I'm currently looking to buy a new 2010 F-150 5.4L FX4 w/ the 6 speed auto. and test drove one recently. I was impressed with a lot of the truck's features but was a little confused with the transmission setup...I see I can select "drive" and then "3" , "2", "1". What about 4 and 5? I know there is the tow/haul mode but will that lock out "6" when engaged? I was going to ask the dealer but they guy didn't see to know much at all about the truck.

I know on the GM you can go into "M" mode and there is the +/- on the column shifter to bump down a gear or two. Also interesting to learn this is a feature in the 2011 Superduty. I'm wondering if it's that big a deal to have or not in anyone's experience with towing? I had a 2004 F-250 Superduty with the 6 speed manual so the automatic truck transmission world is new to me.

Also, I own a 2008 VW jetta which has a 6 speed auto. w/ the manual mode and its nice to bump down to 5 sometimes when in the hills without mashing the accelerator to force a harsh downshift.

I'm new here so go easy! Thanks...

Sam

 

First off welcome to the forum! As far as locking out 4th and 5th no you can't. And tow/haul mode won't lock out 6th either. Like you said, if you really need this feature, you can wait and get a 2011 super duty next month. It really depends on what your hauling, how heavy and how frequent. If you're doing heavy hauling up and down bigger hills you will have the normal tranny shifting trying to find the best gear, which can be annoying. I'm not an expert on this, so hope I'm right but I'm sure more will chime in and help.

 

I was very confused by this lack of transmission options also. However, the way the transmission is designed is that when you push the tow/haul button it changes the shift points for additional RPM's before shifting up and holds the gear longer before shifting down. Also, when you are in the tow/haul mode, if you are towing or going down a steep hill and would like some engine braking you just tap on the brake pedal and for each tap it will downshift one gear. As soon as you accelerate it returns to the higher gear. This is a cool feature, but I miss the manual downshift feature because I have always favored using engine braking more often than what this transmission seams to allow.

 

welcome to the forum i must say that feature would be nice but it works ok for me maybe ford will add some day.

 

What's really lame is that there's no indication on the dash for what gear you're in. Why not with all that room on the cluster? Dumb!

 

I made the same observation in a thread early last year. I've found this 6 speed so well sorted out that I rarely use T/H when towing EXCEPT for when descending a hill where I find the engine braking feature very handy. However, the only way to get the trans. to upshift is to step on the gas whereupon it shifts straight to 6th gear when all I want it to do is shift to the next highest gear and hold it. It's the only real "flaw" I've found.

 

Yeah, while it might be a nice "feature" to have the manual shift mode for those last couple gears, I think it would go unused 99% of the time for pretty much everyone. There just aren't that many situations other than towing in extremely hilly areas where I'd want the truck to hold a lower gear that I couldn't modulate with the gas pedal or brake tap.

 

While I wouldn't shift gears using a paddle shift, it would be nice to have the feature of selecting a gear (any of the 6 gears) manually.

 

Buy another truck with a manual while you still can. I feel the same way, which is why I'm gonna run my 03 till it dies.

 

x2

I called my local Ford dealer and found out that I can't get ANY truck unless it is a F650 or higher with a manual transmission.

Totally stupid.

I did ask Ford a question... and here is the silly dumb response I got back... I might continue bothering them... it's quite interesting.

Yet the funniest thing they did was COPY AND PASTED what I originally asked and just reworded it. What a crock.

Dear Chuck,

Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding manual transmissions in Super Duty pick up trucks.

Consumer enthusiasm around our concept vehicles has been outstanding.

There are no details at this time reflecting plans to take this option out of commercial production. From time to time, vehicle models and options are added, deleted or modified. Decisions to make these changes take into account factors such as market trends, customer demands, engineering advances, and dealership input.

The Customer Relationship Center is unaware in advance of changes that our Engineering and Design Team may be making and the specific reasons that the changes may be made in the future. This type of information is considered confidential until the appropriate media statement is released. If you are interested in some futuristic vehicle design ideas that we are working on, visit us at:

1. www.ford.com
2. Select 'Innovation'

We think you will like what you see!

Thank you for contacting Ford.

Sometimes e-mail communication does not allow us to gain additional information that may be helpful in responding to your inquiry. Should you feel that we have not adequately addressed your questions, please feel free to contact us via telephone at (800)392-3673 between the hours of 8am and 5pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing-impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact 1-800-232-5952.

Sincerely,
Jeff
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company


[THREAD ID:1-53LI31]

-----Original Message-----

From: ##############
Sent: 3/7/2010 08:52:20 PM
To: crcfmc@ford.com
Subject: General/Corporate

Hello,

I've heard rumors that Ford is going stop producing manual transmission Super Duty pick up trucks. Is this true? If so, why?

Thanks,
-Chuck

 

Because Ford has some kind of difficulty in producing a manumatic shifter for an automatic that works half decently, and contrary to popular belief, these transmissions are pretty smart out of the box and do their job admirably when left to their own devices.

 

Chuck, wait till 2012. Rumor has it that we may be able to get a 3.7 V6 with a 6 speed stick in the F-150.