Shifting issues- 2011

[billb1981]

Howdy all,

I have a 2011 Explorer V6 with towing package.

Just picked up our new pontoon boat, and something doesn't seem quite right. The towing capacity on the Ex is 5,000 lbs. The boat/trailer weighs around 3,000 so no issues there.

Where the problem lies is when driving on highway around 60 mph, when letting off the gas, it will not upshift from 5th to 6th or perhaps 4th to 5th. Seems to downshift fine when I am going up hills, but runs at about 4000 RPM and will not shift up. Anyone have any thoughts on this before I take it to ford so at least I know what to tell them?

I've got 55,000 miles on it, so would be covered under powertrain I would hope, but just looking to know if anyone else has experienced this...

 

[peterk9]

Are you engaging the tow/haul button? According to the Owner's Guide that changes the shifting patterns.

The tow feature delays upshifts to reduce frequency of transmission
shifting. Tow also provides engine braking in all forward gears when the
transmission is in the D (Overdrive) position. This engine braking will
slow the vehicle and assist the driver in controlling the vehicle when
descending a grade. Depending on driving conditions and load
conditions, the transmission may downshift, slow the vehicle and control
the vehicle speed when descending a hill, without the accelerator pedal
being pressed.

You haven't added the model of your Explorer to your profile so that it appears in the margin. Do you have the Select Shift transmission that some models have? If so, have you tried using it?

Peter

 

[billb1981]

Thanks Peter.....Yes it's got the select shift, but....you were right about the tow/haul. I tried towing without the tow/haul for a short bit and noticed it shifted just as "normal." I looked in the manual, and it says you should use tow/haul when towing. I looked through the manual, and I could just be tired, but do you guys use the tow/haul all the time or when on hilly terrain? I know that feature is good to help on the transmission, but running 4,000 rpm at 60mph just doesn't make sense to me when I can run at 2,000.

 

[peterk9]

Thanks Peter.....Yes it's got the select shift, but....you were right about the tow/haul. I tried towing without the tow/haul for a short bit and noticed it shifted just as "normal." I looked in the manual, and it says you should use tow/haul when towing. I looked through the manual, and I could just be tired, but do you guys use the tow/haul all the time or when on hilly terrain? I know that feature is good to help on the transmission, but running 4,000 rpm at 60mph just doesn't make sense to me when I can run at 2,000.

I didn't have a tow package on the Explorer not on my current MKT. I don't think I'd want to be running at 4k rpm. Not sure if that is normal so I hope some other members who have towed can chime in here.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

When in tow/haul mode, the Ex will stay in a higher RPM band to stay within the power band of the motor when towing. This is the biggest reason you run a higher rpm. Personally, I think the N/A motor is really underpowered for towing.. even though it is rated for 5k with the tow package, it seems to really need to rev high to maintain speed.

I've towed my snowmobile trailer with 2 snowmobiles as well as my snowmobile trailer with my John Deere mower on it and was very surprised by how much you had to lay into the accelerator to maintain highway speeds.

I think your Ex is working as it is supposed to be with T/H mode on.

 

[billb1981]

Thanks for the responses....So the question is....am I damaging it by not using tow/haul mode? Like Peter was saying, running at 4,000 rpm at 60 mph just doesn't make sense to me, while I know it's designed that way, it can't be good for gas mileage.

 

[orangesoda123]

Thanks for the responses....So the question is....am I damaging it by not using tow/haul mode? Like Peter was saying, running at 4,000 rpm at 60 mph just doesn't make sense to me, while I know it's designed that way, it can't be good for gas mileage.

No, it won't damage it per se but you will cause excess wear/tear on the transmission if it has to shift all the time when your towing. If its not shifting a lot when T/H is off you should be fine. T/H mode will just change your shift points to help you get more towing power and less "gear hunting" at the expense of gas mileage. I wouldn't count on setting this to off saving you a lot of mpg though.

I'm guessing its acting normally as well. The peak torque output on the cyclone motors occurs right around 4000rpm so the computer will most likely want to keep it around that number.

 

[blwnsmoke]

As stated, no damage.... What I found myself doing was putting the Ex in Manual mode and shifting myself (you don't mention what trim you have so don't know if you have this option) on the hills. I'd downshift to 5th and sometimes 4th for hills and then upshift to 5th and 6th for cruising.

What you don't want is to bog your motor down. What I mean by this is running a lower rpm with the gas pedal at 50% when you could run a higher rpm at 30%. You will bog down and start to slow down until you downshift.