Hello all, 2 days ago I traded in my 2015 Kia Optima for a 2014 FX4 crew cab. The truck has 99k and I got a pretty good deal on it from my local ford dealer. They also provided a 3 year 36k mile warranty. I’ve had it for 2 days and today I decided to check the 4x4 system to see if it was working properly. I found a spot near my apartment that has a grassy field. First I tested 4H and it goes in/comes out of 4H without issue. My problem lies with 4L. I shifted the truck into neutral and put the 4x4 **** to 4L a message came across the instrument cluster saying “shift in progress” which is normal but then immediately afterwards it would say “shift delayed - pull forward”. I then put the truck back into drive and let my foot off the brake, truck wouldn’t move so I gave it a very small amount of throttle and it immediately made a horrible grinding/popping sound. I repeated this process a few times, no change. Every time I put the truck into 4L while in neutral it would say “shift delayed - pull forward” and would make a horrible noise from the front end as soon as I put it into drive again. I tried one last time but switched it up. I put the truck in neutral, switched the **** to 4L, got the error message again but instead of putting it into drive and causing it to make that noise I then left it in neutral and turned the **** back to 2H. This caused the instrument cluster to say the truck was in 4L while also displaying the error message all while the dial was actually on 2H. It seemed to be stuck in 4x4 and I had to play with it for 20 minutes just to get it back to 2H. I immediately drove it to the dealer and they asked I bring it in tomorrow. It looks like they aren’t going to give me any crap about it. I’ll follow up on this post when I hear back from the dealer. I just wanted to post it here to see if anyone might know what the issue is.

 

This is most likely an issue with the shift motor or the t-case but it's probably not broken just bound up, there are always exceptions though so good that you have a warranty. This type of problem isn't uncommon and it is usually due to lack of use, most truck buyers these days rarely ever use 4-hi so it's entirely possible your attempts at getting into 4-low were the very first that truck has ever seen.

 

Thanks for the reply. I’m hoping it’s something simple but as long as they just fix it and don’t give me the run around I’ll be alright. I understand what comes with buying used, especially used with 99k miles but it’s odd they didn’t catch that.

 

Were you already in 4hi and trying togo to 4lo? Or were you in 2hi going straight t 4lo? If it was the latter the truck can't lock the IWE's without the tires rotating. Initially clunking may result.

 

I tried both, going from 2H straight to 4L and then going from 4H to 4L. I know that engaging 4L will result in the truck jumping/shifting and some noise may occur but this didn’t sound right at all. I found a video on YouTube that basically mimics what happened with my truck. Note, I’m talking about the first 30 seconds of the video.

 

Well, I took it back to the dealership this morning and of course it worked perfectly fine. Not a single hiccup. The technician couldn’t repeat the issue and neither could I. I tried it five different times in different spots of their parking lot and it worked without issue. If I can get it to repeat I’ll try to catch it on video. I’ll update the post if anything changes.

 

probably just STUCK or DRAGGING due to non use as mentioned above.. Once a month, put it in 4 low and drive around the yard... Shift to 4H and drive down a gravel road for 1/2 mile... etc.

 

So has everything been fine since you were at the dealer? I'd also recommend using it once in a while just to keep everything moving in there.

 

It’s been working great. i’ll be using the 4X4 at least once a month going up to my property.