Your Experience With Auto 4WD

[ncridgerunner]

To get access to my trailer storage shed, I have to back up a grassy incline in my field.  Without AWD or 4WD it is almost impossible if the grass is the least bit wet.  When I back up the hill in my 2016 Silverado it spins enough to burn the grass before it "catches" or engages in Auto 4WD.  My Ridgeline had full time AWD and didn't spin enough to burn the grass and before that I had a Chevy with full-time 4x4 which had no problems as well.  Does this sound like normal Auto 4WD in a GM truck?  

 

With the increased towing capacity, comfort, and good fuel mileage I love my Silverado much better than previous trucks but am just not sure what is normal performance.   It is amazing to me that I average several  mpg's better in my 8 cylinder Silverado than my 6 cylinder Ridgeline and my full-time 4x4 Chevy used so much gas i wondered if it had a hole in the tank.

[1SLOW1500]

take truck out of auto and go 4wd low. Also it does hurt some in reverse and the gearing of it. 

[Dnt]

I would not mess with 4wheel low just use 4wheel high range. In auto the control system has to sense wheel spin and then applies power to the front axle, so yes that is normal operation in auto. In 4wheel high power is applied to all 4 wheels and that will FIX your issue. If you decide to use 4wheel low range please read your owners manual for the proper procedure to shift in and out of low range. It is different from the other ranges.  

[truckguy82]

It senses that slip pretty damn fast. I have launched in 4auto like 500 times and I have never once felt the rear spin.

[sldhead700]

Dnt is correct!

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[Dnt]

Cannot argue that since I do not holeshot my truck LOL, All I can tell you is it that it will brown some wet grass (does not take much to brown the grass) before it sends full power to the front axle in auto. Been there done that and got the arse chewing from the wife over it. 4 wheel high no slip on wet grass............... 

[ftwhite]

If what is slipping is the rear wheels, then I am guessing that what you are experiencing has more to do with the various differential types than the 4x4 low/high or AWD. The Silverado has an auto locking rear differential. It slips a little, and then locks the diff to send equal power to each wheel. The Ridgeline (if I read it right) has a full locking diff in 1st gear. So all wheels are already locked together when you hit the wet grass. No slip needed to activate, or until all four are forced to slip. Most AWDs use computer input for the differential an front to back ratio, so they are generally faster.  

[300 Blackout]

take truck out of auto and go 4wd low. Also it does hurt some in reverse and the gearing of it. 

This is what I would do. I tried to pull a tree stump in 4hi and found myself reving the engine without moving. I switched to 4lo and the stump came out without a problem and with very little throttle input, although, I bent one of my tow hooks. Grrrr...

If I were going up a hill on even the slightest bit wet grass I would be in 4lo. The owners manual addresses using 4lo and it is recommended on slippery or low traction terrain. In fact, that’s exactly what it is for.

Make sure you shift into neutral before going into or out of 4lo. You might hear the gears clunk together, it’s “normal” per the owners manual. Traveling between 1 and 3mph at the time of shifting into 4lo will help them mesh easier. Try to minimize how much you turn. The slipperier the terrain the more you can turn, the more traction you have the less you can turn. Don’t drive over 45mph.

4lo is meant for exactly what you want to do, make controlled climbs up adverse terrain while keeping as much control of the vehicle as possible.

[truckguy82]

Screw the owners manual

 

4wd lo is for situations where inertia doesnt win, and that never happens unless you’re specfically offroading for fun or on sand

[ftwhite]

4 low changes the transfer case gear ratio to increase torque to the wheels. No added traction, just added torque.

For slippage, you want less torque usually. Like put it is second gear.

[1SLOW1500]

7 hours ago, ftwhite said:

4 low changes the transfer case gear ratio to increase torque to the wheels. No added traction, just added torque.

For slippage, you want less torque usually. Like put it is second gear.

traction is a fixed variable other then over powering the tires with the throttle. And 4 low does more than just increase torque. It affects the the power range of the engine meaning you get more off the throttle roll at a lower rpm. You can see the same type of thing if you put the truck in manual mode and drive up to say 5k then let of the gas it will feel like a huge stall force and truck will pull back. Much like a manual car, I do this in traffic with my t56 car. 

One of the issues is once the tires slip with it in hi or the throttle depressed to much the tires will quickly ramp up speed aka lots of spinning. I will check but there is also tow mode and that is doing everything I just said you want. Reverse is really the issue as that isn't helping at all. Going reverse up hill is unloading the rear tires so the fronts have all the weight. 

[Donstar]

Your issue may be as simple as the differences in tires between your previous vehicles and your current truck.   Switching my oem's to Michelins has virtually eliminated tire spin on my past three trucks.   

[ncridgerunner]

Thanks for the input.  Reversing up the hill seems to be a major factor in the slippage in Auto 4WD.  My  initial understanding was that the Auto 4WD setting to be the same as AWD but there is a real difference between the GM 4WD,  the Honda AWD and for that matter my wife's Subaru Forester.  I prefer using the Auto 4WD because the truck steers better as I attempt to do the small corrections necessary to get the trailer hitch and ball aligned but I have been using the 4WD High setting with no slippage problems.

[ncridgerunner]

8 minutes ago, Donstar said:

Your issue may be as simple as the differences in tires between your previous vehicles and your current truck.   Switching my oem's to Michelins has virtually eliminated tire spin on my past three trucks.   

Tires definitely make a difference.  I bought a set of BF Goodrich tires that are made in the Michelin plant in Spartanburg SC for my last truck and got a quiet tire with the best ride and traction of any light truck tire I have owned.  My current truck had 23K miles when I bought it and only 29K now and the tires are still in great shape so I've got to wait a while until they are ready to be replaced.

[black00ta]

While I haven't tried to launch in reverse I can say that the Auto function reacts very quickly moving forward - I would say that in your case using 4HI to lock the transfer case would probably be the best choice.