Flat Tow problems since we bought it

[Cats toy]

Based on many different posts for several not connected issues it seems like the OEM Ford battery may be the root of all evil! Hope you get your issues resolved.
My checklist is much shorter - bullets only. I thought I had the disable neutral tow procedure down but missed the step to depress the brake and shift into Park, I was shifting to Park without depressing the brake that totally confused the Mav's brain. That step is now burned into my brain, though I did have delete another less relevant thing to make room in my brain for it (at 70 my brain is mostly full )

Apparently it doesn’t take much to confuse it. I will definitely try the battery if we’re still having trouble. My brain is only one yea behind and that’s why I keep the cheat sheet near by. It can be 3 months between towing And memory is not that long.

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[Whlsdn]

I hate reading about these problems. I desperately want a system to work perfectly for every owner. Especially me, of course. And when I read these accounts, I know disaster is readily available.

Anyway, we had our Demco baseplate and wiring kit installed on our newly purchased 2024 Maverick today. That choice, over Blue Ox products installed on 3 past Class A RVs (2 of them DPs), was based upon information shared on this discussion board. Still using our Blue Ox Avail tow bar, of course, which hooks right up to the Demco mounts. Still using our RVI2 brake controller too. Most important to my comfort is the fact that we had the work all done by the company that did the successful installations on 3 different Jeeps in the past. Completing their installation today, a lead tech went through the connection and Ford instructions with me step-by-step as we hooked things up for the first time and tested things. I'm a capable reader, but I know how easy it is to miss one tiny tip among the many details... but I gotta say that the process may have been even easier than my Wranglers of the past. Well, except for the special caresses required during multi-day trips. Anyway, it worked fine on the way home today, and I feel prepared for our first trip in our down-sized rig next week. Sure hope the gremlins described in this thread don't visit us along our wanderings!

PS: I know: I need to change the angle a little using a 3" drop hitch from Blue Ox I have from our first RV installation.

 

[Suptrack]

As somebody that just ordered my '24 Mav, I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the flat tow problems. There aren't many options when it comes to flat towering. Harder and harder to find any kind of vehicle with a manual transmission in it. I've been flat towing my Honda Fit with a manual in it for 8 yrs now and it's so simple but I need sometime that will support the weight on the rear hitch. So I guess I better print something and keep it the truck because at 71, sometimes the memory isn't as sharp, lol !!

 

[Cats toy]

I hate reading about these problems. I desperately want a system to work perfectly for every owner. Especially me, of course. And when I read these accounts, I know disaster is readily available.

Anyway, we had our Demco baseplate and wiring kit installed on our newly purchased 2024 Maverick today. That choice, over Blue Ox products installed on 3 past Class A RVs (2 of them DPs), was based upon information shared on this discussion board. Still using our Blue Ox Avail tow bar, of course, which hooks right up to the Demco mounts. Still using our RVI2 brake controller too. Most important to my comfort is the fact that we had the work all done by the company that did the successful installations on 3 different Jeeps in the past. Completing their installation today, a lead tech went through the connection and Ford instructions with me step-by-step as we hooked things up for the first time and tested things. I'm a capable reader, but I know how easy it is to miss one tiny tip among the many details... but I gotta say that the process may have been even easier than my Wranglers of the past. Well, except for the special caresses required during multi-day trips. Anyway, it worked fine on the way home today, and I feel prepared for our first trip in our down-sized rig next week. Sure hope the gremlins described in this thread don't visit us along our wanderings!

PS: I know: I need to change the angle a little using a 3" drop hitch from Blue Ox I have from our first RV installation.

We are using a Blue Ox setup for ours don’t know if that is a factor in our problem or not. Thanks

 

[Cats toy]

As somebody that just ordered my '24 Mav, I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the flat tow problems. There aren't many options when it comes to flat towering. Harder and harder to find any kind of vehicle with a manual transmission in it. I've been flat towing my Honda Fit with a manual in it for 8 yrs now and it's so simple but I need sometime that will support the weight on the rear hitch. So I guess I better print something and keep it the truck because at 71, sometimes the memory isn't as sharp, lol !!

We had a 2003 Toyota Tacom we bought used with manual transmissio. That was the easiest ever to tow.

 

[colinl]

And when I read these accounts, I know disaster is readily available.

you definitely will have a disaster if the 12v battery voltage falls and the truck exits flat tow mode. the brake booster is electronic so add that the list of bad things that happens when the woefully undersized 12V battery fails.

it happens to Bronco owners also-they destroy their transmission, transfer case, and V6 models also have electric brake booster. (my Bronco has a 2.3 and it has a vacuum booster, and I don't flat tow it.)

 

[Donziman]

Sorry for the long post, it has been a learning process. I've only towed the Mav 3 times. The 1st was uneventful and I was feeling great - perfect toad. 2nd time was a train wreck. We had gone to the NASCAR championships in Phoenix and when we got ready to leave on Mon. morning the truck would not go into neutral tow mode - the dash displayed "neutral tow mode enabled" even though it was not. Several attempts to get the truck unconfused did nothing, I eventually removed the negative battery cable and reattached it, truck is now happy. Hooked it up and off we go. Stopped for the night and next morning went out to the truck and was it completely dead - no lights, no clicks, nothing. Hooked my battery charger to the charge/jump posts under the hood and it drew max current and popped the over current on the charger. Tried that a couple of times and gave up. We were in Wilcox, AZ which does not have a Ford dealership. Nearest dealership wasn't answering the phone so I decided Ford dealer probably couldn't do anything anyway. Turns out Wilcox does have a NAPA store so I called and got a battery ordered. While waiting for the battery to be delivered to the store I decided to remove the old battery and for laughs hooked it up to the battery charger. Now it acts normal and started charging. Gave it a couple of hours and stuck it back into the truck. Now truck is happy!! Took the truck for a drive to see the sights around Wilcox, AZ, not much to see. NAPA called to tell my battery has arrived. Went and got the new battery and installed it into the truck and reset the battery monitor as per the owner's manual. Truck was happy to engage neutral tow mode and we had an uneventful drive home. Previous to replacing the battery I would routinely get the deep sleep message on Fordpass, but since replacing the battery I haven't gotten any. The 3rd time towing the Mav it again got confused, dash display has "neutral tow mode enabled", but it wasn't and this time the dash gear indicator displayed "N" even though the gear selector would allow me to change gears and the truck acted normally. I again disconnected the negative battery lead and truck was happy. In retrospect I again consulted the owners manual - I know who does that I found that I had not been using the proper procedure to disable neutral tow mode. I think I may have induced the neutral tow mode confusion.
My take aways: Ford OEM battery is junk and following the documented procedure is good. I did not try to get any warranty response from Ford because when I got home I charged the OEM battery and load tested it. It tested good, so expect Ford would deny any claim. I feel like at this point the couple hundred dollars spent on an after market battery was a pretty cheap remedy to the deep sleep problem. We'll be taking another trip in a couple weeks so I'll see if I've got this figured out.
My towing setup: self installed Roadmaster baseplate, Roadmaster Falcon All-Terrain tow bar, RVI Brake supplemental brake, Demco charge line, Demco light kit for the Mav, and a dedicated 12v line to cab for the RVI Brake.

Bert thank you for this! I'm having the exact same issue you described. Currently sitting at a Ford dealer in Albuquerque. Prior we've driven over 4K miles and no issues (that we were aware of). Dealer is at a loss but has has disconnected the battery to analyze and charge it. Hopefully the time this takes will clear and reset the software.

We have the Demco baseplate and Stay n Play with the pressure regulator. All have worked flawlessly till today.

Given it's now November have you had any more issues? Are you still thinking it was the NT exit procedure that was the culprit? I am surely guilty of not following that procedure exactly as described every time. We have a '24 XLT with a traditional key not the pushbutton others refer to.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bert Rooster]

Donziman,
Chalmers Ford fixed the steering problem and no issues with that. I bought a NAPA flooded cell battery when we got stranded in Wilcox, AZ and have not had any meaningful battery issues. I charged the OEM battery and load tested it. It tested good so I saw no need to go through the useless exercise of going to the dealership. When traveling I carry the OEM battery as a backup. I do still get FordPass messages about battery saver mode, but the truck always starts up, even after several days of sitting idle.
I have conquered Neutral Tow I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong initially, but I now have a bit over 12K miles towed and it is working as advertised. Follow the procedure exactly as written in the owner's manual and it works!
I hope you get your truck back in working order, maybe Ford will break down and install an AGM battery.

Safe travels,

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