I recently purchased a high mileage 1992 Subaru Legacy.... that will (should) get better gas mileage than my 2002 Silverado, and V8 Fiero.

I have a question about this car. It is all wheel drive, automatic, and coupe (not station wagon) if that matters. There is a fuse location under the hood that if you put a fuse into it it will disable the all wheel drive and make the car just front wheel drive. Better gas mileage with front wheel drive, obviously, less rotating mass. But, since I am totally new to anything Subaru, I know nothing about these cars!
I read through the owners manual, and it says that if the FWD light is lit on the dash (the FWD light is lit when there is a fuse in that fuse holder under the hood), and it says that it is some kind of maintenance mode???? Not real sure about this!

I have talked to a person who knows a little about these cars, and he "thinks" that it is a bad idea to have that fuse in, and disableing all wheel drive.

Can anyone here shed any light on this for me? I have never owned a subaru, and I know nothing about this! Is it bad to run it in front wheel drive, instead of all wheel? And why?

Thank you to anyone who might have an answer!
Chris

I used to own several - I *think* the fuse insertion is meant to be used ONLY when you are towing in emergencies (that is, not transporting on a flat bed) ... I believe it prevents the rear wheels from spinning the tranny when the front wheels are elevated when you are towing the car... I would check with a dealer to be safe, but I am pretty sure you should not do this in normal use.

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'88 Fiero Formula
'12 VW Eos
'82 BMW R100RS

Thank you very much mikerphd!

The car was in FWD mode when I bought it, and it took me a while to FIND the fuse! Wasnt in the normal fuse locations..... There is a "noise" coming from the rear area, I was thinking maybe wheel bearing? But I also wasnt sure if maybe this car being in FWD instead of AWD would cause some kind of noise from the rear end area?

[This message has been edited by chrishahn87 (edited 05-02-2012).]

quote Originally posted by chrishahn87: Thank you very much mikerphd! The car was in FWD mode when I bought it, and it took me a while to FIND the fuse! Wasnt in the normal fuse locations..... There is a "noise" coming from the rear area, I was thinking maybe wheel bearing? But I also wasnt sure if maybe this car being in FWD instead of AWD would cause some kind of noise from the rear end area?

My guess (and it's just a guess) the previous owner tore up the rear end driving the car hard, and turned off the rear end so the next guy (you) wouldn't know until later.

Brad

That AWD system is similiar to what is used in the Suzuki SX4. Even with the vehicle in FWD mode you are still powering the driveshaft. There is an electronic clutch pack at the rear differential that is ' disconnected' in FWD mode. You also have the drag from the axles / rear differential when in that mode.

In theory it should be better on gas but on the SX4 forum I'm on, the guys that run AWD all the time are getting similiar fuel mileage I get where ours is in FWD most of the time. Honestly the only reason we use FWD mode mostly is I hope it will extend the service life of that rear clutch pack with it being disconnected, which I could be completely wrong there.

One area they are reporting a downside of full time AWD is rear tire wear.

We don't have to mess with fuses or anything, we have a 3 way switch to select between FWD / AWD / or LOCK ( 50-50 split)

[This message has been edited by jelly2m8 (edited 05-03-2012).]