I’m with you on Ford’s exhaust brake. On a Cummins/Ram, you notice it immediately when you let off the accelerator. When you press the exhaust brake button once, it’s in manual mode and functions when you take your foot off the accelerator. If you push the button twice, it’s in automatic mode, and will hold the speed you’re driving at until you take your foot of the accelerator and it will maintain that speed. Personally, it seems like tow/haul mode does a better job than the exhaust brake. At least, that’s my experience.

 

I wish mine had exhaust brakes. Loved those things on the big rigs when i drove them.

But here in Portland, and i think pretty much everywhere, you can't use them without risky a ticket in residential areas.

When did Ford start putting them on trucks? And which trucks?

 

This exhaust brake isn’t like a true Jake Brake or engine retarder. It is pretty quiet and you’d be hard pressed to know it’s on. Believe it was 2015 when Ford put the button in the trucks with the PSD.

 

I use mine sparingly because it isnt in my routine yet. When hauling my 5th wheel it seems to do well when slowing coming off a ramp on the highway. Other than that its hit or miss when it seems to be working.

Sometimes it seems to work when the switch isnt even on but I think thats the computer doing something else. It was recommended on the Jayco forum to just turn it to Auto all the time and let it do its thing. But I seem to only use it when towing the 5er. I dont know what the difference from manual to auto is. To me they seem the exact same and I see no difference when using them.

FWIW I used to live right next to a very busy highway with one of those 40' high walls behind my old house. We lived in a very flat part of the country where a Jake Brake wasnt necessary. The trucks getting off the highway used those Jake Brakes all night long. Real PITA when the weather was nice and you had the windows open and you got woke up to hearing Dat-Dat-Dat-Dat every 30 minutes all night long. I wish the Police in that area would have been writing tickets! So glad I moved from there.......bad sleeping memories!

 

When I have it active going downhill, letting off the throttle I do drop speed and I see the boost being generated, but how do I maintain my speed?

2018 Owner's Manual guidance directly gives the answer: Pg 226



Note: If your vehicle has Adaptive Cruise
Control, the speed control system uses the
selected engine brake mode, transmission
gears, and brakes to maintain the set speed
and distance to the vehicle being followed.
Automatic Engine Braking
1. Press the button twice to switch on
automatic engine braking.
2. Release the accelerator or brake pedal.
The system remembers your vehicle
speed.





Note: This feature offers smoother, less
aggressive engine braking during downhill
descents. It may not apply braking if the
vehicle speed is not increasing, although it
will apply full engine braking force when
needed to prevent acceleration. The system
automatically activates the engine brake
and, if necessary, downshifts the
transmission to lower gears to not exceed
your vehicle's set speed when the brake or
accelerator were last released.

 

Hey bud you need to be in tow haul to be effective. In essence the exhaust brake can’t be effective if your in overdrive so it needs to work in conjunction with controlled downshifts only commanded in tow haul. There really should be no reason to be running engine brake when not towing and in tow haul mode. The system works very well in tow haul. Plenty capable of giving breaks a chance to cool or avoid overheating and fade. Again the system is designed to supplement your brakes not replace them. Break pads are Cheap and disposable where I plan to keep my engine around a bit so I let them share the load versus asking the engine to hold/slow it all. Once you get your trailer in and are in tow haul mode, you’ll see it’s pretty effective. I leave it in auto most times.

 

The exhaust brake works pretty well in normal mode too. I use it sometimes in stop and go type traffic to keep from having to use the brakes as much. I'm sure it does a better job in T/H though, especially in situations it was actually designed for.

 

Thanks for all of this input. I have searched the forum and located a few threads on the subject.

HeavyAssault, I have read the owner's manual, just looking for something a little more informative from real time users, but thanks for the reminder, I've been going over the manual pretty thoroughly.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

2018 F-350, I haven't towed anything yet but have been trying to figure out the exhaust brake. My experience in the past has been with a Banks IQ exhaust brake which has a multitude of functions and programmable parameters. I haven't gotten this new truck to respond when activating the brake, I get the notification it's on, a second push on the button says it's in automatic, third push it goes away, I assume it turns off.

When I have it active going downhill, letting off the throttle I do drop speed and I see the boost being generated, but how do I maintain my speed? The manual doesn't really explain the system very well. Do I need to be in tow/haul mode? What's the difference between automatic and manual? How do I get the vehicle to maintain speed going downhill, does the cruise control need to be on?

I have a new Carbon toy hauler ready for action when winter ends and would like to be up to speed (no pun intended...) when the time comes. It just seems to me like nothing is happening. With the Banks brake you know immediately when you've exceeded your set speed, etc., it flat pulls you down.

Thanks!

Hey bud you need to be in tow haul to be effective. In essence the exhaust brake can’t be effective if your in overdrive so it needs to work in conjunction with controlled downshifts only commanded in tow haul. There really should be no reason to be running engine brake when not towing and in tow haul mode. The system works very well in tow haul. Plenty capable of giving breaks a chance to cool or avoid overheating and fade. Again the system is designed to supplement your brakes not replace them. Break pads are Cheap and disposable where I plan to keep my engine around a bit so I let them share the load versus asking the engine to hold/slow it all. Once you get your trailer in and are in tow haul mode, you’ll see it’s pretty effective. I leave it in auto most times.

I believe in Tow/Haul you still make it to 5/6 gears. I have on mine anyway. I don’t think it’s like the E4OD or 4R100.

 

I have to say that after around 1000 miles towing a new to me 5th wheel empty and loaded the exhaust break system has restored some of the confidence I lacked after purchasing the truck. I towed from San Diego back to Vegas empty then added fuel, 130 gallons of water, quads, food, and everything else. I towed up to Panguitch, UT and saw grades of 8% down and up.
The truck did pick up a little speed on the 8% but it wasn’t so much that it was dangerous. A little brake and it slowed me down.
Coming home I had dumped the tanks so I only had the quads and it handled the down grades better.
I estimate I was around 13-14k loaded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You a dumont guy? Come say hi! We are headed to Panguitch Friday hauling doubles trailers weighing about 25k, not the heaviest load I pull but hell that grade is something. Going to be a workout for the truck last time I pulled duck creek with a 23k load the truck was working for it