Troubleshooting 2018 Ford F-150 Dash Errors When Towing

Question:

My 2018 f150 has the following alarms when towing new 2019 grand design travel trailer drive mode unavailable traction control fault hill decent control fault. Ive been told this is a issue with 2018 f150s. Trailer brakes work fine. Have oem brake controller. Is there something I can put on trailer wiring to prevent these alarms?

asked by: Steve

Expert Reply:

The factory brake controllers are notorious for having issues. There sounds like there are possibly multiple sensors that are an issue. Forums haven't figured it out and it appears that most of the time turning off your vehicle and restarting it can solve the error messages popping up. I am not aware of anything on the trailer that causes these alarms/errors. It appears to be an issue on the vehicle side not the trailer.

If it were me, I would change out the controller with the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Trailer Brake Controller # RED44FR using the wiring harness # 331-TPH-007. This will allow you to use your brake controller without error messages and will give you both proportional braking for on the road use and user control mode if you desire to tow off road. It is easy to use and will fit into your dash for a factory look but a far better than factory performance. We have found that some vehicles need to have the CPU flashed and others do not when installing a controller, so it is case by case.

expert reply by: Jason S