4X4 Noises and feel

mitchellb2005 · April 2, 2016

My 15 Denali is my first 4X4 truck, so what I am noticing may be completely normal, but I wanted to get some opinions.

I was messing with my 4 wheel drive the other day. I noticed on concrete, in 4 High, when turning sharp (basically full lock) the tires chirped a lot and the truck felt held back (kinda like a binding feeling but I'm not sure if thats the correct description). I also heard sort of a whining noise (like what a power steering pump sounds like when it's going bad). I noticed the same feeling off-road but not as bad, and obviously no tire chirping, and a little less whining noise.

I did not experience this in Auto, and experienced the feeling and sounds even more so when I was is 4 Low.

Is all of this normal is a 4x4?

newdude · April 2, 2016

Number one thing with any 4x4 system. If you are in 4HI or 4LO do not use it on dry pavement, especially while turning. Puts a lot of stress and binding on driveline and steering components.

That said, everything you are describing is normal of a 4x4 system.

AUTO is a different story because power is not transmitted to the front drive axle unless there is detected wheel spin/slip at the rear wheels. Then the clutch pack in the transfer case sends power to the front axle. In AUTO, the front axle is locked all the time. What keeps it from binding is the control of power via the transfer case.

If you want to test it for sure, take it off road (dirt, mud, grass, trails, etc.) to see how it works.

hurricanoday · April 2, 2016

yes that is normal you are binding up. Be careful though some guys on here will tell you that you will ruin your truck driving it in 4x4 unless you are in 20 feet of mud or snow

mitchellb2005 · April 2, 2016

Number one thing with any 4x4 system. If you are in 4HI or 4LO do not use it on dry pavement, especially while turning. Puts a lot of stress and binding on driveline and steering components.

That said, everything you are describing is normal of a 4x4 system.

AUTO is a different story because power is not transmitted to the front drive axle unless there is detected wheel spin/slip at the rear wheels. Then the clutch pack in the transfer case sends power to the front axle. In AUTO, the front axle is locked all the time. What keeps it from binding is the control of power via the transfer case.

If you want to test it for sure, take it off road (dirt, mud, grass, trails, etc.) to see how it works.

That is the exact answer I was looking for. Thank you

yes that is normal you are binding up. Be careful though some guys on here will tell you that you will ruin your truck driving it in 4x4 unless you are in 20 feet of mud or snow

haha thanks!

1300c · April 3, 2016

Yeah that's all normal. Personally I wouldn't use auto unless you have too though. A very good friend of mine works on these for a living. The only times he has had to repair the auto 4x4 is when people left it engaged all the time on highway driving. So I only use it when the roads are slushy, or when I'm offroad,and the conditions aren't bad enough for 4x4 hi. Besides when on it hurts the mpg I get anyways.

dlang13 · April 3, 2016

I get a high pitch squealing noise when i put it into AUTO.

Anyone else have this issue. Its not loud loud you really have to listen for it but it is there.

Just when i put it into auto it does it and comes and goes while I'm driving.

Anyone have the same issue? like i said you really have to listen for it.....

cjz28 · April 3, 2016

Funny this thread popped up. I was making sure everything was working with my 4x4 system yesterday. I get the same weird squeak from my 4x4 knob. In every setting except 2hi.

I asked my buddy about this he said completely normal in his '14. He also mentioned to never turn your wheels in 4Low on concrete.(which was mentioned earlier in this thread). He said it would be OK to turn it on and go in just a straight line if I want make sure everything was engaging correctly.

1300c · April 3, 2016

I get a high pitch squealing noise when i put it into AUTO.

Anyone else have this issue. Its not loud loud you really have to listen for it but it is there.

Just when i put it into auto it does it and comes and goes while I'm driving.

Anyone have the same issue? like i said you really have to listen for it.....

It's the nature of the beast. I asked my dealer's shop manager about it, and he said it's normal. He explained about the electric driver, or whatever you call it makes that sound when engaged. There is a thread on here somewhere that explains it way better than I just did lol.

MOhunter92 · April 4, 2016

Yeah the high pitched chirping coming from my 4wd knob drives me nuts. GM totally dropped the ball on that, it constantly emits a high pitched sound even in 2wd. The auto 4 and 4 high it gets much louder while switching, and intermittently chirps in 4 auto and 4 high.

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fondupot · April 4, 2016

Yeah the high pitched chirping coming from my 4wd knob drives me nuts. GM totally dropped the ball on that, it constantly emits a high pitched sound even in 2wd. The auto 4 and 4 high it gets much louder while switching, and intermittently chirps in 4 auto and 4 high.

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My truck does not make any such sound.

And to OP, do not use 4hi or 4lo on dry pavement, especially turning. That's a good way to bind up the transfer case, and front axle and CV shafts and break something.

MOhunter92 · April 4, 2016

My truck does not make any such sound.

Almost of all them do. Weird question but how old are you? The sound emitted by these knobs are very high pitched, similar to the "mosquito" tone. If you're past late 20s early 30s you lose the ability to hear that sound range. My dealers service manager is older and he can hear it, he's the only one past 30 I know that can hear it. My father can't hear it, my mom can't, but anybody in their 20s like me hears it. I've driven several rental trucks while my truck has been worked on and each one of them did it too.

fondupot · April 4, 2016

Almost of all them do. Weird question but how old are you? The sound emitted by these knobs are very high pitched, similar to the "mosquito" tone. If you're past late 20s early 30s you lose the ability to hear that sound range. My dealers service manager is older and he can hear it, he's the only one past 30 I know that can hear it. My father can't hear it, my mom can't, but anybody in their 20s like me hears it. I've driven several rental trucks while my truck has been worked on and each one of them did it too.

Well. I'm 28. I've had the truck since I was 26. Never heard it. And I have a pretty keen sense of hearing. Never heard any such thing from my control knob.

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MOhunter92 · April 4, 2016

Well. I'm 28. I've had the truck since I was 26. Never heard it. And I have a pretty keen sense of hearing.

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You're lucky then. I've tested a couple dozen trucks and they all do it, Google Sierra/Silverado 4wd high pitch sound coming from knob and you'll see tons of complaints about it. GM says its "normal operating sounds"

fondupot · April 4, 2016

You're lucky then. I've tested a couple dozen trucks and they all do it, Google Sierra/Silverado 4wd high pitch sound coming from knob and you'll see tons of complaints about it. GM says its "normal operating sounds"

Nah. Not gonna do it. Because then the next time I drive in my truck I am gonna hear it and it will drive me nuts. Then I'll blame you.

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MOhunter92 · April 4, 2016

Nah. Not gonna do it. Because then the next time I drive in my truck I am gonna hear it and it will drive me nuts. Then I'll blame you.

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If you haven't noticed it chances are you're lucky and your knob is good, it is super annoying. GM even had a bulletin up about it because it was getting complained about so often. It's the worst in 4 auto, if your knob is bad it will constantly make high pitched beeping/chirping sounds directly from the knob as you drive. It also does it the worst during switching from 2-4wd. We tried switching out a knob from a different truck and it helped a bit, still very annoying. I'm going back next Monday and were gonna go around the lot and check the 2016s and see if GM addressed it. The 2016 I rented did it even worse than mine