M ?

[MilesTeg]

M is for "manual selection mode". You put the gear selector on M, then you use the up and down arrows to choose which gear you want to be in/shift to. It's there to give you control of which gear is selected for various driving conditions.

Off-road, it's there for you to do things like make sure you stay in 1st while negotiating a steep obstacle.

On-road, it's there for you to do things like manage your engine braking down a steep hill. You should definitely be familiar with how to use it if you ever drive in hills/mountains as you should absolutely be making use of engine braking to help control descents.

It's not an off-road specific feature. Most modern automatics have something similar. It's sometimes called "sport shift" and has a variety of ways to use it -- everything from buttons to paddle shifters.

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[CalvinT]

I also have a stick shift. But I would assume M (manual) mode works like every other Ford. You can cycle through the gears manually with the buttons on the side of the shifter. But, in theory, the computer still won't let you take it outside the safe operating range. Used it maybe twice in the F-150 in the past 5 years.

I should delete that post, but it's already been quoted too many times. So it's now a perment part of internet lore.