Hill Descent & Terrain Management problem
The first time I engaged the hill descent the vehicle made some horrible grinding noises and the vehicle jerked intermittently and uncomfortably off an on.
It continues to make these pretty awful fairly loud noises at the front end on the driver's side in hill descent mode but the jerkiness isn't as bad and left cornering seems worse than right cornering.
Using the Snow/Gravel mode on mostly corners in hills and descents it also makes the noises - that really don't sound right.
It seems to me like the ABS is kicking in under torque/cornering scenarios - as it seems to be engaging against the transmission trying to turn the front wheels at different rates.
To get around this I put it in Mud/Rut mode which I think turns off the ABS as the ABS light comes on but don't experience the problem.
I've had it in twice to the dealer with the first time them saying everything was working normally. The second time took a ride with the mechanic who says that Ford is aware of the issue but are working on a programming fix.
The mechanic also said that the City of Colorado Springs owns a couple of them and takes them up/down Pikes Peak - but they are also having the same issues.
I live up a 2 mile gravel road in Colorado with 6-10% grades climbing/descending about 2K ft regularly - which probably isn't your everyday scenario but its where I experience all of my problems.
Hopefully Ford will come up with a program fix and that's all it is but I also hope there is no long term damage.
Otherwise we really love the vehicle.
Here's a link to a video on YouTube of the noises I'm describing with Hill Descent and Snow Mode engaged.
http://youtu.be/lhIVtimyLlc