I hate my Powerboost

[hussar1683]

It’s a nice option to have a back up in form of a built in generator. However, buying this truck with that in mind makes no economical or practical sense to me.

Not very convenient if you can’t leave a running generator at home if you need to drive somewhere.
It’s an expensive option to add PB + 7.2 kW pro power, particularly on lower trims. It’s just a vehicle and most likely will be replaced, yet a bunch of owners invest in transfer switches, wiring etc. All those expenses may easily approach a cost of a real stand by generator that could easily power a house including central AC.

I absolutely agree that pro power is a game changer for RV owners or those needing power out in the field.

Those of you who claim you bought a hybrid pick up to power your houses in case of an outage, don’t kid yourselves…you just found a good excuse to justify spending 70k on a new toy, or leveraged pro power to convince your control freak wives, that you absolutely need this new life saving truck lol.

With all that baking said, I went ahead and bought a PB because I wanted a hybrid, not a generator.

Sponsored

 

[jesaf00]

It’s a nice option to have a back up in form of a built in generator. However, buying this truck with that in mind makes no economical or practical sense to me.

Not very convenient if you can’t leave a running generator at home if you need to drive somewhere.
It’s an expensive option to add PB + 7.2 kW pro power, particularly on lower trims. It’s just a vehicle and most likely will be replaced, yet a bunch of owners invest in transfer switches, wiring etc. All those expenses may easily approach a cost of a real stand by generator that could easily power a house including central AC.

I absolutely agree that pro power is a game changer for RV owners or those needing power out in the field.

Those of you who claim you bought a hybrid pick up to power your houses in case of an outage, don’t kid yourselves…you just found a good excuse to justify spending 70k on a new toy, or leveraged pro power to convince your control freak wives, that you absolutely need this new life saving truck lol.

With all that baking said, I went ahead and bought a PB because I wanted a hybrid, not a generator.

LMAO! I think you nailed it.

 

[tigertas32]

So I reset the transmission table with forscan and drove a couple of miles. There seems to be a change from lower gear issues to higher with some noticeable and audible clunks. When slowing down the transmission would go from 7 to 5 with a mild jerk and this happened a few times. I couldn't drive it much cuz getting late so when I got reset the tables again and will be driving a bit around town tomorrow. I appreciate the responses and suggestions.

The clunks definitely are different than what I had before. Is this just the transmission figuring itself out?

I think @Snakebitten pointed out that on one of his three PBs, after he reset the tables he drove it in sport mode to remove the hybrid system while moving (still auto stops). Maybe give that a try for a couple hundred miles on the next reset if this one doesn’t work.

 

[jesaf00]

I think @Snakebitten pointed out that on one of his three PBs, after he reset the tables he drove it in sport mode to remove the hybrid system while moving (still auto stops). Maybe give that a try for a couple hundred miles on the next reset if this one doesn’t work.

Sport mode stops hybrid all together?

 

[tigertas32]

I chose bad words. It doesn’t allow the engine to shut off and use electric mode only. Hybrid is still on.

 

[Snakebitten]

I think @Snakebitten pointed out that on one of his three PBs, after he reset the tables he drove it in sport mode to remove the hybrid system while moving (still auto stops). Maybe give that a try for a couple hundred miles on the next reset if this one doesn’t work.

You have a great memory.

I did attempt to use the factory shift strategy of Sport Mode during the adaptive stage of the transmission, just to see if perhaps the No-gear-skipping nature of Sport Mode might have a positive influence on the values that quickly populate the adaptive tables.
I personally prefer the shift strategy of Sport Mode for that reason as well as its the least confused strategy of all the modes. (my opinion). It's as if Ford removed most of the variables and options that in other modes, especially normal and Eco, have the transmission indecisive at times. Confused. Hunting even.

It's completely anecdotal, admittedly, but I put a couple of hundred miles on it in Sport and then returned to Normal ONLY because I want the daily advantages of the Hybrid in fuel economy.
And yes, to answer @jesaf00 Ford in all their silly marketing of drive modes decided for us that Sport Mode should pretend to be something more than what it actually is. (A transmission shift strategy, with a bit of additional tip-in on the throttle mapping.
Which both I find wonderful. But not for hustling, but rather just driving the truck normal)

They NIX EV cruising in Sport Mode. Basically they kill the Hybrid. For absolutely no logical reason at all. 45mph is 45mph, whether you are in 5th or 7th. Cruise control is cruise control. Why not disable cruise control in so called "Sport Mode" ? Afterall, it's for hooliganing, right? ??

I love this truck. Huge fan of it. It's an amazing drivetrain. But I'd be happier if they'd let ME decide what I want the truck to do.

Mini-rant over. Lol

By the way, this is my 4th personal 10r80 and it's the best day to day shifting of them all. It has the occasional stumble every once in a while, but that's the nature of a 10-speed with a ton of solenoids, clutch packs, a locked torque converter 90% of the time. Nobody could write enough code to guarantee every possible circumstance is accounted for elegantly.

 

[Snakebitten]

I chose bad words. It doesn’t allow the engine to shut off and use electric mode only. Hybrid is still on.

I don't think you stated it wrong at all.
In Sport Mode it's not a Hybrid. Although it is an ICE with some extra electric torque on tap if you have the right SOC. It WILL scoot if conditions are favorable!

 

[Atlee]

I think one should not give the Powerboost a ? for powering a house. It's a great party trick though. Sure, it'll supply power to a house, but it won't power a house unless you live in a home that doesn't require much power. It sure won't power my house. Turning off the AC to run the oven is not powering the house. That's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Get a whole house generator instead.

"Great party trick"? Hardly.

The 7.2Kw generator is one of the best options I've ever gotten. I use my travel trailer a lot. About 40% of the 100K miles I put on my old 2014 HDPP truck was towing miles. Way more than 1/2 of the 8k miles I have on my current Power Boost, with the generator, has been towing. A lot of those towing trips are boondocking ones.

This party trick has freed me from hauling 2 Honda EU2000i generators and the 16 gallons of gas needed to keep them running, along with the attendant problem of deploying them. At 75, I'm not getting any younger. Also, this party trick has allowed me to use my A/C when passing an area in hot weather and stopping at a Walmart.

 

[Mtnman1]

For what it’s worth every engine has its quirks.

except the 2.7, I have to say I havnt heard a lot of negative in that power plant

Dont visit the Bronco forums........

 

[Mtnman1]

You have a great memory.

I did attempt to use the factory shift strategy of Sport Mode during the adaptive stage of the transmission, just to see if perhaps the No-gear-skipping nature of Sport Mode might have a positive influence on the values that quickly populate the adaptive tables.
I personally prefer the shift strategy of Sport Mode for that reason as well as its the least confused strategy of all the modes. (my opinion). It's as if Ford removed most of the variables and options that in other modes, especially normal and Eco, have the transmission indecisive at times. Confused. Hunting even.

It's completely anecdotal, admittedly, but I put a couple of hundred miles on it in Sport and then returned to Normal ONLY because I want the daily advantages of the Hybrid in fuel economy.
And yes, to answer @jesaf00 Ford in all their silly marketing of drive modes decided for us that Sport Mode should pretend to be something more than what it actually is. (A transmission shift strategy, with a bit of additional tip-in on the throttle mapping.
Which both I find wonderful. But not for hustling, but rather just driving the truck normal)

They NIX EV cruising in Sport Mode. Basically they kill the Hybrid. For absolutely no logical reason at all. 45mph is 45mph, whether you are in 5th or 7th. Cruise control is cruise control. Why not disable cruise control in so called "Sport Mode" ? Afterall, it's for hooliganing, right? ??

I love this truck. Huge fan of it. It's an amazing drivetrain. But I'd be happier if they'd let ME decide what I want the truck to do.

Mini-rant over. Lol

By the way, this is my 4th personal 10r80 and it's the best day to day shifting of them all. It has the occasional stumble every once in a while, but that's the nature of a 10-speed with a ton of solenoids, clutch packs, a locked torque converter 90% of the time. Nobody could write enough code to guarantee every possible circumstance is accounted for elegantly.

You might be on to something.

I drove the first 1k miles in sport mode.

In my mind, i wanted everything to mesh and wear even, so didnt want cylinder deactivatikn to kick on.

Pretty much keep it in normal now. zero issues with shifting.

5.0 with 3.73's. No issue with searching for a gear or hard shifts.

Side note, my 2019 Ranger also has the 10speed. Put 50k on it with zero tranny issues.....so what do I know?

 

[jesaf00]

I had a short drive this morning in Sport mode but not above 40. No real issue so far. Insane to think that a normal person needs to go through this to train the transmission.

 

[Snakebitten]

You might be on to something.

I drove the first 1k miles in sport mode.

In my mind, i wanted everything to mesh and wear even, so didnt want cylinder deactivatikn to kick on.

Pretty much keep it in normal now. zero issues with shifting.

5.0 with 3.73's. No issue with searching for a gear or hard shifts.

Side note, my 2019 Ranger also has the 10speed. Put 50k on it with zero tranny issues.....so what do I know?

Maybe. Like I said, anecdotal since I have no scientific evidence.

But the theory has logic, right?

The so called "learning", is described as a process that's initiated by the values in the table missing. (you can clear the table as often as you want)
The transmission logic, at that point, is very different than the logic that controls the transmission shift strategy if the tables ARE populated with values. (an already "learned" strategy)
The technician is instructed to notify the customer that the truck is going to feel unusual and might shift harshly at times while it "determines" what values to populate the tables with.

I personally believe it's a mistake to tell them it is learning how they drive, but that's a grey line. Lol

What I believe it is really doing is measuring the various variances (tolerances) that are inherent in the transmission's multiple components that are in play for each shift. There's a degree of slop, if you will? And even wear, as it breaks in or piles up mileage.

If that's all an accurate way to describe what's going on, then I feel the so called Sport Mode, the shift strategy FOR that mode, is the most basic 10-speed code to use during the adaptive procedure. It has nothing to do with whether I drive Sporty or not, but rather that the transmission is using good solid consistent shifting during its measuring of appropriate tolerances for each shift. Sport Mode, in my opinion, is the 10-speed being a 10-speed much like it would be used if the truck had a clutch and you were driving it manually.

I'm not saying that this procedure would fix a transmission that has a faulty shift solenoid or a clutch pack that's defective, or a flawed torque converter. Nor will it fix the bugs that DO exist in the 10r80 management code. But I do think that there's potential improvement in the overall shifting quality for folks to clear those tables and repopulate them with a clean set of values that are sourced from the Sport Mode shifting strategy. Then return to the Mode they prefer to drive in.

One thing for sure is it's Free and you don't have to fuss with a dealership to see for yourself.

 

[jesaf00]

Maybe. Like I said, anecdotal since I have no scientific evidence.

But the theory has logic, right?

The so called "learning", is described as a process that's initiated by the values in the table missing. (you can clear the table as often as you want)
The transmission logic, at that point, is very different than the logic that controls the transmission shift strategy if the tables ARE populated with values. (an already "learned" strategy)
The technician is instructed to notify the customer that the truck is going to feel unusual and might shift harshly at times while it "determines" what values to populate the tables with.

I personally believe it's a mistake to tell them it is learning how they drive, but that's a grey line. Lol

What I believe it is really doing is measuring the various variances (tolerances) that are inherent in the transmission's multiple components that are in play for each shift. There's a degree of slop, if you will? And even wear, as it breaks in or piles up mileage.

If that's all an accurate way to describe what's going on, then I feel the so called Sport Mode, the shift strategy FOR that mode, is the most basic 10-speed code to use during the adaptive procedure. It has nothing to do with whether I drive Sporty or not, but rather that the transmission is using good solid consistent shifting during its measuring of appropriate tolerances for each shift. Sport Mode, in my opinion, is the 10-speed being a 10-speed much like it would be used if the truck had a clutch and you were driving it manually.

I'm not saying that this procedure would fix a transmission that has a faulty shift solenoid or a clutch pack that's defective, or a flawed torque converter. Nor will it fix the bugs that DO exist in the 10r80 management code. But I do think that there's potential improvement in the overall shifting quality for folks to clear those tables and repopulate them with a clean set of values that are sourced from the Sport Mode shifting strategy. Then return to the Mode they prefer to drive in.

One thing for sure is it's Free and you don't have to fuss with a dealership to see for yourself.

Great points and I/We really appreciate your help. Thank you. I will post back after driving a bit more.

 

[erixgix]

I think @Snakebitten pointed out that on one of his three PBs, after he reset the tables he drove it in sport mode to remove the hybrid system while moving (still auto stops). Maybe give that a try for a couple hundred miles on the next reset if this one doesn’t work.

I'll add my anedote with this. Background: About 2 weeks ago I asked for PB feedback as like OP, I am not finding my PB functioning well, getting noticeably worse around the 1000 mile mark. No overly harsh shifts, rather pedal on the floor giving a stuttering ICE (off the line in sport mode especially bad) and free wheeling converter. I reset my PCM as well Transmission tables and decided to try learning in sport mode.

Its been nearly 200 miles using Sport mode. It has definitely changed behavior. Some of it has been interesting and I learned a bit. Its seems to have confirmed for me they can lock in some bad habits. Its still in the process of changing, but here are some things I noticed:

The PCM reset prevents it from going into Electric mode at stops for the first 50 miles or so. After that, if you come to a full stop the ICE will shut off and go into electric. As soon as brake pedal pressure is changed the ICE comes right back, purring without confusion or trying to constantly shut down to go to electric. Previously in Sport, the ICE was not coming back on when fully off the brake and it seemed to struggle to figure out if it should be on or off (wait what mode am I in?). On rollout or even light power braking the ICE kept wanting to cut off and go into electric. This explains why it would stutter and struggle to get moving when giving it the berries off a start. Isnt doing that right now.
Overall throttle response is better. For now.

Transmission. I was seeing long delays with gear selection and converter lockup In sport, it seems to not hold gear for any longer than Normal mode. It still takes it time to lockup, but it definitely holds in gear longer before shifting. Slightly faster shifts than before.

As far as the low gear shifting, its typically expected that reset will make it harsher initially as it goes back to learning. For me it didn't revert nearly as far back to its new shifting harshness. I would call them more positive at worst. When new it really had smoothed out by 300 miles, and post reset it was still pretty close to that level most of the time. Generally what I noticed over the last 200 since reset is the shift and throttle timing are jelling better. Initially the timing is offset the throttle is set on before the shift point. Now they are better coordinated. Depending on how someone perceives clunky, that bit should help.

There is one new quirk though. My Stability control seems to have become overly sensitive and turning onto roads will continue to give heavy ignition cuts for several seconds even after turn completed and wheel is straight (whle holding light steady throttle). Have to fully release the gas for a second or two for it to reset. For some reason it seems to think its crashing even though its going 15mph straight ahead at 0 body yaw or roll. For now I am disabling TC and Stability control every drive.

OP, depending on the range of things you want to improve, if you don't get all that you want, consider resetting the PCM next. I think it did worlds of good for me. The two have to work together so I am sure it couldn't hurt and could help if the trans alone doesn't give you the desired results.

Good luck, look forward to seeing how your experiment pans out.

 

[Snakebitten]

Awesome feedback!
That's a forum at its best.

Sponsored