2018 Expedition Max

[Bill Schell]

Hello Forum. This is my first post on the site. My wife and I are considering the purchase of an Expedition MAX. My brother purchased a used 2017 and really loves it. I drove it once from Scottsdale to Yuma and was very impressed with the ride and performance. We prefer lighter colored interiors but the "Dune" color offered on the pre 2018 years is to yellow in tone for our taste. We really like the "Medium Stone" color available on the 2018+ years.

One big change starting in the 2018 model year was the new "Rotary Shift Knob" in the center console. I've been hearing about some issues with these (starting with prior year/model Fords); the "return to park" feature, getting stuck in "P" position, etc. Additionally, its location in the console seems ripe for inadvertently getting moved from say "drive" position to "R" while sailing down the freeway . I presume there is a built in safeguard for such a condition?

I would like to hear from forum members who drive Expeditions having this gear selector design. What issues if any have you experienced?

Thanks!

 

[nate6966]

I've got an 18 Platinum and was not excited about the gear selector knob either.
Granted, we only have 2k miles on it so far, but we love it and haven't had a single instance of regret. No problems at all with the gear selector. It's actually surprised us a few times with the safety guards - gotta have your foot on the brake to shift from park, shifts to park for you if you open the driver's door and your seatbelt is unbuckled, etc.

 

[Bill Schell]

shifts to park for you if you open the driver's door and your seatbelt is unbuckled, etc.

Thanks for the reply. What happens if you're backing down a boat ramp with the door open and w/o your seatbelt on (I do this pretty frequently)?

 

[nate6966]

Thanks for the reply. What happens if you're backing down a boat ramp with the door open and w/o your seatbelt on (I do this pretty frequently)?

I wondered the same thing, backing up with the door open intentionally.
Be aware it will happen once, and then you shift from park into gear WHILE you have your seatbelt off and the door is open, then you'll be good to go.

 

[dlcorbett]

Dnt have a max but have a swb. Once you learn the dial, it becomes second nature and its easier to shift into gears with it and its faster. As far as the drive, it rides lighter and tighter than the 17 minus models, its faster, better gas mileage and the interior is miles better.

 

[Vicious]

During a recent trip I rented a 2019 Limited and was going about 70 on the highway when my girlfriend (who is used to playing with the iDrive controller in our BMW) turned the gear knob into reverse. I didn’t see it happen right away but noticed the vehicle completely lose power. The transmission is smart enough to only let you go into neutral. I shifted back into drive and all was ok, scared us both pretty good though.

 

[Deadman]

I love my 18, but as all new vehicles are electronic nightmares, so they babysit you and won't let you do many of the things we are used to doing.
Mine will slam into park if I pop my door open at 5-10 mph and try to shear the park pin off inside the transmission. Not cool , but a stupid safety thing.

 

[Adieu]

Freakin wheel reinventors

What was wrong with the good ol column shifter?

 

[dlcorbett]

Column shifters were never that great. They always got in the way of your dashboard. Same for the console shifter, but less so. I prefer the console shifter, n the dial has its own problems, but nuffin to deserve all this hate. The new gms are gettin buttons, only the foreigns will have traditional shifters, which will most likely change on their redesigns.

 

[Bill Schell]

Mine will slam into park if I pop my door open at 5-10 mph and try to shear the park pin off inside the transmission. Not cool , but a stupid safety thing.

This is exactly the concerns I have over these electronic shifters. Getting use to them and their location is one thing, but an unexpected action like that could be really expensive. I wonder if that is driver door only? Not uncommon for a passenger to open a door while in motion; (i.e. notices the seat belt strap is caught in door jam or that the door isn't fully shut). I would hope Ford's Engineering team would account for such scenarios - but did they? These are the "gems" I want to mine before the purchase.