Can any EV or Hydrid vehicles be towed 4 down?

[Deano17]

Originally Posted by Indy Glenn

Flat towing I believe is going to get harder & harder as the new generations of vehicles comes out.

We thought we were going to have to replace our Ford Fiesta last winter and started shopping for 4 down towables.... not many there.

Back I believe just a couple years ago, most Ford vehicles could be towed 4 down, I am not familiar with other brands - but shopping a few months ago showed this is no longer the case, except for some of the higher end SUVs.

Seems many of the vehicles had a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). I've never heard of it before and read up on them, interesting but they cannot be towed 4 down.

One new model Ford, The Ford Maverick pick-up, the hybrid version can be flat towed, but not the full gas version. Good luck finding either version out there.

One thing I started to do when finding a vehicle we were interested in was pulling up the Owners Manual on line for the model we were considering - went to the tow section and read if it could be towed behind an RV.

We own a gas class A so have a limit on how much weight we can tow.

Good luck finding a vehicle that suits you.

g

Lincoln Corsair and Ford Escape both say you can tow the hybrid 4 down. It is listed in each of their manuals for 2022. And I believe the CVT is the ONLY Ford transmission that can be towed 4 down.

[Romil]

Originally Posted by Deano17

Lincoln Corsair and Ford Escape both say you can tow the hybrid 4 down. It is listed in each of their manuals for 2022. And I believe the CVT is the ONLY Ford transmission that can be towed 4 down.

We tow a Ford Escape Hybrid at about 3800 lbs and it works great.

[jeffdeq]

Ford Fusion Hybrid
Ford Fusion Energi
Lincoln Hybrids and Plugins

[zulugart]

We own a 2021 Ford Escape hybrid and it tows 4 down like a dream. Also so easy to put in neutral tow mode. A few selections in settings and it’s ready to go. Even easier to take out of tow mode.
It is also a fantastic full time vehicle. Nice size SUV, AVERAGING 41 mpg. We went for the titanium level and it was worth it. I recommend it highly.

[heatherdawnc]

Originally Posted by zulugart

We own a 2021 Ford Escape hybrid and it tows 4 down like a dream. Also so easy to put in neutral tow mode. A few selections in settings and it’s ready to go. Even easier to take out of tow mode.
It is also a fantastic full time vehicle. Nice size SUV, AVERAGING 41 mpg. We went for the titanium level and it was worth it. I recommend it highly.

We bought the same 22 Escape Hybrid Titanium for the express purpose of flat towing. We have Tow bar, baseplate wiring and brake sys but it's not yet installed.

It's good to hear of others having great experience with the Escape

[Tskadberg]

Originally Posted by heatherdawnc

We bought the same 22 Escape Hybrid Titanium for the express purpose of flat towing. We have Tow bar, baseplate wiring and brake sys but it's not yet installed.



It's good to hear of others having great experience with the Escape

I’d recommend getting the larger agm 12 volt battery if your escape came with the Flooded lead acid battery.

[heatherdawnc]

Originally Posted by Tskadberg

I’d recommend getting the larger agm 12 volt battery if your escape came with the Flooded lead acid battery.

Why is that?

[Tskadberg]

Originally Posted by heatherdawnc

Why is that?

The car will often go into hibernation mode because the battery is low. This happens if you don’t drive it everyday. This is a common issue on ford escape forums. Since upgrading has not happened once to me.

Also if your charge line fails the smaller FLA battery does not last long when it’s being towed.

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by Deano17

Lincoln Corsair and Ford Escape both say you can tow the hybrid 4 down. It is listed in each of their manuals for 2022. And I believe the CVT is the ONLY Ford transmission that can be towed 4 down.

Mostly right. All the Escapes use a CVT transmission. As I understand it, the non-hybrids use a conventional CVT with a belt drive, and the hybrids use a set of planetary gears in the CVT and that is why it is towable and not the non-hybrid Escapes.

[twinboat]

The Escape and Maverick need to have the E- CVT transmission to be flat towable.

[heatherdawnc]

Originally Posted by Tskadberg

The car will often go into hibernation mode because the battery is low. This happens if you don’t drive it everyday. This is a common issue on ford escape forums. Since upgrading has not happened once to me.

Also if your charge line fails the smaller FLA battery does not last long when it’s being towed.

Our brake system has charger built in. Will that do it?

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by twinboat

The Escape and Maverick need to have the E- CVT transmission to be flat towable.

Yes, the HF45 CVT transmission that is in the AWD hybrids.

[avfordguy]

Originally Posted by F4Gary

Mostly right. All the Escapes use a CVT transmission. As I understand it, the non-hybrids use a conventional CVT with a belt drive, and the hybrids use a set of planetary gears in the CVT and that is why it is towable and not the non-hybrid Escapes.

Wrong for non hybrid escapes have a conventional auto trans it is not a cvt.
A cvt and a Ecvt are two different transmissions.

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by avfordguy

Wrong for non hybrid escapes have a conventional auto trans it is not a cvt.
A cvt and a Ecvt are two different transmissions.

Whoops, my bad. Non hybrids do have a conventional auto.

I had wondered why a conventional CVT was not towable but a eCVT was.
I just assumed the non hybrid Escape had gone to a CVT.


Here is a good description of the difference:


"The eCVT found on the Toyota Prius and other hybrids differs from CVTs found in other vehicles, such as the 2013 Nissan Altima or 2012 Scion iQ, because it does not use a belt or chain connected to a pair of variable pulleys. Instead, an eCVT uses electric motor/ generators to control the speeds of planetary gearset components. This allows the eCVT to continuously change the gear ratio, keeping the engine’s rpm in the sweet spot. Just like when driving other CVT-equipped vehicles, drivers of vehicles with eCVTs don’t feel the step change common to traditional automatic transmissions, yet the mechanisms (planetary gears) to achieve acceleration are largely the same."


Sorry for the confusion...