PHXPHOTOG
Well-known member
There are a few things about the 4wd drive controls you may or may not know. Here are some tips.
Traction control, turn it off. It not only controls your rear end it dumps you out of the throttle and limits the power to 1,500 RPMS. The secret handshake is the traction control button also lets you turn off ESC (electronic stability control). Press the button once and it turns off TC, press it again and hold it down for 5 seconds and you will see a dash indicator that ESC is off. This only works at slow speeds. Everytime you hit 35 MPH it will automatically re-engage ESC. FWD low automatically disables them both. In 4WD drive high you have to do it. Both of these systems are great safety things for slick roads. They will get you in trouble on difficult off-road terrain. I don't want a computer Nanny controlling my truck.
Hill Descent: It works like a dream. It will set your down hill speed at the speed you are going when you engage the button. The cool thing is you can use the cruise control up/down button on the steering wheel to increase or decrease speed when it is actively engaged. When the dashboard icon is lit steady hill descent is on in standby, when it is flashing it is actively engaged.
After engaging 4WD don't forget to put it in off road mode. This is the 4WD tuner. It changes shift patterns and increases throttle sensitivity.
Some of these things will hold when you turn off the truck and restart. Others have to be reset every time at startup. It all depends on which mode things are in. Its almost a PIA because you have to keep monitoring everything. But it is all good stuff.
So my preflight check from startup to 4WD high goes like this:
Turn off auto on/off
Engage 4WD high
Put in off road mode
Turn off traction control
Hold down TC button until ESC is off
Engage hill descent when needed
Then I have fun.
Steve
Traction control, turn it off. It not only controls your rear end it dumps you out of the throttle and limits the power to 1,500 RPMS. The secret handshake is the traction control button also lets you turn off ESC (electronic stability control). Press the button once and it turns off TC, press it again and hold it down for 5 seconds and you will see a dash indicator that ESC is off. This only works at slow speeds. Everytime you hit 35 MPH it will automatically re-engage ESC. FWD low automatically disables them both. In 4WD drive high you have to do it. Both of these systems are great safety things for slick roads. They will get you in trouble on difficult off-road terrain. I don't want a computer Nanny controlling my truck.
Hill Descent: It works like a dream. It will set your down hill speed at the speed you are going when you engage the button. The cool thing is you can use the cruise control up/down button on the steering wheel to increase or decrease speed when it is actively engaged. When the dashboard icon is lit steady hill descent is on in standby, when it is flashing it is actively engaged.
After engaging 4WD don't forget to put it in off road mode. This is the 4WD tuner. It changes shift patterns and increases throttle sensitivity.
Some of these things will hold when you turn off the truck and restart. Others have to be reset every time at startup. It all depends on which mode things are in. Its almost a PIA because you have to keep monitoring everything. But it is all good stuff.
So my preflight check from startup to 4WD high goes like this:
Turn off auto on/off
Engage 4WD high
Put in off road mode
Turn off traction control
Hold down TC button until ESC is off
Engage hill descent when needed
Then I have fun.
Steve