2009 Hyundai Santa Fe "stuck in 4 wheel drive."

[mk378]

I'm considering buying this car from a friend in another town. It has been unused for a while but he remembers it worked OK except "stuck in 4 wheel drive." Since this is a full time automatic system with no driver controls other than an "AWD Lock" button and light I assume he means the light doesn't go out after pressing the button.

This appears to be a "ITM 3E" system which I know nothing about before looking at some websites today. It seems the system is almost all software except for an electric clutch between the driveshaft and the rear differential.

I'm hoping someone here is familiar with this system and knows what might cause this. Is it something that could be expensive?

Also is it safe to drive the car on the highway while it is like that, and if not is there something that can be simply disconnected etc. to make it safe?

 

[atikovi]

If it's AWD, it's ALWAYS in 4 wheel drive, no? Isn't the the lock button for a locking diff?

 

[mk378]

That's what I thought at first, but no it is not traditional truck-like 4WD. Like many systems on a modern car it has been mechanically simplified in favor of electronically complicated.

There is no center differential at all. The transfer case is just two gears that always split 1:1 front and rear. The "unlock" happens by disengaging the rear driveshaft entirely. This should be the case most of the time driving on pavement, it works as a front wheel drive.

I'm guessing it's a relatively trouble-free design, since there isn't a lot on the web about problems with it.

 

[atikovi]

You car always remove the driveshaft if there is a problem and drive with FWD.

 

[Rand]

maybe the light means a system fault?

 

[benjy]

with REAL 4 wd backing up usually gets it unstuck, good luck

 

[pezzy84]

maybe the light means a system fault?

System fault was my thought as well and its more of a warning light than it being in lock mode.

 

[mk378]

The more I think about it, it probably is this light:

Which to the uninitiated that icon might suggest "4WD active" or "Did you leave the tractor running?"

The other light, which should come on when the button is pressed, is this one:

 

[mk378]

He bought the car, and we've done some test driving. Updating this situation:

There are no warning lights on in the dash.

The AWD Lock button turns the AWD LOCK light on and off like it should. The following description is with the button not pressed, the light is off.

On level pavement, if you turn sharply and back up (e.g. to leave a parking space), the drivetrain will bind up just like a 4x4 truck locked into 4 wheel drive. You have to press the gas pedal harder than normal to make the car move, and eventually one of the rear wheels will spin.

After shifting to Drive and moving straight forward a few feet, there will be a clunk / bang from the back end. After that the car drives forward normally.

I have not found anyone else on the Internet with this problem.

 

[Thermo1223]

Something is up with the rear diff/driveshaft unit. I've read of issues stemming from lack of oil/dirty oil in Tiguan's before. It's made by BorgWarner so it should be serviceable at least fluid wise.

Actually it's just regular gear oil!

 

[meep]

Is it vacuum actuated? It’s obvpiously binding in 4wd and then banging as it releases.

 

[ColinA]

mk 378, did you manage to find the problem? I have a 2011/2012 Santa Fe with the same problems and have found two other owners with these problems but no solutions. Actually, a third owner seemed to imply changing the clutch box on top of the rear diff was a known solution and that they have a high failure rate. Some people think all four tyres have to have very similar tread to prevent this problem of 4WD locking. I'm wondering if I can somehow just convert mine into a 2WD?

 

[D60]

mk 378, did you manage to find the problem? I have a 2011/2012 Santa Fe with the same problems and have found two other owners with these problems but no solutions. Actually, a third owner seemed to imply changing the clutch box on top of the rear diff was a known solution and that they have a high failure rate. Some people think all four tyres have to have very similar tread to prevent this problem of 4WD locking. I'm wondering if I can somehow just convert mine into a 2WD?

And from what I've read you can likely convert to 2wd. He may also talk about it in the video, I don't remember. But I thought it was as simple as unplugging rear diff clutch and maybe removing rear d/s? I obviously haven't done this but the info is out there.

 

[zzyzzx]

I'm adding this story to my long list of reasons to never own a 4WD or AWD vehicle.

 

[97prizm]

Not sure if this will help but I found this on an Australian forum. Not sure if it will work "
You can try the following (it has worked for me a couple of times when my Terry refused to engage or disengage):

Turn the 4WD switch from 2H to 4H several times (as to "clean contacts"). Then, leave on 2H and do several short forward and reverse moves . Just move forward a few feet, then backwards. After a few movements, stop vehicle and shift to neutral, leaving engine running.

This may lead to the inside motor to release the 4H engaging, turning back to normal 2H operation. If this works for you, its a clear sign that there is really nothing wrong. It just need a little "use" every once in a while"

 

[D60]

Not sure if this will help but I found this on an Australian forum. Not sure if it will work "
You can try the following (it has worked for me a couple of times when my Terry refused to engage or disengage):

Turn the 4WD switch from 2H to 4H several times (as to "clean contacts"). Then, leave on 2H and do several short forward and reverse moves . Just move forward a few feet, then backwards. After a few movements, stop vehicle and shift to neutral, leaving engine running.

This may lead to the inside motor to release the 4H engaging, turning back to normal 2H operation. If this works for you, its a clear sign that there is really nothing wrong. It just need a little "use" every once in a while"

I don't know what a Terry is but that sounds like instructions for an electric shift transfer case. The H/K AWD system is different

 

[mk378]

I don't know what happened with it. The last thing I was thinking of was to disconnect the electric drive to the rear clutch, but never got back to try it.

 

[ColinA]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've just checked the AWD fuse and tried what you suggested D60 but no luck. May try again tomorrow as the problem may have developed because I haven't gone off road as regularly of late and something needs loosening up. I too am wondering whether to avoid buying AWD in the future. Would mechanical 4WD be more reliable? My car is being serviced in two days and the problem checked by an independent garage so I'll see what they think. I'll ask if I can carry on driving it the way it is without too much damage (it's been like this for 4 months now) or whether it is best to convert to 2WD rather than trying lots of expensive fixes that don't last or work.

 

[Marcozi]

Scan the electronic module that controls the AWD system for codes. Otherwise you're guessing.

 

[IndyIan]

Thanks for the replies guys. I've just checked the AWD fuse and tried what you suggested D60 but no luck. May try again tomorrow as the problem may have developed because I haven't gone off road as regularly of late and something needs loosening up. I too am wondering whether to avoid buying AWD in the future. Would mechanical 4WD be more reliable? My car is being serviced in two days and the problem checked by an independent garage so I'll see what they think. I'll ask if I can carry on driving it the way it is without too much damage (it's been like this for 4 months now) or whether it is best to convert to 2WD rather than trying lots of expensive fixes that don't last or work.

True awd with a center diff should be the most reliable as there's no engagement/disengagement stuff or 2 speed transfer case. Manual subaru's have this(except WRX). All the 4wd systems can have some issues depending on how they disengage the front axle, and run the transfer case.
I'm not a big fan of the tacked on AWD, to a FWD platform, although Honda and Toyota seem to do this pretty well.
My solution was Subaru as they build the cars around AWD and only have a couple engines and transmissions to get right, and they seem to have very few issues lately (2015+)with the CVT and AWD systems. But if you don't really need AWD/4WD then a good set of snow tires on FWD is good enough for public roads in most places.