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Totally Bonehead Move

Is this a bonehead move by Ford or "Safety Feature"?

  • Bonehead move

  • Legit safety measure, not just "sounded good on paper".


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AltoBAP

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Would you rather accidentally forget to put your vehicle in park, shut it off, get out, lock it, walk away, and have it roll down a hill and kill someone?
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GPSMan

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Clubs
 
Interesting but I wonder if the "Old Boy" isn't right after all... Shift interlocks were not mandated until 1992 although some 89' models had them so prior to these years it would have been possible to position the switch to Off in a running vehicle without the shifter being applied to Park. I'd imagine then that it would be possible to turn the key mistakenly to Off instead of Accessory while driving and lock the steering wheel.

That was my recollection as well.

My 1993 motorhome I know I can turn off while running and in gear as it doesn't have a parking pin or pawl but a drum-type brake on the driveline. It can be turned fully to the Off position, while running and in gear and lock the steering wheel.

Unrelated and off topic but while researching this I came across an article stating that in 1980 Ford had a recall for cars and light trucks manufactured between the years 1970 and 1980. The problem stemmed from reports that involved vehicles slipping out of Park on their own. The solution was to mail 20,000,000 warning stickers to the owners of these vehicles.
What Said is and was correct.
Moving the key to shut off the engine does not lock the steering wheel and never has. If yours does, it's broken and should be fixed.
 

MinntoMich

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What Said is and was correct.
Moving the key to shut off the engine does not lock the steering wheel and never has. If yours does, it's broken and should be fixed.
Well, okay then.
 

Eagle11

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First off I admit this is kind of a bonehead move. Not only did I do it once, I did it twice. I forgot about the first time and "Ops, I did it again."

But I'm curious if you think this is also a bonehead move on Ford's part.

I'm making a thread of this so hopefully I remember not to do it a third time, and maybe 🙏🏻 You'll never do it.

First Time:
About 6 weeks ago I was getting close to my usual parking spot. I was in EV mode, I knew the battery was low, and the engine was about to come on. I didn't want the engine to spin up for all of 5 or 10 seconds. I wanted to "coast" via momentum into my parking space.

I turned the key off while rolling less than 10 mph, while still in Drive, foot hovering on the brake pedal and/or braking gently.
At 3 MPH WHAM! Truck goes into park locking up the wheels 3 mph to zero.

Second Time:
Tonight, at under 10 MPH I put it in "Neutral" and coasted, then turned the key off because I was testing new equipment. I had a long way to coast, in a wide open area, so did not use any brake pedal at all. Slowed by nature to 3 MPH and WHAM! Truck goes into park while in motion, locks up the wheels again.

Bonehead move on my part.
I won't be doing THAT again. But also bonehead "programming" by Ford?

P.S.

The reason(s) for turning the key off are unimportant here. Software freeze could be a reason.

I'm asking why. Why shift to park at 3 mph?
Seems very deliberate.
Why not 1 mph? Why not 0.5 mph?

We know it works at 0 mph, if you turn the key off at 0 mph. Why not always 0 mph is my question.
Bone Head, and Mavericks don't have EV mode. Yes, it can run on Battery only, but it's not a mode in which you or I can set.
 

BamaDad

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Can’t say that is a boneheaded move on fords part—it’s a safety thing. Why would you think that you could/should coast a hybrid?
 

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Montevilla

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I knew the battery was low, and the engine was about to come on
Based on intuition or the EV coach? I've never had the engine come on while creeping in EV mode myself, I just keep a very soft foot on the pedal.
 

Old Man

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It's the Anton Yelchin safety feature. All American cars have it now. When a famous movie star gets killed by his car people pay attention.
 
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GPSMan

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I gotta say doing it the first time was a bonehead move. Doing it twice means you're untrainable.
Two different separate scenarios.
Once in Drive.
Once in Neutral.
And you're welcome.
I tested the vehicle so you won't have to.

Millions of people over the course of 125 years have pushed, pulled, or coasted a vehicle in neutral. Some have even towed them!

Imagine that!
 

xncrman

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Man I have heard of people doing a lot of strange stuff, but turning the key off is always asking for serious issues when moving.. In the old days with older cars you could put the selector in Neutral and coast if the engine quit but all new cars computer controlled don't function cars made in the 80's.

The Maverick also locks the steering wheel and powered accessories like power brakes, etc.... What are you thinking?! The Maverick automatically switches to Park when the key is turned off if you don't put it park. Why would you expect it to be any difference if the car is moving.
 
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GPSMan

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Man I have heard of people doing a lot of strange stuff, but turning the key off is always asking for serious issues when moving.. In the old days with older cars you could put the selector in Neutral and coast if the engine quit but all new cars computer controlled don't function cars made in the 80's.

The Maverick also locks the steering wheel and powered accessories like power brakes, etc.... What are you thinking?! The Maverick automatically switches to Park when the key is turned off if you don't put it park. Why would you expect it to be any difference if the car is moving.
I don't think of anything other than your post is clear you don't know what you are talking about. That much is known.
 

commadorebob

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That dude from Star Trek being run over by his Jeep because it wasn't properly in Park. The headlines that were all over the news in the weeks following is why all vehicles since jump to park the moment it feels like it needs to. Ford would rather deal with your annoyance than have a celebrity run over by a Maverick in Neutral.
 

jsus

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That dude from Star Trek being run over by his Jeep because it wasn't properly in Park. The headlines that were all over the news in the weeks following is why all vehicles since jump to park the moment it feels like it needs to. Ford would rather deal with your annoyance than have a celebrity run over by a Maverick in Neutral.
Similar reason if you have push-button start (on Maverick, all Lariats) that it honks at you if you get out and close the door with it still running. It also makes a relatively unpleasant noise inside. Why? Because people were parking in their garage and, because there was no key to remove, forgetting to turn the vehicle off.
 

Sykopompos

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That dude from Star Trek being run over by his Jeep because it wasn't properly in Park. The headlines that were all over the news in the weeks following is why all vehicles since jump to park the moment it feels like it needs to. Ford would rather deal with your annoyance than have a celebrity run over by a Maverick in Neutral.
Anton Yelchin, he just did the Odd Thomas movie right before it happened which was fantastic and if you ever read the book series, it would have been a awesome series of movies.
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