New to 4WD, any info and advice appreciated

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Korobs885

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I try to remind everyone who asks that 4wd is only to give you more *TRACTION*. There are many cases where you might need more traction, poor weather/ off road being the primary ones.

2wd only uses 2 wheels (duh), but it depends on whether your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive. Have you ever tried to run up a wet hillside using only your feet? Or conversely, tried pulling yourself up with only your hands? Wouldn’t it help to put your hands and feet down to climb the hill? That’s what 4wd does. You’re pushing with the back wheels, pulling with the front. Very simple.

With auto traction, it senses when a wheel is slipping and automatically engages the 4wd. But I don’t recommend using it all the time. I had a very specific problem with my GMC where I started getting hard shifts in Auto, and I was told by the dealer to do routine driving in 2wd, and ONLY use the 4wd when you need it. Something about the transfer case spooling up and releasing tension, which makes sense. It also puts more wear on the transfer case by using it when you don’t need it.

Auto makes sense when you’re driving in wet weather conditions, since you might lose traction on 1 wheel and need it to engage, but I still prefer to manually control my traction. 4hi is to allow your transmission to switch thru all the gears, 4lo is when you want it to stay in a low gear and need the benefit of that along with the increased traction, mainly when climbing rough terrain at slow speed or towing down a steep hill.

But routine driving, with no load and dry paved surfaces, I say keep it in 2wd bc you don’t need the extra traction. You’re putting more wear on components that don’t need to be used, and you’re actually likely getting worse fuel economy in 4wd because there is increased resistance with the transfer case engaged. I imagine that would be your preference with that 6.2.. it drinks gas. And premium at that.
 

WalleyeMikeIII

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... 4lo is when you want it to stay in a low gear and need the benefit of that along with the increased traction, mainly when climbing rough terrain at slow speed or towing down a steep hill.
Not completely true. 4 Low engages a lower gear in the transfer case, but the transmission is still available to shift through it's 10 gears (although guessing maybe 4 Low locks out some of the higher ones.). The Owner's Manual says you can use 4 Low up to 45 mph....

So, you get a lower final drive gear in 4 Low (more torque to the wheels), but still have the various transmission gears to keep the engine in the high torque operating range...if you also shift the transmission into L and hold it in first or 2nd, then yes, you will be in the lowest gear ratios available, but you can run in 4 low and leave the transmission in D and let it do it's thing, but also deliver more torque to the ground. Do not drive in 4 low on pavement, you need to be in sand, mud, snow, grass, gravel...something that lets the tires slip so you don't bind up driveline components.
 

91RS

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I was never shy with 'auto' either, and that ol' Tahoe [2001] is still doing fine.

It occurs to me that maybe the full time AWD in my '07 Escalade is basically the same set-up as 'auto'. I don't see why there'd need to be much, if any, difference.

I'd be interested in knowledgeable input on that idea.

joe

It’s not the same. The AWD does not lock the front axle.

Do not run auto if you want your drivetrain to last. It is bad for the front differential and transfer case. Sure, you’ll find some people that claim it’s fine but when the owner’s manual says not to. Why would you risk it? I’m sure there are some people out there who never change their oil and the car is “fine” but why would you do that? What good could come of it?
 

GreenTahoe2004

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I just picked up a 2024 RST with 6.2L and 4wd. This is actually my 3rd Tahoe, I've exclusively owned Tahoes for 17 years now, so I've had one from each of the last three generations. I absolutely love these vehicles. This is my first 4wd vehicle though, my prior were all 2wd and I know very little about 4wd or when to use it. I live in Texas, so the one day a year it snows barely an inch I just WFH, and I don't off-road or anything. This is also my first 6.2L, my previous Tahoes were 5.3L. This 6.2L is a beast, I didn't realize how quickly these things can move with the 6.2L, feels like I've been missing out before now.

Anyways, as simple or naive as this question might seem to people who've been driving 4wd for decades, I honestly don't know much about it. Should I keep it in 2Hi most of the time, or is it OK to keep it in Auto? Should I occasionally engage 4wd a few times a year to make sure the switches and parts get some movement and don't seize up? Is it OK to put it in Auto when I'm feeling naughty and want to enjoy full traction when playing with the 6.2L, like WOT pulls and whatnot? Any other maintenance, use, or anecdotal advice?
I have a Tahoe with 2Hi-4Auto-4Hi-4Lo.
I normally use 2Hi.
4Auto for moderate to heavy rain or light snow conditions I also use 4Auto on most boat ramps.
4Hi for traveling on gravel roads/boat ramps or moderate to heavy snow conditions
4Lo on more difficult situations or driving on remote muddy roads. I occasionally have used 4Lo to drag a raft from the lake up a sloped rock
 

AJMBLAZER

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Change your oil at 500-1000 miles. Your engine wasn't hand assembled in a clean room from blueprinted and mic'd parts by guys in full containment suits like a F1 racecar engine. There's assembly debris and casting flash in there. It won't hurt you any to get that first break in oil change done early and get a lot of that stuff out of there sooner rather than later.

Don't be surprised if they look at you funny. I used my wife's free oil change at 500 miles on our Yukon and the lady seemed very confused about it.
 
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I just picked up a 2024 RST with 6.2L and 4wd. This is actually my 3rd Tahoe, I've exclusively owned Tahoes for 17 years now, so I've had one from each of the last three generations. I absolutely love these vehicles. This is my first 4wd vehicle though, my prior were all 2wd and I know very little about 4wd or when to use it. I live in Texas, so the one day a year it snows barely an inch I just WFH, and I don't off-road or anything. This is also my first 6.2L, my previous Tahoes were 5.3L. This 6.2L is a beast, I didn't realize how quickly these things can move with the 6.2L, feels like I've been missing out before now.

Anyways, as simple or naive as this question might seem to people who've been driving 4wd for decades, I honestly don't know much about it. Should I keep it in 2Hi most of the time, or is it OK to keep it in Auto? Should I occasionally engage 4wd a few times a year to make sure the switches and parts get some movement and don't seize up? Is it OK to put it in Auto when I'm feeling naughty and want to enjoy full traction when playing with the 6.2L, like WOT pulls and whatnot? Any other maintenance, use, or anecdotal advice?
The 6.2 and the old 6.0 engines are great. I had a 2004 with 240k miles on it, ran great, never leaked or used any oil between changes. We now have a 2019 Yukon D with 6.2 and love it. I would make sure that you always use premium gas only, change the oil every 3K-4K miles with full synthetic oil. I've never had the lifter issue with our 2011 5.3 or the 2019 Yukon D 6.2.

Don't leave the 4wd in auto for long periods...Just when snowy conditions are sort of intermittent. They recommend that you put in 4wd occasionally since it seems that the solenoid switch may become inoperative.

It's nice that it comes with a extra battery tray section, so we ordered and installed the Trays on both trucks along with the , hold down clamp and tray bolt. We had a specialty shop install the extra cabling, installed a good battery isolator and then a special switch under the dash that allows you to connect both batteries to the starter connection if you run down your starter battery. We can also run 110v devices off of the secondary battery with the inverter. In addition, we have the front and rear dash cams running off of the secondary battery (with a battery saver device) so when they detect motion while parked, it records the activity.

The other thing that I've found with these newer trucks with all these fancy electrical devices, the AGM (Absorbed Glass-Mat) batteries work much better than the lead acid batteries. We replaced the lead acid batteries with AGMs and Cosccto has most of them reasonably priced. They will last much longer than the old Lead acid batteries. Congrats to you - Enjoy the ride.
 

AJMBLAZER

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FYI - If it has start/stop they need to be a AGM or EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) due to the demand of the random extra starting and stopping.
 

Korobs885

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The 6.2 and the old 6.0 engines are great. I had a 2004 with 240k miles on it, ran great, never leaked or used any oil between changes. We now have a 2019 Yukon D with 6.2 and love it. I would make sure that you always use premium gas only, change the oil every 3K-4K miles with full synthetic oil. I've never had the lifter issue with our 2011 5.3 or the 2019 Yukon D 6.2.

Don't leave the 4wd in auto for long periods...Just when snowy conditions are sort of intermittent. They recommend that you put in 4wd occasionally since it seems that the solenoid switch may become inoperative.

It's nice that it comes with a extra battery tray section, so we ordered and installed the Trays on both trucks along with the , hold down clamp and tray bolt. We had a specialty shop install the extra cabling, installed a good battery isolator and then a special switch under the dash that allows you to connect both batteries to the starter connection if you run down your starter battery. We can also run 110v devices off of the secondary battery with the inverter. In addition, we have the front and rear dash cams running off of the secondary battery (with a battery saver device) so when they detect motion while parked, it records the activity.

The other thing that I've found with these newer trucks with all these fancy electrical devices, the AGM (Absorbed Glass-Mat) batteries work much better than the lead acid batteries. We replaced the lead acid batteries with AGMs and Cosccto has most of them reasonably priced. They will last much longer than the old Lead acid batteries. Congrats to you - Enjoy the ride.
The annoying thing about AGM batteries is they don’t like sitting for any length of time. They have to be used in a car driven regularly so that the charge/ discharge cycle is constant. If you allow them to discharge too much it will absolutely kill the battery with no hope of recharging it. Even then, I’ve had AGM batteries (a Costco one) go out in less than 2 years in a daily driver. I had another in a classic car sit for about 3 months and it was bricked.
 

WalleyeMikeIII

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The annoying thing about AGM batteries is they don’t like sitting for any length of time. They have to be used in a car driven regularly so that the charge/ discharge cycle is constant. If you allow them to discharge too much it will absolutely kill the battery with no hope of recharging it. Even then, I’ve had AGM batteries (a Costco one) go out in less than 2 years in a daily driver. I had another in a classic car sit for about 3 months and it was bricked.
This is not true.

AGM’s have way less self discharge than classic flooded lead acid, and can tolerate deeper discharge than flooded lead acid. They can charge faster and supply a higher current vs a similar sized flooded lead acid battery. Finally they tolerate lower and higher temperatures better. The main disadvantage is cost.

If you got a bad one form Costco (interstates have dropped in quality in the recent past.), charged it improperly, or something, that may have altered your impression.

I routinely use AGM in my boat, and for winter storage, I charge before storage, charge one over winter, and they are ready in spring. Last set I got 7 years.
 

homesick

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My truck often sits for weeks at a time. It is always plugged in to a Battery Tender [with a "float" feature]. I've used Battery Tenders for years, for both trucks and motorcycles. Based on my experience, I swear by them.

FWIW

joe
 

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