Was on vacation and the front of the vehicle started making a very loud grinding/screeching noise while driving on the highway. At first I thought we had gotten a piece of metal caught somehow and were dragging it along the road. It persisted. Upon slowing down, there was a rubbing sound at the front of the vehicle, and finally a loud clunking sound and the vehicle jolted forward. The sound stopped at that point and we continued on. It came back a few days later again on the highway. Same chain of events: grinding sound, rubbing sound when slowing down, clunk/jolt, sound went away.
Researched the problem and it sounds as though one/both of the IWE at the front are bad, lines are bad, or IWE solenoid is bad. Never got around to replacing, as this vehicle had bigger problems (other complaints). A good way to check if this happens to you is to put the vehicle in 4-Hi when the noise begins. If the noise goes away in 4 wheel drive, that's a sign that your IWE is bugged up somewhere. No idea what the fix would cost, but everything I read said it's fairly straightforward and probably a DIY job.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
iwe system failing
Was on vacation and the front of the vehicle started making a very loud grinding/screeching noise while driving on the highway. At first I thought we had gotten a piece of metal caught somehow and were dragging it along the road. It persisted. Upon slowing down, there was a rubbing sound at the front of the vehicle, and finally a loud clunking sound and the vehicle jolted forward. The sound stopped at that point and we continued on. It came back a few days later again on the highway. Same chain of events: grinding sound, rubbing sound when slowing down, clunk/jolt, sound went away.
Researched the problem and it sounds as though one/both of the IWE at the front are bad, lines are bad, or IWE solenoid is bad. Never got around to replacing, as this vehicle had bigger problems (other complaints). A good way to check if this happens to you is to put the vehicle in 4-Hi when the noise begins. If the noise goes away in 4 wheel drive, that's a sign that your IWE is bugged up somewhere. No idea what the fix would cost, but everything I read said it's fairly straightforward and probably a DIY job.
- Bob O., Newburgh, IN, US