What Replaces “L” for downhill driving?

KRon9997

Heyoh! Every car I’ve owned has that handy “L“ gear next to ”D”. When traveling downhill in my Big Bend, what is the equivalent? That +/- toggle on the gearshift or something in GOAT mode? Not towing, just don’t want to ride the brake down long steep grades… TYIA!

The +/- on the gearshift is to shift between gears while in M - manual mode.

Read below for information on how to use M mode for hills. My truck has Hill Decent Control and it is awesome especially when towing.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...rshift lever to,button or paddle to downshift.

I guess that "gear lockout" is specific to F-150

Going to hijack this thread a bit because I see this question a lot.

@KRon9997 knows this already, but for those confused…

Automatic Ford vehicles often have a feature called “Low mode”. Low mode changes the fuel delivery rate, engine compression, and the transmission behavior to dramatically increase engine braking (and on hybrids it dramatically increases battery regeneration). Low mode serves the same purpose as compression braking (aka: Jake Brake) on diesel engines—gives you improve control of your vehicle while going down hills.

As @907Ford mentioned… on the Bronco that Low mode has been replaced by Manual mode. Which gives you a lot more control over how the transmission behaves when compared to Low mode. 100% awesome if you have a rough understanding of how transmissions work, but if you’ve only driven an automatic transmission it’ll take some practice.

And unlike Low mode, which is primarily used for going down hills… Manual mode can be used in a bunch of different situations. For example, if you combine Manual mode with Trail Control it gives you a ton of control over the vehicle while off-roading at slow speeds.

Those of you with the manual transmission Bronco obviously don’t have Manual mode because you already have complete control over the transmission. Because of that you also don’t have Trail Control. BUT, you do have something called Hill Decent Control. Very similar to Trail Control… except it only is suitable for going down hills.

RagnarKon

Going to hijack this thread a bit because I see this question a lot.

@KRon9997 knows this already, but for those confused…

Automatic Ford vehicles often have a feature called “Low mode”. Low mode changes the fuel delivery rate, engine compression, and the transmission behavior to dramatically increase engine braking (and on hybrids it dramatically increases battery regeneration). Low mode serves the same purpose as compression braking (aka: Jake Brake) on diesel engines—gives you improve control of your vehicle while going down hills.

As @907Ford mentioned… on the Bronco that Low mode has been replaced by Manual mode. Which gives you a lot more control over how the transmission behaves when compared to Low mode. 100% awesome if you have a rough understanding of how transmissions work, but if you’ve only driven an automatic transmission it’ll take some practice.

And unlike Low mode, which is primarily used for going down hills… Manual mode can be used in a bunch of different situations. For example, if you combine Manual mode with Trail Control it gives you a ton of control over the vehicle while off-roading at slow speeds.

Those of you with the manual transmission Bronco obviously don’t have Manual mode because you already have complete control over the transmission. Because of that you also don’t have Trail Control. BUT, you do have something called Hill Decent Control. Very similar to Trail Control… except it only is suitable for going down hills.

Super helpful, thanks! I haven't driven stick since HS, so I was reluctant to use that +/- control without some guidance. The first thread had a link to a table that referenced speeds and gears, that should help. I also assume there are some digital controls in place and the vehicle won't let me do things that will break it without some sort of alert.

907Ford

The +/- on the gearshift is to shift between gears while in M - manual mode.

Read below for information on how to use M mode for hills. My truck has Hill Decent Control and it is awesome especially when towing.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...rshift lever to,button or paddle to downshift.

Our owner's manual is quite informative and available on the Ford Pass app, the website and on the head unit in the Bronco.

Search for "Manually Shifting Gears" and "Hill Descent Control"