hoping this will improve my gas mileage in the off-season. i've heard there's a way to do this under the hood. does anyone know how to do it, if it does indeed benefit gas mileage/performance, and if there are any risks other than the obvious traction issue?

Is it automatic transmission? If so, open up the main fuse and relay box under the hood and you'll find an open fuse socket labled "FWD". Put a 20-amp fuse in there, and you're in 2WD mode. A light on the dash should show up indicating that the car is operating in that mode. To put it back in AWD, just take the fuse out. That's all there is to it.

You 'might' save 2 mpg. Handling loss wouldn't be worth it to me.

I believe it requests a 15 amp fuse - better check to make sure, you don't want to burn anything out.

 

Also, I thought it was established on this site that the function was intended for temporary use only, and long term use may cause some damage. But maybe I'm totally off.

 

At the least it will mean wearing out the front tires more rapidly, and necessitating more regular tire rotations to avoid the "torque-binding" effect that seems to come from using unevenly worn tires with AWD. Again, maybe I'm not quite right about this.

 

 

You 'might' save 2 mpg. Handling loss wouldn't be worth it to me.

I'm not sure, and you may have considered this already, but wouldn't your mileage go down since you now have more 'dead weight' in your drivetrain? That rear drive shaft ain't gonna turn itself...

 

mp

you will get better gas milage. There is less drive train drag and loss if the power only has to go through one axl instead of two. The weight is very minimal.

you will get better gas milage. There is less drive train drag and loss if the power only has to go through one axl instead of two. The weight is very minimal.

This topic is a constant on this board.

 

MPG is more about drag, weight, gear ratios, etc.

 

Putting the fuse in will give you 1-2 mpg at best, so instead run synthetic motor oil and you will gain the same without the possible damage of the solenoid that will cost hundreds in parts since it is not built for long term use.