ford/Lincoln hybrid towing
I am planning on getting a new Winnebago Aspect. It has the Triton V10 engine and says the towing capacity is 5000 pounds. The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is easily under that capacity by 400-600 pounds. W...
Forum Discussion
DouglasC wrote:
...all you need to do is put the key in the ignition, turn it to ACC position, press on brake pedal to allow shift level to be moved out of PARK to NEUTRAL, then turn key back towards OFF (no battery drain in the near OFF position vs. ACC position)....
DouglasC has had success using this approach, but you need to keep this in mind: Turning the key away from ACC toward OFF as he is indicating here, is NOT recommended by Ford.
Owner's manual indicates to leave it in ACC position when towing. I spoke with a Ford representative about this recently, and he did confirm what I have suspected: There are specific reasons Ford recommends it stay in ACC position when flat towing. There are specific things, circuits that Ford wants to stay on when towing (like for instance, a circuit for an electric pump that circulates tranny fluid).
I know Douglas has had success with his approach, but if it were me, I'd be doing it the way Ford recommends. Thats what we've always done with our '13 Fusion hybrid. Repairs (or replacement) on the eCVT transmissions these hybrids use, I'm betting will not be cheap.
Yes, leaving it in ACC position means you are draining the battery. Solution to that is you either run a charge line (what I did and highly, highly recommend), or plan on stopping every few hours to start and run the engine for a few minutes in your toad to re-charge the battery. Like I said, I highly, highly recommend the charge line. Very quick, cheap, and easy to install, and eliminates all worries about ever draining the battery when towing.
