Dumbest Ford Thing Ever - 2025 F150

[ctechbob]

[Tin foil hat on] It is part of final proof of concept fielding for the Police, Feds or whatever agency a judge says...

They will use a bluetooth or similar device to safely shut down / park / stop your car when they see fit.

Thing is, the 10R80 is completely electronic. There's no reason the shifter HAS to be in park for the trans to be in park. 'Park by Wire' they call it in the service manual.
So, they could already control the vehicle remotely if they wanted to.

Our new AI/Robot overlords are going to have a lot of fun causing chaos when they finally decide to Skynet us all.

 

[goblin]

Well, it just flashed through my mind that my 1993 Prelude had a hard time shifting in third because the lever had to be actually pushed a bit to the right - won't just slide in when pushed forward from 2nd. Something with the shifter cables' settings. So - nothing is perfect.

 

[earlyre]

Thing is, the 10R80 is completely electronic. There's no reason the shifter HAS to be in park for the trans to be in park. 'Park by Wire' they call it in the service manual.
So, they could already control the vehicle remotely if they wanted to.

Our new AI/Robot overlords are going to have a lot of fun causing chaos when they finally decide to Skynet us all.

I was just thinking that... there's no way there's an actual Mechanical connection from that Shifter to the Trans, it's all electronic anyway... most of them just have a little Dial...

 

[ctechbob]

Well, it just flashed through my mind that my 1993 Prelude had a hard time shifting in third because the lever had to be actually pushed a bit to the right - won't just slide in when pushed forward from 2nd. Something with the shifter cables' settings. So - nothing is perfect.

Nahh, that's just because you shoulda had the 5 speed

 

[goblin]

Nahh, that's just because you shoulda had the 5 speed

How dare you, Sir! T'was a manual - 5 speed.
Wouldn't shift smoothly from 2nd to 3rd by just pushing the stick forward, like any self-respecting stick shift would. Needed an extra nudge to the right.

 

[ctechbob]

How dare you, Sir! T'was a manual - 5 speed.
Wouldn't shift smoothly from 2nd to 3rd by just pushing the stick forward, like any self-respecting stick shift would. Needed an extra nudge to the right.

Lol, I read it as manual shifting an autobox......carry on!

 

[MNgopher]

Automatic Return to Park. Been on F150's since the 2021 model year.

Both my 2017 Fusion and 2021 Explorer do the same thing - however they have rotary dials and the dial does not actually move.

All of this goes back to issues with the "return to neutral" shifters that Jeep had in Grand Cherokees back in around the 2015ish models, where it you could leave the transmission in Neutral or Reverse, open the door, and the car could roll away.

There are tradeoffs if you want the "traditional column shifter" when everything is electronic controls - and you found one.

Your comment about why can't we just have alarms and beepers - that was the approach Stellantis used and had enough complaints it became a recall. There were deaths and multiple injuries that prompted the recall.

 

[ctechbob]

To be clear, I'm not arguing for the 'safety' of automatically putting the vehicle in 'park'. I think that should you open the door and try to step out, the vehicle should immediately stop, until an additional user input is applied.

What I'm saying is, that adding this one single actuator, to do this one specific thing, that isn't really needed (because everything can be done electronically) and is just overcomplicating the truck at added expense.

RE: The Stellantis issue was that the vehicle WOULD coast away if you left the vehicle and didn't get it in park, and their 'new' shifter was too easy to leave in neutral. They could have fixed the problem without changing that shifter, but by then the damage was done and they had to change it for appearance sake.

 

[Danno]

I think it's time to trade the 2025 Ford PO S in. I have a nice Ford Ranger on the lot. 2011, V6, traded in by a nice old lady, no joke, 80k miles. Standard everything, windows, transmission. It does have AC. I call it my lightweight edition, so much sheet metal has been shed due to rust. It does nothing unless you make it so. Let me know when we can book you in for a test drive. Only $2000.

 

[4WD]

Thing is, the 10R80 is completely electronic. There's no reason the shifter HAS to be in park for the trans to be in park. 'Park by Wire' they call it in the service manual.
So, they could already control the vehicle remotely if they wanted to.

Our new AI/Robot overlords are going to have a lot of fun causing chaos when they finally decide to Skynet us all.

Every vehicle I own has some nanny system if you turn off the motor in D - they all got me trained
Yet the most annoying is I need to backup another 3” for the hitch ball - but put that seat belt back on y’all

 

[dlundblad]

On what planet do we need to do this?

Apparently this is needed when people have brain farts and forget to put the vehicle in park prior to shutting it off.

 

[ctechbob]

I think it's time to trade the 2025 Ford PO S in. I have a nice Ford Ranger on the lot. 2011, V6, traded in by a nice old lady, no joke, 80k miles. Standard everything, windows, transmission. It does have AC. I call it my lightweight edition, so much sheet metal has been shed due to rust. It does nothing unless you make it so. Let me know when we can book you in for a test drive. Only $2000.

In some ways I do miss my 2020 Ranger.

 

[ctechbob]

Apparently this is needed when people have brain farts and forget to put the vehicle in park prior to shutting it off.

Nope, because the ECU still would have commanded the electric parking brake on and the engine and trans off.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Much to my surprise, the shifter moved itself from drive, all the way back to park.

On what planet do we need to do this?

Safety and lawsuits.

 

[dlundblad]

Nope, because the ECU still would have commanded the electric parking brake on and the engine and trans off.

Yes.

If you forgot to put it in park, you could forget to put the parking brake on too.

 

[Astro14]

Look, the transmission is totally electronic - they put that shifter there just to make you feel good.

May as well have put a couple of buttons on the dash, or a rotary knob, or a touchscreen menu, whatever - you moving the shifter isn’t really doing much.

That one electric solenoid to bump it into the physical position is, again, an indulgence to make you feel like you’re still in control.

I just wouldn’t sweat it.

 

[andrew_j]

You pulled a dumb move and mad at truck for saying hey idiot you left me in drive stopped and shut me off so I’ll go into park.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

It's simple. Through this move, the automotive market wants the bad guy to win. No launching cars at helicopters. No stopping massive diesel tankers. It's wrong.

 

[Greenbeforeblue]

I think Ford put that feature in for people who try to park a truck on a downward slope without putting the vehicle in park. What's next, blame a GFI outlet for interrupting while spraying water on it?

 

[ctechbob]

You pulled a dumb move and mad at truck for saying hey idiot you left me in drive stopped and shut me off so I’ll go into park.

Not mad.