Awd

Asked by Travis Mar 26, 2016 at 06:47 PM about the 1993 Subaru Legacy L Wagon AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Is it safe to run my Subaru in front wheel drive
instead of removing the fuse and running it in awd?

1 Answer

48,050

Back in the day there were those who believed that deleting the RWD in this manner saved a bit of fuel. Subaru warned against this practice as parts of the drivetrain would spin freely, perhaps causing harm. The fuel savings was small in pure city driving, and essentially nil in straight-line highway use. "fusing out" the AWD in this manner was necessary before the widespread use of ramp tow trucks made dragging a hurt Subie on two wheels via a traditional tow truck possible. All tow operators know to use a ramp truck, so the practice of disconnecting AWD in this manner has become obsolete...and of course hazardous in slippery conditions. (Note that ANYTHING can be used to "short" this fuse receptacle contacts; many used coins or paper clips in emergencies.)

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