Yesterday at 10:58 pm
Sorry in advance if this is covered in another thread. I could not find one.
We flat towed our 23 Wildrack and now our 26 Badlands behind a 45' diesel pusher. We utilized an Airforce One breaking system on the '23 and now an M&G on the '26. Never have had an issue until now. As a preface, we installed a dc/dc charger to the battery with the install of the M&G as well as a battery monitor (with RF capability) that transmits the battery status real time to the cockpit. After towing for thousands of miles, our 26' blew the tranny and nobody can really tell us why. Thankfully, the dealer we were near replaced the tranny under warranty. During the process we were told by the technician at Ford that we could not flat tow with assisted breaking on the Bronco. Nevermind the pesky laws in 49 states that require it. Turns our not to be true and we hopefully educated that tech and the dealer a bit. However, we did learn that there is a specific process one must go through (RTFM - Read the f***ing manual) which requires one to let the car go to sleep (no keys nearby or interaction for 5 mins), and then remove fuses 29 & 28 from the engine compartment fuse panel) in addition to the other flat tow proceedures. They told us that not doing so caused the car to "wake up" during towing when brakes are applied and can then throw it out of flat tow mode. Not sure that's entirely true given we hooked up, towed and unhooked 100's of times with no issue. However that is now our process. Follow the manuals instructions, video it all with narration and hope that the next dealer will also provide warranty coverage if it happens again. Our battery did not go dead and the dealer confirmed as much and tested it. There is also a specific process at the end to come out of flat tow and reinstall the fuses. Please note that both us and our dealer firmly believe there is a step in the manual that is wrong and should not be there. During the process of taking the car out of flat tow mode, step 7 tells you to use the brake and start the engine. Step 8 tells you to keep your foot off the brake, hit the ignition button to put the car in accessory mode. That can't happen if you complete step 7 so they told us to skip that step... it was a misprint. BTW, Ford corporate and their tech support will not opine at all if step 7 is wrong. They played the "we don't tell anyone anything lest we get sued game." We did today flat tow for 5 hours using the complete process and everything worked fine. We were a basket of nerves but I guess that one just has to accept that if it happens, and if you are near a dealer, you can get you car back in about 14 days. FORD NEEDS A SW FIX TO THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS A HARDWARE FIX. WHO DESIGNED THIS?????? Hope this is helpful to the community.
We flat towed our 23 Wildrack and now our 26 Badlands behind a 45' diesel pusher. We utilized an Airforce One breaking system on the '23 and now an M&G on the '26. Never have had an issue until now. As a preface, we installed a dc/dc charger to the battery with the install of the M&G as well as a battery monitor (with RF capability) that transmits the battery status real time to the cockpit. After towing for thousands of miles, our 26' blew the tranny and nobody can really tell us why. Thankfully, the dealer we were near replaced the tranny under warranty. During the process we were told by the technician at Ford that we could not flat tow with assisted breaking on the Bronco. Nevermind the pesky laws in 49 states that require it. Turns our not to be true and we hopefully educated that tech and the dealer a bit. However, we did learn that there is a specific process one must go through (RTFM - Read the f***ing manual) which requires one to let the car go to sleep (no keys nearby or interaction for 5 mins), and then remove fuses 29 & 28 from the engine compartment fuse panel) in addition to the other flat tow proceedures. They told us that not doing so caused the car to "wake up" during towing when brakes are applied and can then throw it out of flat tow mode. Not sure that's entirely true given we hooked up, towed and unhooked 100's of times with no issue. However that is now our process. Follow the manuals instructions, video it all with narration and hope that the next dealer will also provide warranty coverage if it happens again. Our battery did not go dead and the dealer confirmed as much and tested it. There is also a specific process at the end to come out of flat tow and reinstall the fuses. Please note that both us and our dealer firmly believe there is a step in the manual that is wrong and should not be there. During the process of taking the car out of flat tow mode, step 7 tells you to use the brake and start the engine. Step 8 tells you to keep your foot off the brake, hit the ignition button to put the car in accessory mode. That can't happen if you complete step 7 so they told us to skip that step... it was a misprint. BTW, Ford corporate and their tech support will not opine at all if step 7 is wrong. They played the "we don't tell anyone anything lest we get sued game." We did today flat tow for 5 hours using the complete process and everything worked fine. We were a basket of nerves but I guess that one just has to accept that if it happens, and if you are near a dealer, you can get you car back in about 14 days. FORD NEEDS A SW FIX TO THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS A HARDWARE FIX. WHO DESIGNED THIS?????? Hope this is helpful to the community.