Anyone else out there make regular use of N?

[MakinDoForNow]

accel and braking are "dulled".

Easily adjusted for by increased pedal travel/pressures.

Sponsored

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

accel and braking are "dulled".

I agree, acceleration is somewhat tempered in the slippery mode Regen is also stretched out for better coasting.

 

[bill dalton]

There is a related forum discussion about this ==> link.
Coasting downhill is a bad idea for several reasons that are explained in the above noted forum thread. Coasting is also illegal in CT as well as many other states.

Automatic transmission equipped vehicles are not designed to coast, and besides potential damage, you are also likely to reduce your mpgs, so there is no point in doing it anyway.
If you set the cruise, it will handle the downhill for you.

The hybrid can be flat towed, which is essentially a free wheeling exercise, but it requires that the vehicle be set up for that purpose to prevent damage. Shifting into neutral is not the same.

As far as the shift knob, it takes some getting used to, but I have come to like it.
There is nothing you can do to change it, except to get a different vehicle.

There are long threads about the shifter topic already, and apparently none of these comments
influenced Ford to make any changes, even though there used to be a Ford rep on the site.

Yes, I'm not sure about new tech. ,but in my opinion it would be like towing in neutral...not a good idea.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Yes, I'm not sure about new tech. ,but in my opinion it would be like towing in neutral...not a good idea.

But the truck is in ready state and the ice can cycle on/off and charge/discharge 12v whatever Ford's battery GURU wants to do. So ?

 

[Suzukiridr14]

The dial could be better if it had hard detents for the different positions instead of just spinning endlessly in both directions. I also wish it could lock in position somehow, my wife likes to toss her purse on the center console and knocked me into reverse once.

I think wifes like to destroy Mavericks. You should see what all my plastic panels look like from the rings she wears, especially around the glove box, and door handles!

 

[Timothyd]

I don't get why Ford insists on some level of regen in all drive modes.

Regen is great.....when braking is required. It is a loss of efficiency if all you want to do is coast.

Yeah, you can modulate the throttle in an attempt to find the spot between CHARGE and ELECTRIC following the EV COACH, but that is annoying and over long coasting stretches is tiring to your leg.

My solution is one click CCW on the much hated, it seems, shift knob. Then one click CW to get back "in gear". BTW, there is no "getting in gear" with this awesome eCVT. It is always in gear. It is just turning off power to the motors.

On that topic, what is everyone's opinion of the knob?

It seems that it is universally despised. "Why can't Ford just use a shifter? Its been done that way for ever?"

Well, yes it has, and for good reason.

All trannies for over a century have had shift levers because you needed to physically move mechanical parts inside. This requires a degree of force not practical for a knob.

When auto trannies became electronic, they just stuck with a lever because, well, because thats how you shift a tranny, by gum!!!!

Then someone at Ford said, ya know, a knob is a more ergonomic device. They are the implement of choice for adjusting things like radio volume. Why not just give it indents to make each position easy to find without looking at anything?

I have been driving my Trucklet for close to 2 months now, and am starting to develop the muscle memory which makes the knob feel normal. If there is one glitch I haven't totally ironed out yet, it is the occasional habit of shift to P rather than D after backing up. I think my nervous system will have this occasional program bug ironed out soon though.

Being one who likes to click into neutral for coasting, I have occasionally overshot to R. I am happy to say that this does not cause the tranny to blow up. It is smart enough to just beep at you. I kinda wish it could say something like "hey dumbass, WTF are you trying to do, get us killed?".

If there is one criticism I have regarding my now beloved knob is I wish it was about 3 inches higher so I wouldn't have to move my arm that is peacefully resting on the arm rest.

I didn't like it at first but now I'm used to it and it's fine

I don't get why Ford insists on some level of regen in all drive modes.

Regen is great.....when braking is required. It is a loss of efficiency if all you want to do is coast.

Yeah, you can modulate the throttle in an attempt to find the spot between CHARGE and ELECTRIC following the EV COACH, but that is annoying and over long coasting stretches is tiring to your leg.

My solution is one click CCW on the much hated, it seems, shift knob. Then one click CW to get back "in gear". BTW, there is no "getting in gear" with this awesome eCVT. It is always in gear. It is just turning off power to the motors.

On that topic, what is everyone's opinion of the knob?

It seems that it is universally despised. "Why can't Ford just use a shifter? Its been done that way for ever?"

Well, yes it has, and for good reason.

All trannies for over a century have had shift levers because you needed to physically move mechanical parts inside. This requires a degree of force not practical for a knob.

When auto trannies became electronic, they just stuck with a lever because, well, because thats how you shift a tranny, by gum!!!!

Then someone at Ford said, ya know, a knob is a more ergonomic device. They are the implement of choice for adjusting things like radio volume. Why not just give it indents to make each position easy to find without looking at anything?

I have been driving my Trucklet for close to 2 months now, and am starting to develop the muscle memory which makes the knob feel normal. If there is one glitch I haven't totally ironed out yet, it is the occasional habit of shift to P rather than D after backing up. I think my nervous system will have this occasional program bug ironed out soon though.

Being one who likes to click into neutral for coasting, I have occasionally overshot to R. I am happy to say that this does not cause the tranny to blow up. It is smart enough to just beep at you. I kinda wish it could say something like "hey dumbass, WTF are you trying to do, get us killed?".

If there is one criticism I have regarding my now beloved knob is I wish it was about 3 inches higher so I wouldn't have to move my arm that is peacefully resting on the arm rest.

I didn't like the knob at first but now I'm used to it. Plus it makes it easier for your girlfriend to slide over and sit on your lap.
The only time I use N is when I'm backing down my inclined driveway.

 

[Timothyd]

I don't get why Ford insists on some level of regen in all drive modes.

Regen is great.....when braking is required. It is a loss of efficiency if all you want to do is coast.

Yeah, you can modulate the throttle in an attempt to find the spot between CHARGE and ELECTRIC following the EV COACH, but that is annoying and over long coasting stretches is tiring to your leg.

My solution is one click CCW on the much hated, it seems, shift knob. Then one click CW to get back "in gear". BTW, there is no "getting in gear" with this awesome eCVT. It is always in gear. It is just turning off power to the motors.

On that topic, what is everyone's opinion of the knob?

It seems that it is universally despised. "Why can't Ford just use a shifter? Its been done that way for ever?"

Well, yes it has, and for good reason.

All trannies for over a century have had shift levers because you needed to physically move mechanical parts inside. This requires a degree of force not practical for a knob.

When auto trannies became electronic, they just stuck with a lever because, well, because thats how you shift a tranny, by gum!!!!

Then someone at Ford said, ya know, a knob is a more ergonomic device. They are the implement of choice for adjusting things like radio volume. Why not just give it indents to make each position easy to find without looking at anything?

I have been driving my Trucklet for close to 2 months now, and am starting to develop the muscle memory which makes the knob feel normal. If there is one glitch I haven't totally ironed out yet, it is the occasional habit of shift to P rather than D after backing up. I think my nervous system will have this occasional program bug ironed out soon though.

Being one who likes to click into neutral for coasting, I have occasionally overshot to R. I am happy to say that this does not cause the tranny to blow up. It is smart enough to just beep at you. I kinda wish it could say something like "hey dumbass, WTF are you trying to do, get us killed?".

If there is one criticism I have regarding my now beloved knob is I wish it was about 3 inches higher so I wouldn't have to move my arm that is peacefully resting on the arm rest.

I love the regen. My frugal nature hates waste and the regen fixes that. For the very few times it shows me too much a little light throttle is pretty easy.
I just wish it would default to 'Eco' mode.

 

[pete c]

Actually, no.

Fords didn't have shift levers until the 1928 Model A.

On the Model T (and I believe it's predecessors), the left pedal was the clutch (but not as we think of it today!).

Up (no foot) was high, half down was neutral, and down was low (it was a two speed).

Reverse was engaged with the middle pedal.

The right pedal was a brake, but by clamping a band around the middle. Pulling back on the handbrake engaged an actual brake. The transmission had already been disengaged in the middle position; you pushed forward all the way to engage it.

That is, no shift lever at all, although you completely disengaged the transmission with the brake lever.

I rather suspect that some other manufacturers kept with similar schemes for another few years, but ford went to a shift lever and what we think of as a clutch with the Model A.

And what exactly are those pedals?

They are levers.

 

[Bret Grabber]

It’s a different century ya know ~

“ Being one who likes to click into neutral for coasting,”
Really ? To each his own.

You can change with the tech ya know.
Don’t fight it, accept it.

Contemplate this on,
‘The Tree Of Woe”

:’P

That actually uses more gas than coasting in drive. Above certain speed, somewhere around 30 mph, the fuel injectors are actually shut off while coasting in drive so you're using 0 fuel. I've actually seen my temperature gauge move toward cold when coasting down the mountain roads on the WV Turnpike and the mileage meter climbs like a F-14 Tomcat!

 

[Timothyd]

That actually uses more gas than coasting in drive. Above certain speed, somewhere around 30 mph, the fuel injectors are actually shut off while coasting in drive so you're using 0 fuel. I've actually seen my temperature gauge move toward cold when coasting down the mountain roads on the WV Turnpike and the mileage meter climbs like a F-14 Tomcat!

Same in the Ozarks. All the ups and downs give me great milage.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Same in the Ozarks. All the ups and downs give me great milage.

Speaking of the Ozarks. I wonder whatever happened to @Ozarkbeard

 

[pete c]

Slippery mode coast certainly does have less than ECO, which I don't get, because, as I have said, the most efficient thing to do when you want to maintain speed without apply more power, is to coast. Regen when you don't want braking is wasteful because you lose a few % in the conversion.

I was using Slippery but then I read something where someone said that eco is more eager to return to EV than the other modes. I have confirmed that this is so.

So, my typical driving is in Eco mode and on longer coasts, I will drop it to neutral.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

 

[tom_tucker]

Speaking of the Ozarks. I wonder whatever happened to @Ozarkbeard

He's on Reddit these days. r/FordMaverickTruck

Actually, I've learned a lot, and not much thanks to you.
As far as your other comment, so what?
Shifting into neutral does not supply power to the wheels.
If you like to coast, go for it.
Apparently many sources disagree with you as far as that being a good idea.

An obsessive need to be right about everything is a personality defect.
I suggest you get over your need of being a condescending commenter.
Feel free to shift your paradigm somewhere else.

When you go personal, you loose the debate. The decision goes to
Mavster Mechanic. Neutral for days it is...

 

[KenE]

Why some level of resistance?

Because almost any other vehicle you get in is going to have some also, with normal tranny usage.
Want a little more in those cases of steeper downhill - you downshift.

That isn't an option on the hybrid - hence automatic downhill speed control with resistance going up - and just like a normal tranny if that's not enough - into the pads.

And if you didn't like that 5 speed tranny amount of resistance going down a hill - you went to Neutral.
So nothing different here.

Normal mode is mentioned as having as much resistance as a typical tranny may have - I've found that to be the case.

And ditto to Slippery mode for ya. You'll be wasting regen and pads probably!

Double "ditto" on Slippery mode vs Neutral. I seldom use, but it coasts like a sled on snow. I've gotten used to the shifter, appreciate the tiny space it consumes. Every vehicle has a different layout; just a matter of adjusting.

Sponsored