2011 seems to be holding me back with brakes or transmission | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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2011 seems to be holding me back with brakes or transmission

jumpervb

Well-Known Member
Joined
March 26, 2008
Messages
105
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City, State
roanoke,va.
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 XLT & 2011 XLT
My 2011 seems to be applying the brakes to slow me down for no apparent reason. I have seen a thread about the brakes being automatically applied by the curve response system?
But it will hold the explorer back when going in a straight line and nowhere near excessive speed. It is more obvious when I let off the gas going downhill it's like the brake is being applied automatically.
Is this normal or do I need to take it in?
 



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Strange. Are you sure the parking brake is fully disengaged?
 






I've heard someone else mention this too but he said he only notices this when driving on gravel roads. I think my Ex did this same thing this morning, going down a hill. Like it doesn't coast/shift into neutral when you're neither accelerating or decelerating. It only happened for a 2-3 seconds so I will have to test this again.

I've heard theories about how this is a fuel saving feature but that doesn't make sense. Why brake the vehicle (engine braking or otherwise) going down-hill when you could BOOST MPGs by coasting? If this were a hybrid I might buy it because of the energy-regenerative braking system.
 






Strange. Are you sure the parking brake is fully disengaged?

It's not the parking brake.
I can feel an obvious slowdown or holdback when I let off the gas but it does not try to hold me back when accelerating like a stuck parking brake would.
 






I've heard someone else mention this too but he said he only notices this when driving on gravel roads. I think my Ex did this same thing this morning, going down a hill. Like it doesn't coast/shift into neutral when you're neither accelerating or decelerating. It only happened for a 2-3 seconds so I will have to test this again.

I've heard theories about how this is a fuel saving feature but that doesn't make sense. Why brake the vehicle (engine braking or otherwise) going down-hill when you could BOOST MPGs by coasting? If this were a hybrid I might buy it because of the energy-regenerative braking system.

Exactly!
 






My Camry does that, it's a characteristic of the drivetrain, I was told by the dealer. Just another thing I don't like about it. 2 other Camry's I drove on the lot did the same thing. Let off the gas on even flat land, and it feels like an engine brake. If you have your foot resting on the gas, even very slightly, it doesn't do it. :dunno:
 


















I don't have mine yet, so I can only say RTFM, sorry. I just remember seeing something in the tons I read about towing mode and braking. It rang a bell here.
 






I'm not sure if it will say tow mode or not on the dash, you would think it would.

The way you get into/out of town mode is by pushing the "tow" button just under the headlight dial. It should be next to the power liftgate button (if you have that option).
 






I have the towing package on mine and the tow button is located under the steering wheel to the left. I'm 90% sure it was NOT on but I will check when I leave work today. Speaking of which, I noticed the Explorer will reset some things back to default (off) when you stop the vehicle. It does not remember any settings apart from temperature and radio station (heated seats turn off when you had them on before, TMS setting is reset to normal, etc).

Edit - Forgot to mention one tidbit. In my glove-box was a small piece of paper that said "Your vehicle was chosen at random for drive-train quality assurance tests (or something similar). This added 13 miles to the odometer. We hope you enjoy your new vehicle from Ford Motor Company." So I would think if this braking issue is "bad" then A) the QA guys were sleeping or B) they didn't notice it because they had no hills.
 






I've heard someone else mention this too but he said he only notices this when driving on gravel roads. I think my Ex did this same thing this morning, going down a hill. Like it doesn't coast/shift into neutral when you're neither accelerating or decelerating. It only happened for a 2-3 seconds so I will have to test this again.

I've heard theories about how this is a fuel saving feature but that doesn't make sense. Why brake the vehicle (engine braking or otherwise) going down-hill when you could BOOST MPGs by coasting? If this were a hybrid I might buy it because of the energy-regenerative braking system.
Smart Charging Alternator - A regenerative charging system......increases alternator output when the vehicle is braking or decelerating, coverting the moving (kinetic) energy into electrical energy. Could that be what is happening? Just a thought.
 






I believe mine does the same thing too. I notice that if I just barely touch the throttle, it feels like it's coasting as I would expect it too, but if I'm fully off the throttle, it feels like it's slowing me down ever so slightly. It may be due to the variable valve timing and how the engine allows airflow go through (just a theory). I've found that I've adjusted to it pretty quickly once I realized what was going on.
 






I've heard someone else mention this too but he said he only notices this when driving on gravel roads. I think my Ex did this same thing this morning, going down a hill. Like it doesn't coast/shift into neutral when you're neither accelerating or decelerating. It only happened for a 2-3 seconds so I will have to test this again.

I've heard theories about how this is a fuel saving feature but that doesn't make sense. Why brake the vehicle (engine braking or otherwise) going down-hill when you could BOOST MPGs by coasting? If this were a hybrid I might buy it because of the energy-regenerative braking system.

That is it!
Page 288 of the owners guide (automatic transmission operation) talks about exactly what I've been experiencing. A low to moderate braking sensation when the foot is removed from the accelerator. It basically shuts of the fuel to the engine to save fuel. I don't understand that but as long as what I'm feeling is what it is supposed to be doing I'm good with it!
Now if someone could tell me what the plus + minus - on the shifter does or means I'll be happy!
 












I'm not sure if it will say tow mode or not on the dash, you would think it would.

The way you get into/out of town mode is by pushing the "tow" button just under the headlight dial. It should be next to the power liftgate button (if you have that option).

It does. When I got home I tried that and you can't miss the message that pops up and you have to acknowledge it by pushing ok before it will go away and then it is still shown as tow/haul under the fuel guage.
 












My wife's Camry does this very noticeably. Happens occasionally on the Ex. This is normal.
 






Mystery solved it seems. Driving home tonight I paid attention to this very closely and it's just as Draper describes. It's very slight and you have to feel for it to really notice it and if I just rest my foot on the gas pedal, it seems to go away and I coast. I'm actually trying to go for max MPGs for my first tank even on the new engine so I accelerate like a grandma and coast as much as possible.
 



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As I said, I don't have mine yet, but I did drive the new one my parent's bought to drive them to the airport and then to work and back today.

I never noticed what you were talking about, but now that I think of it, I remember one instance that stuck out. I was on a 6 lane divided highway that is around 55mph, but before rush hour and pretty busy. I was playing with the adaptive cruise and a guy changed lanes in front of me. He didn't cut me off, but the adaptive doesn't like to get any closer than 50ft to the car in front. Anyway, when he did it, the Explorer let off the gas so quick I thought it had actually touched up on the brake and I remember thinking I would need to check the manual to see if it uses the independent braking to slow down for the cruise.

I'm thinking that I just experienced what you guys talked about here instead. not bad, just interesting.
 






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