2019 Max overheating when towing

[duneslider]

I would find a different dealer to work with. There is no way you should be overheating under these circumstances. 50mph should be providing plenty of air flow to keep it cool.

How steep was the climb that you were over 3500rpm for a sustained amount of time. With the 10 speed I just am not seeing that kind of rpm while towing.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Can I be the know-nothing idiot here? Did you get to the point where you got all the overheating lights on the dash board with associated error messages and have the truck kick you out of tow-haul mode? Or just to the lower piopnt point that you got first information message and have the truck turn off the A/C automatically as described in the owners manual? Or was this just you looking at the numeric displays on the dashboard and saying "gee, that seems too hot to me; maybe I should let it cool down?"

 

[shane_th_ee]

If you weren't getting error messages... Page 58 shows an average engine oil temp between 212 and 230F and 240 isn't that much higher. Without looking at the detailed test procs, I'm pretty sure that's not a towing/heavy payload test.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/812520.pdf

 

[byz250f]

I would find a different dealer to work with. There is no way you should be overheating under these circumstances. 50mph should be providing plenty of air flow to keep it cool.

How steep was the climb that you were over 3500rpm for a sustained amount of time. With the 10 speed I just am not seeing that kind of rpm while towing.

3500RPM sustained was a major surprise to me also. I have towed a 8300lb, 34ft long trailer all over in 90-95F temps, towing at 65-70mph even up grades and only had 3000-3500rpms for 30 seconds max...most towing is at 2000-2300rpms.

 

[cmiles97]

I was using 91 octane as well. The transmission temperature hit 240 then coolant hit 240 and I turned off ac and pulled off left motor running for about ten minutes and temperature were down to 205 and I started again. I didn't push over about 3500 rpms the rest of the trip and it didn't go over 225 on transmission again. Ambient temperature were about 105. I saw some of the F150 forums about overheating and I have seen bigger transmission coolers for them. Watching the gauges the transmission temperature seemed to push the coolant temperature up. So, I was thinking transmission cooler first. But I was hope to find one someone else had used.

As for the dealer I agree I should complain more but at this point I don't have confidence that they will be any help.

Next time, if you didn't already, take some pictures or video of the high temps. That will show that this is an issue.

I have a 17 EL 4x4 without the heavy duty cooling and towed in Alabama summers in bumper to bumper traffic and through mountains in the summer in VA, PA & NY and have never seen the radiator temp move from the middle, although I did see transmission temps in the 220s in 95F humid bumper to bumper traffic in central Alabama. If I did more towing, I definitely put in a transmission cooler.

 

[duneslider]

3500RPM sustained was a major surprise to me also. I have towed a 8300lb, 34ft long trailer all over in 90-95F temps, towing at 65-70mph even up grades and only had 3000-3500rpms for 30 seconds max...most towing is at 2000-2300rpms.

Are you sure you weren't in manual mode by chance? I just do not see the transmission staying in a gear and running at 3500rpm for a long time unless you are going slow and up something really steep. I have only towed twice with my expedition and nothing I have encountered has done that. With 10 gears the transmission seems really good at keeping the rpms where it wants them. Running sustained at 3500 could heat the engine up. I have never seen my coolant temp gauge move but on my Hemi running at a sustained 3500 would certainly cause the coolant temp to rise.

I don't know how good the transmission cooler is on the expedition, however, every transmission guy I have ever talked to has said an extra cooler for the transmission is a good thing and keeping transmission temps down is a good thing. Maybe I should explore it a little more and see what the expedition has. I added another to my JK when I went with bigger tires and it keeps the temps in check and I haven't seen it climb ever.

 

[oldfordguy]

We have a 2018 w/HD tow package, 3.70 gears and live in Georgia. We tow a 30 footer 7-8000 lbs. Only use regular gas now since I could see very little difference. Never got hot on 85-90 degree days at 70 mph or better. I just use the tow mode and set the cruise. It should not get hot! If you don't seem to be satisfied with your dealer, ask for the contact info for the Ford rep for your area and ask for a dealer that can handle that type of problem. Some dealers are better with oil changes and tires.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Are you sure you weren't in manual mode by chance? I just do not see the transmission staying in a gear and running at 3500rpm for a long time unless you are going slow and up something really steep.

The other thing that would do it would be if you were in automatic mode but had locked out the higher gears and forgot to re-enable them. Say, you wanted to run in a lower gear during a descent to maximize engine braking, so you pressed the minus button until you hit the gear you wanted. And then got to the bottom of the hill and never pressed the plus button to re-enable the gears you just disabled...

But I still really want to know if the OP got any of the high temp error messages. 'Cause I'm curious as to what the set points are for those errors.

 

[jak1221]

I never got error message limiting power, but temperatures were too high for my comfort. So, I pulled off. The temperatures cooled down in about 10 minutes and I started out again.

Also, wanted to clarify I didn't hold rpm at 3500rpms. I just did not let engine go over 3500rpms. I was not in manual mode I just reduced throttle and speed with grades to keep rpms down to keep heat down.

 

[byathread]

7000# trailer across PA and back in 90+ degree heat the highest trans temp was 223 (had display on entire time and temp never above 218 on highway - cruise on between 60-75 mostly). 95+ degree heat at lower country road speeds I saw 227 after a slow crawl/stop and go uphill to a stop sign. It dropped right back down once underway again.

I'll be keeping an eye on my temps even closer now when towing! 240 is (used to be) cooking the trans fluid.

I read somewhere that this 10 speed is filled for life.
Not sure what temp Mercon ULV starts to break down, but, I know traditional trans fluid broke down exponentially with temps.
In my '05 tacoma, hottest probe was at the torque converter (with factory trans cooler). It'd go to 235 for a little bit and then bump down depending on how hard it was working. Pan temp never over 225. But this alone made me replace trans fluid. It kept going no problems ~1000 miles towing at max rated capacity...
This is what I read:
8. Transmission Fluid
Mercon ULV, a transmission fluid specially designed for the 10-speed transmission, follows the trend of ever-thinning viscosity experienced by transmission fluids and engine oils across the board. Considering that the viscosity of most transmission fluids fall between 6-7.5 centistokes, Mercon ULV’s 4.5 centistoke rating is impressive. Reducing both friction and risk of hydraulic pump overload, the fluid (combined with a new generation of filter) plays a key role in regulating temperature and efficiency. It is also designed to last the life of the transmission
https://www.autoinfluence.com/11-things-you-need-to-know-about-ford-gms-10-speed-transmission/