I don't think the Escalade (even the Escalade EXT, the twin to the Chevy Avalanche pickup) ever had part-time 4WD...that would be unbefitting something the Cadillac nameplate. Part-Time 4WD, with no center differential (and unable to be used on dry pavement), was an El Cheapo off-toad system for lower-line trucks and body-on-frame SUVs, and itself is mostly gone now.

 

First gen Cadillac Escalade used part time 4WD. Part time is still around for every body on frame manufacturer.

 

I don't remember it having part-time 4WD, but I won't say you're wrong....it is unlikely but possible. I just couldn't find any verification of it.

 

First Escalade was 20 years ago lol

 

Only Toyota and Lexus had a full time. Range Rover too (I think). The Cadillac Escalade has a really crappy system compared to its peers, only thing it has was an AUTO engage feature . It also had leaf springs from the pick ups.

 

Current BOF GM trucks have regular 4x4, including Escalade.

If someone wants "AWD," just put it in auto and when wheel slippage occurs, power is sent up front almost instantly.

Nothing non-luxurious about that. That's ideal. There's a nice switch off to the side, it's not like you have to manually do it and lock hubs lol.

My now 4 generation old Yukon is like that and I just leave it in 2. But it connects virtually instantly into 4WD if put in auto when the roads are slick.

 

But that is still not true AWD. I think the second generation Escalade was AWD.

 

I know, but it might as well be. I fishtail all over the place on slick roads if I'm not careful when my truck is in "2". If I hit "auto" it makes it impossible to do that. It's instant.

I actually prefer that setup because 99% of the time you're in "2" and not putting any "drag" on the system.

 

Well, if it has an AUTO function, then that is not true part-time 4WD, which lacks a center differential and can only be used off road or on slick surfaces which allow tire-slip. The Auto function is essentially 4WD on-demand, which automatically engages it when the primary-drive-wheels start to spin.

 

Its still part time.

 

Whenever I go mudding I just leave it in Auto.

 

Just because it has an auto mode doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a locking center differential.

 

TRUE part-time 4WD is an archaic, decades-old design that does not have an AUTO function. It can't go into an auto-mode, because it does not have a center-differential to adapt to changing road conditions.

I think what you are doing, Jill, is confusing the so-called "part time" operation of AUTO AWD in 2WD mode (when 4WD is not needed), with the primitive part-time 4WD system that went out long ago on all but some low-level pickups and Jeep Wranglers. Both could be considered "part-time"...but, in fact, are two entirely different systems....one with a center-diff, and the other without.

 

The auto 4WD in the original Escalade does not have a center differential. The original Escalade has a part time 4WD system...it just happens to have AUTO mode that shifts it into 4WD for you...but it can’t stay in 4WD...in goes back to 2WD.

 

this thread is about the 2021 escalade, so maybe we can take (yet another) discussion of bof and ancient 4wd systems elsewhere.