Manual shifting while in Drive

[ThunderFlash]

They should have offered Manual on all the Broncos or at least paddle shifters. Driving in auto is lame and thumb-shifting is even more lame

It's not exactly a road race car where one might need to be constantly rowing through the gears. Off roading tends to be slower speed affairs with a bit of time for contemplation of your next potentially disastrous move. Stationary paddles could be nice, but ones that are mounted to the wheel suck, like on our 2015 Explorer ST and maybe what we'd get out of the Ford cost cutting parts bin. It blows first trying to find the paddle, and then thinking about if it's the up or down paddle. I like the thumb shifter off road. It's always in the same place and intuitive with a quick press on the occasion the tranny has not selected what I believe I need.

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[indio22]

Sure, compared to not having anything (Maverick team are you listening??), it seems great. Compared to how it works in the F-series, it's garbage. (there are some threads discussing the differences, if you are interested) It's annoying, because all they (Ford) had to do was copy/paste the excellent system they already have.

Ford IT dept must have been on vacation during Bronco dev, as they also failed to include decent brake lock diff logic. It's implemented on competing Jeep and Toyota vehicles among others, apparently Ford devs were asleep at the wheel.

 

[DALOLA]

Considering the main use of the feature in the F-series trucks is to lock out higher gears when hauling or towing heavy loads, it comes as no surprise that it isn't a similar feature in a vehicle that is rated to tow 3500 lbs.

Yes, on my F350 I can lock out gears so it will only shift up to a certain point. I use it on cold mornings to keep it out of the top two gears to warm up faster, once it's warmed up it can have all ten gears back.

But on our Bronco, which isn't meant for towing and has the louvers in the grill to restrict airflow and help it warm up faster, there isn't really a use for a gear lock-out feature in most situations, other than some of the ones noted above. For the vehicle's application, it works fairly well, and if you need it to hold a particular gear, you simply have to switch to manual and hold it that way.

I do agree, though, that it would be nice if manual mode came with paddle shifters and/or using the gear shifter to up/down shift. Using a thumb button just sucks, and I have the same complaint about the manual shift mode in the truck. I would prefer to have something other than buttons on the shift lever. Some of us still know what it feels like to row through the gears ourselves.

If you are an engaged driver, it's useful 100% of the time, especially for the EB engines. I used it daily in both my F150's, regardless of loads or towing. It's perfect for keeping the engine in it's sweet spot....rpm's up, and out of boost. I could get high 20's (highway) from my tuned 2.7 F150 by selecting/holding gears. In the case of my 2.3 Bronco, it upshifts WAY too early, constantly getting into boost. And when you travel mostly hilly curvy 2 lane roads, the ability to hold gears is beneficial for improved driveability, IF you know what you're doing.

The point is, the F-series Select-Shift program is a superior application for ANY vehicle, and it made no sense for Ford to change it for the Bronco. Whether you use it or not is not relevant to it being a better application.

 

[DALOLA]

Ford IT dept must have been on vacation during Bronco dev, as they also failed to include decent brake lock diff logic. It's implemented on competing Jeep and Toyota vehicles among others, apparently Ford devs were asleep at the wheel.

Well, it was under development during covid, so I'll give the team a partial pass, but there is some really simple stuff they totally whiffed on for sure.... and still haven't bothered to address it. Let's go 99.9, and call it good.... Drives me nuts....

 

[gbub]

I have no problem with using the buttons on the shifter for manual shifting. I had a 99 Cougar that had the manual shifting with buttons on the shifter. I guess it it just a matter of what you are used to. I am just glad we have manual shifting automatics. My off-road vehicles have always had manual transmissions and having automatic shifting only would be objectionable to me.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

If you are an engaged driver, it's useful 100% of the time, especially for the EB engines. I used it daily in both my F150's, regardless of loads or towing. It's perfect for keeping the engine in it's sweet spot....rpm's up, and out of boost. I could get high 20's (highway) from my tuned 2.7 F150 by selecting/holding gears. In the case of my 2.3 Bronco, it upshifts WAY too early, constantly getting into boost. And when you travel mostly hilly curvy 2 lane roads, the ability to hold gears is beneficial for improved driveability, IF you know what you're doing.

The point is, the F-series Select-Shift program is a superior application for ANY vehicle, and it made no sense for Ford to change it for the Bronco. Whether you use it or not is not relevant to it being a better application.

My wife's '19 2.7 F150 would get high 20's on the highway by just putting it in drive and setting the cruise. That's the nature of a small turbo V6. Our 2.7 Bronco averages right around 20/21 on rural 2-lane highways, and is a brick out on the expressway.

And from what many people here are saying, the select-shift programming in the Bronco's biggest drawback is it doesn't stay engaged until you turn it off, it automatically turns itself off - which is disappointing. But otherwise, it seems to function exactly as the F150's does, or how the one in our Expedition does (except again, the Expedition's doesn't seem to turn off automatically).

I grew up driving in the hills of southern Indiana/northern Kentucky around the Ohio River. I know what hilly 2-lane roads (or 1.5 lane roads as some of the backroads were) are like, where there's blind corners and steep drop-offs as you follow a ravine up to the top. I have never had an automatic that felt like it was shifting too soon in those situations, even when I was being a 'spirited' driver, and that includes ones that pre-date gear lockout systems.

 

[gbub]

It won't automatically turn off manual shifting if you put the shifter in M. It is not that difficult to do.

 

[dgorsett]

If you are an engaged driver, it's useful 100% of the time, especially for the EB engines. I used it daily in both my F150's, regardless of loads or towing. It's perfect for keeping the engine in it's sweet spot....rpm's up, and out of boost. I could get high 20's (highway) from my tuned 2.7 F150 by selecting/holding gears. In the case of my 2.3 Bronco, it upshifts WAY too early, constantly getting into boost. And when you travel mostly hilly curvy 2 lane roads, the ability to hold gears is beneficial for improved driveability, IF you know what you're doing.

The point is, the F-series Select-Shift program is a superior application for ANY vehicle, and it made no sense for Ford to change it for the Bronco. Whether you use it or not is not relevant to it being a better application.

The point is, the F-series Select-Shift program is a superior application for ANY vehicle, and it made no sense for Ford to change it for the Bronco. Whether you use it or not is not relevant to it being a better application

I mean really why not, it doesn't hurt anything, you don't have to use it and it's endlessly useful: off road, in the mountains, curves, hills, load, to sound cool, whatever.

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