Thanks for any explanation. I have a 2015 XLT I love! But coming down hills in Sierria Nevada I put into manual and down shift to avoid wearing out brakes. The Exp Barely slows at all. Is this Something that could be fixed?
XLT won’t slow down with manual downshift
- Thread starter cuykaylab
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- manual shifting
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Need to be in Tow/Haul. Press on brake for a few seconds, and it will go into hold mode, and should actively help. Just down shifting will not do it.
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Dorzak
Full Access Members
Manual downshifting will work, even without Tow/Haul, but it doesn't immediately. If you drop 2-3 gears it works its way down.
It works best if you anticipate. If you are already going fast use the brake, then let it hold you from accelerating too much.
It works best if you anticipate. If you are already going fast use the brake, then let it hold you from accelerating too much.
Dorzak
Full Access Members
Hill Descent mode works lets you set a speed between 2-20 mph, and assists up to 40 mph. Coming down either side of Donner Summit that is way to slow for the flow of traffic. These are areas where if you left our vehicles go they will easily hit 90+, and the curves are best below 60, some around 45, even in dry weather.
EDIT: Link to part of the road - https://goo.gl/maps/FJsQRdtHcwipNW949 although on the uphill westbound side.
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star-art
Full Access Members
Don't put it in Manual. That locks you into whatever the current gear is. The only way to change gears is by using the "+" and "-" buttons on the shifter. Instead, leave it in drive and use those same buttons to lock out the higher gears until you start to get some engine braking. Also activating Tow/Haul mode will give you even more engine braking.
IMO Tow/Haul works really well in 2015-17 trucks -- both for going down grades and also for climbing hills. In fact, I use it every time I head home. We live up a steep hill and my old 2009 with 5.4 V-8 handled it perfectly. But, my current truck (a 2017) has major problems shifting and finding the right gear on that same hill. It lugs down badly before down-shifting. In Tow/Haul mode, however, it's smooth sailing all the way up the hill. No manual control is needed.
When going down grades, I use the "-" button on the shifter to lock out the highest gears. Keep pressing this until you get enough engine braking to slow you down without over-revving the engine. This works even better in Tow/Haul mode. While it's not quite as intuitive as a "select shift" control where you can manually shift up or down a gear using a paddle switch on the steering wheel, it still works well.
We also have a 2018 Expedition and it's a bit of a different story. Tow/Haul makes no difference at all going up our hill as the truck still lugs down and won't down-shift. This seems to happen each time the torque converter locks up (it almost feels like an extra shift). For the steepest part of the climb, I have to put it in Manual and then it works great. On down grades, 4th-gen Tow/Haul can sometimes be too aggressive. l was using it last Summer on a steep grade going 65+ mph when I needed to slow way down to take an off ramp. It suddenly downshifted all the way to 3rd gear and almost over-revved the engine.
IMO Tow/Haul works really well in 2015-17 trucks -- both for going down grades and also for climbing hills. In fact, I use it every time I head home. We live up a steep hill and my old 2009 with 5.4 V-8 handled it perfectly. But, my current truck (a 2017) has major problems shifting and finding the right gear on that same hill. It lugs down badly before down-shifting. In Tow/Haul mode, however, it's smooth sailing all the way up the hill. No manual control is needed.
When going down grades, I use the "-" button on the shifter to lock out the highest gears. Keep pressing this until you get enough engine braking to slow you down without over-revving the engine. This works even better in Tow/Haul mode. While it's not quite as intuitive as a "select shift" control where you can manually shift up or down a gear using a paddle switch on the steering wheel, it still works well.
We also have a 2018 Expedition and it's a bit of a different story. Tow/Haul makes no difference at all going up our hill as the truck still lugs down and won't down-shift. This seems to happen each time the torque converter locks up (it almost feels like an extra shift). For the steepest part of the climb, I have to put it in Manual and then it works great. On down grades, 4th-gen Tow/Haul can sometimes be too aggressive. l was using it last Summer on a steep grade going 65+ mph when I needed to slow way down to take an off ramp. It suddenly downshifted all the way to 3rd gear and almost over-revved the engine.
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Brett Harkey
New Member
On a 4th generation (2018-present), Sport Mode will cause the engine to automatically downshift when going down a grade. Want to go slower? Then brake to slow down and the engine will downshift to hold you closer to that new slower speed. Not sure if this works on a 3rd gen or not...
The braking trick works in Tow/Haul on the 3rd Gen. No sport mode though.
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Cruise control has no effect on the hill braking without using Tow/Haul in the 15-17 Trucks. Never owned an Expedition before 15, so unsure of those.
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mquick5
Full Access Members
My 17 while in cruise control will downshift, it's annoying. I was told it wont down shift in manual mode, while using cruise?
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While going down hill, without Tow/Haul engaged?
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mquick5
Full Access Members
Yes, down steep hills it was taching over 5k once before I disengaged.
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Interesting. Ours did not appear to do that. Guess I need to try it again. I have just been engaging Tow/Haul, with no Cruise Control, braking to the speed I want, then it tries to hold, and does pretty good.
Disclaimer, this is in East Coast Mountains, not West Coast!
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JExpedition07
That One Member
As users have recommended Tow/Haul or speed control will help on your 15. Our gasoline spark ignited engines aren’t like a diesel in this regard, our engine braking is simply using the rotational mass of the engine to resist forward motion. The 07-14 Expeditions with the 5.4 Triton have 35% more displacement and V8 rotational mass so the engine can be better utilized to resist forward motion downhill. The 15-17 with the 3.5 Ecoboost have less rotational mass so less engine braking. Newer (09+) 3rd generation Expeditions have the 6R80 and Tow/Haul mode which helps by adding trans braking. The mapping is starkly different between the two engines and seems more aggressive on the V6 and lax on the V8 until towing.
Pre 09 3rd gens have O/D off function instead of Tow/Haul so we just get regular engine braking on the 6R75. I have not tried the speed control on the 6R75 downhill so I can’t comment if it has trans braking. I’m leaning toward no.
Pre 09 3rd gens have O/D off function instead of Tow/Haul so we just get regular engine braking on the 6R75. I have not tried the speed control on the 6R75 downhill so I can’t comment if it has trans braking. I’m leaning toward no.
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Yep. Mine does it.
star-art
Full Access Members
After driving through the West, East Coast "mountains" are really just big hills. LOL
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