Tow/haul Downshifts While Braking.

[Baja 252]

Boy, this caught me off guard. I was pulling a bass boat and some guy pulled out on front of me while I was going 70mph down the highway. Not a panic stop, but I had to brake pretty firm. The truck down shifted to 4th (I was in 5th) then after a few seconds it goes down to third and the engine jumps to 4000rpm. When your not expecting it, it scares the #$&* out of you. I assume this is a new feature, my 01 Chevy and my 05 Denali never downshifted with tow/haul on.

[music]

Boy, this caught me off guard. I was pulling a bass boat and some guy pulled out on front of me while I was going 70mph down the highway. Not a panic stop, but I had to brake pretty firm. The truck down shifted to 4th (I was in 5th) then after a few seconds it goes down to third and the engine jumps to 4000rpm. When your not expecting it, it scares the #$&* out of you. I assume this is a new feature, my 01 Chevy and my 05 Denali never downshifted with tow/haul on.

 

Yes, "grade braking" is a feature of tow/haul mode on the 6-spds.

[Pumper]

I love this feature for the 6-spds. It has come in handy a couple of times when I have been hauling larger enclosed trailers. We also use the crap out of it on all of the tow trucks where I work.

[BlackSilver]

This feature has been in the Allisons for years. It's the reason I put up with the DuraMax.

 

I pull heavy loads in mountains, and it's like having a jake-brake on downgrades, without the noise.

[music]

This feature has been in the Allisons for years. It's the reason I put up with the DuraMax.

 

I pull heavy loads in mountains, and it's like having a jake-brake on downgrades, without the noise.

 

I believe the 2011 HD trucks really do get exhaust braking.

[yaman3]

Dodge/Cummins has already done it so I would assume the rest would follow.

[ColoradoSkiCountry]

Great. Something else to screw up the exhaust system. It's bad enough having the stupid particulate filter on these 08+ Diesels that use up fuel that squirts into the exhaust system to help burn off the filters, which cause a horrible diesel exhaust smell to come thru the heat/AC vents.

 

Dodge/Cummins has already done it so I would assume the rest would follow.

[absurveyor]

It caught me off guard when I was towing last Friday. I had read about it in the manual, but the effect is real noticable. I like the downshifts when braking for stops, it really reduces brake effort.