Neutrual Tow won't disengage.

[Rosalie]

I can't get the tow unengaged. I put the key in ACC mode and press the brake, but it won't allow me to put it in P. If I start the truck, the knob options are available. I can drive it, but the dash still reads tow engaged and its in neutural ., while the knob is in drive. Have an apt tomorrow with Ford. This is the 2nd time. Does anyone know what causes it? And will driving it hurt anything? I don't see any warnings.

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[Bert Rooster]

I feel your frustration! I had the same problem the first couple of times I towed my Mav. To clear the error, disconnect the negative battery cable (battery is under the rear seat, use a 10mm wrench). When reconnected the truck should be "reset" to normal condition. Take a good look at the owner's manual for Neutral Tow mode engage/disengage and follow the steps exactly. I printed the procedure and keep a laminated copy in the console. I am now over 12k miles towed and have not had any issues since following the procedure. One addition is to close the driver door when disengaging, maybe pure superstition on my part but it works.

Good luck & safe travels,

 

[Rosalie]

Thank you. Took it to Ford. Good to know about the reset. Would hate to get stuck when taking a road trip. I like the laminate idea.

 

[Sir Tyne]

Here is the Flat Tow setup instructions that I posted a while back. Probably a good time to repost it. You can print it out and laminate it. One side for setting it up and the back side for turning Neutral Tow off.
Note: It mentions the Start/Stop button as I have a Lariat.

 

[Donziman]

I can't get the tow unengaged. I put the key in ACC mode and press the brake, but it won't allow me to put it in P. If I start the truck, the knob options are available. I can drive it, but the dash still reads tow engaged and its in neutural ., while the knob is in drive. Have an apt tomorrow with Ford. This is the 2nd time. Does anyone know what causes it? And will driving it hurt anything? I don't see any warnings.

Rosalie, Just experienced the exact same issue a week ago! Mine is a '24 XLT hybrid. Here's what I learned: My Mav said neutral tow engaged when I entered the vehicle but I know it wasn't as when it was started I could drive it (and did) drive it without issue. In fact, for about 250 miles with the wife following me. On the flip side after driving it I scrolled through the menu to Neutral Tow and it was "grayed out" indicating I could not engage Neutral Tow.

Got it into a Ford dealer and they did a battery check and found it bad. One cell completely dead. They replaced it and it's been fine ever since (approximately 700 miles of towing since battery replacement and about 6K total towing miles on the vehicle). In the end the dealer totally reset all the SW on the vehicle as the battery was out for about 1.5 hours before a new one was installed.

In the process of all of this I found numerous posts that said resetting the SW via disconnecting the battery also cured the problem for others without a battery replacement. In my case that (SW reset) happened as well by virtue of the battery being pulled for replacement.

What is very strange, in my case, is that I have a 12V line from the motor home to the Mav to keep the battery charged. Dealer said it didn't matter due to the bad cell which makes sense. When I inquired about the battery being bad in less than 6 months, they said "happens all the time". Said they have new vehicles on the lot that after sitting and when sold they have to replace the battery... When I asked why it had enough juice to start it they really had no answer to that other that there my have been a SW glitch significant enough to screw up the SW for tow mode.


Footnote: In the process of researching this I found that it is critically important (according to others) that you disengage from Neutral Tow EXACTLY as stated in the manual. If memory serves me right I likely did not follow that procedure 100% of the time. I do now! Perhaps in my case the SW was corrupted with my lack of following procedure and the battery dying around the same time was coincidental. In the end since the SW was reset with the new battery I may never know.

Good luck!

 

[Palms]

And to add insult to injury, my ex-dealer claimed that my battery failure was caused by my “after-market installation of a charge line” from the MH. It’s an RVi system. Warranty denied. Paid over $400 ransom to get my Mav back

 

[JimF]

I feel your frustration! I had the same problem the first couple of times I towed my Mav. To clear the error, disconnect the negative battery cable (battery is under the rear seat, use a 10mm wrench). When reconnected the truck should be "reset" to normal condition. Take a good look at the owner's manual for Neutral Tow mode engage/disengage and follow the steps exactly. I printed the procedure and keep a laminated copy in the console. I am now over 12k miles towed and have not had any issues since following the procedure. One addition is to close the driver door when disengaging, maybe pure superstition on my part but it works.

Good luck & safe travels,

I use the main cable attachment on the driver's side. It's a large cable attachment that has a plastic lift to remove the cable. I just lift that and push it back down to reseat it. That is the same as detaching the battery.

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