How To Tell If A Vehicle Has Active Fuel Management

If you are planning on buying a car from General Motors, you may want to know if it has active fuel management.

This feature ensures that powerful engines such as V6 and V8 do not consume a lot of gasoline, hence boosting fuel economy.

However, the sound made by cars that have it and the cost of repairing it might discourage you from buying a car that has it.

Therefore, knowing if a car has active fuel management will help you decide if you want to buy it.

It will also help you during maintenance and deciding if to install an active fuel management disabler.

Below are the things which can tell you if your vehicle has active fuel management.

Car’s Name

Each vehicle can be identified by its name. By knowing the car’s name, you can tell if it has active fuel management.

Certain General Motors cars have been identified as having the fuel management feature.

They include Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Suburban, and Chevrolet Tahoe.

So, if your car falls into this category, you don’t have to search further to know if it has active fuel management.

Remember that this list is not exhaustive; hence you may have to visit the General Motor website to check if your car has this property.

V8/V4 Icon

You can also tell if a vehicle has active fuel management by observing the icon on the MPG DIC screen.

If the vehicle has it, you will see either a V4 or V8 icon on the screen. The V4 will come on when the active fuel management is active.

However, if the fuel management is inactive, you will see a V8 icon. The V8 icon also indicates the fuel economy at a particular time.

As such, it will change as driving conditions change. So, you will find that the change is significant when you move from a smooth road to a rough road.

Therefore, by checking the vehicle’s manual to see if the car has this display, you will know if it has active fuel management.

Engine’s Number

Do you know that you can tell if your car has active fuel management by looking at the engine’s number? Well, an engine number can tell a lot about the vehicle.

For instance, those cars designed for heavy lifting or harsh conditions will generally have a powerful engine.

So, if you want to know if your vehicle has this feature, look at its engine number.

In most cases, engines such as 2.7L turbo, 5.3L V8, and 4.3L V6 will have active fuel management.

You are probably wondering where you can find your car’s engine number! Don’t worry; open the front hood of your car and look at the engine’s casing.

Can you see that number? Well, that is your car’s engine number.

Your car has an active fuel management feature if it’s similar to the ones mentioned here.

Valley Cover

Another way of finding out if your car has active fuel management is by checking the appearance of the valley cover.

If the valley cover is smooth, the vehicle does not have active fuel management. However, if the valley cover is ribbed on the top, it has this feature.

The valley cover is ribbed to allow active fuel management solenoids and electrical wires to fit in.

This electrical connector can also be seen at the back of the engine; hence if you cannot access the valley cover to check it, you can check the engine’s back for such connectors.

Manufacture Date

The date the vehicle was manufactured plays a vital role in deciding if it has active fuel management.

This feature came into existence after 2007; hence those cars manufactured before that year will not have this feature.

However, it does not mean that all vehicles manufactured after 2007 have this feature since only GM’s vehicles have it.

Therefore, you shouldn’t waste your time checking non-GM cars to see if it has this feature.

Check the sticker next to the driver’s seat to know when the vehicle was made. You can also learn its manufacture date by using its identification number.

Engine Block

You still can’t tell if the vehicle has active fuel management? Check out the engine block.

If the engine block has oil towers and passages, the chance is high that the vehicle has this feature.

You will only have to check if these oil towers and passages are functional. Now, this is pretty simple! You only have to feel the passages for oil pressure.

Special Camshaft

Since active fuel management works by turning off half of the engine cylinders to enhance fuel economy, the camshaft tends to get damaged quickly.

It calls for a strong camshaft with features not there in camshafts used by vehicles that don’t have active fuel management.

So, this can be another way of telling if your vehicle has the GM’s fuel economy feature.

Special Lifters

You can also tell if the vehicle has active fuel management by checking the appearance of lifters in each cylinder.

Usually, a vehicle with this feature has special lifters on its four cylinders, namely 1, 4, 6, and 7.

These lifters are usually taller than others and have springs engraved on their top.

Oil Pressure Relief Pump

The function of the Oil pressure relief pump is to open when the engine’s pressure reaches a certain level.

The engine pressure will go back to its optimal level when it does. An excessive engine pressure will damage the engine and the active fuel management system.

Therefore, you will find the oil pressure relief pump in most General Motors vehicles with active fuel management.

Powerful Fuel Pump

Since most vehicles with active fuel management are powerful, they must have a powerful fuel pump to pressurize the high volume of fuel coming from the engine.

So, if you can check the features of the fuel pump, you can know if the car has a fuel management system.

To do so, obtain the features of your car’s fuel pump and compare them with the characteristics of another car’s fuel pump.

But in this case, the vehicle you are comparing your car to should have the feature in question.

If the features of both cars are similar, your vehicle has the GM’s fuel management property.

Conclusion

If you were wondering how to identify a car with active fuel management, you now have an answer.

But in a snapshot, you can identify a vehicle with active fuel management by checking its name, manufacture date, engine number, engine cover, block, camshaft, filters, etc.

Once you get these features at your fingertips, you can then proceed to the General Motor shop and get yourself one that either has this feature or not.

If you decide to choose the one with this feature, you will save on fuel consumption and help protect the environment from noise and exhaust emissions.

You will also get to live up to your love for powerful engines.

Bear in mind that knowing if your car has this property will also come in handy when repairing or maintaining it.

It is because this feature is sometimes associated with issues in the car. Some people disable it sometimes.