Tow Haul

The Tow Haul feature was designed to assist the driver when towing a trailer or a heavy load. All transmission gear ranges, including all five forward gears, are available when using the tow haul feature.

The tow haul function is activated and deactivated through a switch located on the end of the shift lever. The indicator light that is located at the end of the shift lever will illuminate when the tow haul is activated and will go off when deactivated. On some models, the indicator light is located on the instrument panel.

With the tow haul activated, the transmission will have the following features:

• Shifts will occur at higher vehicle speeds for a given accelerator pedal position to improve vehicle acceleration, reduce excessive shifting and increase the coast braking capability.
• The torque converter will lock up at lower vehicle speeds than normal with a given accelerator pedal position to improve transmission cooling and efficiency.
• Upshifts are temporarily delayed while decreasing accelerator position during hill cresting to reduce excessive transmission shifting and to prepare for a possible grade braking downshift event.
• Engine braking is provided in all forward gears without the requirement of moving the shift lever.
• Manual 1, 2 or 3 will still be available.
• Grade braking downshift feature provides increased coast braking automatically to assist driver in maintaining desired speed while descending a grade. This reduces duty cycle on the brake system and increases brake pad longevity.
• Grade braking downshifts are automatically commanded when:
  • positive vehicle acceleration is sensed (natural acceleration from grade descent).
  • a near zero accelerator pedal position is obtained.
  • a minimum amount of time has expired since the last grade braking downshift.
• Grade braking downshift mode is immediately exited should the tow haul mode be deactivated or if the accelerator pedal is depressed beyond a minimum threshold.