Towing mode
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Jul 3, 2025, 09:12 AM
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 24,732
Likes: 2,661
From: SE Florida
Yes, I am a former Ford transmission engineer. I programmed the tow mode on the 5R110W. The truck is perfectly fine in or out of tow mode at any weight. Tow mode is to make driving easier when towing, it won't hurt the truck to tow out of tow mode.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 4,411
Likes: 1,016
From: Central KY
There's a guy on here who claims to be a former Ford transmission engineer. He has posted on here before that there is no threshold for tow/haul mode. Either mode will be 100% safe for the transmission.
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 24,732
Likes: 2,661
From: SE Florida
Yes, I am a former Ford transmission engineer. I programmed the tow mode on the 5R110W. The truck is perfectly fine in or out of tow mode at any weight. Tow mode is to make driving easier when towing, it won't hurt the truck to tow out of tow mode.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 232
Likes: 99
So you are not the guy that programmed the tow/haul mode on the 6.2/6r140 to double down shift on decel, running the tach over 5200rpm? Lol 😂. I love tow/haul when accelerating and on 1 gear drop on decel, but the 2 gear drop is stupid and not necessary, jmo 👍
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 17,399
Likes: 318
From: Whittier, CA
Trust Mark. He is the go to KB for Ford tranny.
Just want to add, on both my old '06 and my new '24, what tow/haul mode does best is handle downgrade or other rapid deceleration with a load. I don't find it particularly important for climbing with a load, but it is mandatory to use it when descending, IMO. It handles downshifting for you, faster than you could possibly react manually. Combine tow/haul with cruise control on downhill grade and save your brake pads.
I thought the programming on my old '06 5 speed auto was a work of art. Maybe not quite as impressive with the new 10 speed as far as programming goes, but all those gears still makes it superior. Uphill and downhill.
Just want to add, on both my old '06 and my new '24, what tow/haul mode does best is handle downgrade or other rapid deceleration with a load. I don't find it particularly important for climbing with a load, but it is mandatory to use it when descending, IMO. It handles downshifting for you, faster than you could possibly react manually. Combine tow/haul with cruise control on downhill grade and save your brake pads.
I thought the programming on my old '06 5 speed auto was a work of art. Maybe not quite as impressive with the new 10 speed as far as programming goes, but all those gears still makes it superior. Uphill and downhill.
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 24,732
Likes: 2,661
From: SE Florida
Not me! I left Ford the day the first 6R140 prototype was built. I never bothered to go to the garage to even look at it. I never worked on that transmission.
Tuned
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 277
Likes: 37
From: Littleton, CO
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Cross-Country
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 75
Likes: 26
I don't think it's just deciding to drop 2 gears, it's just that with tow/haul active every time you pump the brakes it will downshift a gear, so it might be due to the way you are applying the brakes. If you do one long steady brake event it won't keep downshifting aggressively.
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