2021 Ford F-150 Owners Manual - Towing Your Vehicle

Towing Your Vehicle

Use the following guidelines when towing your vehicle. Failure to follow this instruction could result in vehicle damage not covered by the vehicle warranty.

Note: Make sure you properly secure your vehicle to the tow vehicle.

Note: If you are unsure of the vehicle’s configuration, contact an authorized dealer.

Follow these guidelines if you have a need for recreational towing. An example of recreational towing would be towing your vehicle behind a motorhome. These guidelines are to make sure that you do not damage the transmission.

You can only tow your vehicle with all wheels on the ground by placing the transfer case in its neutral position and engaging the recreational tow feature. Perform the following steps after positioning your vehicle behind the tow vehicle and properly securing them together.

Note: Put your climate control system in recirculated air mode to prevent exhaust fumes from entering your vehicle.

Note: Failure to put the transfer case in its neutral position can damage vehicle components.

Note: You can check the towing status at any time by opening the driver door or turning the ignition to the accessory or on position. A message appears in the instrument cluster display confirming Neutral Tow is on.

Note: If your vehicle has an anti-theft alarm, make sure you switch perimeter sensing on when towing. See Setting the Alarm Security Level (page 112).

Switching Neutral Tow On

Start your vehicle.

Press the 2H button on the four-wheel drive mode control.

Place your vehicle in temporary neutral mode. See Entering Temporary Neutral Mode (page 255).

Switch your vehicle off by pressing the push button ignition switch once or turning the key as far toward the off position as possible. A message appears in the instrument cluster display.

Switch your vehicle to accessory mode by pressing the push button ignition switch once without pressing the brake pedal or by turning the key to the on position.

Press and hold the brake pedal.

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Using the instrument cluster controls on the steering wheel, select Settings.

Select Neutral Tow.

Press and hold the OK button until a confirmation message appears in the information display.

Note: If completed successfully, the information display shows Neutral Tow Enabled Leave Transmission in Neutral. This indicates that your vehicle is safe to tow with all wheels on the ground.

Note: If you do not see a confirmation message in the instrument cluster display, you must perform the procedure again from the beginning.

Note: You may hear noise as the transfer case shifts into its neutral position. This is normal.

Release the brake pedal.

Leave the transmission in neutral (N) and switch your vehicle off by pressing the push button ignition switch once without pressing the brake pedal or turning the key as far toward the off position.

Note: Vehicles with keys do not turn to the off position when the transmission is in neutral (N). You must leave the key in the ignition when towing. Use the keyless entry keypad or an extra set of keys to lock and unlock your vehicle.

Switching Neutral Tow Off

With your vehicle properly secured to the tow vehicle, press the brake pedal and start the engine.

Switch your vehicle off by pressing the push button ignition switch once or turning the key as far towards the off position.

Place your vehicle in accessory mode by pressing the push button ignition switch once without pressing the brake pedal or by turning the ignition key to the on position.

Press and hold the brake pedal.

Shift into park (P).

Release the brake pedal.

Note: If completed successfully, the instrument cluster displays 2H and Neutral Tow Disabled.

Note: You must perform the switching neutral tow on and switching neutral tow off procedures again from the beginning if the indicator light and message do not display.

Note: You may hear a noise as the transfer case shifts out of its neutral position. This is normal.

Apply the parking brake, then disconnect your vehicle from the tow vehicle.

Release the parking brake, start the engine, and shift into drive (D) to make sure the transfer case is out of the neutral tow position.

If the transfer case does not successfully shift out of its neutral position, set the parking brake. Have your vehicle checked as soon as possible.

Resolving the Shift Delayed Drive Forward Message

Press and hold the brake pedal.

Start your vehicle.

Shift into neutral (N).

With the vehicle running, shift into drive

(D) and let the vehicle roll forward up to 3 ft (1 m).

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Note: You may hear a noise as the transfer case shifts out of its neutral position. This is normal.

5. Make sure the instrument cluster displays Neutral Tow Disabled.

You cannot recreational tow your vehicle with all wheels on the ground because vehicle or transmission damage could occur. You must recreational tow your vehicle with all four wheels off the ground, such as when using a car-hauling trailer. Otherwise, you cannot recreational tow your vehicle.

If your vehicle becomes inoperable without access to wheel dollies or a vehicle transport trailer, it can be flat-towed with all wheels on the ground, regardless of the powertrain and transmission configuration, under the following conditions:

Your vehicle is facing forward for towing in a forward direction.

Use the manual park release procedure. See Using Manual Park Release (page 257). Failure to do so may result in damage to the transmission.

Maximum speed is 35 mph (56 km/h).

Maximum distance is 50 mi (80 km).

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