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 has the 4x4 part-time selectable engagement transfer case and you are transitioning from consistently loose or slippery surfaces, make sure the four-wheel drive system is not mechanically blocked when you are on dry, hard surfaced roads in two-wheel drive high.
Note:
In certain scenarios, and depending on specific part-time transfer case, 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. When 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 unless you need to free your vehicle.
After you free your vehicle, switch to 2H by performing the following steps:
- Come to a stop on a flat, horizontal surface.
- Shift the transmission to park (P) for automatic transmissions and neutral (N) for manual transmissions.
- Switch to two-wheel drive mode.
- Shift the transmission to reverse (R).
- 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 still engaged.
Mechanical Shift Blocking
On vehicles with an electronic shift-on-the-fly transfer case, the transfer case distributes torque to the front wheels by mechanically interlocking the front and rear driveshafts together. Various external factors can affect shifting performance of this type of system including, but not limited to:
- Vehicle acceleration.
- Dissimilar tire sizes.
- High steering input.
For vehicles with an electronic shift-on-the-fly transfer case, when shifting into two-wheel drive high (2H) on dry, hard surfaced roads, we recommend you preform the following procedure to reduce the likelihood of a mechanical shift block:
- While driving straight, come to a complete stop on a flat, horizontal surface.
- Shift the transmission into park (P) for automatic transmissions or press the clutch for vehicles with a manual transmission.
- Select 2H and wait for the 2H LED to become solid.
- Shift the transmission into reverse (R) for automatic transmissions or select reverse (R) and release the clutch for vehicles with a manual transmission. Allow the vehicle to roll back approximately
1 m and press the brake.
- Shift the transmission into drive (D) for automatic transmissions or press the clutch in and select a forward gear and release the clutch for vehicles with a manual transmission. Allow the vehicle to roll forward approximately
1 m.
If the system is mechanically blocked or if the system detects a mechanical shift block at the current speed after you select two-wheel drive high (2H), depending on the specific part-time transfer case, a message can appear momentarily indicating that four-wheel drive is unable to disengage. One or more of the following actions can relieve the mechanical shift block:
- Momentary acceleration.
- Momentary braking.
- Bringing the vehicle to a stop.
- Shifting the transmission to neutral (N) and back to drive (D).
- Shifting the transmission to reverse(R) and back to drive (D).
- Driving the vehicle around a tight turn at a slow speed.