[cc1999]

I am told the on demand 4 wheel drive system on a 08 Ram is actually just full time AWD. Then I was told this they mentioned that it was a 5 position switch.

Normal part time switch would have
2 wd
4wd hi
4wd low
neutral

On demand should have
AWD
4wd hi
4wd low
neutral
what is postion 5 if not a 2 wheel drive mode?

 

[Mudchucker]

My switch is 2wd, auto, 4hi 4low,.. wouldn't on demand be similar to auto,.. like I have, but its its 2wd until 4wd is needed?

 

[cc1999]

That is exactly what I thought position 5 would be. My dealer told me it was full time four wheel drive or all wheel drive rather, and there was no 2 wheel drive mode. I thought that had to be wrong or they would have called it a full time or AWD system.

So I thought the dealer was wrong but they said they went and talked to the service department to get the answer. I still didn't believe them so I used the dodge website to ask the question on the new live help feature on the website.

The person at chrysler that I was talking with told me it was a 5 position switch, but there was no 2 wheel mode, so I turned around and asked him the same question I asked here on the form. He said call the dealer for more details. I thought holly crap can they make these 4 wheel drive systems any more more complicated to understand.

I knew it was bad on the Jeep side but I thought the Dodge Rams would be more simple. WRONG, the dealers and the factory customer service people don't even understand them.

I want to thank you so much for the pic of the actual switch. That tells me that it is what I thought it was, and that it has a 2 wheel drive mode. I think its pretty much the same thing I have on my suburban, except GM calls it auto track system rather then on demand.

 

[Mudchucker]

My truck is in auto pretty much all the time, unless I am driving on dry pavement where there is not ice,.. But here every road is icy,.. I like the auto,.. cause from a start, if you slip a little in the rear,. the front kicks in to help you,.. then kicks out. Don't forget though,.. my truck is an '06,.. it may be the same,, it may not be as an '08

 

[cc1999]

Ya, its snowing here right now, supose to have 6"s by morning, and we had an ice sorm last weekend, I have been driveing the suburban all week, and I have it in the auto mode.

For me though its only like this normally a couple months out of the year, and the suburban drops about 1-2 mpg in auto mode, I supose thats due to the drag from the auto mode being engaged.

Thats a good point also about the year models. Maybe some one on here knows the answer to that one too.

My dealer is trying to locate me a truck and after the milage my AWD commander has gotton, I am in know way wanting another full time AWD truck or SUV. They located several with this on demand system. This new info might just help me go ahead and get one with this feature. If its like your 06 and has that 2 wd mode then I should be good to go.

 

[dieseldoc1]

my dealer told me my 06 hemi had mds. never could hear it kick in. e mailed dodge and they said no mds on the mega,to heavy.when the salsman called"how u like the truck"call i lit off on him for being a dumbass! the salesman is only concerned with his commission check!!
my switch does not have the "auto" selection.

 

[cc1999]

Ya, sales people generally are really weak on product knowledge. My fleet guy is typically pretty good though, when I asked what the option was and what the difference was he admitted not knowing and went and talked to the service department and later called me back with what turns out, or looks like might be faulty information.

If this 06' switch pictured, is the same thing as the 08's have, then by giving me the wrong answer messed up closing a sale today.

There were several trucks on the locater that had most of the options I wanted, but they also had this on-demand feature that they told me was all wheel drive with no 2 wheel mode at all. I told him up front I would never own another Awd truck. So as it stands right now, until monday anyway, they have not found a truck I would take. If I had known what I think I know from the help of this thread, I would probably be picking up my new truck tomorrow.

 

[AudioNutz]

...but they also had this on-demand feature that they told me was all wheel drive with no 2 wheel mode at all...

I can't speak for the 2008, but this would not be correct with the 2007's. I have a 2007 with this feature, and it is 2wd until you put it in one of the other modes.

 

[cc1999]

I was thinking I read somewhere the 08s were just carry overs of the 07's, since the 09's are going to be all new trucks. So thats good info to know. Thank you

 

[cc1999]

Update. I found a pic of a 2008 ram on auto trader and the 08's, have the same on demand switch as the 06' except it says hi, and the 08's say lock .

08' with On - Demand Electric shift transfer case

08 standard electric shift transfer case (Not On - Damand)

 

[wjrodman]

just a word of advice...my 07 Commander gets about 15.9 - 17.5 mpg (4.7L). My 07 Quad Cab Hemi with MDS gets about 14 mpg and it has the on demand 4 wheel drive. i'm sure the ram would do better on a road trip with long stretches of highway, but for daily driving, the ram can't touch the commander. jeep has got those systems down well.

 

[AudioNutz]

My 07 Quad Cab Hemi with MDS gets about 14 mpg...

Wow! The best I've seen on my 07 is 12mpg.

 

[cc1999]

See thats the oposite for me, my 05 Hemi Ram 4x4 part time (lever in floor) gets about 14-16, and my MDS Hemi AWD Commander gets under 15 pretty much at all times, even on the highway. Once in a while if I work at it it on a long trip I can pull off 15mpg. There is typically 1-2 mpg difference in favor of the Ram Hemi without MDS and AWD.

Thats about the best MPG I have herd of on a Commander, is yours a 2wd?

 

[wjrodman]

no my commander has the QD-II Setup but it doesn't have a Hemi (4.7L), so that probably has a lot to do with it. i'm sure the gearing difference in our vehicles may have something to do with it as well. I'm beginning to wonder how much this MDS stuff really helps out.

 

[cc1999]

MDS or in GM terms DOD is only good for about 6%, Less than 1 mpg in most trucks, and only in the right circumstances does it even go into that mode. My Suburban has it as well and it has a display mode that shows when its in V8 or V4 mode. The only time you ever see it on V4 is going down a hill, or decelerating. One of my employees bought a Commander at the same time I did his is an AWD 4.7, He swears his gets about the same, maybe worse. He says his is in the 12-13 range most of the time.

The one time I would think would help save fuel, is at stop lights, or drive through windows, but NO, they only idle in V8 mode.

I was actually hoping there was a way to turn it off, on the MDS Rams. maybe a programmer or something. I was planning to run a cat back exhaust, like I have on my other Ram, but I am told the MDS trucks sound weird when the go into 4 banger mode.

 

[wjrodman]

my fiance drives the commander on a daily basis, so that could have something to do with it as well. everytime i look at the computer, it says roughly 15.7 or 15.9. when i reset it on road trips it stays up around 17 or 18. on the jeepcommander.com website alot of guys have pulled the negative battery post to reset the computer and have had good results with gas mileage.

 

[AudioNutz]

If we're talking about the computer, then disregard what I said about my mileage. The computer will be consistently more generous than actual measured mileage by doing the math calculations yourself at the pump.

miles driven divided by how many gallons you put in the tank.

 

[cc1999]

I check mine by hand (or calculator) most every tank (habbit of mine, since I got my drivers LIC over 20 years ago) . The computer in my Suburban and the Commanders are always with in a couple tenths on mine.

I agree though, I think that may very well be why there are so many people that seem to get widely different readings, maybe some units are better calibrated than others. I know one thing thats for sure with that little 20 gallon tank in the Commanders, that you can almost see that gas gage moving. LOL

 

[AudioNutz]

...I know one thing thats for sure with that little 20 gallon tank in the Commanders, that you can almost see that gas gage moving. LOL

My Durango is that way.

 

[wjrodman]

I also verify all my mileage by hand. these two vehicles have been the first i've owned with the computer doing the calculations, so naturally i had to verify their accuracy. on both vehicles, the have almost been right on the mark. as far as the reseting of the computer trick, they are seeing better actual gas mileage results, due to the commander adjusting to your driving style while it is breaking in.