Death Wobble -> steering assist error during flat tow

[Bert Rooster]

I to

w my 2023 Mav Hybrid behind my motor home. Yesterday while making a turn from a full stop off a freeway exit ramp the Mav went into a violent shaking/ death wobble. I quickly stopped and started up and it seemed normal. Went ahead to fuel up and checked but didn't see anything obvious. Continued our trip for about 200 miles with no problems. When I disconnected the Mav it displayed an orange "steering assist fault service required". I drove a bit and found steering is very difficult and now has "drive mode not available" error too. Checked fuses that seemed appropriate for problem, all look good. We are in the mountains for few days heading home on Fri. Two questions: can I drive it a bit (manual just says to seek service soon) and will it be okay to tow home? I'm concerned about the steering putting stress on the tow bar. Under neutral mode is electric steering enabled?

Thanks,

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[First Sergeant]

I to

w my 2023 Mav Hybrid behind my motor home. Yesterday while making a turn from a full stop off a freeway exit ramp the Mav went into a violent shaking/ death wobble. I quickly stopped and started up and it seemed normal. Went ahead to fuel up and checked but didn't see anything obvious. Continued our trip for about 200 miles with no problems. When I disconnected the Mav it displayed an orange "steering assist fault service required". I drove a bit and found steering is very difficult and now has "drive mode not available" error too. Checked fuses that seemed appropriate for problem, all look good. We are in the mountains for few days heading home on Fri. Two questions: can I drive it a bit (manual just says to seek service soon) and will it be okay to tow home? I'm concerned about the steering putting stress on the tow bar. Under neutral mode is electric steering enabled?

Thanks,

I am not positive, but I don't believe power steering is used when flat towing. I have towed mine about 2,000 miles in two trips and have turned the wheel to make sure it's not locked. Felt like no power steering used. You might try disconnecting the battery, maybe 30 minutes or an hour. Sometimes when things go wonky this will work. Good luck!

 

[Bert Rooster]

Thanks for the reply. That's kinda what I'm thinking with the neutral tow and steering. I too check to ensure neutral tow mode is really enabled - push truck back to lock tow bar and check steering and it did seem there was no power assist. I did the battery disconnect thing - no joy. As nearly as I can tell while it is not recommended to drive the vehicle with the error it is doable. We did go into town this morning, it is like driving my dad's 1948 GMC truck - steering by armstrong

 

[Tim d]

I am not positive, but I don't believe power steering is used when flat towing. I have towed mine about 2,000 miles in two trips and have turned the wheel to make sure it's not locked. Felt like no power steering used. You might try disconnecting the battery, maybe 30 minutes or an hour. Sometimes when things go wonky this will work. Good luck!

Not sure on the hybrids but for my ecoboost you have to remove a piece on the console to get at the manual disconnect Pawl to flat tow.

 

[BradnChristine]

One possibility...Did you leave the truck in ACC when you put it into Neutral Tow? The truck should be completely OFF once you have finished setting up NT. I've gotten about 5500 towed miles now with no issues. The NT process leaves MANY opportunities to "do it incorrectly" while setting it up to tow. I use a cheater card so I don't skip anything.

I do know that Ford's EPAS has had many failures (noted in the NHTSC safety board). My 2013 C-Max had this failure at 38,000 miles. I got one warning "Service Steering Soon" and after the next cycle of the ignition, I got "Power Steering Failure" and while I was able to drive it about 3 miles to the dealer, it drove as bad as you describe. $1900 for a new EPAS rack.

 

[SaltyJim]

One possibility...Did you leave the truck in ACC when you put it into Neutral Tow? The truck should be completely OFF once you have finished setting up NT. I've gotten about 5500 towed miles now with no issues. The NT process leaves MANY opportunities to "do it incorrectly" while setting it up to tow. I use a cheater card so I don't skip anything.

I do know that Ford's EPAS has had many failures (noted in the NHTSC safety board). My 2013 C-Max had this failure at 38,000 miles. I got one warning "Service Steering Soon" and after the next cycle of the ignition, I got "Power Steering Failure" and while I was able to drive it about 3 miles to the dealer, it drove as bad as you describe. $1900 for a new EPAS rack.

Brad, I've got about 4K towed miles on my Maverick. I know what you mean about so many ways to make an error/omission. I've been using your cheat card every time I connect and disconnect. It lives in the center console. Thanks again for all your help for the group!

Jim

 

[CurtisB]

After 50, cheater cards become the norm........................

 

[Don11]

I just had that happen to mine I was getting on the freeway way left hand turn the motor home started rocking I pulled over and the steering was turned all the way up the right. I can’t believe how it destroyed the right front tire. I have no clue why that happened. I’ve been towing mine for a year now.

 

[Bert Rooster]

Wow! That's crazy. Yours is a bit different from what I experienced. My death wobble also happened making a left turn, but mine was at very low speed and I could see the truck going back and forth in my rear view camera. So the right tire would have been on the outside of the left turn, wonder if that is a clue to what is going on?

I understand about the procedure for enabling neutral tow. After I have enabled it and turned the key to off, I exit the truck and verify the display goes off. After that the dash is blank for a second when the door is opened then it displays the NT is enabled message.

 

[BradnChristine]

I just had that happen to mine I was getting on the freeway way left hand turn the motor home started rocking I pulled over and the steering was turned all the way up the right. I can’t believe how it destroyed the right front tire. I have no clue why that happened. I’ve been towing mine for a year now.

Wow! Thanks for posting. I have a small Ford Transit gas motorhome (LTV) and was in a very tight service station on my last trip out. I had swung the motorhome into a rather odd position in order to get in and out of the gas pump without disconnecting.

After filling, as I started to pull forward on a left turn out, I watched the truck in the mirror and saw the front (left) wheel of the maverick initially start to turn right, as my contorting it into the station must have left it sitting to the right of center and it naturally wanted to initially continue to go right as I started forward. I moved very slowly ahead and was relieved as I watched it come back to center and then turn to the left as it should.

I am thinking that the same thing could have happened to me if I hadn't taken off so slowly to give the geometry the chance to straighten itself out. This is definitely a cautionary tale when starting out with the wheels not centered.

 

[First Sergeant]

Brad, I've got about 4K towed miles on my Maverick. I know what you mean about so many ways to make an error/omission. I've been using your cheat card every time I connect and disconnect. It lives in the center console. Thanks again for all your help for the group!

Jim

X3 on the cheat card. Made my own right from the manual and laminated it. Sits in the passenger seat when we tow so we don't forget.

 

[First Sergeant]

Not sure on the hybrids but for my ecoboost you have to remove a piece on the console to get at the manual disconnect Pawl to flat tow.

Hybrid is the only model you can flat tow on all 4 wheels. I think the procedure you are referencing is for emergency use to get transmission back in neutral such as for tow truck operation or similar.

 

[First Sergeant]

Wow! Thanks for posting. I have a small Ford Transit gas motorhome (LTV) and was in a very tight service station on my last trip out. I had swung the motorhome into a rather odd position in order to get in and out of the gas pump without disconnecting.

After filling, as I started to pull forward on a left turn out, I watched the truck in the mirror and saw the front (left) wheel of the maverick initially start to turn right, as my contorting it into the station must have left it sitting to the right of center and it naturally wanted to initially continue to go right as I started forward. I moved very slowly ahead and was relieved as I watched it come back to center and then turn to the left as it should.

I am thinking that the same thing could have happened to me if I hadn't taken off so slowly to give the geometry the chance to straighten itself out. This is definitely a cautionary tale when starting out with the wheels not centered.

Brad, you may be on to something there. When I previously towed my Jeep I had a similar situation, pulling away from the pumps. Watched it closely as I pulled away slowly and things did straighten out. I always keep a look out in the rear view mirror now. I can see where geometry could get out of whack for a minute. Good call and I will remember this one.

 

[BradnChristine]

Brad, you may be on to something there. When I previously towed my Jeep I had a similar situation, pulling away from the pumps. Watched it closely as I pulled away slowly and things did straighten out. I always keep a look out in the rear view mirror now. I can see where geometry could get out of whack for a minute. Good call and I will remember this one.

As much as I praise my DEMCO baseplate, I realize that since its tow points are closer together (with my Falcon 2 towbar)...that it makes the baseplate to hitch longer than when I towed my Wrangler with my old Roadmaster Stowmaster towbar which was wider and therefore a shorter distance. Even my old CMax had a shorter distance when using its Roadmaster Baseplate and the Falcon 2.

I think that might contribute to the ability of the front of the Maverick to get to the right of center when turning left...without a smooth arc of travel. I definitely did not make a smooth arc at that station and my final angle toward the pump had the rear of the motorhome pushing the Maverick to the right.

Definitely something to watch if not making a smooth arc!

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