AWD->FWD?

[Mr. Jalapeño]

Yesterday, I had the joy of changing my first flat tire.
That Bridgestone nearly disintegrated on my rim, which is a first for me.
This doesn't compare to the joy I felt upon learning that I needed to purchase 4 new tires instead of just one so as not to ruin the AWD!

Back to the point at hand, though...

I followed the instructions on placing a fuse in the fuse box which would convert the AWD to FWD while I drove on the spare. During the slow drive home, I got to wondering if there was any advantage in keeping the vehicle in FWD during the summer months.

Anyone know if gas mileage or performance improves using FWD?
Would using FWD save wear and tear on the AWD powertrain?

[mbaksic]

I can't see where there would be an advantage of keeping it in FWD. Maybe the mileage would go up a tad. However, all that stuff is still spinin around underneath, even if its not being driven by the transmission. So there would still be wear and tear on it. How does it drive in FWD mode?? I haven't had to use it yet. Does it feel any different?? Mike

[Mr. Jalapeño]

Thanks for the reply, Mike.
I noticed a split second delay in acceleration when shifting from Park to Reverse or Drive, but other than that no noticeable difference while driving.

[mbaksic]

Maybe when you put it in FWD mode, it screws with the trans shifting program. Could be because they don't really want you to use it unless it is an emergency situation, like your flat tire. So if it drives a bit weird, they figure you will get it fixed right away. Sounds like a car engineer thing, they do strange things!! Mike

[rabidnemo]

Wow, I never would have thought to switch from AWD to FWD because of a spare being used. Definitely a good thing to know...

My dealer couldn't find my car manual (bought baja 1 week ago), so I won't have the book for another week. Kind of funny - I was trying to remove the cover off the back, and w/out instructions I was removing the bolts from underneath! I finally realized I only had to undo the top two and it popped right off. Geez - I felt kind of silly. Instructions would have been helpful! I called the dealership, but they had no idea what to do

[Mr. Jalapeño]

Wow, I never would have thought to switch from AWD to FWD because of a spare being used.

Good thing you read this then! I've never owned a vehicle where you had to do this before (..'course I never owned a Subaru before!).
I also learned that I had to replace the other three tires after I bought a new one due to AWD, thanks to info from the tire dealer.

[Baja_Turbo]

The Turbo Automatics don't have this option.Either way i wouldn't put that temp spare on the rear since it might due damage to the LSD rear end.

[Atomic Baja]

I just checked my owners manual for a 2005 Turbo MT and did not see anything about changing a fuse when changing a flat tire.... Are there instructions somewhere else that say to change a fuse when switching to the spare tire?

[Mr. Jalapeño]

In the '03 Baja manual on page 9-10 ('In Case of Emergency') is a note in boldface type about about putting a spare fuse inside of the FWD connector in the fuse box before driving the vehicle with the spare tire.
However, I just saw that the lead sentence says [Automatic Transmisssion Vehicle].

[mbaksic]

Yup, I saw that too when I read my owners manual when I got my Baja. Its funny that nobody takes the time to read it. It has lots of good info in it. Most manuals just collect dust. I have ALWAYS read mine, even if it was an older car. Mike

[rabidnemo]

My manual finally came in, so that I can read it (dealer didn't supply it when we bought the car two weeks ago). On mysubaru.com, they say that they have the "manual" as a pdf download, but it's actually more like a picture book referencing pages that it does not contain.