Experience with Interstate 4X4

[Amg]

I am on my third Interstate in 5 years. Purchased the 2020 to get the 4X4 option with air suspension. This week I travelled from my home in Florida to my home in Pittsburgh Pa. it was right after a snow storm. I read the manual throughly about engaging the 4X4 and also the various U tube videos. You must engage it before you need it. The wheels must be straight then you put it into the various gears. If that does not work then you shift through a defined sequence of gears. It’s like a slot machine. It took a while but I did finally get it engaged after several tries Why they couldn’t make it simpler and less stressful to engage I do not know.

Once engaged I climbed my long steep driveway that was unplowed with ease. I won’t disengage it until I leave to go back down South. I don’t want to go through the stress of engaging and disengaging. Hopefully keeping it engaged for a full week won’t cause any damage.

[SWH]

Thanks for sharing. We have a 4WD 24GT on order and I have been questioning whether we should have opted for it given the cost and additional weight it adds. Never really had a need for it in the couple of years we had our 2WD 2017 Lounge, but decided our travels in the future may justify it. Since you have had many Interstates, how do you find the 2020 4WD compares in terms of normal ride and handling, etc.? Better, worse, same?

[Amg]

The unit rides and handles great. Much better then my prior ones. However, I now have the new Mercedes chassis with all the bells and whistles. Everything from the power side door to the power and much more comfortable front seats to the dynamic cruise control. The 4X4 is higher so a higher step into the unit. I am using the unit a lot during these COVID times. I won’t fly so I drive. With a kitchen, bathroom and bed it ain’t so bad. Definitely glad I bought unit. While four wheel drive is not a necessity. It did give me peace of mind during current trip and did allow me to get up steep long snow covered driveway without a problem.

[billstrong]

Just want to echo AMG. We have 2021 Interstate 19 4x4. It handles very well. I want to comment on active lane keeping and active crosswind assistance. Lane keeping nudges you back to the center and most of the time you never feel it. You just magically stay in the center of the lane. It works by braking so that you don’t have the annoying tugging on the steering wheel that BMW, Honda, etc do. The crosswind assist is a different story. I was driving back from Biloxi yesterday in gusting 30 mph plus crosswinds. The crosswind assist is not gentle and it works the anti-lock on the brakes. It is instantaneous. It warks extremely well. it keeps you well within your lane. My wife thinks we are having a tire blow out when it works.

[Harpist]

Hej folks,
I realize this is a fairly old thread, but it is right on-point for what I am working on. I have a 2021 19' Interstate and am about to head cross country in November. So for the first time, I am thinking I might need 4 wheel drive.


So I look up the instructions in the Sprinter manual:
1. Start the engine
2. Straighten the wheel
3. Press the 4-wheel drive button (no flashing icon appears on the display)
4. Cycle through the gears and after a couple of tries, I get the appropriate icon that flashes on the display (it stays lit for about 2 seconds)


The problem is, I see no light on the 4-wheel drive button (in fact I never see a light). Now the light may be on, but it is too dim to see in bright sunshine. Or maybe, the light is in the switch is busted.



Anyway, from that point on, if I stay stationary, every time I hit the 4-wheel drive button, the appropriate icon flashes for two seconds on the display.


So how do I tell if the 4-wheel drive is engaged? Or disengaged? I'm going to try it tonight when it is dark to see if I see any light in the switch.


Thanks for your assistance.
Good Roads
Harpist

[MCKlevickis]

I have a 2021 Airstream Interstate GT with the 4-Wheel Drive and Low Range option. I always engage 4-Wheel Drive and Low Range at the seashore and when entering the state Parks we frequent as it greatly aids driving on sand or deep gravel and when backing up inclines and maneuvering into RV parking spots and then I always disengage it before leaving the parks and driving on dry highway roads.

I will engage the system by pushing the 4-WD momentary rocker switch located low on the dash to the right of the steering column while the vehicle is stationary on level ground with the wheels in the straight-ahead position and with the transmission in Neutral after having cycled the transmission from N to D through N to R and then back to N. Low Range can only be engaged after the system is in 4-WD.

If the small light on the 4-WD momentary rocker switch is not on the vehicle is NOT in 4-WD. If the light is flashing the system is attempting to engage 4-WD. If the light is continuously on 4-WD is engaged. The light is sufficiently bright to be easily visible in any ambient light condition. However, the location of the switch low on the dash makes the switch difficult to see while driving as it is often blocked from the driver’s view by the position of the steering wheel.

Note that there have been some reported problems of difficult engagement caused either by lack of lubrication on the shaft of the engagement motor or by control module programming problems. Both issues can be easily resolved by your Mercedes Sprinter service technician. There were a small number of cases on specific VIN’s involving defective 4-WD transfer cases that had to be replaced by Mercedes.

4-WD can be left engaged when driving on dry roads as the system has a viscous clutch that proportions power to the front and rear axles. It really is of no benefit on dry roads at high speeds, but neither will leaving it engaged do any harm. The only difference will be a slight increase in noise and vibration and a slight decrease in fuel economy.

[Harpist]

MCKlevicis,
Well, I have no light on the rocker switch - neither continuously lit nor a flashing light (I checked at night). After straightening the wheel (on level ground) and cycling through the gears, I eventually get a 2 second flash of the ESP symbol on the instrument display.
It may be as simple as the rocker switch light being out. If so, is there any other way to tell it is in 4 wheel drive?
My son rebuilds old crashed cars so he may know how to check the rocker switch and/or the four wheel drive.

Regardless, I'm going to call MB service tomorrow, but our last service visit required an appointment 2 months in advance so I'm not optimistic of getting to look at this before we head out in November.
Good Roads
Harpist

Originally Posted by MCKlevickis

I have a 2021 Airstream Interstate GT with the 4-Wheel Drive and Low Range option. I always engage 4-Wheel Drive and Low Range at the seashore and when entering the state Parks we frequent as it greatly aids driving on sand or deep gravel and when backing up inclines and maneuvering into RV parking spots and then I always disengage it before leaving the parks and driving on dry highway roads.

I will engage the system by pushing the 4-WD momentary rocker switch located low on the dash to the right of the steering column while the vehicle is stationary on level ground with the wheels in the straight-ahead position and with the transmission in Neutral after having cycled the transmission from N to D through N to R and then back to N. Low Range can only be engaged after the system is in 4-WD.

If the small light on the 4-WD momentary rocker switch is not on the vehicle is NOT in 4-WD. If the light is flashing the system is attempting to engage 4-WD. If the light is continuously on 4-WD is engaged. The light is sufficiently bright to be easily visible in any ambient light condition. However, the location of the switch low on the dash makes the switch difficult to see while driving as it is often blocked from the driver’s view by the position of the steering wheel.

Note that there have been some reported problems of difficult engagement caused either by lack of lubrication on the shaft of the engagement motor or by control module programming problems. Both issues can be easily resolved by your Mercedes Sprinter service technician. There were a small number of cases on specific VIN’s involving defective 4-WD transfer cases that had to be replaced by Mercedes.

4-WD can be left engaged when driving on dry roads as the system has a viscous clutch that proportions power to the front and rear axles. It really is of no benefit on dry roads at high speeds, but neither will leaving it engaged do any harm. The only difference will be a slight increase in noise and vibration and a slight decrease in fuel economy.

[MCKlevickis]

Harpist,

There is no dashboard indication of the Airstream Interstate’s 4-WD being engaged other than the light on the rocker switch. Moreover, the system can be damaged if you press the accelerator while the 4-WD system is attempting to engage...as indicated by a flashing indicator light on the rocker switch. And I cannot imagine a situation where the switch would work to engage or disengage 4-WD but the light would NOT either flash during engagement or stay on when 4-WD was successfully engaged.

The only way, other than that indicator light, to determine if you are in 4-WD would be the slight noise and vibration at a steady speed caused by the 4-WD being engaged and the front axle being powered. And this would likely only be apparent to an owner who was used to and had been able to compare those things when in and out of 4-WD.

I think you will need to have your system checked and serviced by your Mercedes Sprinter service department. It is much more likely that there is a problem with the 4-WD engagement module or the engagement motor and actuating shaft than a problem with the very simple and reliable switch. But those problems could be as simple as an engagement shaft needing lubrication or a wire to the engagement motor having been damaged or disconnected...both of which have been found by other Airstream Interstate 4-WD owners.

It is a simple thing for the service department to check and they seem to be very familiar with the issues involved.

[Harpist]

Hej folks,


The short of it is that it turned out to be a burned out light in the rocker switch. The part will be in next Tuesday. Now the full story:



I spoke by phone to the service rep at Mercedes-Benz of Spokane. He said that they were booked out until December for any appointments. But he suggested that if I drove the 90 minutes to the shop and threw myself on the mercy of the shop foreman, I might get 15 minutes of his time to look the system over. So I drove down there this morning - but it only took the foreman 5 minutes to diagnose the problem.


The foreman showed me that if the system was not in 4-wheel drive (or is it All-Wheel drive?) the low range would not engage. So the back-up for the rocker switch light indicator, is just to activate Low-range (which has a message on the display if it can or cannot engage). After hitting the 4-wheel drive rocker switch, I activated the low range gear and received a message that low range was engaged (so I was in 4-wheel drive). I then disengaged low-range and was ready to tool around in 4-wheel drive!



So they have ordered the switch and I will go in next Tuesday to get it replaced.


Thank you everyone for your assistance on this one!


Good Roads
Harpist