I don't think you can disconnect it. What you can do is make sure it disconnects pretty soon after you accelerate. Use the screen that shows you where the power is going to each wheel. Get up to speed, and it will just drive the front wheels.

 

I'll have to look around for that screen... I'm not sure if mine has a screen that shows that.

 

Sorry you are having problems. What you report is something I have not heard of before. It sounds real since the dealership even admits it.
As XR650R points out and I agree, there is no way to disconnect it. To be honest, I wish there was a way. 98% of the time I have no need for AWD.

I thought I would add a couple of videos.

This first one is about navigating the various screens to get to what you are looking for. XR650R described it perfectly but pictures can be worth a thousand words....sometimes I need them myself.....lol

This second one shows you what you might see once you get there....Intelligent AWD. And what you might see and why.

It's for the Ford Escape, but it's all the same.

My best advice if you are worried about this and to be honest, I would be worried too. As you can see from that video, the rear wheels are mainly engaged during acceleration slippery roads or not. To keep the rear drive from engaging and keeping it at a minimum. Accelerate as slow as possible if traffic permits. Not a perfect solution but might be worth the effort until it is fixed.

 

I appreciate the detailed response! I'm a software engineer and sometimes I feel like an idiot when trying to navigate a simple screen like that haha. But that's helpful to know that I have some control over when 4wd gets engaged.

 

You are fortunate to still be under warranty. Our 2018 made it just beyond the warranty before the rear diff started howling. I suctioned out the silver paste from inside, refilled with gear oil and drove for another year before the noise became too much.

Bought a new OEM unit off eBay and replaced. It was a big job but doable.

Given the number of used rear diffs out on eBay, I expect this is an all-to-common failure. Sad that major components no longer last the life of the vehicle…

 

That's interesting... unfortunate yours wasn't covered. I couldn't find a lot of indicators that the rear diff was a common failure point in my research but I also noticed that there are a lot for sale on eBay!

 

Update on this for anyone who stumbles upon it: you can disable 4WD by unplugging the ATC (active torque coupling) connector. It's the only electrical connector that connects to the top of the rear diff, so it's not too difficult to locate. It is a little challenging to reach in there though and you definitely don't want to do it when the exhaust is hot and you'll need a good light. Once it's disconnected, the vehicle will automatically disable AWD and display an AWD error message on the dash.

 

This is the sort of useful info I want about our cars. Thank you!

 

Thank you for the info. Would it be safe to drive this way permanently?

 

I can't imagine why it would cause any safety issues but you will always have to deal with the warning popup on the screen. I also don't know if or how it impacts electronic systems like electronic stability control.