"auto" 4wd

[mc7719]

Ok, so we had the first major snowfall on the west coast of BC... and first time I've had my truck in the snow. My former 96 Chev had a floor shift, so you always KNEW when it was in gear (cause you had to put it there).

 

The new ride has the selector with "Auto" which from my understanding, when the truck senses rear tire spin it engages the front wheels automatically? That said, is there supposed to be an indicator saying that 4WD kicked in? I know there no light on the dash (saw that thread earlier) but even the small indicator light on the dial never changes (unless you actually turn the control knob to 4WD)

 

From what I can tell... the front wheels kick in, but anyway to know for sure and when?

[stefman722]

Yeah, thats the poopy part. You never really do know except for the pin hole size light on the knob. It's one of the dumbest things GM did to save cash. That and no hood light.

[Deconstruction]

so when you have your truck in auto it doesn't light up on the dial? Mine does it doesn't light up when it engages 4wd but the light stays on to tell me I selected auto.

[uchi]

if you have traction its on, lol.

[Ron_CA]

if you have traction its on, lol.

 

 

If you're driving on snow just put it in 4wd High, if the roads have been plowed and its not icy put it in auto

[mc7719]

so when you have your truck in auto it doesn't light up on the dial? Mine does it doesn't light up when it engages 4wd but the light stays on to tell me I selected auto.

 

Sorry, yes the light on "Auto" is on, but the light doesn't change by itself when it engages 4WD. Just thought maybe it would. I've always had manual-shift 4WD. All this fancy technology is new to me LOL

[jandersinc]

The light doesn't change. It just stays the same saying you've selected auto 4wd.

[02slt]

if you're driving in snow, put the pedal to the mat

 

 

if the ass end of your truck goes sideways, it isn't working

[JRLZ71]

Unfortunately, there is no indicator that says your truck has kicked into four-wheel drive if you are in auto. Most of the time you can actually feel and hear when it locks in.

[mc7719]

Unfortunately, there is no indicator that says your truck has kicked into four-wheel drive if you are in auto. Most of the time you can actually feel and hear when it locks in.

 

Yeah that's ultimately what it came down to. I was impressed with the handling though... gunned it a couple times on a unoccupied road just to see how the truck handled... went right on straight, very little sideways motion! These 'advanced' vehicles.. computer controlled traction, Stabilitrak, etc.... I was skeptical lol

[JRLZ71]

Haha, these trucks are big computers. Try going fast around gravel curve; your truck will do all sorts of things to keep you on the road. I did not attempt this with my truck... my buddy did in his 07 Silverado!

[Matt_]

If you don't get any "Service 4wd" messages, it means its working

[06pirate]

Since we had our little snow last week, I've been using the AUTO4 quite a bit due to broken nature of the snow on the road. Snow, icy patch, clear and dry, snow, dry, ice, dry, ice, snow, etc. The nice thing about the AUTO4 is it is so seamless you can't tell when it's engaged. (Or maybe I just don't slip my rears enough to make it kick in.) I would imagine that a tell-tale light would just drive you nuts blinking ON and OFF.

[Deconstruction]

For anyone who wants to confuse their stabilitrac and traction control just buy a set of cooper zeon ltz's, I put them on the truck and after the first snowfall I had to go get my gf to drive while I watched to see if the front wheels were spinning.

 

with these tires the truck gets so little traction in the snow all the "drive properly for you" features are confused and take forever to kick in. I have mixed feelings on the results

[newdeal]

I have the stock tires on my car and I think that the traction features are confused in general. My Pontiac G6 had traction control and you could tell as soon as it spun the ABS kicked on. On this thing the locking rear diff doesn't seem to lock very often even when slipping and the traction control doesn't seem to come on when slipping either. So far its just been slipping in the mud though the real test will be when the snow falls