getting an occasional downshift on steeper grades. I also had some issues with Cruise Control where if I were to set it at 64, every hill/head wind that I encountered would slow it down, and it never really went back up to 64 (even after 15 minutes flat). This seems to have fixed that issue as well.

I don't understand why this isn't a recall issue. If not for this fix, I could have slammed into a few cars after coming down that hill from Tahoe.

Glad you got it fixed. What concerns me is that you could have manually downshifted and saved your brakes. If you have to be on them you are in too high a gear. Tow/haul just makes it easier to downshift by doing it for you or when you hit the brakes.

Dale & Mark Bruss · 07-28-2017, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cover Dog

Never a good idea to "ride" the brakes when going down a hill. It's better to apply and let off, brakes cool, apply and let off, brakes cool, etc.

Glad you were able to get the tow haul program fixed.

Cover Dog is correct. The procedure is called stab braking. You apply the brakes hard and significantly reduce speed, well below the speed you want to be going. Then release the brakes and let the speed increase. The release of the brakes lets them cool a bit. Then stab the brakes again.

On a steep hill, the axiom is one gear lower than it took to get up the hill.

Tow-Haul is really good on my 2016 after the update was applied.

randomguy · 07-28-2017, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale & Mark Bruss

Cover Dog is correct. The procedure is called stab braking. You apply the brakes hard and significantly reduce speed, well below the speed you want to be going. Then release the brakes and let the speed increase. The release of the brakes lets them cool a bit. Then stab the brakes again.

On a steep hill, the axiom is one gear lower than it took to get up the hill.

Tow-Haul is really good on my 2016 after the update was applied.

Completely agree, of course I didn't learn this until AFTER I had the issue. Even so, having a functional tow/haul would have helped to prevent that

I've seen a couple people mention manually downshifting, do you mean just shift it into 4/2/1 as needed on the gear selector (P/R/N/D/4/2/1)? Why is there no 3 ?

hfbundy · 07-28-2017, 03:45 PM

"I don't understand why this isn't a recall issue. If not for this fix, I could have slammed into a few cars after coming down that hill from Tahoe."

I don't think I convinced enough owners to file safety complaints to make it a recall issue. There were only 7 or 8 of us that actually filed a complaint with NHTSA. I knew it didn't work when I drove my motorhome home and took a lot of precautions to not smoke my brakes. If we had more testimony filed from owners like you, it might have been a recall issue.