I'm at the dealership having my truck looked at for the torque sensitive shudder I've been experiencing. I've owned the truck less than 2 months and this is my first Dodge Ram.

This trim level has a dash mounted **** as opposed to the floor mounted shifter for 4 Hi / 4 low. By the **** at 11 o'clock it says AWD. I've only read through the owners manual briefly about this but I was under the impression this vehicle was not equipped with AWD but 4WD when the correct setting is applied.

A representative from this dealership says she's never seen an all wheel drive Dodge Ram before. I too was not aware that this vehicle could be so equipped and I remain skeptical at this point.

Who here can verify whether or not this truck is actually equipped with AWD as opposed to rear wheel drive with 4WD capability.

THanks,

Gunzer

OK, I spoke with another service rep and the actual technician. The service rep who has been around Dodge vehicles since the late 80's said he's never seen an AWD Dodge Ram. The technician who had been referred as an "A" techician has never seen on before either but is absolutely certain this particular truck is AWD equipped. I'm not sure whether to be excited about this or not. I'm struggling to get 13 MPGs on flat highways being mindful of my RPM's and acceleration.

Somebody please weigh in here.

Gunzer

 

guy at work had one. It was also an 05' model as well he got rid of it before he came to our location, but he swears it was AWD and not 4wd. I haven't seen one in person, but i know the magnums were also made awd around that time so mopar was doing it.

 

There are two different transfer cases. One has AWD, one does not. In AWD, you can use it on different surfaces because it uses a viscus coupler to connect the front and rear and won't bind up on dry pavement. in 4wd, it is locked like a regular 4wd.
2wd mode unhooks the front differential for better mpg.

So, yes it has AWD.

 

Hey lxman1,

Do you happen to know if this AWD can be disengaged? My dash mounted shifter **** has only "AWD", "HI", "LOW" and "Neutral."

When I get my truck back I'll read the owners manual more thoroughly this time. Not sure if I'm pleased with this option or not. The dealership gave me an '08 Big Horn 5.7 2X4. It has way more off the line than my AWD setup. The MPG gauge went from 11 to 14.5 avg over the course of 150 flat highway miles too.

 

No, you can't make it 2wd. It's fulltime AWD with the other modes for rougher conditions. It must be great in the rain -- I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Get a programmer and play with the torque management settings. AWD should crush a 2wd truck off the line.