Do not use four-wheel drive high (4H) or four-wheel drive low (4L) mode on dry, hard surfaced roads. Doing so can produce excessive noise, increase tire wear and damage drive components.
4H or 4L mode is only for use on consistently slippery or loose surfaces. Use of 4L mode on these surfaces could produce some noise, such as occasional clunks, but should not damage drive components.
For vehicles with an electronic shift-on-the-fly transfer case, the driveline could become mechanically blocked when attempting to shift out of a four-wheel drive mode on dry, hard surfaced roads.
Note:   If your vehicle is equipped with the 4x4 part-time selectable engagement transfer case and you are transitioning from consistently loose or slippery surfaces, be sure the four-wheel drive system is not mechanically blocked once you are on dry, hard surfaced roads in two-wheel drive high.
Note:   In certain scenarios, where the four-wheel drive system has difficulty engaging, a To Engage 4x4 Slow to 3 MPH or To Engage 4x4 Slow to 5 km/h message could appear in the instrument cluster.This message may also appear when engaging the four-wheel drive system in extreme cold climates at the beginning of the drive cycle. Once the driveline warms up, shifting to four-wheel drive can resume as normal.
Operating Four-Wheel Drive with a Spare or Mismatched Tires
On four-wheel drive vehicles, the size of the spare tire can affect the four-wheel drive system.
If there is a significant difference between the size of the spare tire and the remaining tires, you could have limited four-wheel drive functionality, added noise, discomfort and driveline damage.
Due to normal tire wear, your spare tire is not necessarily the same size as your on-road tires, which makes your spare tire a dissimilar size. Use the spare tire on a limited basis only.
When driving with a dissimilar wheel and tire assembly do not:
  • Exceed 80 km/h when operating in a four-wheel drive mode.
  • Select a four-wheel drive mode unless the vehicle is stationary.
  • Use a four-wheel drive mode on dry pavement.
You could have limited four-wheel drive functionality when driving with a dissimilar wheel and tire assembly, especially when driving in a mechanically locked four-wheel drive mode. You can experience the following:
  • Additional noise from the transfer case or other drive components.
  • Difficulty shifting in and out of a mechanically locked four-wheel drive mode.
  • Driveline component damage.
Note:   When driving with a spare tire, do not switch on four-wheel drive mode unless you need to get your vehicle unstuck.
Immediately after getting your vehicle unstuck, shift to 2H by performing the following steps:
  1. Come to a stop on a flat, horizontal surface.
  1. Shift the transmission to park (P) for automatic transmissions and neutral (N) for manual transmissions.
  1. Switch to two-wheel drive mode.
  1. Shift the transmission to reverse (R).
  1. Shift the transmission to drive (D) for automatic transmissions and to first gear for manual transmissions to make sure the transfer case system is not trapped in place.

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