2020 Expedition- horrible steering!

[wrangler6061]

@AKentPhoto Yeah.. this "tall from the waist up" ,thing is something most folks don't have to deal with or understand. I haven't found a vehicle yet where I TRULY have enough headroom if a sunroof is involved...The sunroof just takes up so much valuable headroom real estate. Like I said in an earlier post, I used to marvel at how I sat up two inches higher in the seat than my dad - even accounting for the fact that he was bald and I'm not.. and he was two inches TALLER than me.. (so.. he was "all legs" and I am "all torso"). Either you have this problem or you don't ;-) Thankfully, (and it might be a special order one day) - I CAN get a Limited model w/o a sunroof... it would be a bit of a "low end" Limited.. no CCD.. but.. it would have some of the features I want on a Limited.

@dlcorbett: When I rented this "loaded" XLT for the weekend.. while I DID play with the various drive modes.. especially "Sport".... (and did notice the big difference in transmission shift patterns.. which is what I thought was the main thing the drive mode selection affected) - I guess I didn't pay any attention to the fact that the Sport mode would have made the steering a bit more responsive. I'll watch for that the next time I take a test drive.

Happy and safe 4th to all.

 

[Deadman]

@AKentPhoto Yeah.. this "tall from the waist up" ,thing is something most folks don't have to deal with or understand. I haven't found a vehicle yet where I TRULY have enough headroom if a sunroof is involved...The sunroof just takes up so much valuable headroom real estate. Like I said in an earlier post, I used to marvel at how I sat up two inches higher in the seat than my dad - even accounting for the fact that he was bald and I'm not.. and he was two inches TALLER than me.. (so.. he was "all legs" and I am "all torso"). Either you have this problem or you don't ;-) Thankfully, (and it might be a special order one day) - I CAN get a Limited model w/o a sunroof... it would be a bit of a "low end" Limited.. no CCD.. but.. it would have some of the features I want on a Limited.

@dlcorbett: When I rented this "loaded" XLT for the weekend.. while I DID play with the various drive modes.. especially "Sport".... (and did notice the big difference in transmission shift patterns.. which is what I thought was the main thing the drive mode selection affected) - I guess I didn't pay any attention to the fact that the Sport mode would have made the steering a bit more responsive. I'll watch for that the next time I take a test drive.

Happy and safe 4th to all.

On an XLT, the drive modes can not adjust the suspension, so you won't feel much like on a Platinum or upper trim Limited with CCD.

 

[wrangler6061]

@Deadman: So.. the million dollar question becomes... If I can ONLY do a Limited "base package" (i.e. "300A" package therefore no CCD).. Will the drive modes "tighten up" the steering or ONLY affect the transmission shift patterns? It appears that the CCD on the Limited is not a stand alone option best I can tell...

 

[Deadman]

The CCD suspension is computer controlled and adjusts the shock valving stiffness.
I'm not 100% sure it affects the actual steering ratio, but it definitely adjusts the feel it inputs to the driver when you switch modes.

 

[LokiWolf]

Modes do not affect ratio on the Expedition, but does change “boost” to the Steering. It takes more physical effort to move the Steering in Sport vs Normal/Econ.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[dlcorbett]

@AKentPhoto Yeah.. this "tall from the waist up" ,thing is something most folks don't have to deal with or understand. I haven't found a vehicle yet where I TRULY have enough headroom if a sunroof is involved...The sunroof just takes up so much valuable headroom real estate. Like I said in an earlier post, I used to marvel at how I sat up two inches higher in the seat than my dad - even accounting for the fact that he was bald and I'm not.. and he was two inches TALLER than me.. (so.. he was "all legs" and I am "all torso"). Either you have this problem or you don't ;-) Thankfully, (and it might be a special order one day) - I CAN get a Limited model w/o a sunroof... it would be a bit of a "low end" Limited.. no CCD.. but.. it would have some of the features I want on a Limited.

@dlcorbett: When I rented this "loaded" XLT for the weekend.. while I DID play with the various drive modes.. especially "Sport".... (and did notice the big difference in transmission shift patterns.. which is what I thought was the main thing the drive mode selection affected) - I guess I didn't pay any attention to the fact that the Sport mode would have made the steering a bit more responsive. I'll watch for that the next time I take a test drive.

Happy and safe 4th to all.

The expy is very capable handler, but normal modes feel does not want you to explore it. To give you an idea of what i did when i had her, when goin to and from dc from from dover when i lived there, there is a 15 mi stretch of curvy back road you had to drive, with limit of 50mph. Ive done it in the expy, my 09 nav, mazda 6 and cx5, ford fusion (i know not a big sample size). In normal, it drives well, but only really as good as the nav. The nav had lighter steering with actual feedback, not as stable as the expy though. I could ride comfortably on it at about 65, but the steering always felt like it would "fight" my inputs. But in sport, it would liven up, it would get slightly lighter, more natural, the wheel felt less gluey, but i could feel the wheels better and could better place the car. Also, the system would add kickback to the wheel. The same road, im doing 85 comfortably(the springs and tires cant do more than that). All this to say, ford made a decision with the setup, but they did a good job calibrating the steering with the drive modes. I wish normal was more natural feeling like my nav was, but sport mode steering felt as good or better than my mazdas. Now about the tranny setup...

 

[wrangler6061]

@dlcorbett Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like I need to test drive another Expy in the near future...

 

[JP Dye]

The steering is only one of the short comings. I have had Expeditions since 1999. Last one was 2008 with 317k miles.
I wish I had it back. I will be buying a pre-2013 Expedition and keeping it. For me the new cars are nothing you can keep for 10 years. Why?
$1800 LED brake light assy for starters.

 

[dlcorbett]

The steering is only one of the short comings. I have had Expeditions since 1999. Last one was 2008 with 317k miles.
I wish I had it back. I will be buying a pre-2013 Expedition and keeping it. For me the new cars are nothing you can keep for 10 years. Why?
$1800 LED brake light assy for starters.

You currently have a 4th gen then? What dont you like about it?