[Fishstyx]

I had the truck up to my mountain property which features a bunch of rough old logging roads and steep climbs. My old FX4 did pretty well and spent a lot of time in 4Low.

I took the Lightning up there and got a chance to workout ‘Off-road Mode’. Observations

1) it disables 1 pedal driving. WHY?!?! 1PD makes great hill descent control. I switch back to normal mode on the downslopes.

2) it locks the rear diff by defaul. WHY?!?! Locking the rear diff off road is relatively rare and should always be intentionally enabled when you really need it. All other times it hinders performance at every turn

3) Disabling the locking diff from the Driving Modes screen didn’t actually unlock the rear diff. I had to switch to normal mode.

4) the throttle curve works well, like an ice truck in 4L. Keeps things nice and slow and gives you a lot of resolution on the accelerator when slowly traversing rough rocky terrain.

 

[ChasingCoral]

The simple answer to “why?” is that’s the choice the engineers made. If there is enough feedback to Ford, they can change these things by OTA. I suggest if you want Ford to hear your suggestions, tag @Ford Motor Company in your post.

 

[Fishstyx]

Simple answer to “why?”: that’s the choice the engineers made. If there is enough feedback to Ford, they can change these things by OTA. I suggest if you want Ford to hear your suggestions, tag @Ford Motor Company in your post.

My side by side UTV conked out on the mountain side (weak battery) so I walked down the mountain drove the truck up some very steep inclines with a jump battery then walked the rest of the way up. I just can’t get over how it’s completely silent other than the tires on the trail. Off-road mode seems to balance the torque evenly front and rear because there was zero wheel slip even on steep gravel

 

[FM_Jack]

That's interesting cause I feel like at the San Antonio event the locking diff was off until they hit those runts. Then they were told to turn it on to demo the feature. Maybe they didn't have it in off-road? Have to go back and checks.

 

[ChasingCoral]

p 295 of the Owner's Manual:

OFF-ROAD
For driving on rough uneven terrain. This mode optimizes accelerator pedal response to
give you more control over your vehicle when traversing off-road obstacles. Traction control and stability control settings are optimized, and the rear electronic differential is automatically engaged to enhance vehicle performance in off-road environments. Use this mode when driving through sand, loose gravel, mud, or mixed off-road terrain.
Note: One Pedal Drive is not available in this mode.

 

[Fishstyx]

p 295 of the Owner's Manual:

OFF-ROAD
For driving on rough uneven terrain. This mode optimizes accelerator pedal response to
give you more control over your vehicle when traversing off-road obstacles. Traction control and stability control settings are optimized, and the rear electronic differential is automatically engaged to enhance vehicle performance in off-road environments. Use this mode when driving through sand, loose gravel, mud, or mixed off-road terrain.
Note: One Pedal Drive is not available in this mode.

There it is.

It’s an objectively bad engineering decision likely made by someone who hasn’t done any serious off roading. Even in the most extreme off-road scenarios, engaging a diff lock is only done when it’s appropriate. That is, when traction is lost or likely to be lost to a single wheel. It’s obviously bad when making any sort of turns everywhere else on a trail.

I’m sure I won’t be alone with this feedback. Fortunately it’s a simple software change. I’m still concerned that the diff lock failed to disengage when I switched it off when in off-road mode. I’m goi g to do more testing to confirm it. I should be able to monitor th commanded state of the diff locker in car scan.

 

[FM_Jack]

Don't know what happen to the videos I watched, but Truck King's video you can see the screen was in "Normal" mode when they hit the locker. So odd that they weren't in Off-road mode at an Official Ford Event. That doesn't make sense at all.

 

[FM_Jack]

@Ford Motor Company

Suggestion for the UI - Tile Button addition to the app selection screen called "Mode". (I don't know the names for all of their objects but at the top center, there is a shadowed circle with 6 dots - that one)

When selecting the Mode app, this populates the main resizable portion of the UI (whether 12 or 15.5) with information useful for that specific mode. It would essentially be a shortcut/favorite screen.
For the Normal Mode. Toggle switches for the bed/frunk/interior pro power active function. Maybe additional information on the driver assistance.
For the Off-Road mode you would have shortcut keys for the camera options, specifically trailer and front. Toggle switch for Locking Diff (which should be the only mode it appears). Tire pressures. Pitch angles if that is available.
For the Sport Mode. Traction control toggle.
For Tow/Haul Mode. Toggle switches for the Zone Lighting. Bed Lighting. Most used trailers (if created) as radio buttons. Maybe information from the trailer. A button to run the trailer checklist.

Each one could also have a button that takes you to specific settings for more information. Like the driver assistance. I find it very annoying when I am driving and I'm trying to remember what is or isn't active; that's about 2-3 or more presses. OR it could just be on a Tile for that mode that can then go straight to those settings rather than hitting the Vehicle Icon, Settings, then I belive it is Driver Assistance menu button. It is very distracting to do all of that when driving. When I test drove the Lightning I realized that Auto Stop wasn't on, but then had to remember how to get to the option in the menus. I gave up because I was at a light and had to pay attention. BUT if that toggle was the "Mode" Tile for Normal and maybe Tow/Haul; 1 press and I could see the status. (BTW, I don't know why that isn't a toggle in one of the mode selection options like 1-pedal)

I don't have the suggestions for each but the point is that items that are specific to that mode or more likely used if you are in that mode are made available on this Tile/Card. BTW, why is the Locking Diff toggle on the Sport mode screen?

Advantages:
This allows the mode to be a card that sits at the bottom and when switching between modes there can be multiple cards at the bottom like you have with "Trip Energy", "Navigation", AA/Apple CarPlay, etc. Therefore the mode switching is reduced to 1 press (as long as it hasn't moved too far off).

It allows an object on the screen that has a larger press area for when the car is in motion.

The Settings tab for these settings wouldn't go away. This area should expand over time and should still see use for other preferences/settings.