vlamgat

Good and well but you wont get any help from Ford if you have a warranty claim as they can and have asserted that because they specifically require the negative cable to be removed and they have reasons for this, they will not honor the warranty be it expressed or implied. YMMV depending on dealer influence but many have BTDT and lost their shirts.

Guys, I hate to burst our bubble but I decided to take the 4-down tow capability of my rig and have been doing my research. Only to find the ever decreasing availability of newer vehicles. So I contacted a "friend" who used to run Ford and he sent me to their aptly named Engineering Design Section. I learned from several of the gals and guys that the whole transmission design business has been substantially out sourced to create a global product that can be up and down sized over several platforms and OEMs. So that effectively Ford, GM and (say) Jaguar may share one group while Chrysler/Fiat, Renault and Honda another. Those choices were their words not mine. Anyway the need for tow-ability in anything but an emergency is the lowest of their priorities since its used in only one market (USA) where there is a declining requirement based on their numbers. They advised me to get my hands on the latest permissible vehicle and plan on keeping it until I cease to need the capability. Apparently they believe that most of the problems are operator error and recognize that while there are some "unusual" requirements to accommodate the toad, many are not sufficiently mechanically sympathetic to stick to the Owners Manual requirements or believe they know better. With that said however, one of the guys told me that he is towing a 2015 Ford that is not authorized to be a toad and has had no problems. He admits that if the trannie goes he will pick up a previously repaired one using his employee discount and replace it himself. Bottom line is that many of these newer trannies can be towed the same way their predecessors were (assuming they are the same design) but the OEMs no longer want to bear the warranty cost of unverifiable operator error just to oil a squeaky wheel.