Stuck in 4wd I think
 

Hi. I have a 2008 Outlander II (well it’s a Peugeot 4007 really). I think it is stuck in 4wd but this is the first 4wd car I've ever driven so don't know what to expect. It drives OK apart for some resistance when steering a tight turn (the steering wants to pull back straight). Fuel consumption appears to be a bit high, but as this car is new to me I’d not know if this is normal. When switching between all the drive modes nothing appears to happen, and there is no mechanical noise which I would expect, however the dash display updates correctly to indicate which mode the switch is in. There is no engine warning light. I checked fuse 17 10A which powers the 4wd control and this is OK.

Any ideas on what I can to test if indeed the drive is changing (is there a noise when vehicle parked, ignition on but engine not running when you change drive mode?). If the drive is not changing anything I can look at myself before having to take to a dealer or other garage?

Apart from this problem the vehicle is very pleasing and nice to drive.

You do not have 4x4, you have AWD. Natively, it is a 2wd vehicle that has an electronic clutch pack in front of the rear differential. There is no mechanical engagement like what you would have with a selectable transfer case on a 4x4. You will not damage it by driving it in 4wd/lock mode on pavement...it just isn't that kind of system.

You won't hear or feel anything switching between 4WD modes, because as said earlier the outlander uses a wet clutch.

Of the few things that american's get right and the rest of the world is backwards, we don't like to call these things 4WD, we call them AWD(All Wheel Drive). We reserve calling 4WD for vehicles whose part time 4wd system actually uses gears with teeth to engage shafts together. It works better off road. With AWD, you won't hurt the vehicle if it's engaged full time on dry pavement, your fuel economy will be bad though. I would only use lock in deep snow and off road.

The best way to know if your car is in 2WD is to actually turn the car sharply from a stop, or just do it on loose gravel or rain, and stomp the accelerator pedal. The vehicle is front wheel drive and the 2 front tires should break traction.

Hello,
I have the same issue- my Outlander second generation (2008, 2.2did) seems to be stuck in either 4wd auto or 4wd lock. I realized that while i was spinning the wheels in snow. Switching of the driving modes is shown on the information display but does not change in reality as the rear wheels continued to spin even in 2wd mode. I turned off the engine in order to "reset" the 4wd system but it did not helped.
Fuse No 17 for the 4wd system is ok. No any errors (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) are saved in ECU.
What could be the problem?

Hi All
Has anybody found a solution to this?
5 years after the original post I'm having exactly the same issue with my 2008 2.2 DID Outlander.

It seems that the coupler is always engaged to some extent by default. I read in some technical documentation the steps to check if the coupler is properly functioning. The document mentions some procedure (do not remember exactly) to lift the car and to engage the hand brake to the 2nd or 3rd click. Then engage first gear and put some gas in order to rotate the front wheels. If the rear wheels are not rotating that means the coupler is in good condition. If they are rotating then it is suck in engaged position. Bear in mind the hand brake should be adjusted according the service specification before doing the test.

Edit:
Just found the document:

http://faq.out-club.ru/download/outlander-xl/maintenance/Service_Manual_2008_2012/2008/index_M1.htm

When opened go to section 27C
then click ON-VEHICLE SERVICE,
and then click ELECTRONIC CONTROL COUPLING INSPECTION