Service 4WD light??

My 2000 silverado service 4WD light came on this morning. I'm planning on taking it in to the dealership, but I was wondering if anyone knows what it could possibly be. Is this a common thing in these trucks or should I be really worried. I use the 4WD very rarely, so I don't think I've over used it. The truck has 60,000 miles on it and the 5.3.

I think it is just a mileage thing. Mine came on over the past winter and it hasn't affected anything yet. And I've had mine on the beach and high water. Plus I hate working on cars when it is cold. Going to repack hubs soon now that it has warmed up.

If you do a search, you will see that the 4wd switch can go bad causing the light to come on. Something about the solder joints cracking. I just replaced the switch and the light has not come back on.

//2000CAYukon

UPDATE I took the truck to the dealership this morning to have it checked out. When they scanned it, it showed no trouble codes? The service guy said it was probably nothing and if it came on again, bring the truck back in.

odd...

Mine did the same thing. The wife drives the Yukon mostly except on the weekends. One day, I am driving and the Service 4wd light comes on. She tells me that it has been doing it for a while. When I got home, I scanned it and no codes. The light would not come back on right away after restarting.

4wd seemed to work fine even when the light was on.

The light has not come back on since replacing the switch.

//2000CAYukon

can the switch be replaced without resetting any codes? Chevy wants $172. and change to do mine......It's in the shop now.....the driver side rear wheel assy. is about to fall off...missing a bolt or two....... I've given up on the clunk thing........

UPDATE I took the truck to the dealership this morning to have it checked out. When they scanned it, it showed no trouble codes? The service guy said it was probably nothing and if it came on again, bring the truck back in.

You never mentioned if you've tried to activate the 4WD and noticed anything different such as the truck not switching from 2WD to 4WD or back again normally. Most of the time it is the switch. I had mine replaced under warranty on my 01 5.3l when it was about 3 years old. And yes, to answer Bassnvol1, the switch can be replaced without resetting any codes if no codes are present.

The switch is a very common problem. Solder joints decay over time. If you're handy, remove the switch, disassemble and look closely at some separating solder, resolder those. Otherwise, gmpartsdirect.com has the best price on the part; about 40-50 dollars.

I just bought a 2000 silverado and the 4wd switch flickers on and off and then service 4wd light comes on. Truck has 102,000 miles on it, is there a way to check codes without taking to dealership?

Because the code is intermittent depending upon the broken circuit in the switch , the dealer often misses it. Autozone among other parts places will plug in an OBD reader for free. Again, the code may return nothing if it's the switch.

You are describing a common issue which my 2000 and I believe many others have been the switch.

No code came up, so I guess I'll try the switch, thanks

Christ - the SERVICE 4wd could mean about 50 different things ... GM has not been able to pinpoint it, and all the things already mentioned, ie FAULTY SWITCH, CONTROL MODULE, SOFTWARE VERSION RUNNING, SENSORS in the Encoder, wiring harnesses, on and on ....

I have looked at a bunch of different systems, and I am convinced that it is the number 1 complaint of the newer trucks .... even Av's, and SUV's ....

I know one thing for sure, next 4wd is a MANUAL with hubs!!!!

I'd bet large sums of money on it being the stupid electric switch right there in the dash. I had the same problem on my 99 and changed out that switch and haven't had service 4wd light come on again since and it's been about 2 years.

Jake

Thanks everyone for the info on 4wd light. I thought if I unhooked the batt. then I could change the switch in the dash and it wouldn"t cause any codes to show up....After reading all the problems with these trucks, I can't belive my favorite truck is junk. thanks,u-all --- bassnvol1