Trailer Sway/Traction Control Wont Stay off

[Randys1]

and that is a design flaw...it is set up to turn back on every time i turn on engine, i looked it up

When trailer sway is on you will notice the steering wheel wanting to get back to a straight line, this is a low performance condition...if you are an experienced driver as many of you are, you will not like it doing that...i sure dont

I will never that i know of pull a trailer, to have the default setting to on that you have to turn it off every time is of course a blunder...

oh well

 

[dco43054]

Design flaw? You can bet that it is designed to always return to the on state.

My MINI was like that, too. It always returned to Auto Stability Control on after turning the ignition off.

Are they trying to protect themselves? Yep.

 

[RSNovi]

Probably mandated by the government on the traction control.

 

[Randys1]

Design flaw? You can bet that it is designed to always return to the on state.

My MINI was like that, too. It always returned to Auto Stability Control on after turning the ignition off.

Are they trying to protect themselves? Yep.

I meant poor design, the trailer sway setting is the real stupid one, default to something 98% never do and the other 2% do 2% of the time, how absurd

 

[uniquename]

.if you are an experienced driver as many of you are

That's like when I hear someone say "let's all be adults about this" knowing damn well 90% won't be.

 

[Randys1]

That's like when I hear someone say "let's all be adults about this" knowing damn well 90% won't be.

Not sure what you mean, but I would be interested in the feedback of others, drive your exp with trailer sway on and traction control, then turn them both off and tell me your thoughts...

 

[uniquename]

Not sure what you mean, but I would be interested in the feedback of others, drive your exp with trailer sway on and traction control, then turn them both off and tell me your thoughts...

I mean you are speaking of people being experienced drivers. Ford is erring on the side of caution, as any auto maker does these days. They have to assume that most purchasers are crappy drivers because, let's face it...they probably are.

 

[Randys1]

I mean you are speaking of people being experienced drivers. Ford is erring on the side of caution, as any auto maker does these days. They have to assume that most purchasers are crappy drivers because, let's face it...they probably are.

yeah

I was just wondering about the key, i was hoping there was a setting for auto lock i.e. you walk away from the car, do nothing, and the doors lock

i dont think it has that though, if it does it must be part of the my key deal

 

[uniquename]

yeah

I was just wondering about the key, i was hoping there was a setting for auto lock i.e. you walk away from the car, do nothing, and the doors lock

i dont think it has that though, if it does it must be part of the my key deal

You were wondering about the key and auto lock?

Man, my comprehension sucks. I thought this was about trailer sway and traction control.

 

[dco43054]

yeah

I was just wondering about the key, i was hoping there was a setting for auto lock i.e. you walk away from the car, do nothing, and the doors lock

i dont think it has that though, if it does it must be part of the my key deal

The MINI had a neat deadbolt lock feature for a while. You hit the button, and it locked the doors, and they could only be opened with the key.

That got kind of annoying for people who happened to be in your car when you walked away, and then they couldn't get out. Interesting feature, but it got changed t

I'm not saying you are wrong - it would be nice to have all of your preferences saved - but think about it from a manufacturer's perspective. Someone else gets into your vehicle with your key, gets into an accident, and then sues them because they didn't have a "safety feature" reset itself.

A manufacturer is going to err on the side of liability limitation, and tell you if you want to do something different, you have to make a conscious choice and take a separate action to defeat the feature every time you drive.

 

[Vic]

and that is a design flaw...it is set up to turn back on every time i turn on engine, i looked it up

When trailer sway is on you will notice the steering wheel wanting to get back to a straight line, this is a low performance condition...if you are an experienced driver as many of you are, you will not like it doing that...i sure dont

I will never that i know of pull a trailer, to have the default setting to on that you have to turn it off every time is of course a blunder...

oh well

What you describe as a "Design Flaw" is actually required by Federal Vehicle Safety Standards. The trailer sway feature is a part of the stability control system and is thus governed by the Federal rules covering ESC systems, specifically, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 49 CFR Parts 571 and 585 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Electronic Stability Control Systems; Controls and Displays.

That Rule states: "The vehicle's ESC system must always return to the manufacturer's original default ESC mode that satisfies the requirements of S5.1 and S5.2 at the initiation of each new ignition cycle, regardless of what ESC mode the driver had previously selected"

The rulemaking process discussed the reasoning behind this in the following paragraph found on page 18 of the referenced source:

"In certain circumstances, drivers may have legitimate reasons to disengage the ESC system or limit its ability to intervene, such as when the vehicle is stuck in sand/gravel, is being used while equipped with snow chains, or is being run on a track for maximum performance. Accordingly, under this final rule, vehicle manufacturers may include a driverselectable switch that places the ESC system in a mode in which it does not satisfy the performance requirements of the standard (e.g., “sport” mode or fulloff mode). However, if the vehicle manufacturer chooses this option, it must ensure that the ESC system always returns to the fullyfunctional default mode at the initiation of each new ignition cycle, regardless of the mode the driver had previously selected (with certain exceptions for low speed offroad axle/transfer case selections that turn off ESC, but cannot be reset electronically). "

source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Rulemaking/Rules/Associated%20Files/ESC_FR_03_2007.pdf

 

[aarmchair]

good find and interesting to know that. It now makes sense to me anyway.

 

[Vic]

It makes sense from a design perspective. When you get in a vehicle, I think most drivers would expect the Stability Control and other safety features to be turned on automatically.

If you're not towing a trailer, I can't think of any examples where the rear of the vehicle would have an alternating lateral force applied to it which would engage the trailer sway feature.

An experienced driver may be able to handle trailer sway through steering inputs (and proper trailer loading), but no driver can apply the brakes to just one side of a vehicle at a time, which is what the trailer sway feature does to damp out the trailer resonance before the trailer even starts to sway much.

 

[Randys1]

It makes sense from a design perspective. When you get in a vehicle, I think most drivers would expect the Stability Control and other safety features to be turned on automatically.

If you're not towing a trailer, I can't think of any examples where the rear of the vehicle would have an alternating lateral force applied to it which would engage the trailer sway feature.

An experienced driver may be able to handle trailer sway through steering inputs (and proper trailer loading), but no driver can apply the brakes to just one side of a vehicle at a time, which is what the trailer sway feature does to damp out the trailer resonance before the trailer even starts to sway much.

maybe it has nothing to do with trailer sway, i noticed from the first minute driving the vehicle that the steering wheel wants to get back to a straight line when turning, it has more pull back to center than I am use to...

not a biggie but it was very noticeable within the first minute of driving it

 

[Brilevine]

Trailer Sway False Activation

Doing 65 on the highway the other day in my 2011 explorer, the vehicle started to violently shake/swerve and a notification "slow down, trailer sway" appeared on the screen. This was absolutely terrifying - I wasn't towing anything and I don't even have a tow hitch on my vehicle. Do I chock this up to a software flaw? I am scared to drive this vehicle again on the highway - as I had my wife and 10mo old son in the car, I am ready to get rid of it because of this and a year long history of weird software glitches like "check brake system" errors that my dealership cannot offer any resolution on - and now this....anyone ever hear of trailer sway kicking in randomly/falsely?
thanks

 

[peterk9]

I had a 2011 Limited and I believe it had a button that was labelled TOW between the button for the liftgate and the Active Park Assist. I also did not have the tow package. I never received any "trailer sway" messages and routinely drove the highway at 65 - 70 mph. In fact, I didn't notice any difference in the vehicle's handling with the TOW button on or off.
I believe that the message you received is just a warning and nothing else. I'm also guessing that this isn't the first time you've driven at 65. Could be just a software glitch. I also don't recall another issue like this being mentioned in the 5 years I've been on here.

Peter

 

[Junkmann2]

Is this system standard with the class III trailer tow package on the 2016 Explorer Limited? I don't remember seeing any thing about this when I ordered the limited with the Class III tow package. I did see it on the window sticker of our 2016 Sport, but I have yet to hook up a trailer to either vehicle, since it is winter, and I won't pull the boat trailer until spring. The Limited has Lane Assist, which tries to keep you from moving to another lane, which I don't care for. It is amazing how much different the Sport drives in comparison to the Limited.

 

[peterk9]

Is this system standard with the class III trailer tow package on the 2016 Explorer Limited? I don't remember seeing any thing about this when I ordered the limited with the Class III tow package. I did see it on the window sticker of our 2016 Sport, but I have yet to hook up a trailer to either vehicle, since it is winter, and I won't pull the boat trailer until spring. The Limited has Lane Assist, which tries to keep you from moving to another lane, which I don't care for. It is amazing how much different the Sport drives in comparison to the Sport.

You may want to re read your last sentence.
If you have the tow package then you will have Trailer Sway Control. Description is in the Manual under 'Towing'.

Peter