New Tow Vehicle wiring complexity

[jasin1]

Frustrating how new technology makes everything more complicated for people used to do their own repairs and modifications…New technology is great for the person who never lifts a wrench or who doesn’t plan on keeping a vehicle more then 5 years.
I truly think this is the last decade of cars that will be on the road to become classics one day.


I just bought a 2023 Ford transit 250…This van came with electric steering and lane keeping and a million other bits of wizardry .didn’t come with the trailer hitch or wiring,dealer told me they would have their upfitter do it …i asked if it would hurt my warranty the service mgr came back and said .. “ only if something fails because of the wiring” ..so i said nope i want the dealership to do it..they came back with $800 for hitch and wiring supposedly under warranty.They then tried to have a subcontractor install it at their place or mine..( i still thought it was the dealership employees)…so i cancelled it because he showed up with a Curt hitch and wiring and was gonna splice into my wires…guy didn’t know much about the transit vans.

Anyway long story short i had to buy two short factory harnesses and the ford oem hitch. could have used any hitch but wanted it to look factory…and had to buy a trailer control module that connects to everything….installed all of it and now have to go to the dealer to have the computer re flashed to turn on the trailer light option in the body control module!!!

all of this just to have a simple 4 wire trailer light for a small utility trailer

the lighting circuit is all canbus controlled wiring with no traditional 12 volt power..eveything is controlled by the computer and recognizes a trailer being connected and will shut off if certain parameters aren’t met.

I usually do all my own work but won’t use an aftermarket trailer harness because of the warranty…no one even makes a quick connect tee connector harness for the 2023..every other year except the new…called Curt and they said they haven’t tested one to see if it would work yet and all kinds of mayhem could be unleashed if i tried using a 2022 harness on a 23

ain’t technology grand!…oh and i feel privileged that i was allowed to purchase at full sticker price with no markup…they told me that was a great deal!…never paid sticker before..oh well ..welcome to the future

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jasin1

oh and i feel privileged that i was allowed to purchase at full sticker price with no markup…they told me that was a great deal!

Not a dime more!

Not a dime more!

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by LHaven

Not a dime more!
[URL=Not a dime more![/URL]

yeah that’s what i feel like but i needed a new van and they are few and far between..they were marked up almost 10k…so yeah i got a “deal” …believe me i’ve never paid that much before but what am i gonna do …Amazon and fed ex and rv companys have been hoarding all the new van purchases …mine was a special order that took so long the guy passed on it and it was available

[sourdough]

I don't mess with the new ones. In the past I was never fazed to just pull the entire guts out of the engine compartment and do whatever. Then it got more and more complicated. Every time you went to work on something something hidden "somewhere" controlled it along with a dozen other affecting parameters. Then, when you did the little gee whiz thing you used to do the whole shebang shut down and you had to have the code reader....used to just turn a screw.
Nah, I would let the dealer work on it if one failed....but I try to get rid of them before I get to those kinds of miles. I also try to make sure it has anything and everything I want, or might want, because trying to integrate something that's not there is a real PITA as you just mentioned.
As far as pricing goes sounds like you may have gotten the best deal you could get given the circumstances. I've learned over the years, and many, many cars, that I determine what I want then find the best deal available that makes sense to me then I forget it - you can't undo it so no sense worrying about it. Go enjoy the van...and the lighter bank account...it makes the van seem to go faster I bet.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I don't mess with the new ones. In the past I was never fazed to just pull the entire guts out of the engine compartment and do whatever. Then it got more and more complicated. Every time you went to work on something something hidden "somewhere" controlled it along with a dozen other affecting parameters. Then, when you did the little gee whiz thing you used to do the whole shebang shut down and you had to have the code reader....used to just turn a screw.
Nah, I would let the dealer work on it if one failed....but I try to get rid of them before I get to those kinds of miles. I also try to make sure it has anything and everything I want, or might want, because trying to integrate something that's not there is a real PITA as you just mentioned.
As far as pricing goes sounds like you may have gotten the best deal you could get given the circumstances. I've learned over the years, and many, many cars, that I determine what I want then find the best deal available that makes sense to me then I forget it - you can't undo it so no sense worrying about it. Go enjoy the van...and the lighter bank account...it makes the van seem to go faster I bet.

I learned my lesson on this one as far as options. …never would have guessed it would be so complicated for simple trailer wiring…I didn’t want to buy a new one but the price for used was right up there and I needed it for my business. The van it replaced was 8 years old and having issues that were getting frustrating

[wiredgeorge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdutns1wWXg

[jasin1]

yeah i guess i posted this to make people aware that adding towing capabilities to a truck that didn’t come prepped from the factory isn’t always so easy…i read about people looking at new trucks on the forum and thought i’d share my experience…And i would have kept my old van limping along …was gonna buy one last year but markups and availability made it impossible…so i put bandaids on it and tried to wait out the shortage this year but need a dependable van for work….guess it sounded like whining and complaining but just needed to vent

[sourdough]

Didn't sound like whining and complaining to me, more like a surprise finding or something unexpected. It's a good heads up for anyone not aware that these things nowadays are configured for what you are looking at on the floor...anything else can be a nightmare to try and add or undo. Bought a new truck that didn't have nav and I wanted it. No problem, it's just a software upgrade (and it was). 4 hours in the shop and $700 later I had nav on the same truck, with the same display, same knobs, etc. All the guy did was plug a laptop into it and wait.... I can't wait until AI controls all our vehicles and insists we take her/it to the shop....

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Didn't sound like whining and complaining to me, more like a surprise finding or something unexpected. It's a good heads up for anyone not aware that these things nowadays are configured for what you are looking at on the floor...anything else can be a nightmare to try and add or undo. Bought a new truck that didn't have nav and I wanted it. No problem, it's just a software upgrade (and it was). 4 hours in the shop and $700 later I had nav on the same truck, with the same display, same knobs, etc. All the guy did was plug a laptop into it and wait.... I can't wait until AI controls all our vehicles and insists we take her/it to the shop....

Been watching a TV series on the FBI (Class of 09 I think is the name). It shows past (2009) present (2023) and (future 2035) with the same characters. In the future, the FBI has an AI computer than can predict who will do bad stuff and they preemptively arrest folks who they predict will do some crime. The neat thing is that all automobiles can be controlled by their AI computer and in one scene. The driver gets a warning that she must pull over and the computer takes control of the car and drives it to an inspection place (looked like the border patrol stations). She could only sit there and let the computer take her to that spot. Scary. I know they will have a kill feature built into new cars starting sometime fairly soon. My wife will hang onto her 2003 Crown Vic and I will hang onto my clunker.