Driving mode question

[stlgrym3]

Just picked up my 2023 F150 Powerboost 4X4 this past weekend. What driving mode do you use for normal daily commute? 2H or 4A? 2H is 2 wheel drive, and 4H is full time AWD, am I correct? Is 2H more fuel efficient than 4H? We are in SoCal so it’s pretty dry for now. Thanks.

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[travisN000]

2H should be fine, If you find traction control kicking in in wet weather, or just want more traction for acceleration use 4A. In theory 2H should be more efficient, but I don't really see much change with my 21

 

[Aron]

I've heard anecdotally that 4A will cause a slight reduction in fuel efficiency due to the friction caused by engaging the front gears continually. I have a RWD, so I don't have that issue.

 

[Tosh]

I use 2H almost all the time.
4A when there's ice or snow on the roads, or the road is dirt.
4A does cost you in MPG

 

[powerboatr]

mine is in 4A over 90% of the time daily drives
i will select 2H if i am on a long highway drive , MAYBE

i have found as with my last 3 fords with 4A that it might affect mpg but not enough to measure

i drove in slippery mode during our last freeze ice event and i lost mpg ...19 down to 17 over a 22 mile stretch of 65 mph to 30 highway

 

[CycleChem]

I used to use 2H most of the time in Houston, but now I am moving more and more to 4A.

If your 2023 is like my 2022 Powerboost, then then you don’t have front IWE and your front wheels are essentially locked to the transfer case all the time regardless of the 2H or 4a mode. So there is little difference in mpg due to the front wheels being engaged. With that said 2021 and some 2022’s had front IWE, but haven’t heard about the 2023s.

With that said, where I see 4A losing mpg on my Powerboost is when braking. In 4A, the conventional brakes engage immediately. In 2H it uses regenerative braking first to charge the battery, and then applies the conventional brakes.

 

[LHoffmanjr22]

I used to use 2H most of the time in Houston, but now I am moving more and more to 4A.

If your 2023 is like my 2022 Powerboost, then then you don’t have front IWE and your front wheels are essentially locked to the transfer case all the time regardless of the 2H or 4a mode. So there is little difference in mpg due to the front wheels being engaged. With that said 2021 and some 2022’s had front IWE, but haven’t heard about the 2023s.

With that said, where I see 4A losing mpg on my Powerboost is when braking. In 4A, the conventional brakes engage immediately. In 2H it uses regenerative braking first to charge the battery, and then applies the conventional brakes.

Same here. At first I thought something was wrong with my truck and the region stopped working. It was here that I found this information out. I use 2H for almost all driving situations just because of this. I figure the more regen braking I get the better MPG I will get, but in reality I can't imagine it makes that much of a difference.

 

[Davexxxx]

Might be talking out my hat here but seems to me, the more systems employed, the more parts wear there has to be.

I've never had AWD, so I've only engaged 4WD when slick. You can immediately feel the stresses transferred to the truck if in 4WD in the dry.

My new truck will come with the AWD feature but don't anticipate using it in other than slick conditions.

Also, as I understand it, you're supposed to replace all tires at the same time, in AWD systems. I prefer to buy new tires in pairs. Moving fronts to the back and always putting the new tennies on the front, where most of the braking and tire wear happens.

With traction control and the like, I may have to change that habit in the future but we'll see.

 

[Kanuck]

I have mine in 2H all the time. Only switching to 4H when slippery or snow covered. I also rotate my tires front to back every 10k miles to keep even tread wear as to not cause uneven stress on the drivetrain. I do not do the X style rotation, just front to back on the same side.

 

[jeepin95]

With that said, where I see 4A losing mpg on my Powerboost is when braking. In 4A, the conventional brakes engage immediately. In 2H it uses regenerative braking first to charge the battery, and then applies the conventional brakes.

That has not been my experience in my '22 502A Powerboost. Being in the Seattle area I am in 4A 99‰ of the time. The only time I am not is when switching back to normal from sport or tow mode and it automatically goes back to 2H. Both the eco screen and my OBD2 dashboard show regen brake working when I let off the throttle or when I lightly apply the brakes. I can get up to 120a returning to the HV battery until it reaches 70% SOC, and normally get >80% on the energy returned popup once stopped. When in blue cruise hands free and traffic the truck seems to do an even better job of regen than I can. Am I missing something here?

 

[Gros Ventre]

As to fuel consumption, the issue is whether the front axle is disconnected and not rotating. When is 2 WD the front axle is disconnected from the wheels and the front driveshaft is disconnected at the transmission. Thus mileage should improve slightly. Some methods of shifting 2WD vs 4WD don't stop rotation, they just disconnect wheel to wheel with the rotating components still rotating. If I understand Ford's Wheel End mechanisms correctly, they disconnect the wheel from the axle.

 

[Antimatter22]

Just picked up my 2023 F150 Powerboost 4X4 this past weekend. What driving mode do you use for normal daily commute? 2H or 4A? 2H is 2 wheel drive, and 4H is full time AWD, am I correct? Is 2H more fuel efficient than 4H? We are in SoCal so it’s pretty dry for now. Thanks.

Maybe I didn't see someone else already mention it, but depending on trim you could have up to four drive modes: 2H, 4L, 4H, and 4A. 4H and 4A aren't the same thing. If you have 4A then you can drive without an issue in that mode. I'm under the impression (first truck) that if you drive on non slippery roads while turning in 4H then it can bind some things up. If you don't have 4A, then I would just stick with 2H.

I live in the midwest and the only time I've engaged 4A is when we had some snowy roads or if I've thrown it into Sport mode to have a little fun or pass someone.

 

[JExpedition07]

My Expedition had 4A, but I only used 2H and 4H. I didn’t like that in auto you lose the braking advatage of locked 4WD on ice where braking torque is split 50/50 via the driveshaft. If you put the truck in 4A then 4H and slam on the brakes in snow it is quite clear 4H assists in braking, 4A has the ABS kick in alot more I found. 4A was nice if you had a lot of snow to dry back and forth roads. I do not think it is “bad” to drive in 4A most of the time, the truck is designed to. The fuel hit is slight, it was maybe 0.3 mpg on my Expedition when in use.

 

[ElReto]

Might be talking out my hat here but seems to me, the more systems employed, the more parts wear there has to be.

I've never had AWD, so I've only engaged 4WD when slick. You can immediately feel the stresses transferred to the truck if in 4WD in the dry.

My new truck will come with the AWD feature but don't anticipate using it in other than slick conditions.

Also, as I understand it, you're supposed to replace all tires at the same time, in AWD systems. I prefer to buy new tires in pairs. Moving fronts to the back and always putting the new tennies on the front, where most of the braking and tire wear happens.

With traction control and the like, I may have to change that habit in the future but we'll see.

You should always put the new tires in the back, not safe to have new tires in the front and worn tires in the rear. One of these days the rear end will pass you around a corner.

 

[Davexxxx]

You should always put the new tires in the back, not safe to have new tires in the front and worn tires in the rear. One of these days the rear end will pass you around a corner.

"Always", is doing a lot of work there.

Its not like I run baloney skins.

Fronts wear faster than rears. In a 4x4 vehicle, I'm generally more concerned about stopping, than rear wheel traction. So, i want the fresher tread up front.

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