Cylinder Deactivation Issues?

VeronaGMC · February 16, 2017

New member sitting at the dealer thinking about purchasing etc...

Need to know quickly if this causes any engine issues.

I had a new 2013 Honda Pilot that was going thru 1 quart of oil every thousand miles because of this technology etc...

Thoughts?

[email protected] · February 16, 2017

I haven't had any issues and don't even notice when it does it most of the time. But I only have 700 mile on it so far.

rully1012 · February 16, 2017

I believe you are talking about active fuel management.It's an issue for some but that wouldn't keep me from buying a truck I like. This is my third truck with AFM and I deactivated on the first 2 my new one will be deactivated soon also. Alot of people deactivate it and end up with a much better truck also

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Edited February 16, 2017 by rully1012

duquephart · February 16, 2017

Deactivate?

VeronaGMC · February 16, 2017

I believe you are talking about active fuel management.It's an issue for some but that wouldn't keep me from buying a truck I like. This is my third truck with AFM and I deactivated on the first 2 my new one will be deactivated soon also. Alot of people deactivate it and end up with a much better truck also

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What issues do they typically have?

amxguy1970 · February 16, 2017

I believe you are talking about active fuel management.It's an issue for some but that wouldn't keep me from buying a truck I like. This is my third truck with AFM and I deactivated on the first 2 my new one will be deactivated soon also. Alot of people deactivate it and end up with a much better truck also

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Explain this...

They also end up using more fuel. But the big thing is they can put exhaust on it and it always sounds like a V8! Ohh

OP, some early gen trucks with AFM (ie back in the mid 2000's) there were some occasional problems. Those have mostly been ironed out with exception to the few that have a rogue problem now and try to make it sound like a huge ordeal streaming from the original models with it blah blah blah. You should have no problem, buy it and enjoy it as well as the fuel savings that come with it.

Tyler

rully1012 · February 16, 2017

Explain this...

They also end up using more fuel. But the big thing is they can put exhaust on it and it always sounds like a V8! Ohh

OP, some early gen trucks with AFM (ie back in the mid 2000's) there were some occasional problems. Those have mostly been ironed out with exception to the few that have a rogue problem now and try to make it sound like a huge ordeal streaming from the original models with it blah blah blah. You should have no problem, buy it and enjoy it as well as the fuel savings that come with it.

Tyler

Not questioning your knowledge or background. But the same way my statement might have came out a bit too "general" for your liking.

I would like to inform you that on both of my other trucks my gas milage actually increased

Don't believe me ....Get a black bear tune you might get the same results I had. And we'll the fact that exhaust sounds like a v8 throughout is an added bonus.

Never the less we agree on one thing ...OP buy the truck.

My truck was solid when it had AFM.

Just in my opinion it was better after the deactivation.

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cjd10 · February 16, 2017

40,000 miles on mine. No problems. I never notice it.

I did find that my 5.3 runs better on 89 octane. Doesn't like 93 though

Dnt · February 16, 2017

I am not 100% convinced that turning the AFM off permanently is the "BEST" solution I have a Hypertech hand held tuner that i used to set it to only come on above a certain speed. Kind of the best of both worlds.................

rully1012 · February 17, 2017

I am not 100% convinced that turning the AFM off permanently is the "BEST" solution I have a Hypertech hand held tuner that i used to set it to only come on above a certain speed. Kind of the best of both worlds.................

I happen to agree with you on that. When I tune my current truck I'm going to ask if this is possible. So that at cruise on the highway you can drop down to v4 but on all street driving you'll stay on v8

This never acured to me until I read it on another forum a month or so back

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TJay74 · February 17, 2017

I've had the AFM turned off on my 2014 for the 30k miles I had it from new with 0 issues and on my 2016 truck with 10k miles with 0 issues. Doesn't hurt a thing at all and didn't impact my gas mileage one bit.

Diver6 · February 17, 2017

I have a 6.2, ordered it and towed from day 1, now has 24k on it and have 0 issues, burns 0 oil so far and i don't change oil till the truck reads 20%. Most of the time I don't even notice v4 unless i have it on my screen, but i also have factory exhaust so far. Just buy what you like, you only hear about the bad stuff i find on these forums and don't hear about the other 95% of people that are happy with there trucks.

rangerhgm · February 17, 2017

I've got a 2017 Silverado with the 5.3. I only have a little over 300 miles on mine, but I really never even notice when it switches between V8 & V4 and back unless I happen to look at the DIC and notice it. Too early to tell about oil usage.

I had a 2007 Sierra 5.3/AFM with 92+k miles on it and it never used a drop of oil between changes. Everything was left stock on the truck from the day I bought it.....no tunes, no new exhaust etc.

I hope my 2017 fairs as well as the 2007.

KA0S · February 17, 2017

I've got a 2017 Silverado with the 5.3. I only have a little over 300 miles on mine, but I really never even notice when it switches between V8 & V4 and back unless I happen to look at the DIC and notice it. Too early to tell about oil usage.

I had a 2007 Sierra 5.3/AFM with 92+k miles on it and it never used a drop of oil between changes. Everything was left stock on the truck from the day I bought it.....no tunes, no new exhaust etc.

I hope my 2017 fairs as well as the 2007.

I can definitely notice mine switch over. It's not as pronounced as the MSDS on the Ram that I owned, but I feel it. I think probably because if I'm light on the throttle, it will sometimes feel as though it's hesitating or trying to figure out whether to be in 4 or 8.

I'm going to add a little tidbit in here as well.

I had a 2007 Tahoe LTZ that suddenly went into limp mode and threw codes. Traction Control and Stabilitrak lights came on. I had a misfire on cylinder 1, because the intake valve was not opening.

I brought it in and they found the issue to be caused by the AFM. They said that it wore out the rockers and wore a lobe off the camshaft. They also told me this was a common problem due to the fact that you're essentially "dragging" along four cylinders when the motor goes into 4 cylinder mode.

The cost to tear down the motor was the same as to swap in a used one. This happened at 170,000 kms.

Like I said, they dealt with many of these same scenarios.

That being said, I bought a 2017 with the same feature, so obviously it didn't sway me from getting a new truck.

Perhaps this issue has been worked out in the newer generation motors?

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Edited February 17, 2017 by KA0S

mookdoc6 · February 17, 2017

Can I tell it switches? Yes, but I am also extremely tuned into the vehicle. When I have wife and kids in the truck I don't even realize it anymore. Now, at 23K I am forcing myself to not even pay attention anymore. I consume no oil yet that I can measure/quantify that tells me the engine is consuming.......I would not hesitate to buy another vehicle with it at all. I also expect to achieve the same durability with engine as the previous motors without AFM/DOD or whatever it's called.

As a note: expect the new Trucks to have the even more advanced Dynamic Fuel management technology and be even more seamless! I am probably the only one these forums who is 100% happy GM is using AFM and not 6cyl turbo@!