Holding gears without slow speed crawl option

[Forestpatrol]

Anyway to hold gears or have a downhill assist option for a Big Bend without the slow speed cruise control? I am talking going down a mountain dirt road and wanting to maintain maybe 5-10-20 MPH. I assume there is no way to hold any single gear from the factory, correct? How about with an aftermarket tuner ?

Edit: I also saw someone else (I believe incorrectly) say that putting it into “L” would hold 1st gear ? This cannot be accurate correct? I believe that it will hold ”lower” gears but it certainly wouldn’t hold 1st coming off a hill would it ?

Thanks !

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[Mark S.]

From the owner's manual:

Low(L)

With your vehicle in drive (D), press the low (L) button to activate low mode.

• Provides maximum engine braking.
• You can shift the transmission into low (L) at any vehicle speed.
• Is not for use under extended or normal driving conditions and results in lower fuel economy.

So, pressing the L button will provide the greatest engine braking possible.

 

[Forestpatrol]

Thanks. Are you aware of any aftermarket tuners that would allow gear selection?

 

[Mark S.]

Thanks. Are you aware of any aftermarket tuners that would allow gear selection?

Unfortunately, no. It would require the addition of a means to make a gear selection. For example, the Badlands transmission may be set to manual mode (M on the selector), which then allows gear selection using the paddle switches on the steering column. You would need something similar to get the same functionality.

 

[CletusVanDam]

I can tell you from experience, even with manual mode on Badlands, you don't get the option to slow down a lot downhill with gears.

I've been in a number of backroad situations, going fairly steep downhill and manual would not even allow 1st gear, it won't let me go down past 2nd, even when it seems like it should. I've had to use brakes way more than I think should have been necessary.

I don't think you can shift to 1st gear over 5mph, or something like that.

Meanwhile, in my 15 year old dodge ram (automatic) , I can put it in 'L' and it really slows the vehicle when going downhill. It allows a lot more rpms than the bronco sport.

I'm guessing non badlands "low" gear has similar limits as badlands "manual" mode.

 

[Mark S.]

I've been in a number of backroad situations, going fairly steep downhill and manual would not even allow 1st gear, it won't let me go down past 2nd, even when it seems like it should.

Are you talking about on-road or off-road? If you need 1st gear engine braking downhill off-road why not use Trail Control? It pretty much does everything for you: gear selection, engine braking, applying wheel brakes, etc.

If you are on the road you can press the paddles all you like, but the PCM will not allow you to downshift enough to overspeed the engine. I don't believe 1st gear is ever used on pavement. I believe the only time I've seen the transmission in 1st is while climbing a steep incline using an off-road G.O.A.T. mode.

 

[CletusVanDam]

Offroadish, like forest service roads. I'm not talking about trying to go 10 mph or less down hills, so crawl control isn't what I'd want. Plus, crawl control engages brakes, and my entire goal on long downhill stretches is to give the brakes a brake.

I'm just trying not to drive like a maniac downhill on narrow, windy roads, but paddle shifters are basically zero help if I've got to ride the brakes to keep around 20 mph. I'd rather have a regular low gear or two than the paddle shifters.

It's not a huge deal, really.

 

[sajohnson]

I can tell you from experience, even with manual mode on Badlands, you don't get the option to slow down a lot downhill with gears.

I've been in a number of backroad situations, going fairly steep downhill and manual would not even allow 1st gear, it won't let me go down past 2nd, even when it seems like it should. I've had to use brakes way more than I think should have been necessary.

I don't think you can shift to 1st gear over 5mph, or something like that.

Meanwhile, in my 15 year old dodge ram (automatic) , I can put it in 'L' and it really slows the vehicle when going downhill. It allows a lot more rpms than the bronco sport.

I'm guessing non badlands "low" gear has similar limits as badlands "manual" mode.

So just to be clear, if you come to a stop, you can manually shift it into 1st, correct?

Then, with it in 1st (or 2nd), if you start downhill, what happens? I know from experience in other vehicles that engine braking will only do so much. It's far from a Jake brake on a truck.

Our RV is built on a Sprinter turbo diesel chassis. The auto trans can be shifted manually but there are two limiting factors:

1) Engine braking force is limited. It helps, but friction brakes are still required on steep slopes.
2) If you aren't paying attention you can exceed the redline.

Is the BS BL the same?

 

[Forestpatrol]

Offroadish, like forest service roads. I'm not talking about trying to go 10 mph or less down hills, so crawl control isn't what I'd want. Plus, crawl control engages brakes, and my entire goal on long downhill stretches is to give the brakes a brake.

I'm just trying not to drive like a maniac downhill on narrow, windy roads, but paddle shifters are basically zero help if I've got to ride the brakes to keep around 20 mph. I'd rather have a regular low gear or two than the paddle shifters.

It's not a huge deal, really.

Yeah, those are the roads that I deal with daily where we live. The crawl control would have been amazing for us but we didn’t have the option, unfortunately.

 

[Mark S.]

So just to be clear, if you come to a stop, you can manually shift it into 1st, correct?

I'm going to test this today; I don't think you can manually set the transmission to 1st unless you are using an off-road G.O.A.T. mode. Stand by...

 

[Dude]

I'm going to test this today; I don't think you can manually set the transmission to 1st unless you are using an off-road G.O.A.T. mode. Stand by...

Been holding my breath all day and nothing was posted. We are left hanging ?

 

[sajohnson]

Been holding my breath all day and nothing was posted. We are left hanging ?

We could go out and do it ourselves, but that would require stepping away from the keyboard and exerting physical effort...

 

[Dude]

We could go out and do it ourselves, but that would require stepping away from the keyboard and exerting physical effort...

Too much rain and hail here today but i may tomorrow ?

 

[sajohnson]

Too much rain and hail here today but i may tomorrow ?

Hail?!

I hope you weren't hit too hard. I saw that the mountains up around Flag were going to get a lot of snow.

 

[Dude]

Hail?!

I hope you weren't hit too hard. I saw that the mountains up around Flag were going to get a lot of snow.

3’ in Flag recently. My badlands has been in the garage. When raining or chance of hail we drive the Toyota ?

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