Traction control issue?

[AliciaT]

hi all,
This is my first winter with this truck and it has been killing me fuel economy wise, ok not killing me but up from 12L/100km to 17 and went from driving like a mustang to basics a big heavy tank.

It’s been horrible. Suddenly it was no fun to drive. I’m wondering if I upset my traction control and it has been malfunctioning.

Admittedly I was playing in the first snow trying to do donuts and was shocked it wouldn’t give me anything.
My ecodiesel always fishtailed a bit but I have stupid aggressive tread tires on the new one because I do go off road for work.

Anyways after the donut fiasco or maybe it’s just a coincidence my truck has almost felt like the 4x4 is not turned on but basically not disengaged either.

I tried doing the old back up 20 feet to disengage it thing and nothing so my truck has been driving about as fun as a lumbery constipated brick and eating 17L/100km.

Today I turned off traction control(as you can tell I’m not a real vehicle person) I didn’t even know the button was there. Anyways it suddenly is driving like a mustang again, rolling forward on its own no longer feeling bogged down.

Does this make sense or do I have a traction control issue I should have someone look at?

Thank you for any advice. My ecodiesel was 2014 and I never had to turn off traction control... it never drove like a mustang though so maybe I should have tried.

 

[CostaRam]

I had mine stuck in LOW4 and after 2 hour of back and forth, slow, fast stopped, rolling, etc i disconnected the front axle drive shaft and drove back 20 miles at 20mph ...
When i arrived home i stopped at the grocery shop and after shopping when i fired the truck up the 4Low light went off and all turned normal.

Your truck is probably stuck in 4Auto and this leads to a higher fuel consumption as the front axle is locked and this adds more drag.

If your truck would be stuck in 4x4 then you would hear nasty noises while making turns, particularly when parking.

Chris

 

[TRCM]

I had mine stuck in LOW4 and after 2 hour of back and forth, slow, fast stopped, rolling, etc i disconnected the front axle drive shaft and drove back 20 miles at 20mph ...
When i arrived home i stopped at the grocery shop and after shopping when i fired the truck up the 4Low light went off and all turned normal.

Your truck is probably stuck in 4Auto and this leads to a higher fuel consumption as the front axle is locked and this adds more drag.

If your truck would be stuck in 4x4 then you would hear nasty noises while making turns, particularly when parking.

Chris

In 4wd auto, the front axle is only engaged when the rear axles slips......in 4wd LOCK has it locked all the time.

You could have an issue with the traction control....I know the 1st year I had mine, the shifter started acting weird during a snow storm, and they ended up replacing it. It would not tel the truck it was in park, and it took an act of congress and knowing where the bypass button is to get it IN park.

Then, when in park, it wouldn't let me start the truck cuz it thought it was in reverse, as evidenced by the back up camera coming on as soon as you turn the key. I had to use the bypass button again to put it in neutral to start it.



.

 

[chrisbh17]

You didnt mention which trim level....does it have a 4-auto setting?

If stuck in 4-auto it might be sending SOME torque to the front wheels regardless of rear wheel spin. Ive heard differing accounts on that.

The fact it works better with traction control off is probably a good clue, but my understanding about the traction control is that it uses the rear brakes to modulate a slipping wheel. I suppose you could turn it back on, drive around for a while and then check which wheel feels the warmest to see if maybe one of the brakes is hanging up.

When traction control is on, do you see a flashing traction control icon on the dash? That would flash when the truck thinks it needs to use traction control. Also note even with traction control disabled, that light still flashes which means the system is still doing SOMETHING even with the button pressed to turn it off.

 

[muddy12]

The Traction/stability control kicks in when wheel spin/slip is detected. Along with modulating the brakes, it will also cut the throttle.

Also, there is no way(short of pulling the fuse), to truly disable the traction control. Pushing the button only changes when the system activates. When it’s “on”, it activates as soon as there is slip. When it’s “off”, activates at 40mph or higher.




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[crazykid1994]

Possible bad wheel speed sensor?


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[AliciaT]

Ok so obviously it sounds like it’s worth taking in. My dealer is an hour away and I don’t trust the local one. I do have the option of 4x4 auto but 2wheel is lit.

I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s -18 out so I’m not going to go drive it and see if it still feels better

I had mine stuck in LOW4 and after 2 hour of back and forth, slow, fast stopped, rolling, etc i disconnected the front axle drive shaft and drove back 20 miles at 20mph ...
When i arrived home i stopped at the grocery shop and after shopping when i fired the truck up the 4Low light went off and all turned normal.

Your truck is probably stuck in 4Auto and this leads to a higher fuel consumption as the front axle is locked and this adds more drag.

If your truck would be stuck in 4x4 then you would hear nasty noises while making turns, particularly when parking.

Chris

I wonder if that’s it. 2w is lit but it really feels wrong, there are no clunk noises going around corners and it’s certainly not stuck in low.

One day low came on all by itself when I was driving(yeah maybe I should have mentioned that originally) I was going slow thankfully so I just pulled off put it in neutral shifted and reversed.

Crap why did I just remember that now? Guess I have some sort of issue thought it hasn’t done that since. Something else is obviously up.

Thanks for your help

 

[AliciaT]

In 4wd auto, the front axle is only engaged when the rear axles slips......in 4wd LOCK has it locked all the time.

You could have an issue with the traction control....I know the 1st year I had mine, the shifter started acting weird during a snow storm, and they ended up replacing it. It would not tel the truck it was in park, and it took an act of congress and knowing where the bypass button is to get it IN park.

Then, when in park, it wouldn't let me start the truck cuz it thought it was in reverse, as evidenced by the back up camera coming on as soon as you turn the key. I had to use the bypass button again to put it in neutral to start it.



.

I’ve had some momentary issues like that. One day it wouldn’t let me turn the egnition all the way off so I couldn’t get my keys out for a few seconds. Well jeez I’m remembering all these things now that clearly were little red flags.

Machines generally are quirky with me so I don’t worry but it sounds so far like enough I should have it looked at.

Thank you

 

[AliciaT]

You didnt mention which trim level....does it have a 4-auto setting?

If stuck in 4-auto it might be sending SOME torque to the front wheels regardless of rear wheel spin. Ive heard differing accounts on that.

The fact it works better with traction control off is probably a good clue, but my understanding about the traction control is that it uses the rear brakes to modulate a slipping wheel. I suppose you could turn it back on, drive around for a while and then check which wheel feels the warmest to see if maybe one of the brakes is hanging up.

When traction control is on, do you see a flashing traction control icon on the dash? That would flash when the truck thinks it needs to use traction control. Also note even with traction control disabled, that light still flashes which means the system is still doing SOMETHING even with the button pressed to turn it off.

.... kinda embarrassing I don’t know what trim level. It’s exact same as my bighorn was, and it says big horn on the back but they sold it as something else with extra features is bighorn trim level?

Either way yes it has 4 auto, 2wheel is lit but I know something isn’t right well till traction control was turned off. Eee why do they have to be so complicated. Many thanks for your insight I will call the dealership tomorrow. Better to fix this now.

Glad I got the 5 year warranty!!

Edited to add the tc light was not flashing but I really gave those donuts a good try so maybe I screwed something up.

Thanks

 

[AliciaT]

The Traction/stability control kicks in when wheel spin/slip is detected. Along with modulating the brakes, it will also cut the throttle.

Also, there is no way(short of pulling the fuse), to truly disable the traction control. Pushing the button only changes when the system activates. When it’s “on”, it activates as soon as there is slip. When it’s “off”, activates at 40mph or higher.




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It sounds so stupid I’m blaming traction control as the light wasn’t lighting, but I swear it drives better off. If it’s not lighting as though it’s slipping yet it’s still effecting I guess no matter what something isn’t working. Hopefully a quick fix.
Thanks

 

[AliciaT]

Possible bad wheel speed sensor?


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I’d be so happy if it was a sensor.
My ecodiesel had electrical issues so I’m not keen on experiencing something complicated again.

 

[MADDOG]

Wait...I see no problem here.

You had traction control on when trying to do donuts the first time and you got nothin...sounds right, especially with traction tires.

The second time you tried you turned off traction control and now it slips and slides just how you wanted it to....sounds right.

My question is were you in 4WD both times?

 

[TRCM]

The Traction/stability control kicks in when wheel spin/slip is detected. Along with modulating the brakes, it will also cut the throttle.

Also, there is no way(short of pulling the fuse), to truly disable the traction control. Pushing the button only changes when the system activates. When it’s “on”, it activates as soon as there is slip. When it’s “off”, activates at 40mph or higher.


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It also kills spark & fuel @ ~ 3000 rpm when the wheels are spinning, even if the T/C button is off.


Also, if you don't switch the tcase properly, it will stay in gear

 

[AliciaT]

Wait...I see no problem here.

You had traction control on when trying to do donuts the first time and you got nothin...sounds right, especially with traction tires.

The second time you tried you turned off traction control and now it slips and slides just how you wanted it to....sounds right.

My question is were you in 4WD both times?

No sorry if I phrased that all weird.

I only tried the donuts the one day. But after that it drove different. Sluggish And my fuel economy went really bad.

It’s been at least a week and today out of the intent to try anything I turned traction control off and now it’s rolling unencumbered again but the tc light hasn’t lit since I tried the donuts.

I haven’t driven it far enough to see fuel economy changes over long distance but they were markedly lower so something was happening.

I haven’t tried donuts again it was a momentary first snow whim.

I was in 4X4 not at all. These tires are rediculous and my truck bed is pretty heavy. Even with a foot of snow I haven’t needed 4x4 except for one stretch of about 20 feet where cars were parked really close and I didn’t want to risk sliding.

 

[AliciaT]

It also kills spark & fuel @ ~ 3000 rpm when the wheels are spinning, even if the T/C button is off.

This is good to know thanks.

 

[chrisbh17]

It also kills spark & fuel @ ~ 3000 rpm when the wheels are spinning, even if the T/C button is off.


Also, if you don't switch the tcase properly, it will stay in gear

Reading the owners manual I didnt see anything about going from 4WD (any mode) back to 2WD....IS there a special procedure? All I could find is going into the various 4WD modes.

 

[AliciaT]

JUst an update. Went outside and for a drive. I didn’t even have to turn traction control off. It’s just moving freely again more than it has, the engine noises sound different(like it’s not struggling) and with a short 15 minute drive mostly city a small amount of hyw the l/100km dropped down to 16.5. It hasn’t been below 17.3 in 2 tanks.

So as bizarre as it sounds even without the tc light being on eversince I tried to force donuts out of the beast something has been impreading it’s forward momentum.
Maybe turning tc off allowed it to reset, I know that sounds nuts but I have no other explanation.

If it happens again I will take it in and let you all know what they found.

Thanks guys!!

 

[TRCM]

Reading the owners manual I didnt see anything about going from 4WD (any mode) back to 2WD....IS there a special procedure? All I could find is going into the various 4WD modes.

Pages 398-422...depending on which tcase you have.

The big thing is if you were in 4low, and didn't shift out of it properly, it won't matter if you go to 4wd high or 2wd, it may stay in low range

 

[chrisbh17]

Pages 398-422...depending on which tcase you have.

The big thing is if you were in 4low, and din't shift out of it properly, it won't matter if you go to 4wd high or 2wd, it may stay in low range

What year manual? I have a 2017 with the 44-44 xfer case. the page numbers above arent for the 4WD instructions, but Id be glad to look at them in whatever year manual you found them!

 

[TRCM]

What year manual? I have a 2017 with the 44-44 xfer case. the page numbers above arent for the 4WD instructions, but Id be glad to look at them in whatever year manual you found them!

Aha....the one I downloaded is the Canadian manual apparently.......for the US version, it'd be pages 404-428..................sorry, didn't realize the manuals were different like that.

https://www.google.com/search?q=201...rome..69i57.5388j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


Would be worth downloading as it's much easier to search for stuff electronically than by flipping thru the pages.....and it's free.


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