Expedition as a TOAD & Auto Parking Brake

[Shutterbug57]

Is there any way to disable the parking brake when the Expedition is set to tow behind a motorhome? We have had occasions where it has come on by itself and is a PITA. I can’t think of a good reason to want tie parking brake on when you are trying to freewheel.

We have a 2019 Limited Max with the requisite package to use as a TOAD.

 

[LokiWolf]

Is there any way to disable the parking brake when the Expedition is set to tow behind a motorhome? We have had occasions where it has come on by itself and is a PITA. I can’t think of a good reason to want tie parking brake on when you are trying to freewheel.

We have a 2019 Limited Max with the requisite package to use as a TOAD.

Have you followed all these steps to put it in Neutral Tow mode?

 

[Shutterbug57]

Have you followed all these steps to put it in Neutral Tow mode?

yes. We religiously use this procedure.

 

[5280tunage]

I just love the thought of a motorhome towing this beast! that's one hell of a motorhome. Wish I had some good help for you though.

 

[Dewey3]

Is there any way to disable the parking brake when the Expedition is set to tow behind a motorhome? We have had occasions where it has come on by itself and is a PITA. I can’t think of a good reason to want tie parking brake on when you are trying to freewheel.

We have a 2019 Limited Max with the requisite package to use as a TOAD.

Interesting, we traded our '15 Explorer Limited towed for our now '20 Expedition XLT FX-4, and while we haven't set it up as a towed yet, that is at the very top of our list. I really like the fact that the Expy can be turned completely off after activating stay-in-neutral mode, we had to leave the Explorer in ACC. I think I remember reading somewhere in the manual about conditions where the Expy parking brake would automatically apply itself, specifically when parking on steep grades. I wonder if that is what is happening in your case. I did a quick cursory read of my manual for that "feature", but couldn't find it. Either I misinterpreted something else, or I need to read a little further... which is what I will do.

EDIT: I found where the parking brake may apply itself on steep hills (page 194 in the MY19 manual), but I doubt this applies to your situation since it happens when the transmission is placed in park.

 

[Shutterbug57]

Interesting, we traded our '15 Explorer Limited towed for our now '20 Expedition XLT FX-4, and while we haven't set it up as a towed yet, that is at the very top of our list. I really like the fact that the Expy can be turned completely off after activating stay-in-neutral mode, we had to leave the Explorer in ACC. I think I remember reading somewhere in the manual about conditions where the Expy parking brake would automatically apply itself, specifically when parking on steep grades. I wonder if that is what is happening in your case. I did a quick cursory read of my manual for that "feature", but couldn't find it. Either I misinterpreted something else, or I need to read a little further... which is what I will do.

EDIT: I found where the parking brake may apply itself on steep hills (page 194 in the MY19 manual), but I doubt this applies to your situation since it happens when the transmission is placed in park.

View attachment 39318

When you set up your Expy to tow, you need to have a charge line to the battery. The computer, while theoretically off, uses battery power and will drain and kill your battery with a tow of 5-6 hours. We had to have ours towed to a dealer and the battery replaced and computer reset.

 

[Shutterbug57]

I just love the thought of a motorhome towing this beast! that's one hell of a motorhome. Wish I had some good help for you though.

Not only can it tow it, it can drag it. We hooked up on gravel Tuesday and in the test, where my wife confirms the wheels are rolling, we moved about a foot. I could tell it was dragging, but it did drag it.

It just seems to me that the engineers could program the truck to realize that when it is put in neutral tow mode, which is complex enough that you cannot do that by mistake, the user has no desire for the **** bang auto parking brake to be applied.

 

[5280tunage]

welcome to the world of safety systems taking precedence over drivers desires.

 

[tim5055]

We tow our 18 Expedition Max Platinum behind a 43' coach.

I also noted our Exy would auto set the parking brake, but never had it happen when setting up to tow. Generally just when parking after a drive.

The two conditions that it should auto set the parking brake are parking on an incline/decline or putting it in park without you foot firmly on the brake pedal when changing gears on the selector.

It appears your set up process is similar to ours, once hooked up the wife watches as i go thru the turn signals/brake lights and then watches all four wheels turning freely as I tow a few feet. I just can't imaging what would happen if it set at highway speed.

On a different note, I'd like to take the engineer who designed the process of putting it in tow mode out behind the woodshed. Computers control the whole thing. Why not one selection and maybe a "are you sure" question. It must be the same engineer that came up with locking and unlocking the doors five times on my 2004 F-250 to get it into program mode to accept a new key fob......

 

[bushpilot]

Is there any way to disable the parking brake when the Expedition is set to tow behind a motorhome? We have had occasions where it has come on by itself and is a PITA. I can’t think of a good reason to want tie parking brake on when you are trying to freewheel.

We have a 2019 Limited Max with the requisite package to use as a TOAD.

my 20 never engages the e-brake when flat towing or even when shifting the transmission to neutral!