2001 kia sportage 4wd

Something is engaging the 4x4 on you. Check the vacuum hoses the wiring to the T case for shorts.

with 4wd engaged check that the front tailshaft to the diff does not turn more than 45* if this is ok and no 4wd light check bulb switch and wiring. if light ok you will need to track down vacuum leak to drive hubs fault { common fault } you can check 4wd operation by raising one front wheel with handbrake on and car in netural select 4wd with engine running if 4wd ok raised wheel will not turn more than 45* by hand and will spin free when 4wd disconnected

there are vacum line one on each side behide the wheels see if they are broke or leaking i had the same problem

See vacume pipes at the front wheels. sound like it is broken or pulled out by snow. there is 2 pipes one for brakes on calliper and one for vacume suction to engage or dis engage 4 wheel drive. Enjoy. Willem SA

It depends, look at the hubs on your front wheels? Is there a knob in the center of the wheels? If so, then turn this knob to the right and you will have engaged the 4 wheel drive? If you do this, however, make sure you engage the 4 wheel drive inside the truck (if your truck has a 4 wheel drive gear shifter).
Oh other Rangers you have a knob on the inside of the cab it should be somewhere on the dash. You can turn it to the right and this will engage the 4 wheel drive.
Finally, when you engage the 4WD make sure the engine is cut off so it doesn't mess up your transfer case.

On small shift behinde gear lever there is 3 settings. H4 = 4 wheel drive high range, L4 = 4 wheel drive low range, h2 = 2 wheel drive high range. as soon as jou engage to 4 wheel drive a green light on the dash board will appear to indicate that the car is in 4 wheel drive. if not check fuse - check air pipes at front wheels. Enjoy Willem Sa

If it is automatic transmission you must stop vehicle put it in neutral or "n" then put shifter that is indicates 2h 4h and 4L pull down to 4h if you are driving on highway or pull down then over and up to 4L if you are not going to be driving faster than 30mph.
If manual put in neutral also and do the same process as automatic there will be a light on dash board indicating that it is in 4wd also put transmission back to drive on automatic or shift to first gear on manual

fuses relays in engine compartment or in dash board . look at transfer case look for vacuum lines or electric lines.its probably electric. because most 4 wheel drive uses electric motors.99 up to 2009s model.

We unhooked the battery and left it unhooked all night. This morning when he reconnected it and started it, it started right up and the hold light and our check engine light went off. We did press the hold button and it came on and went back off when we hit it again.

I got ripped off by a dealer with a similar problem that came back two weeks later. $2.99 of vacuum hose later I fixed it myself. Check all the vacuum lines for rotted hoses before you fork out 3K and they are easy to do