Truck won't stay in tow haul mode

[WXman]

When I hook the trailer to my truck the truck automatically goes into tow haul mode. But then if I shut the truck off and turn it back on again it doesn't stay in tow haul mode it defaults to normal. Why is that?

Also I'm noticing that I get frequent messages that the trailer has been disconnected and it has set the alarm off on my truck even though the trailer is still connected. What's going on?

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[Heliian]

Drive mode defaults to normal on a power cycle.

If the trailer says disconnected randomly then your trailer wiring is going bad. For some faults it will tell you what circuit but a ground fault just disconnects. I just had to put a new flat 4 on my utility trailer due to this.

 

[P-38]

The drive mode defaults back to normal no matter what on a power cycle. No great reason, just the way it is. It has been speculated the it has to do with EPA and MPG testing.

No idea on your second question.

 

[bmwhitetx]

Ford had to do a recall (via OTA) a few years ago when they allowed drive modes to stay across key cycles. This allowed folks to start up in Off-Road mode. And that’s a big no-no with the NHTSA because that mode disables Electronic Stability Control (ESC) aka traction control. ESC has to be enabled on key start.

Rather than just fixing Off-Road and allowing others, Ford took the quick path and just made Normal the default.

Lots of posts about this. Mainly because folks want it to stay in Sport mode. But your tow mode gets axed too unfortunately.

The MachE allows modes to stay since they don’t have Off-Road.

 

[WXman]

Well that's a bummer!!

As far as the trailer wiring it works 100% fine on this truck and on every other truck in terms of lights, etc. So don't know why it would be tripping the alarm on the truck. Oh well...

 

[tls]

The drive mode defaults back to normal no matter what on a power cycle. No great reason, just the way it is. It has been speculated the it has to do with EPA and MPG testing.

No idea on your second question.

There's no need to speculate; the reason is well documented. The truck used to stay in whatever mode you put it in, but because some of the modes disable traction and stability control, this violates Federal regulations. Ford had to issue a recall over this, which was mostly addressed by OTA.

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