yeah thats true, awd has more mass to move all the time, therefore it gets less mileage.

 

maybe i can help with this matter. in my opinion this dude isn't advertising correct. sounds like a 4x4 and not an awd. i have a 2002 awd. my **** on the dash is AWD, 4HI, 4LO. it sits in awd all the time which is regular driving mode. ive drivin the ones with 2wd option but they are not awd trucks they are 4x4 or 2wd optional. most people leave them in 2wd since they believe its better gas mileage but in reality its pretty much the same as the awd if not worse then the awd since its only 2wd pushing the whole vehicle. from what ive heard from people and there experiences on here.
anyway hope that helps.
my 2cnts... go with a real awd especially if you get bad winters where you are.

 

Exactly.

In really simple terms, AWD vehicles have an open center differential and 4WD vehicles have a locked center differential.

In 2WD mode on a 4WD Dakota, power is transmitted to only the rear wheels. An AWD drive Dakota does not have a 2WD mode. In normal driving, power is transmitted to all 4 wheels. This doesn't mean that all 4 wheels are applying power all the time, only that power is available to any/all four wheels at a given time.

4WD Low and 4WD High are the same in both the AWD and 4WD Dakotas - basically, the center differential is locked.

My Dakota has AWD and in the rain or snow (even on dry, actually), it's a whole different truck than a 2WD or 4WD Dakota. Zero slipping or sliding, no wheel spin - much more stable in all conditions.

Available AWD was the primary reason I purchased a Dakota over other brands. I actually owned a 2005 4WD Tacoma for a while but, like my old 2001 2WD Dakota, it was a handful in rain/snow.

AWD is a wonderful feature. I strongly urge anyone considering purchasing a Dakota to drive an AWD back-to-back with a 2WD or 4WD on a slippery road. Huge difference.

One final note on fuel economy. AWD vehicles have more drivetrain loss than 2WD vehicles. You can see this in the 1/4 mile trap speeds of AWD vehicles and on the dyno. Consequently, AWD drive can negatively impact fuel economy. On small, light cars the difference is noticable. My personal experience is that on trucks AWD has less of an impact on fuel economy, probably because the barn door areodynamics and wieght have more impact than drivetrain losses. My 2001 V6 automatic 2WD Dakota averaged 13.6-14.0 MPG. My 2006 AWD 4.7 H.O Dakota averages around 13.5-13.8. That's a pretty insignificant difference given the extra power, extra wieght, and higher numerical rear gear ratio of my 2006.

 

I had a 99 CC with the 5.2L and had the 2wd/4wd/4ft/N/4lo transfer case and loved it. It was fairly easy on gas and it would go anywhere. I traded it for a 01 QC with the 5.9L with the awd/4hi/4lo switch on the dash which got terrible mileage--best i ever got was about 14.5

 

Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm sure someone will!) but unless you've got free-wheeling hubs fitted to your front axles, there won't be any difference in gas mileage between a 4WD and an AWD system. On a Dakota, all the shafts and axles are rotating whenever the truck is moving. The only difference is that on an AWD they are all being turned directly by the motor whilst on a 4WD (driving in 2WD), the front half of the drive train is turning due to the motion of the vehicle so it still adds to the load on the engine. The only way to gain milage on a 4WD when only using 2WD would be to fit free-wheeling hubs (which disconnect the wheels front the entire system) or remove the front drive shaft and stick it in 4WD. (This would save some losses but the half shafts and diff would still be turning with this method.)
I think most people assume that once its in 2WD, its dissconected. It is connected, just not under direct power from the motor.
Given the choice I would always go for AWD for the reasons mentioned by RealityCheck. Why carry all that extra weight and not be able to use it all the time? It also shares the torque load between the axles when towing.

 

AWD driver needs Help::::

Im new to owning a Dodge. Ive owed z71 with push button 4wd and loved them. I got a used 02 AWD 4.7 v8 and seem to enjoy the handling on this liltruck.

So heres the problem--- As I stated i owned chevy z71 with a push button 4wd system. So one morning im starting off going bout 40-50 mph and decided to switch the AWD switch to 4HI like my chevy's and well it didnt go so well. There was a huge clunking noise and I quickly put it back to AWD mode. I pulled over and switched the lever few times and took off the truck rock horribly. I was going bout 10 mph now. so I stopped again and turned off trk put in nuetral forward same thing put it in rev and this seemed to help. I was able to drive in AWD again.
few weeks late i stopped turned in 4wd and took off and it rocked and swayed back and forth. put it in 4LO and it was fine going very slow.

So my question is What was that clunking noise and why does it rock back and forth? Also --Can a AWD vehicle swith to 4WD while moving???

please help if you rhave any info on this... THANKS