‘19 surging when towing, what could it be?

Multiple issues going on. Have Ford ESP.

My 19’ Platinum Max had the CDF drum replaced under warranty back in October 2023 with about 42k on the clock. It’s at 55k now and we’ve recently had a couple of real harsh and a couple of delayed shifts. Trans 100% needs to be rebuilt or replaced again, it goes to the dealer in 2 weeks. That’s issue #1.

To add insult to injury, we have a hesitation/surging issue as well that they need to address. Seems a little uneven when accelerating empty, hook our small boat up behind it and it’s super obvious.

Last Expy we had needed VCT solenoid and cam phasers, wondering if this is the case on this one too?? Does either of these cause drivability issues??

It also seems to run very very hot when towing lightly just a Short distance.

No CELs.

Any thoughts?

Get an OBD reader and monitor the temps, boost, etc. while towing. If you're in the higher gears while towing, it will spool the turbos, which generates heat. You might consider locking out the top gears. See here for my towing screen setup.

JasonH's comments are absolutely correct. While the twin turbo is an awesome engine for towing, the turbos generate tremendous amounts of heat when under pressure (like towing). I have a 2017 Limited with the HD towing package. When I first starting towing my 7,000 lb trailer I was shocked at how quickly the operating temp rose. Following a ton of research I learned about turbo engines. Here is what I did. I purchased an OBD reader so I could watch the temp more closely. As the PSI on the turbo increased, so did the temp. Dropping the gears from 5 to 4 to 3 you'll be amazed watching the temp drop. Another thing I learned was about a cold side thermostat (it has two ports for movement of water instead of just one). After I installed the cold side thermostat my operating temp dropped 30 degrees. It too bad Ford doesn't educate its drivers better.

Definitely easy to heat up the 3.5 especially given the turbo power. Lots of people tow with little awareness of how hard they are pushing things especially with powerful engines where its not obvious how hard your push it etc.

JasonH said:

Get an OBD reader and monitor the temps, boost, etc. while towing. If you're in the higher gears while towing, it will spool the turbos, which generates heat. You might consider locking out the top gears. See here for my towing screen setup.

Click to expand...

Yes, I can definitely see towing hard with this 3.5TT would generate a ton of heat. We typically use my 18 Cummins to tow everything (mostly our TT) but for this 5 mile trip to the lake with pontoon boat, we had an extra person so the Expedition was our choice.

The shifting is back to pre-rebuild level of harsh after 13,000 miles, which is depressing. I've got real bad 3-5 upshift delay when cold, and an occasional 7-5 downshift that slams on a certain stretch of road normally. My guess is that there is debris or ? in the trans after the CDF replacement, and we're looking at another rebuild.

The elavated towing temps are likely due to the huge drag from towing that pontoon, which even at 3,000# loaded (maybe? LOL), is a huge wind drag.

What does not make sense is the SURGING I've got when loaded/under throttle going uphill. Most noticable when towing, but it does it without a trailer behind it. I can sometimes see the turbo guage "flutter" during this behavior, which has me puzzled. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks guys

Kinda frustrating......I love this vehicle, just like we loved out our 18. But, the complexity is really crazy on these, and it doesn't seem like Ford was really up to task (at least on the early 4th Gens) in component durability. Once we get this into the shop next Monday and have diagnosed, I need to decide long-term plans. I've got ESP warranty to about 100k (currently at 55k) but it's a PITA getting it serviced all the time. As it is, next week we're taking daughter for a couple of college tours, and we're going to take my 3/4 Ram instead of the Expedition, which is going to be in the shop

I can't tell whether you have the heavy tow package as well, and the other advice in this thread is decent advice depending on your circumstances and the model year of your vehicle. That said, I have been towing with my 2018 Expedition for a long time and I just can't imagine anything you could do that would cause such significant heat generation from the engine or turbo's that the system can't manage for a 5 mile trip with a pontoon boat. Potentially if you're driving 90 MPH for those 5 miles. If you are getting heat issues or warnings for a 5-mile trip with a 3,000 pound boat, I'd say you have a significant issues with the cooling system at minimum, potentially a transmission issue as well.

Craig Payne said:

I can't tell whether you have the heavy tow package as well, and the other advice in this thread is decent advice depending on your circumstances and the model year of your vehicle. That said, I have been towing with my 2018 Expedition for a long time and I just can't imagine anything you could do that would cause such significant heat generation from the engine or turbo's that the system can't manage for a 5 mile trip with a pontoon boat. Potentially if you're driving 90 MPH for those 5 miles. If you are getting heat issues or warnings for a 5-mile trip with a 3,000 pound boat, I'd say you have a significant issues with the cooling system at minimum, potentially a transmission issue as well.

Click to expand...

Yes I have max tow. Trans temp was 214F after towing the pontoon 5 miles at about 55mph. Something def seems amiss.

my 2019 with max tow hauled my ~ 5000 lb travel trailer through 9900 miles of Mexico Jan-May without trans overheating. I did use 'tow/haul' mode almost all the time. We mostly cruised around 50-55MPH on the toll highways (similar to US freeways) and took it pretty easy in the mountains. Truck was pretty heavily loaded with gear for this 4 month road trip, too.


(last day before crossing over to Nogales AZ)

By the way 200-210 is typical running temperature of the transmission. The fan kicks in around 214. 230 is “HOT” 250 is limp mode. I’m hauling my boat back south next week glad for cooler temps. I’ll watch the trans temps. Long climbs 120 125 might happen but shouldn’t be an issue

By the way 200-210 is typical running temperature of the transmission. The fan kicks in around 214. 230 is “HOT” 250 is limp mode. I’m hauling my boat back south next week glad for cooler temps. I’ll watch the trans temps. Long climbs 22- 225 might happen but shouldn’t be an issue. Couple of tough climbs, but outside temps should be down next week

Just typical around town no load 190-214 is common.