One less way to wreck your gearbox: Ford patents an automatic flat-tow mode

© media.ford.com

Ford has filed a patent application for an automated system that prepares a vehicle for towing. The application was filed on December 13, 2024, and published on June 18, 2026. Important: this is still a patent, not an announcement of a production feature.

The system is aimed at flat towing — when a vehicle rolls on its own wheels behind a motorhome, pickup or tow truck, without being loaded onto a platform. The method is popular with RV owners: once at the campsite, the car can be unhitched and driven separately. But it isn’t suitable for every model. If the transmission, transfer case or other components are set up incorrectly, the vehicle can be damaged.

Ford’s patent describes a system capable of automatically detecting that the car is being prepared for this kind of towing and adjusting the necessary settings. For example, it can put individual components into a neutral mode, change the climate control behavior, or guide the driver through the required steps via the interface. The description also mentions cameras, radars, lidars, input from the user and communication with the towing vehicle.

The idea looks particularly useful for the mass-market driver. Today, preparing a car for flat towing often requires strictly following the manual: a sequence of shifts, confirmations and checks. Automation could remove some of the manual operations and reduce the chance of error, especially for people who don’t flat-tow their car every day.