Trailer Brake Controller Not Available From Chevy, Looking at Tekonsha Prodigy Id

[BoylermanCT]

I ordered a Silverado 1500 three weeks ago and one of the options I added was the factory brake controller. Got a great deal on the truck, paying $6,000 less than MSRP with all applicable discounts. Got a call from the dealer today saying that the factory brake controller was temporarily not available, and did I want to proceed without the brake controller or wait until it became available. I asked how long would the wait be, and he said Chevy could not say. Part of the chip shortage thing. Decided the wait was not worth it, as my current tow vehicle, a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer just blew the transmission this past weekend and we are down to one car for the Mrs. and me.

I have a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller in my Trailblazer, and like it a lot, so I could put that in the new truck. But I went to Tekonsha's website and they have a new model, Prodigy Id that they say is the most advanced controller they offer. It has a control dial that you mount in the dash, so it gives a factory install look (actually I like the look of it better than the factory controller). It has a control box that you mount hidden under the dash. They sell a custom wiring harness that goes from the control box to the Silverado for easy installation, no splicing etc. While I have been very happy with the Prodigy P3, I'm not crazy about the hang it under the dash look. Does anyone have the new Prodigy Id? How do they like it? I really like the clean look of the install, but I like the P3's boost button and digital display. The Prodigy Id has a phone app, which controls a ton of stuff, trailer memory, boost, high and low voltage etc. Looking for anyone with personal experience with the new Prodigy Id.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Cant speak to brands of brake controllers. But definitely get one which is designed to plug into the trucks brakes. A couple of folks at work did serious damage to the braking systems of new trucks, by trying to install their older controls into new vehicles. One shorted out the brake system and it ate the ABS system. almost $3000 to repair. The other somehow damaged/disconnected the rear harness so the brake lights didn’t work on the truck..

 

[Roadworthy]

Look carefully at the dash of the new truck. With many newer vehicles there is no "under the dash". The actual location may well be somewhere hidden behind the panel which constitutes the lower dash.

 

[crashz]

I notice that GM is not installing heated seats either. I've been causally shopping (for years!) for a replacement of my DD and just for kicks have been doing the "Build Your Own" on each manufacture's website. Both GM brands for 1/2 ton and compact truck builds call out the brake controller and heated seats.

Boylerman - I understand your situation, but it must be tough to spend that kind of money on a new truck and miss the features you need. I think I would wait if I were you. Its the most expensive option because you probably will need to rent a car or fix the Trailblazer, but I think you should get what you want and not regret it. Nothing like paying for something big that just misses the mark.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I have used GM trucks as tow vehicles for many, many years and have had the factory controllers in the last three trucks. Frankly, I am not impressed with the factory controller and on my 2011 I replaced it with a Prodigy so I could control my electric over hydraulic brakes without adding magnets to BS the controller into sensing the trailer. I'd go with the Prodigy.

I also had the TCM fully apply the trailer brakes while doing 65 on the interstate through the factory controller. Not a fun time and I had to disconnect the trailer brakes to get home. The dealer replaced the TCM under warranty.

 

[QRTRHRS]

You might find some help at website's such as etrailer.com. Good folks to deal with also.

 

[Grumpycat]

The Ford TBC is available as a factory option or dealer-installed.

 

[OldPaint]

The Ford TBC is available as a factory option or dealer-installed.

Or aftermarket. Easily installed on my 2014 F-150. For some bizarre reason, fleet service ordered our trucks with full towing package, EXCEPT the brake controllers. Harness was there, relay and fuse in the glove box with a plug to hook up external, but no controller. But we did get real fancy WeatherTech mats, nerf steps, and RanchHand bumper bars. I picked up an OE controller and had it installed in about 10 minutes. ForScan software and a $50 link module to access a few options and bingo, it works beautifully on my old jalopy of a trailer. Took longer to get to one of the wire ties on the harness than it did for the rest of the install. I think they bought a wire tie and built the truck around it.

 

[Grumpycat]

I would favor the factory TBC because there are things the factory can do to integrate traction control and ABS with the trailer which aftermarket can not.

Then again the 2008 SuperDuty coffee table book said the factory TBC was developed in partnership with Tekonsha.

Dealer added TBC to my 2018 before I drove it home.

 

[4570Man]

Can you twist that dial to adjust the brakes? I have a few prodigy controllers and I hate the newer model with the push button adjustments vs the wheel.

 

[OldPaint]

I would favor the factory TBC because there are things the factory can do to integrate traction control and ABS with the trailer which aftermarket can not.

Then again the 2008 SuperDuty coffee table book said the factory TBC was developed in partnership with Tekonsha.

Dealer added TBC to my 2018 before I drove it home.

Best they can do is sway control with a trailer. Can't do anything with ABS or Traction Control unless there are wheel speed sensors and individual control for each wheel's brake. Sway control just detects side to side acceleration of the truck and chops the throttle to slow it down and will apply the trailer brake to help slow the vehicle. Best solution for sway control is proper loading. Sway normally occurs with too much load behind the trailer axle (light tongue weight) or trying to go too fast with a loaded trailer. The best part about the OE TBC is that it fits in a pocket in the dash and does indeed interface with the truck's control systems. It gives a pretty good display of the TBC on existing firmware without having to look down so low taking your eyes off the road if you need to adjust it or use the manual override. Those are the reasons I used the OE controller.

The factory TBC claims to be somewhat better because it offers both integral and proportional brake signal based on the braking of the truck. At least that's what Ford will tell you. If the brake lights come on, it should slowly increase the braking on the trailer and slow the truck. But some of these features are available in aftermarket units as well. The truck comes with a wiring harness with plug to match the connector for the OE TBC, relay, and fuse in a nice little packet in the glove box to add one if you want to. Like I said, I opted for the factory unit as well thinking it would work better being an integral part of the whole system. The 2014 was the first version of SYNC and has more bugs than flies on a cow cookie, so it still doesn't recognize the trailer being connected. It's no longer supported for SYNC updates, so it is what it is. All Ford is gonna do is tell me to just press the OK button and the alarm will go away. I'm considering trying an aftermarket unit to see if it works a little better. An integral control is the simplest version where the brake signal simply ramps up over time after a brake light comes on. A proportional system controls the output by using an accelerometer to figure out how fast the truck is stopping. Both types use a bias control for minimum braking force which should be adjusted for how much load is on the truck.

More importantly, it seems to me (simply because of the statics and dynamics involved) that having the trailer brakes on the front axle is completely bass-ackward. When the truck slows, the nose dives, the rear rises raising the hitch which takes weight off the front axle giving it less friction with the ground. Seems to me, the smarter thing to do would be to have the brake on the rear axle which would tend to pull the trailer tongue back down, or at least keep the axle with braking on the ground. But maybe I'm not as smart as I think I am and all the things I learned in physics really don't apply. Or maybe my trailer is built wrong with the brakes on the front axle? If my trailer is empty and i have to make a semi-hard stop, it will lock the front wheels of the trailer nearly every time.

 

[timswi]

Not sure about the really new GM's but I was told that on my 2016 the OEM Controller could not be added. I had to put a Curt in the truck and I never really liked it after using the integrated controller for years. The Integrated seemed to do a much better job wien towing, especially a TT

 

[Fallon]

Best they can do is sway control with a trailer. Can't do anything with ABS or Traction Control unless there are wheel speed sensors and individual control for each wheel's brake. Sway control just detects side to side acceleration of the truck and chops the throttle to slow it down and will apply the trailer brake to help slow the vehicle. Best solution for sway control is proper loading. Sway normally occurs with too much load behind the trailer axle (light tongue weight) or trying to go too fast with a loaded trailer. The best part about the OE TBC is that it fits in a pocket in the dash and does indeed interface with the truck's control systems. It gives a pretty good display of the TBC on existing firmware without having to look down so low taking your eyes off the road if you need to adjust it or use the manual override. Those are the reasons I used the OE controller.

The factory TBC claims to be somewhat better because it offers both integral and proportional brake signal based on the braking of the truck. At least that's what Ford will tell you. If the brake lights come on, it should slowly increase the braking on the trailer and slow the truck. But some of these features are available in aftermarket units as well. The truck comes with a wiring harness with plug to match the connector for the OE TBC, relay, and fuse in a nice little packet in the glove box to add one if you want to. Like I said, I opted for the factory unit as well thinking it would work better being an integral part of the whole system. The 2014 was the first version of SYNC and has more bugs than flies on a cow cookie, so it still doesn't recognize the trailer being connected. It's no longer supported for SYNC updates, so it is what it is. All Ford is gonna do is tell me to just press the OK button and the alarm will go away. I'm considering trying an aftermarket unit to see if it works a little better. An integral control is the simplest version where the brake signal simply ramps up over time after a brake light comes on. A proportional system controls the output by using an accelerometer to figure out how fast the truck is stopping. Both types use a bias control for minimum braking force which should be adjusted for how much load is on the truck.

More importantly, it seems to me (simply because of the statics and dynamics involved) that having the trailer brakes on the front axle is completely bass-ackward. When the truck slows, the nose dives, the rear rises raising the hitch which takes weight off the front axle giving it less friction with the ground. Seems to me, the smarter thing to do would be to have the brake on the rear axle which would tend to pull the trailer tongue back down, or at least keep the axle with braking on the ground. But maybe I'm not as smart as I think I am and all the things I learned in physics really don't apply. Or maybe my trailer is built wrong with the brakes on the front axle? If my trailer is empty and i have to make a semi-hard stop, it will lock the front wheels of the trailer nearly every time.

Sync 2 was a pile of garbage. I replaced mine with a Sync 3 on my 2014 F350. There are a pile of posts in various Ford forums on how to do this yourself & codes to program. I'm fully capable of nerding out to the level needed to pull that off. But I just paid $550ish for a plug & play kit. Can save $100-200 if you get the pieces yourself, but verifying compatibility & stuff can be complicated. Install was pretty easy & all the factory Ford controls worked fine.

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I'm a fan of the OEM controllers. I had a Teknosha P3 on my old Tacoma for years. It worked well, but as time went on the buttons got a bit sticky & had to be wiggled to not stay in. I like dials better than buttons for setting stuff as well, faster & more convenient.

ABS & traction control aren't likely to do much on the truck. But a good (mostly OEM) controller should detect sway problems & kick in the trailer brakes to stop the sway. Never experienced this myself, but a friend with a F150 & slightly less proper towing awareness has said it works great a few times.

If your trailer brakes are locking up, you have them set to high. On empty road, get up to 20-30mph. Manually kick on the trailer brakes via the controller. They should aggressively slow the whole rig. Keep raising the voltage until they lock up when applying, then drop the voltage a notch or 2. You should do that every time you change the load on your trailer. After a while you get a feel for what voltage for what load & the whole process takes 15 seconds to just double check on your way out the driveway.

 

[WilliamBos]

Cant speak to brands of brake controllers. But definitely get one which is designed to plug into the trucks brakes. A couple of folks at work did serious damage to the braking systems of new trucks, by trying to install their older controls into new vehicles. One shorted out the brake system and it ate the ABS system. almost $3000 to repair. The other somehow damaged/disconnected the rear harness so the brake lights didn’t work on the truck..

Exactly, pay for a plug & play controller.

 

[CADplans]

I added the Tekonsha P3 to my 99 Silverado, and have always appreciated it.
My 2018 2500 Silverado came with the built in. It seems to be virtually the same as the Tekonsha, zero learning curve.

I remember at the time I was searching,, there were MANY trucks that were not plug and play.
My '99 has a socket right under the dash, plug in the harness,,,, and you are done!!
All wiring was instantly connected. It amazed me to no end...

​

 

[BoylermanCT]

The new Tekonsha dial allows you to set the brake level (higher # is more brake response) and allows you to manually trigger the brakes if needed. Both the new Takonsha Id and my P3 plug directly into the brake controller plug under the dash. They sell a dedicated plug for each vehicle, so there is no wire splicing. Just plug one end into the truck plug and the other end plugs into the brake controller. The new Tekonsha Id has a bluetooth interface to the Tekonsha app on your phone so you can change start and stop voltages, trailer size and type etc using the app. Looks pretty slick, I was hoping someone had this new model on their truck and could share their experience.

I have been told by the Chevy Dealer that you cannot add the factory brake controller after the truck is built. If that were the case, I would do that instead of going with a 3rd party controller.

 

[ddbackhoe]

A different co. to consider : https://redarcelectronics.com/products/tow-pro-elite-electric-brake-controller
Installed one in a Nissan Pathfinder and so far, so good. The controller adj can fit on a switch insert and the brain gets tucked away.

 

[OldPaint]

Sync 2 was a pile of garbage. I replaced mine with a Sync 3 on my 2014 F350. There are a pile of posts in various Ford forums on how to do this yourself & codes to program. I'm fully capable of nerding out to the level needed to pull that off. But I just paid $550ish for a plug & play kit. Can save $100-200 if you get the pieces yourself, but verifying compatibility & stuff can be complicated. Install was pretty easy & all the factory Ford controls worked fine.

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I'm a fan of the OEM controllers. I had a Teknosha P3 on my old Tacoma for years. It worked well, but as time went on the buttons got a bit sticky & had to be wiggled to not stay in. I like dials better than buttons for setting stuff as well, faster & more convenient.

ABS & traction control aren't likely to do much on the truck. But a good (mostly OEM) controller should detect sway problems & kick in the trailer brakes to stop the sway. Never experienced this myself, but a friend with a F150 & slightly less proper towing awareness has said it works great a few times.

If your trailer brakes are locking up, you have them set to high. On empty road, get up to 20-30mph. Manually kick on the trailer brakes via the controller. They should aggressively slow the whole rig. Keep raising the voltage until they lock up when applying, then drop the voltage a notch or 2. You should do that every time you change the load on your trailer. After a while you get a feel for what voltage for what load & the whole process takes 15 seconds to just double check on your way out the driveway.

Don't have SYNC2. SYNC1, worse than SYNC2, and a lot smaller screen. Thanks for the referene, but that ain't gonna fit my dash.

BIAS on the controller is set to min when unloaded. Still locks up the brakes on a prolonged stop, just not quite as quickly. I've recently flipped my hitch adapter over to lower the tongue about 3 inches, which took care of a little "Carolina Squat" on the trailer. Haven't noticed the brakes locking since I did that.

Yes, sway control will chop the throttle and apply the trailer brakes. But, with no wheel speed sensors and only one control signal to the brakes, ABS and Traction Control can do nothing for the trailer. A trailer with ABS and TC capability would have a plug the size of a football and would forever be a nightmare with bad connections.

 

[Fallon]

Don't have SYNC2. SYNC1, worse than SYNC2, and a lot smaller screen. Thanks for the referene, but that ain't gonna fit my dash.

BIAS on the controller is set to min when unloaded. Still locks up the brakes on a prolonged stop, just not quite as quickly. I've recently flipped my hitch adapter over to lower the tongue about 3 inches, which took care of a little "Carolina Squat" on the trailer. Haven't noticed the brakes locking since I did that.

Yes, sway control will chop the throttle and apply the trailer brakes. But, with no wheel speed sensors and only one control signal to the brakes, ABS and Traction Control can do nothing for the trailer. A trailer with ABS and TC capability would have a plug the size of a football and would forever be a nightmare with bad connections.

Ick, Sync 2 was bad, I can only imagine how bad version 1 was. They ditched Microsoft for Sync 3 & got things pretty decent finally.

ABS & traction control can help, but they aren't the main fix for sway. It's simply activating only the trailer brakes & not the truck brakes.

The trucks have accelerometers in them. If they detect that back of the truck thrashing from side to side & that something is plugged into the brake controller it will activate the trailer brakes. Simply activating the trailer brakes & not the truck brakes wise stop most sway situations. I've had to do that a couple times manually (poorly designed RV layout resulting in bad ballance mostly). It's amazing how quickly things sort themselves out hitting the manual overtime on a brake controller. Accelerating can have similar results, but leaves you worse off once you lay off the gas.

The trailer & truck not sitting level will definitely cause issues. Instead of the hitch pushing straight forward when braking, it will push up (or down). That causes all sorts of unexpected weight transfer, steering & handling, not to mention braking issues.