4x4 Won't Engage

[HighSierraZ-71]

Well here we go again..... I bought my 06 Sierra Z-71, new in May, 2006 and at 528 miles the 4x4 switch would not engage. The dealer had it 2 days, changed the encoder motor and tightened things on the fuse block. All was fine for about 15 months.

 

Today I was out in the woods, and thought it would be a good time to use the 4x4....and all the switch would do was flash and not engage. Called the dealer and have an appointment in a few days. I now have 13,800 miles on it.

 

Has anyone else had a recurring problem with this electronic 4x4 system. I wish I just had a lever to pull like on a Wrangler!! No sense in having a 4x4 if you can't depend on it.

[Sonoma]

Had this problem with my Sonoma, took it to the dealer (under warranty) and they made an "adjustment", never had the problem again . Good luck.

 

On a side note, the wife's 07 Silvy Classic came with the 4wd floor shift, wasn't a deal breaker. The salesman joked that it would be one less thing to go wrong with it by getting shift on the floor. I got a slight impression there had been problems with the electronics.

[AcetyleneDreams]

A manual transfer case is a beautiful thing, but so are all the bells and whistles that come on the SLT. I worked at a GMC dealership in the truck shop, and I can tell you that although it's not too common, I have seen people have this same problem before with the auto transfer case. I have one now, but I've never had a problem with it.

 

You're still under warranty, so you're still ok...for now. I hope the dealer can fix it for good this time.

 

 

Best of luck to you!

[cmoore74]

A manual transfer case is a beautiful thing, but so are all the bells and whistles that come on the SLT. I worked at a GMC dealership in the truck shop, and I can tell you that although it's not too common, I have seen people have this same problem before with the auto transfer case. I have one now, but I've never had a problem with it.

 

You're still under warranty, so you're still ok...for now. I hope the dealer can fix it for good this time.

 

 

Best of luck to you!

 

That's odd, I've had the opposite experience. My last truck, an S-10 4x4 with just the standard transfer case, had a lot of problems with going into 4wd. The wife's blazer with the auto transfer case (auto 4wd) never had a problem.

 

Maybe by auto you mean with push-button activation, but NO auto 4wd?

 

The new truck is also a 2006 with the auto 4wd transfer case and 0 problems.

 

I figured the transfer cases with the auto 4wd option would be more reliable due to the quick required engagement of auto 4wd and that is what I've experienced.