Caution: engine will stall rolling backwards

[WCAWI]

I totaled out my 2014 on my driveway. There was about 1/2" of snow and the driveway is steep. I was testing for traction so I stopped to see how slippery it was. I rolled backwards in drive a short distance and the engine quit. Of course no more power steering, or brakes and no engine power to drive forward. It would have been an easy save since it was in 4 wheel drive. Off the side and into a tree I went. The insurance company totaled it. I'm going to contact Ford an see if its designed into the PCM to shut the engine off to save the trans or some other reason.

I wanted to share here and maybe keep someone else from having this happen to them!

I have an auto repair shop and do a lot of transmission work, and I don't know of a reason why the trans could kill the engine. Its just a fluid coupling and lock-up shouldn't come on at that low speed.
I also have an Escape and tested it with that and it also kills rolling backwards. I read Toyotas and Mercedes will also.

 

[JExpedition07]

There is a fuel pump shutoff that shuts the engine if the truck slips.

 

[Adieu]

I totaled out my 2014 on my driveway. There was about 1/2" of snow and the driveway is steep. I was testing for traction so I stopped to see how slippery it was. I rolled backwards in drive a short distance and the engine quit. Of course no more power steering, or brakes and no engine power to drive forward. It would have been an easy save since it was in 4 wheel drive. Off the side and into a tree I went. The insurance company totaled it. I'm going to contact Ford an see if its designed into the PCM to shut the engine off to save the trans or some other reason.

I wanted to share here and maybe keep someone else from having this happen to them!

I have an auto repair shop and do a lot of transmission work, and I don't know of a reason why the trans could kill the engine. Its just a fluid coupling and lock-up shouldn't come on at that low speed.
I also have an Escape and tested it with that and it also kills rolling backwards. I read Toyotas and Mercedes will also.

Thats messed up.

On a side note, why did you keep doing that with your vehicles, trying for a class action or something???

PS shoulda stomped the park/ebrake and tossed shifter into park ... probably wouldnt save you from bumper damage considering how notoriously weak the park brake is, but mightve avoided totalling the thing

There is a fuel pump shutoff that shuts the engine if the truck slips.

Is there a way to disable that pice of junk?

Ive had it trip on mine for no reason whatsoever twice already

Seems crazy dangerous and ultimately pointless

 

[deweysmith]

Seems crazy dangerous and ultimately pointless

Until you’re in an accident and sever a fuel line and are spraying high pressure gasoline everywhere

 

[1955moose]

That's why it's there. At least over the past 20 years or so, theirs a lot less horrible fires that consume life if trapped in a crashed vehicle. No offense but testing for traction by rolling back is kinda dumb. Why not buy a 4wheel drive Ford pickup with a 5 speed manual! That's what manual clutches are for. Makes me glad I live just outside San Francisco, never snows, rarely gets below 38 degrees. You mid west and east coast boy's can keep your extreme weather swings. Past week has been 68-75 degrees here. Think I'll test my expedition on the dirt hill here at Lake Merced, second thought not!

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[ExpeditionAndy]

There is a fuel pump shutoff that shuts the engine if the truck slips.

I'm aware of the inertial switch that shuts the fuel off it the vehicle rolls over or takes a hard enough hit, but I have never heard of a switch that shuts off the fuel flow if the vehicle is sliding. That would prevent you from gaining control of the vehicle.

 

[1955moose]

Maybe it shuts down fuel flow to avoid fuel ignition if rolling back into another vehicle, or object. Does seem kinda dumb though. When rolling back in drive, that's the time you need your motor more than ever. I'd sure like to hear from one of you from Ford on this forum, why this is so.

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[65scout]

Not to be a wise guy but this all sounds bogus

 

[Big Brian]

its not the inertia switch that causes this

not sure what is going on

 

[rjdelp7]

So...you have a driveway at what? A 30% grade? You can steer and use brakes if engine stalls, just no power assist. You also have a parking brake. Why would you allow it to "roll" backwards, to "test it". It says in owners manual "do not hold vehicle, on hill with the transmission. Damage can result". Testing for traction on a steep hill, with trees at the bottom is pretty dumb. Then you try it with an other vehicle? Wow! You are the reason we all pay too much for insurance. Avoidable one car accidents. This sounds like the next "we seen it all" Farmers Insurance commercial.

 

[65scout]

rjdelp7 AMEN
Did a wick search. Ford would call it improper operation. By using the throttle to hold the hill the transmission tries to engage the pickup on the converter. Engine stalls because it's overloaded rather than destroy the converter.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Rjdelp7 AMEN. This just sounds so wrong in so many ways. I wasn't there but.......none of this sounds rgight. I have never heard of a switch that shuts the engine off of the vehicle slides. Like I said I wasn't there but my money says you nailed it. This is a great site with great information but if this (slide shut off engine magic switch) is not legit it doesn't belong here.

There is no switch that shuts your engine off when you are rolling backwards. What probably happened is rolling backwards in drive the lock up torque converter probably caused the engine to stall. You aren't supposed to roll backwards in drive.

 

[JExpedition07]

There is no switch that shuts your engine off when you are rolling backwards. What probably happened is rolling backwards in drive the lock up torque converter probably caused the engine to stall. You aren't supposed to roll backwards in drive.

Now there’s a good theory.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I totaled out my 2014 on my driveway. There was about 1/2" of snow and the driveway is steep. I was testing for traction so I stopped to see how slippery it was. I rolled backwards in drive a short distance and the engine quit. Of course no more power steering, or brakes ...

Exp use a "standard"power brake booster (augmented by a vacuum pump on EcoBoost engines) that, like all vehicles with power brakes, should be good for 1 or 2 brake application after the engine quits.

 

[Adieu]

Until you’re in an accident and sever a fuel line and are spraying high pressure gasoline everywhere

Unless your cutoff stalls you from a small whack or even a hard pothole bounce, and then you proceed to get broadsided by a semi or something

The absolute obscenity of the design comes from NOT letting you restart vehicle or override the shutdown from driver's seat

Have the computer give a countdown and ask you to tap a button or something to cancel....jeez

 

[deweysmith]

Unless your cutoff stalls you from a small whack or even a hard pothole bounce, and then you proceed to get broadsided by a semi or something

Because a vehicle stalled from a fuel pump shutoff immediately comes to a grinding halt in the middle of freeway traffic.

 

[rjdelp7]

Why does everyone keep talking about the inertia fuel pump shut off? It takes a high G impact to active it. This guy could of restarted his, if he had the time. He did not say, he knew why it stalled or if he had to re-set pump switch. He tried to re-create it with a different car. This is a transmission caused, stall. While rare in an automatic, pretty common on a stick. UPS has drivers set parking brake, at every red light(I am not kidding).

 

[1955moose]

Last week leaving my lake here in San Francisco, I climbed the grade, let it try to roll back, but got nothing. Me 2000 4x4 Eddie Bauer. My trans, and whatever held it to 2-3 feet rollback, no stall, engine stayed on, maybe it's a 2nd or 3rd edition thing!

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[Expedition007]

I’ve had engines on other vehicles stall because of rolling backwards in Drive such as Jeeps with a 727 automatic. It’s not computer controlled either. If you roll fast enough backwards you hit a sweet spot where the transmission is going to engage enough of a load on the engine to try to spin the engine backwards. Once the engine dies, the engine no longer spins the front pump and line pressures drop to zero. I would assume that it wouldn’t take much of a roll with the very low first gear these have to create that condition.

 

[Expedition007]

My 2007 EL will roll backwards on many hills around here in Tennessee when pulling out of driveways. I’m guessing the low idle and 6200#+ heft doesn’t have enough torque to hold on a hill. You sometimes need to drive with two feet to breakaway from a dead stop on some hills... almost like a stick shift.