Gear indicator on dash?

[sledboy]

As long as it shows what gear you are in when you change gears, what would be the usefulness of displaying all the time? Won’t you know what gear you are in?

The whole point of my original post is that it doesn't show when the automatic transmission is in the automatic mode. It will show it when you're in manual mode but it will not show what gear the automatic transmission automatically shifts into. You can hit the plus or minus button when you're in automatic mode but then that forces the transmission to shift. I want to see what gear the transmission is in when it's in the automatic mode without me having to shift it.

As some have said, on FX50's hitting +/- while in Drive will display all gears and indicate what gear you're currently in. This feature also lets you 'lock out' gears from the top down. ie you could limit it to never go above 7th. This feature is endlessly helpful on mountain highways, going up and down and while off road. I hope someone figures out how to unlock this feature on the Bronco

That would be awesome! I hope it has this capability. But so far, I have been unable to find it.

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[sledboy]

So when you shift from park to reverse or reverse to drive, etc., it doesn’t show anything on the display?

It shows if you're in reverse, park or drive. But it doesn't show you which of the ten forward gears you're in when it's in drive.

 

[swami37]

Just press the + on shifter and gears will show on dash

 

[myrealname123]

Just took delivery of our Badlands earlier today. We are so excited! There is one thing however that has me perplexed. We have the auto transmission and I would like the dash to show what gear it's currently in. If I put the trans in manual mode, it shows the current gear at the top of the tachometer. But if the trans is in auto, I can not find a way to show the gear indicator. Does anyone know how to turn this indicator on when the trans is in auto or if it is even possible?

This is what it looked like on my Raptor. I liked it.

Also, congrats on the BL delivery!

 

[Lakelife36]

It shows if you're in reverse, park or drive. But it doesn't show you which of the ten forward gears you're in when it's in drive.

Do you mind if I ask (again @kodiakisland) why you need to see that information? Not saying it's right that the numbers dissappear if you've hit + or - and the information came up, but curious.

 

[foremi]

People here are confusing the towing (and I guess mountain driving) way of doing a "manual" mode and a real "manual" shifting mode.

It sounds like the f150's (and basically all chevrolet vehicles) have the gear limiting function if you tap the + or - button when in drive, and then it shows you what gear its limited to and what its in currently. I have always used this for towing if I need to prevent it from using top gear.

It sounds like the bronco has a real "manual" mode, you press + or - and it switches to manual mode expecting you to change gears until it switches back to auto.

OP, what you are asking for from my experience is an FCA thing on some vehicles. I don't think I have seen it on any other OEM's and between rentals and vehicles I have owned I've been in most brands in the last 3-4 years. Even FCA doesn't do it on everything either, I think it's mostly the 8spd vehicles, the 9 speed ones I have been in do not.

 

[sledboy]

Do you mind if I ask (again @kodiakisland) why you need to see that information? Not saying it's right that the numbers dissappear if you've hit + or - and the information came up, but curious.

People here are confusing the towing (and I guess mountain driving) way of doing a "manual" mode and a real "manual" shifting mode.

It sounds like the f150's (and basically all chevrolet vehicles) have the gear limiting function if you tap the + or - button when in drive, and then it shows you what gear its limited to and what its in currently. I have always used this for towing if I need to prevent it from using top gear.

It sounds like the bronco has a real "manual" mode, you press + or - and it switches to manual mode expecting you to change gears until it switches back to auto.

OP, what you are asking for from my experience is an FCA thing on some vehicles. I don't think I have seen it on any other OEM's and between rentals and vehicles I have owned I've been in most brands in the last 3-4 years. Even FCA doesn't do it on everything either, I think it's mostly the 8spd vehicles, the 9 speed ones I have been in do not.

Good questions! I grew up driving a manual transmission and my first vehicle had a manual transmission. As you drive a manual, you know exactly what gear you are in and you get a better feel for what is going on with the vehicle, specifically the drive train. You learn to feel when the engine is lugging and you need to down-shift, when the engine is revving and that you need to shift, etc.

Since that time, all of my vehicles have had 4-speed automatic transmissions. But the things I learned from driving manuals still apply to the automatics. Many times when I see a hill coming up, I will pull it out of over-drive and into 3rd. It gives the chance for the engine to get into the powerband at the base of the hill instead of part way up after lugging down.

About a year ago, my wife and I rented a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon for a week and it had an option of turning on an indicator on the dash that showed which of the 8 forward gears you were in. I LOVED IT! We were driving mostly in hilly country and when I had the cruise control on, as we would approach a hill, it would very smoothly shift from 8th to 7th and some times even into 6th depending on how long and steep the hill was. It was fascinating and entertaining and gave me a connection to the vehicle as I watched it do its magic. It was much different than the 4 speed autos that I have been driving for the past 30 years. The shifts were nice and smooth and each shift ticked the RPM up just a bit instead of the very large RPM changes that come with shifting from 4th to 3rd.

But even more important, being aware of the temperatures and behavior of both the transmission and engine helps identify problems as you are driving and, as mentioned earlier, especially while pulling a trailer.

Our new Bronco's 10 speed automatic has very subtle shifts. As we start going up a hill, if you aren't paying attention, you barely notice the shifts and you can easily loose track of what gear the transmission is in. And after years of being keenly aware of what is going on with the transmission, I feel a little blind. Also, it is my understanding that 7th gear is 1:1, meaning that one revolution in results in one revolution out. In a planetary gear transmission, this means that it is the strongest gear because the gear sets themselves are not spinning but instead they are rotating as a mass. As you are pulling a trailer up a long steep grade, this is the gear you want to be in to reduce temperatures. It would be nice to know what gear I'm in without having to shift into manual mode.

After driving the Rubicon last year, I was sure that our new Bronco would have this feature. I still have a little hope that we may still find an option to turn this feature on. Not having it certainly isn't a deal breaker. But it would certainly be disappointing to me not to have it.

 

[AZ_Liberty]

It sounds like the f150's (and basically all chevrolet vehicles) have the gear limiting function if you tap the + or - button when in drive, and then it shows you what gear its limited to and what its in currently. I have always used this for towing if I need to prevent it from using top gear.

It sounds like the bronco has a real "manual" mode, you press + or - and it switches to manual mode expecting you to change gears until it switches back to auto.

F-150 has both. Or at least my wife's 2020 does.

If you put it in manual mode the +/- changes gears. It still won't let you do something stupid, and if you come to a full stop it will automatically go back to 1. Manual is a "mode" just like normal, sport, tow, or eco.

In any of the automatic Modes, the +/- lets you lock out the upper gears. On the right hand side of the display, you have numbers 10 through 1 vertically in white, and the gear you are in is orange. If you have locked out 10 and 9 then those go dark instead of white.

 

[Lakelife36]

It sounds like the bronco has a real "manual" mode

I found a photo of it for you

 

[Nandez]

Found this post while searching for how to display gear indicator on 2021 Bronco. I want this feature as well.

I know MPT was capable of doing this using aftermarket tuning so that is my hope for the Bronco.

 

[Rick Astley]

On Ranger (which has the same engine/trans as Bronco, if you go 2.3), and as others have said, you press "+" once and you get the gear selection displayed until you turn off the car. It's also fun to watch the transmission essentially shift "1-3-5-8-10" as quickly as possible while your enjoyment of the vehicle dwindles with equal swiftness.

However, if you are in Sport mode (Gear selector to "S"), then you have a digital gear indicator in the small display next to the speedo.

Apparently this is different for Bronco, or perhaps the 2.7 engine, or @sledboy needs to go through some of the display menu's to try and find the solution. Either way, I don't have an answer for Bronco, just the Ranger.

Ultimately you didn't buy the AT because you wanted a manual mode or control so why care what gear it's in?

 

[sledboy]

Apparently this is different for Bronco, or perhaps the 2.7 engine, or @sledboy needs to go through some of the display menu's to try and find the solution. Either way, I don't have an answer for Bronco, just the Ranger.

Ultimately you didn't buy the AT because you wanted a manual mode or control so why care what gear it's in?

I have been through all the menus that I can find. None of them are related to displaying the gear indicator on the dash. If there are some that you are aware of, please let us know where they are at or how to get to them.

In regards to your comment about the reason I bought an automatic transmission, I am in a situation where I have to have an auto. But as I explained previously, there are many situations where knowing what gear you are in is very helpful.

 

[dgorsett]

I have been through all the menus that I can find. None of them are related to displaying the gear indicator on the dash. If there are some that you are aware of, please let us know where they are at or how to get to them.

In regards to your comment about the reason I bought an automatic transmission, I am in a situation where I have to have an auto. But as I explained previously, there are many situations where knowing what gear you are in is very helpful.

sledboy, I'm with you 100%. I have the gear display and gear limiting feature on my F250 6 spd and it is endlessly helpful. Off road and on mountain highways it's great. I wish my 6 spd motorhome had it.

Have you tried Sport Mode? Let's keep researching I Want This!!

 

[sledboy]

sledboy, I'm with you 100%. I have the gear display and gear limiting feature on my F250 6 spd and it is endlessly helpful. Off road and on mountain highways it's great. I wish my 6 spd motorhome had it.

Have you tried Sport Mode? Let's keep researching I Want This!!

That's a good question. I have the Badlands trim which does not have Sport mode. I have Baja mode but I don't want to use that all the time on paved roads. I have used Baja mode a couple of times but don't remember seeing a gear indicator on the dash while in that mode.

 

[pfbz]

Took delivery of my Wildtrak a few days ago, just getting in sync with it. 2.7L with 10 speed auto.

I too was very surprised that there is NO WAY to have it continuously display what gear you are in in auto mode, nor a way to lock out higher gears. And yes, I have Sport mode in the Wildtrak, and it behaves no differently when in Sport.

I use these features all the time on my 2011 3.5L Ecoboost F150. Very useful for mountain driving and monitoring what is going on with your powertrain. More than a bit puzzled that Ford could do it just perfectly ten years ago but completely left it off the new Bronco.

Equally frustrated that you can pick a half dozen different (mostly useless) dash displays, but not one single option for a really useful tachometer. The tiny linear tach provided is nearly useless.

As mentioned, if you hit the + or - while in auto, it will show you the gear for a second and then disappear. I sure hope (but have low expectation) that there is perhaps a Forscan tweak that can enable a gear display.

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