Flat towing

[Fordified1]

An interesting thing I noticed while comparing the 2024 owners manual and the 2025 owners manual. In the 2025 manual Ford has added pulling two fuses to the procedure when using a supplemental brake system.. Of course in typical Ford fashion there is no explanation of the change and if it applicable to previous years or type of supplemental brake system..

On models with electronic brake boosters some were having issues with it locking up the brakes for no apparent reason. Users basically elected to pull the fuses and that cures the problem. Funny that users had to come up with a “fix” and now Ford has included it in the new service manual. All of the broncos now have electronic boosters my 2024 2.3 still has vacuum booster.

Sponsored

 

[dgorsett]

Go sign up to the Ranger forums and search. Also I want to know if there have been any failures at all on vehicles with the regular transfer case. (Without 4A) Because we haven’t heard of any here.

Which makes the Ranger data important. As far as I know Rangers did not use the Advanced TC therefore failures would be standard 4x4

 

[grtharris]

They updated the HTML online manual but not the pdf manual.
That was the original fix before they came up with the software fix.
Sounds like they are saying the software fix is not working, should be something there we could use to fight the warranty claims.
Update: Just remembered the fuse pulling is for brakes locking up. This was before the Transmission failures started showing.

 

[grtharris]

I strongly advise you not to tow a Bronco. I have heard of a few people that have done so trouble free, but, I have interacted with many more who lost their transmission doing so. Ford uses the codes the Bronco generates when the transmission is ruined to blame you for doing something wrong and if you have the same experience I did, it will cost you $10,000 and a lot of frustration. If you already bought the Bronco, consider buying a trailer to tow it with. It costs about the same as the transmission will cost you. If you lost your transmission RV towing your Bronco, contact me at [email protected]. I am working to create a documentary to protect other Bronco owners from falling into the same trap.

I put a notes on two Motorhome forums along with your email address. About what you are looking for and that we are not lawyers.

 

[GTS104]

I flat tow all the time no problems. Butttttt I have a manual transmission . Have not heard of any problems with the 7mt. I would not trust the Auto for all the above reasons given.

 

[Tilzbow]

They updated the HTML online manual but not the pdf manual.
That was the original fix before they came up with the software fix.
Sounds like they are saying the software fix is not working, should be something there we could use to fight the warranty claims.
Update: Just remembered the fuse pulling is for brakes locking up. This was before the Transmission failures started showing.

I just checked and prior to 2025, none of the previous years manuals have the update about pulling fuses. I wonder if it’s an oversight or if 2024 and earlier years have the software change that disabled the brake boost while 2025 doesn’t for some reason.

 

[Fordified1]

I flat tow all the time no problems. Butttttt I have a manual transmission . Have not heard of any problems with the 7mt. I would not trust the Auto for all the above reasons given.

Of course, you would never have trouble with the manual transmission as it’s in neutral. If the Transfer Case were to happen to go in Gear, it would be fine.

 

[JamesJBurke]

Thank you so much, Grant. I really appreciate the help. We may not get Ford to take responsibility, but if we can save a few people from going through what we did, we will achieve some success. Either way…it is worth the effort.

 

[CoolContractor]

The weekend I purchased my Bronco, I had two friends lose their transmissions. They were experienced RVers and were technically oriented. I wrote letters to Jim Farley, the President of Ford, Matthew Winter, the Brand Manager of the Bronco line, and the owner of the dealership where I purchased it. The response was a request to add nothing, that the Bronco was capable of being towed as it was (Fraud at best). I did add an electrical lead from my coach to the Bronco, which was not enough to keep it from losing power on one of our trips where it was under tow for two days. The day we lost our transmission, I videotaped the departure showing that the Bronco was rolling freely and correctly in tow mode. Ford didn’t care. I was guilty of doing something irresponsible and I was charged $10,000 for a new transmission. My warranty claim was denied without any proof that anything was done wrong. My request…”If you don’t tell me what I did wrong, how can I protect myself from it happening again”. I went through the buy back process and they denied me, but have still not answered my question. I will never flat tow the Bronco again unless Ford comes forward and claims to warranty any damage caused by flat towing. I am buying a trailer to get my Bronco from point A to point B. RV towing a Bronco is just too expensive for my blood. There are too many people who have suffered from this. I am a technical person with experience following rules. I owned a manufacturing company who had UL certification and ICC certification for code compliance worldwide. I was not an irresponsible owner. Good luck!

If an aftermarket company could come up with a solution to this flat towing fiasco for the Bronco, there would be a line around the block to purchase their product. I would be the first one in line. I purchased my Bronco with every intention of flat towing it, just like I did with my previous Jeep. After confirming with the Ford dealer and actually putting the new Bronco into flat tow mode at the dealership, (Flat tow enabled on the dash) I purchased the Bronco, and then I purchased all of the necessary equipment and components to make it flat towable. While looking up how to install all of these flat tow parts, I started seeing more and more articles that brand new Bronco transmissions were being destroyed, and Ford wouldn't cover the replacement costs. Not happy with the thought of destroying my transmission, I returned all of the flat tow parts and bought a car trailer. The main reason I bought the Bronco was to flat tow behind our RV. The ONLY good thing about using the trailer is that I can back up all I need to without having to disconnect the Bronco.

Sponsored