Driving Mode Problem

[Justin Hughes]

My 2018 (16k miles) Raptor has an anomaly with the driving modes whenever you turn the engine off with in anything other than Normal mode. The first time I came across the issue was when I parked the truck with it in Weather. When I got in the truck the next morning it was still in 4A but showing Normal as the mode. The only way I could get it out of 4A (turning the manual knob did nothing) was to select Weather, let it think it was going into that mode and then selecting Normal again at which point it came out of 4A. This isn't a big deal with those two modes but last weekend I had the truck in Baja for a few hours while a friend and I were beating around an old sand pit/quarry. I stopped the truck for about an hour and when I restarted it, I had the same problem (truck in 4H w/rear diff locked) but the dash display was saying Normal. Switching back and forth from Baja to Normal got it out of 4H but would not unlock the rear diff. We ended up having to disconnect the battery which reset everything back to Normal. I suspect this is an isolated issue with my truck but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. As a note, the manual selector works perfectly when the truck is truly in Normal mode.

 

[Badgertits]

Sounds like an electronic hiccup wouldn't be worried unless happens again - removing negative terminal is a go-to troubleshooting move for me these days w/ all the BS electronics in vehicles

Could it possibly be as simple as the back lighting not illuminating behind the manual rotary select knob??

 

[rtmozingo]

The manual selector should always work. The truck will always start in normal mode due to federal regulations, but retain tcase settings. If you can't use manual tcase switch something is wrong.

 

[Justin Hughes]

It’s going in for an oil change etc. tomorrow so ill update once the dealer takes a look at the issue. The manual knob lights work fine and the knob itself works fine unless the truck has a mode mismatch. When it’s in that scenario the knob does nothing. This has to be isolated to my truck

 

[CigarPundit]

The manual selector should always work. The truck will always start in normal mode due to federal regulations, but retain tcase settings. If you can't use manual tcase switch something is wrong.

+1

My transfer case settings stick, but the manual knob always works for me. Was the truck in drive and rolling a bit when you tried to change back to 2H?

 

[pbtjrlmrt]

What you're experiencing is normal but infuriating. Once you get used to it you'll be able to manage it. The same issue came up in the Raptor Assault class. They explained how the truck defaults back to normal once the power is turned off. I suspect if you fiddled with it you'd have been able to get the rear diff unlocked..driving it a little ways or something. Anyway, when you take it in you can confirm this but I don't think anything is wrong it's just a quirk that's even talked about at the Raptor driving school.

 

[smurfslayer]

it’s only partly due to regulations, it’s that ford did not fully certify other drive modes so they chose the easy and cheap way and made this a PITA for everyone.

I’m sure there’s EPA as well as MPG concerns, but the truck is putting out the same amount of emissions regardless of drive mode at a given speed/rpm combination.

 

[TXRaptor]

When I turn my 2018 off in 4A, it stays in 4A when I start it back up. However, I have always been able to change it back to 2H by manually turning the knob. I have not tried it in Baja mode, but I suspect it might be something specific to your truck.

 

[rtmozingo]

Certain modes preclude certain tcase settings. Weather mode will not allow 2H, for example. The only offroad mode that allows 2H is Baja mode, and it won't allow 4A.

 

[baptizo]

When I turn my 2018 off in 4A, it stays in 4A when I start it back up. However, I have always been able to change it back to 2H by manually turning the knob. I have not tried it in Baja mode, but I suspect it might be something specific to your truck.

Same with my '18 - no issues getting it back into 2H regardless of which mode it was in previously (mostly use Sport mode). I've also been in Baja mode a couple of times and shut the truck off at a site with no issues getting it back into 2H once it's started up.