NO paddle shifters on the 2019 Edge FWD... WHAT??

[akirby]

The GM 9 speed just debuted a few months ago on a GM sedan (forgot which one).

[akirby]

The 2019 Edge owner’s manual is posted at www.motorcraftservice.com. It only shows the selectshift transmission operation with the paddle shifters. It does not make any mention of “if equipped” or “optional”. I think that was just a wording difference in the order guide between the new 8 speed transmission and the other transmissions.

[tk2fast]

Thanks Akirby, time will tell I guess.

[2FAST4U]

I have a '16 Titanium with the 3.5 engine and I don't remember if it has the paddle shifters or not… I don't really care as I've never felt any need for them… I put it on "drive" and just do that… DRIVE.

 

Claude.

Edited August 13, 2018 by 2FAST4U

[tk2fast]

I use the select shift feature all the time on my present vehicle as I drive very steep mountain roads and really need those lower gears for drag. Just depends on where you drive I guess.

[akirby]

Steep roads are where they are most useful - holding a lower gear.

 

It’s also useful for a quick downshift or two before pulling out to pass (you can do this from D - you don’t have to be in S - and it goes back to full automatic operation after a few seconds).

 

People think you have to use it like a regular manual and shift through all the gears all the time but that’s not the case.

[tk2fast]

Steep roads are where they are most useful - holding a lower gear.

 

It’s also useful for a quick downshift or two before pulling out to pass (you can do this from D - you don’t have to be in S - and it goes back to full automatic operation after a few seconds).

 

People think you have to use it like a regular manual and shift through all the gears all the time but that’s not the case.

I totally agree. I will purchase the AWD just to get the paddle shifters.

[tamugrad2013]

If I am not mistaken the all of the Gen 1.5 had select shift either on the gear lever (3.5) or steering wheel shifters (Sport 3.7) except for the ecoboost models. When I was in Colorado on their steep grades shifting to L seemed to work well or even setting cruise control to the speed you do not want to exceed allows it to engine brake very well. I never wanted for more. I am not sure how sport would work, but I could imagine it would be similar.

[Tightanium]

Maybe Ford thinks that there are to many people like me and never use it? I’m not saying they shouldn’t offer it just I don’t have a need for it. I don’t like the delay .

[tk2fast]

The updated order guide as on 9/1 states that the only 2019 Edge to have paddle shifters is the AWD. The FWD will not even have a Select Shift transmission. So strange.

[akirby]

The updated order guide as on 9/1 states that the only 2019 Edge to have paddle shifters is the AWD. The FWD will not even have a Select Shift transmission. So strange.

Yes that’s what it says but it’s not certain whether that’s accurate or not. Could just be a typo.

[tk2fast]

Some time back I tried contacting Ford via email about this to no avail.

[Crooner7]

On 6/21/2018 at 12:06 PM, tk2fast said:

I agree ben senise; No paddle shifters is a "deal breaker" for me. 90% of my driving is mountainous with very steep downgrades.

 

It just makes no sense to me that Ford would do this. Ugh! Does anyone have an Email of someone at Ford that makes these decisions?

My wife purchased her 2019 Edge FWD and her mind was set, so I basically went along for the ride since it was her car.  However, I feel sheepish that I didn’t research the car better for when we drive mountain roads in the summer.  The inability to hold that car back on steep grades without riding the brakes is a safety issue in my book and I have notified the NHTSA.  It is a major engineering gaffe and unacceptable. 

 

I tried to contact Ford but was unable to speak with anyone who could speak English understandably.  Unbelievable.  

 

I have contacted two two dealerships and one where I know several people.  They confirmed that is it not a car for the mountains.  Strictly a flatlander’s car.  For the record, I have played with it trying all kinds of things.  In “s” mode if you brake below 20 mph you can get a tiny amount of engine braking.  Hey, I have driven in the mountains for nearly 60 years including towing a 14000 pound 5er behind my 2000 Powerstroke.  On it., I had to install an exhaust brake.  Maybe that is what we need on this Edge. Lol.  

 

Inept engineering Ford!!!

[omar302]

1 hour ago, Crooner7 said:

My wife purchased her 2019 Edge FWD and her mind was set, so I basically went along for the ride since it was her car.  However, I feel sheepish that I didn’t research the car better for when we drive mountain roads in the summer.  The inability to hold that car back on steep grades without riding the brakes is a safety issue in my book and I have notified the NHTSA.  It is a major engineering gaffe and unacceptable. 

 

I tried to contact Ford but was unable to speak with anyone who could speak English understandably.  Unbelievable.  

 

I have contacted two two dealerships and one where I know several people.  They confirmed that is it not a car for the mountains.  Strictly a flatlander’s car.  For the record, I have played with it trying all kinds of things.  In “s” mode if you brake below 20 mph you can get a tiny amount of engine braking.  Hey, I have driven in the mountains for nearly 60 years including towing a 14000 pound 5er behind my 2000 Powerstroke.  On it., I had to install an exhaust brake.  Maybe that is what we need on this Edge. Lol.  

 

Inept engineering Ford!!!

 

For the most part, most cars with Automatic transmissions did not have manual control foe gear ratios. Furthermore, with newer small displacement engines (usually Turbocharged), engine braking is weak compared to older, bigger engines. With my Sport (2.7 EcoBoost) engine braking is considerably weaker than my previous MKX with the 3.7L. And those are nothing compared to the 4.6L v8 in the 1996 Grand Marquis we had before that. 

[Crooner7]

On 8/27/2018 at 9:26 PM, tamugrad2013 said:

If I am not mistaken the all of the Gen 1.5 had select shift either on the gear lever (3.5) or steering wheel shifters (Sport 3.7) except for the ecoboost models. When I was in Colorado on their steep grades shifting to L seemed to work well or even setting cruise control to the speed you do not want to exceed allows it to engine brake very well. I never wanted for more. I am not sure how sport would work, but I could imagine it would be similar.

 

On 8/27/2018 at 9:26 PM, tamugrad2013 said:

If I am not mistaken the all of the Gen 1.5 had select shift either on the gear lever (3.5) or steering wheel shifters (Sport 3.7) except for the ecoboost models. When I was in Colorado on their steep grades shifting to L seemed to work well or even setting cruise control to the speed you do not want to exceed allows it to engine brake very well. I never wanted for more. I am not sure how sport would work, but I could imagine it would be similar.

It should be similar but it is not.  The s mode won’t hold you back much at all. 

[Crooner7]

45 minutes ago, omar302 said:

 

For the most part, most cars with Automatic transmissions did not have manual control foe gear ratios. Furthermore, with newer small displacement engines (usually Turbocharged), engine braking is weak compared to older, bigger engines. With my Sport (2.7 EcoBoost) engine braking is considerably weaker than my previous MKX with the 3.7L. And those are nothing compared to the 4.6L v8 in the 1996 Grand Marquis we had before that. 

It isn’t an engine braking issue or holding the car back with manual shifters wouldn’t work either.  It is the inability to hold the transmission in a lower gear and hold it there.  I drove an Edge at a dealership with the paddles and it held the car back just fine.  I haven’t looked at all the automatics out there in 2019, but have driven several which have traditional manual lower gear configurations.  

[David Dewhurst]

On 7/2/2019 at 5:31 AM, Crooner7 said:

 The inability to hold that car back on steep grades without riding the brakes is a safety issue in my book and I have notified the NHTSA.  It is a major engineering gaffe and unacceptable. 

 

I tried to contact Ford but was unable to speak with anyone who could speak English understandably.  Unbelievable.  

I have contacted two two dealerships and one where I know several people.  They confirmed that is it not a car for the mountains.  Strictly a flatlander’s car.  For the record, I have played with it trying all kinds of things.  In “s” mode if you brake below 20 mph you can get a tiny amount of engine braking.

Crooner7, I took the liberty of shortening your post to points I'd like to refer to. What response did you receive from NHTSA? 

 

I on city, country, expressway I always use cruise control. I owned a 2013 Edge SE with normal cruise control, no paddle shift/SelectShift with a 6 speed transmission. Mid April I took delivery of a 2019 Edge SE with normal cruise control, no paddle shift/SelectShift with an 8 speed transmission. On a specific hill when traveling down hill at cruise set at 30 mph the 2013 Edge would downshift two gears keeping the speed at set speed of 30 mph to maybe 1 mph over set speed. The 2019 Edge on same hill with cruise set at 30 mph will gain speed to 38 mph by time bottom of hill. On a lesser grade hill the 2013 set at 25 mph will keep the speed to set speed of 25 mph. With the 2019 on the same lesser grad hill with the set speed at 25 mph will gain speed to 28 mph. I agree 100% this is not what a customer expects, it is a safety issue and is cheapening the 2019 Edge SE FWD model. The owners manual specifies, cruise control lets you maintain a set speed without keeping your foot on the accelerator pedal You can use cruise control when your vehicle speed is greater than 20 mph. The owners manual also under normal cruise control specifies when in cruise traveling downhill and set speed is exceeded to downshift, surprise with normal cruise control there is no downshift. The owners manual with cruise control and paddle shift/Select Shift specifies when in cruise traveling downhill and set speed is exceeded to downshift, which one may do with paddle shift/Select shift otherwise the brake system will overheat. We all know when the brakes system overheats it's a safety issue.  Crooner7, the two dealerships suggesting the car is not meant for mountains and is meant for flatland is pure dealership gold drivel to cover their and Ford's butt. I'm 78 years old and have bought 8 new Fords. 

 

I've talked to the Tech Service man 2 times, talked to the Service Manager three times and yesterday communicated with the dealer General Manager. Both the Service Manager and the General Manager have talked to Ford about the cruise control issue. In a general sense the response from Ford is to that's the way the SE without paddle shifters/SelectShift functions.  

[Crooner7]

David, I could not agree more.  Whoever engineered any vehicle with the inability to hold it in a low gear on a steep decline has never driven the mountains.  It is a safety issue.  I need to contact NHTSA.  

 

Also, anyone who thinks they can rely on their brakes and not engine braking is either an idiot or had never driven in serious mountain driving.  I have been over nearly every paved mountain road in Colorado and some are a piece of cake and some are serious.  I didn’t say scary, I said serious. (To a flatlander, they are all serious)

[David Dewhurst]

Crooner7, let me/us know what NHTSA has to say. I don't quite know what I'm doing next. Maybe a letter to Mr. William Clay Ford because he flat out stated March 15, 2018, "Our goal is to become the worlds most trusted mobility company."

[akirby]

27 minutes ago, David Dewhurst said:

Crooner7, let me/us know what NHTSA has to say. I don't quite know what I'm doing next. Maybe a letter to Mr. William Clay Ford because he flat out stated March 15, 2018, "Our goal is to become the worlds most trusted mobility company."

 

It's not going to be declared a safety defect and there is probably nothing Ford will do.  If you consider it unsafe you should get a different vehicle.  It's unfortunate that Ford did this.   Older Fords at least had a Low gear that helped.

[ben senise]

20 hours ago, akirby said:

 

 If you consider it unsafe you should get a different vehicle

 

^^^ exactly this.

 

ford is a MASSIVE global company. they don't listen to their customers.

 

if you don't like what you see, buy something else. the way things are today, i won't be replacing my 2nd edge with a 3rd. vote with your wallet.

[David Dewhurst]

Not to start an argument folks, but voting with your wallet is just like attempting vote a politician out of office, good luck. The expectation of customers is that cruise control uphill or downhill will keep the vehicle speed constant within a mile or so per hour. Nothing happens to the offending company or the politician. From my experience the 2013 6 speed/cruise control downshifted gears and engine braked. Can any of your explain why a 2019 8 speed/cruise control can't be programmed to do the same downshift engine braking? Other than Ford is forcing the issue on folks to upgrade to their Select Shift option. Had I know the 2019 wouldn't downshift like the 2013, I'd have never bought the car. I'v already talked to my MI GM engineer daughter-in-law about buying a GM SUV. Special discount for a rival car company person switching to a GM vehicle. But, that's really not the route I'm ready to take. 

[akirby]

4 hours ago, David Dewhurst said:

. Can any of your explain why a 2019 8 speed/cruise control can't be programmed to do the same downshift engine braking? Other than Ford is forcing the issue on folks to upgrade to their Select Shift option. . 

 

They cut out the paddles to save money.  Only a few people will care.  If it’s really important then get the upgraded model or buy something else.  It’s a business decision.  They’re putting all their funding into new vehicles including edge and Nautilus replacements and midsized BEVs.  Same reason they cut out the 3.5L and they’re offering the same engines on both the edge and Nautilus.  Until something like that affects profits ( not just sales ) they won’t change it.  Good news is so far they don’t appear to be doing a lot of cost cutting on the new models going forward.

[omar302]

9 hours ago, David Dewhurst said:

Can any of your explain why a 2019 8 speed/cruise control can't be programmed to do the same downshift engine braking?

 

Was your 2013 a V6? If so, that would, in my opinion, be the main reason. The smaller engine, 2.0L, is just not big enough to brake the vehicle as good as the bigger V6. My 2016 Sport (with a 2.7L V6, has selectshift, but just cannot "Engine brake" as good as my previous 2011 MKX with the 3.7L V6. Engine braking works by operating the engine an pump, having turbo(s) to increase engine power will not have any effect on engine braking. So even though the downsized "Turbo" engines make more power, they have less engine braking capability.

Edited August 29, 2019 by omar302

[David Dewhurst]

akirby, sorry, suggesting upgrading to a costlier model is Ford Motor Company type thinking. 

 

omar302, my 2013 2L 6 speed EcoBoost downshifted and engine braked very well.

My 2019 2L 8 speed EcoBoost does not downshift, but if it did it also would engine brake very well. On the other end of the spectrum if Ford can for the 2109 use various inputs to program up shift on hills/mountains (functions very well), they can do the same for downshifting.

 

omar302, when you say the 2019 2L EcoBoost will not engine brake if the downshift cruise control was programmed, you'd also be saying the 2019 2L EcoBoost with paddle shift/SelectShift would not engine brake. How much sense does that make when in the owners manual for the Select Shift models one is told in hilly/mountain conditions to downshift to prevent the brake system from overheating".