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4 wheel drive auto
- Thread starter canative
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Iabowhntr
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My transmission guy says he loves it when ppl drive with it on. He says it’s great for business ..
He says it prematurely wears the front transfer case out when ppl drive on dry pavement or where 4wd isn’t required or needed.
I personally leave mine in 2wd all the time until i
Icecoldak
Active Member
Bullcrap--you can drive in 4WD AUTO 24/7 and its ok---dry payment, wet , snowy it does not matter! Its OK
sorry Iabowhntr your trans guy is misinformed!!
sorry Iabowhntr your trans guy is misinformed!!
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It’s fine. I wouldn’t do it on dry pavement, as that’s just wasting gas. But I use Auto 4WD in heavy rain.
Rototerrier
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I heard if you drive your vehicle it'll wear out. I leave mine parked at all times to not risk it.
Richard320
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That's what it's for -- to be there when you need it. I drove in auto mode on the freeway on Thanksgiving morning in heavy rain. I even switched between auto and hi at freeway speeds just to see if I could feel the difference.
iamtheav8r
Well-Known Member
That's one transmission shop I'd avoid at ALL costs. Those dinosaurs shouldn't be in business.
Snwjnky
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, the Rebel does not have the option of 4 Auto. Wasn't a deal breaker though.
My ATVs do, and I use it all the time. I like it.
My ATVs do, and I use it all the time. I like it.
Konrad
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What an utter bullcrap. The whole point and purpose of 4WD AUTO is to automatically turn 4WD on only when required / needed and ELIMINATE the wear of the transfer case, tires and other drivetrain components that "regular" 4WD would cause on dry pavement indeed.
Tell your "transmission guy" to crawl back under his rock
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Willwork4truck
Spends too much time on here
Have to agree that the 4A is made to be used b any road conditions. Thats what it was designed to do.
While the info below is not RAM specific and I dint have the manual handy, a recent Popular Mechanics article about AWD and 4wd said this about 4A systems currently available: “If you've got a vehicle that offers two-wheel drive or four-wheel-drive auto, then most of the time you may as well use the 4WD Auto setting. It's fine for dry pavement, so the only advantage of running in 2WD would be some fractional fuel economy benefit—or saving wear on the front-drive system. Meanwhile, 4WD Auto is handy even if it starts raining—your extra traction will be there, on demand, automatically.”
And for another view, theres a 2018 thread on this forum entitled “4WD lock on pavement” where a poster complained about his 2016 4A setting sensitivity (Or the lack of).
Begin copied post:
“The thing about the Auto setting in the 16MY I had was that it was literally useless whenever I thought that I needed 4WD. Just simple things like turning a corner on an icy road or trying to go from a dead stop to as fast as possible in a round about to avoid getting hit.
I really noticed now useless Auto was in the round about scenario in rain. The back tires would spin god knows how many times before the fronts would engage and pull me through the round about. Auto is more like the truck is thinking "Hmmm, the backs are spinning so I guess I might as well engage the fronts now."
End of post.
I’m not sure about if RAM changed anything in the system since 2016...
While the info below is not RAM specific and I dint have the manual handy, a recent Popular Mechanics article about AWD and 4wd said this about 4A systems currently available: “If you've got a vehicle that offers two-wheel drive or four-wheel-drive auto, then most of the time you may as well use the 4WD Auto setting. It's fine for dry pavement, so the only advantage of running in 2WD would be some fractional fuel economy benefit—or saving wear on the front-drive system. Meanwhile, 4WD Auto is handy even if it starts raining—your extra traction will be there, on demand, automatically.”
And for another view, theres a 2018 thread on this forum entitled “4WD lock on pavement” where a poster complained about his 2016 4A setting sensitivity (Or the lack of).
Begin copied post:
“The thing about the Auto setting in the 16MY I had was that it was literally useless whenever I thought that I needed 4WD. Just simple things like turning a corner on an icy road or trying to go from a dead stop to as fast as possible in a round about to avoid getting hit.
I really noticed now useless Auto was in the round about scenario in rain. The back tires would spin god knows how many times before the fronts would engage and pull me through the round about. Auto is more like the truck is thinking "Hmmm, the backs are spinning so I guess I might as well engage the fronts now."
End of post.
I’m not sure about if RAM changed anything in the system since 2016...
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popcenator
Well-Known Member
I had a 3000 stall converter in my 2012 and launched in 4Auto all the time. Had 95K on it when I traded it in and I had no issues with the transfer case.
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Sounds like the transmission guy loves customers who believe what he says too.
To be honest, I am very surprised the limited doesn't come standard with all wheel drive. And the Laramie have the option of the 4wd auto transfer case and all wheel drive.
These aren't really trucks anymore, they are the replacement for full size station wagons with a rear open cargo area. The wagoneer that is coming will most likely bring the all wheel drive to the RAM platform and we will have that for the RAM for sure.
4wd auto is for all road and weather conditions. The problem being is when you actually get into stuff that needs 4wd...which is why there is hi and low range.
We have many threads that explain this in great detail
To be honest, I am very surprised the limited doesn't come standard with all wheel drive. And the Laramie have the option of the 4wd auto transfer case and all wheel drive.
These aren't really trucks anymore, they are the replacement for full size station wagons with a rear open cargo area. The wagoneer that is coming will most likely bring the all wheel drive to the RAM platform and we will have that for the RAM for sure.
4wd auto is for all road and weather conditions. The problem being is when you actually get into stuff that needs 4wd...which is why there is hi and low range.
We have many threads that explain this in great detail
Biga
Ram Guru
I run mine in 2wd 95% of the time, I prefer the driving dynamics of a RWD vehicle, but it is nice to push the botton into 4auto or 4Lock when the roads dicey.
doug55579
Active Member
Does anyone know why the Rebel doesn't have the feature?
Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
Yep, you can drive in auto all the time, not just wet conditions. Only detriment is slight less MPG due to parasitic loss. You can also engage at hwy speeds.
Cheers,
Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
I believe because the transfer case needs the clutches for it to be automatic, which the Rebel does not have (if I'm not mistaken, it's chain driven).
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Overheating the 4x4 system
Went out today to do some more exploring with my son. Was wet and muddy. Ended up getting a message on my dash that the 4wd system had overheated and that 4wd performance is reduced. In the video you can see that the truck basically keeps switching back and forth to 2wd mode at around the 3:18...
5thgenrams.com
@doug55579 read this you will understand
Neurobit
RAM Sorcerer
^^^ Yep, this ^^^Overheating the 4x4 system
Went out today to do some more exploring with my son. Was wet and muddy. Ended up getting a message on my dash that the 4wd system had overheated and that 4wd performance is reduced. In the video you can see that the truck basically keeps switching back and forth to 2wd mode at around the 3:18...
@doug55579 read this you will understand
I'm not hardcore off-roader, so for me the convenience of 4WD Auto wins. For others it may not.
Cheers,
