Clunking when vehicle is put into neutral

[2020ExpyPlatinum]

I am a new owner to a 2020 expedition max platinum 4x4 and I have a question regarding an issue I inadvertently had while on vacation.

What ended up happening is I grabbed the wrong knob and instead of switching driving modes I ended up putting the vehicle into neutral.

I pushed the gas and the RPM obviously went up with no power followed by some driveline knocking.

My question is why would there be any sort of driveline knocking / jerking when the vehicle is put into neutral? Shouldn't the RPM just increase with no additional jerking / knocking noises?

It almost acted like it was halfway in between gears even knowing the vehicle was in neutral?

 

[UpsideDownIn]

I am a new owner to a 2020 expedition max platinum 4x4 and I have a question regarding an issue I inadvertently had while on vacation.

What ended up happening is I grabbed the wrong knob and instead of switching driving modes I ended up putting the vehicle into neutral.

I pushed the gas and the RPM obviously went up with no power followed by some driveline knocking.

My question is why would there be any sort of driveline knocking / jerking when the vehicle is put into neutral? Shouldn't the RPM just increase with no additional jerking / knocking noises?

It almost acted like it was halfway in between gears even knowing the vehicle was in neutral?

Seems like this can reproduced on video. It might be other rattling noise associated with the turbo.

 

[Greg Parker]

The thing to remember out "being in neutral" is that you're really haven't disengaged the transmission at all. "In the old days" ...shifting to neutral meant a shift cable was rotating the shift / valving mechanism on the side of the trans. Now...it's just an electrical signal sent to a computer. But if my memory serves me correctly ....and forgive me if I'm wrong ....but "N" is where you put the shift selector if you want to drive in "manual mode." With a rolling vehicle, the trans' logic may have been confused about what you were trying to do.

If I am correct ...again just a hunch ...still seems like irrational decisions are being made in the trans' firmware logic and may require service / a code upgrade.

 

[2020ExpyPlatinum]

Driving in manual can be accomplished by pushing the "M" button in the middle of the selector. I used this quite often driving through smoky mountain national park.

I played around with it again today and when I put the vehicle into neutral while the vehicle was moving a message came up that said "Press OK to keep in neutral", so I think you may be right. I just do not understand why it would have me push the OK button to stay in neutral, unless it is what you said. I will try to put it into neutral than press the "M" button.

It's almost like if you shift to neutral on the fly it is waiting for an additional input.

I really do not want to try to replicate it again as it was fairly violent and loud. No better way to describe it than it felt like it was in neutral grabbed for a quick second and let go. Did that 2 times and I said no more of that!

I havent even put this vehicle into 4LO, but every vehicle I have ever drove the transmission has to be in neutral in order to shift into 4LO. The same goes for taking it out of 4LO.

I will bring it up when I take the vehicle in for the oil change.

*** I also definitely noticed the transmission really hits hard into gears now that I spent 3 days going up and down steep grades in the smoky mountains. I have read a lot about the adaptive transmission and have attributed it to that ***

 

[wakeboarder]

I am a new owner to a 2020 expedition max platinum 4x4 and I have a question regarding an issue I inadvertently had while on vacation.

What ended up happening is I grabbed the wrong knob and instead of switching driving modes I ended up putting the vehicle into neutral.

I pushed the gas and the RPM obviously went up with no power followed by some driveline knocking.

My question is why would there be any sort of driveline knocking / jerking when the vehicle is put into neutral? Shouldn't the RPM just increase with no additional jerking / knocking noises?

It almost acted like it was halfway in between gears even knowing the vehicle was in neutral?

Have you read the transmission section in the manual? There is some good information relative to this in the manual.

It quite possibly shifted to park on you. I think it will do it if you open the door while in neutral (or a gear?). The seatbelt being buckled may be another factor.

 

[Uturn]

There is a good possibility the ECM, not getting a response from the dash message about being in neutral, applied the parking brake. That's what would happen if you went into park while moving. Given that the parking brake is an all or nothing proposition, the ECM may have been trying to do its best imitation of modulating the parking brake by using a on/off strategy to keep the rear wheels from locking. Without someone speaking up that is familiar with Ford's programming, we may never know for sure. Ah, the advantages of electronic nannies.

 

[AKentPhoto]

Ah, the advantages of electronic nannies.

At least your truck is designed for adults and not the geriatric unit... We don't get access to a true manual mode at all and have no way of tightening the suspension without 4A and a hyperactive trans tune. No control of the rear diff and I'm fairly confident there is no way of turning off stability control. I'll find out the next rainy day I have some time off. But hey... we get fancy graphics that the infotainment can barely handle to display with "fancy" names like "excite" instead of sport.

@2020ExpyPlatinum
If you think its coding I'd give it the old 20th century tune up. Pull the battery terminal for a few minutes and clear the adaptive trans tuning...

 

[Squark]

I played around with it again today and when I put the vehicle into neutral while the vehicle was moving a message came up that said "Press OK to keep in neutral", so I think you may be right. I just do not understand why it would have me push the OK button to stay in neutral, unless it is what you said. I will try to put it into neutral than press the "M" button.

The transmission shifts to neutral when you move the selector to 'N'. The message you saw is telling you how to enable 'Stay in Neutral' mode, which keeps the car from automatically shifting to park if you open the door while it's in not in 'P'. This doesn't explain the clunk you heard, but I wanted to clarify that you don't have to take multiple steps to put the transmission into neutral.

From the transmission section of the manual:


Stay in Neutral Mode - Console Shifter

Stay in Neutral mode allows your vehicle to stay in neutral when you exit your vehicle.
...
To enter Stay in Neutral mode:

• Move the transmission selector to neutral (N).
  
  
• A message appears in your information display screen prompting you to press the manual (M) button.
  
  
• Press the manual (M) button again to enter Stay in Neutral mode.
  • This step can be completed as long as the message prompts you to remain in Neutral (N).
    
    
  • A confirmation message appears in the information display when your vehicle has entered Stay in Neutral mode.
    
    To exit Stay in Neutral mode, apply the brake and select a different gear. See Putting your vehicle in or out of gear for more information.

Automatic Return to Park - Console Shifter

Note: This feature does not operate when your vehicle is in Stay in Neutral mode or neutral tow.

Your vehicle has a feature that shifts into park (P) when any of the following conditions occur:

• You turn the vehicle off.
  
  
• You open the driver door with your seatbelt unlatched and the vehicle stopped.
  
  
• You unlatch your seatbelt when the driver door is open and the vehicle stopped.
  
  If you turn your vehicle off when moving, your vehicle first shifts into neutral (N) until it comes to a complete stop and then shift into park (P) automatically.

 

[2020ExpyPlatinum]

You guys are awesome, as soon as I read what you posted from the manual I immediately remembered the press OK button to stay in neutral allows you to open the door and will not automatically shift to park.

I am taking it in soon for an oil change, I will post what I find out regarding the situation I had.

Vehicle was moving about 15 - 20 mph when I shifted it into neutral by accident and accelerated. As I mentioned previously it acted like it was in neutral until I accelerated in neutral and it bucked and ****** like it was trying to catch a gear. It was enough that my wife told me not to try to do it again because she was afraid of something breaking. Being all electronic it is very likely that it will be a programming issue. It definitely was not the parking break as far as I could tell. Drivetrain definitely engaged and let go, was enough to jerk us around in the seats a little.

I am also taking it in to bring up an issue I noticed when vehicle is in park and idling I notice a little chirp that almost sounds like a belt squeak for a split second goes away and comes right back. That issue I found correlates to the waste gate actuators moving back and fourth slightly when I am in park and vehicle is idling. I don't know why those waste gates would be moving at all in idle, but will find out soon.

Also there is some sort of rattle underneath the vehicle when accelerator is pushed slightly ( sounds like a heat shield rattle ). Noticed this going through a tunnel in the mountains. Enough to be highly annoying, especially if you have a car next to you and it starts acting up.

I am overly sensitive to any kind of changes in noise as it is an important part of my job as a marine engineer. Sometimes the smallest noise noticed indicates a much bigger problem if ignored. My wife thinks I am crazy because I have been known to stick my head out the window while driving trying to figure out some weird noise.