We want to take our new RX 350 AWD to the Outerbanks of NC and drive it down on the beach. The sand is fairly soft and can have deep ruts from other cars and trucks. We have done this without any problem for years with our previous SUV (Mercury Mountaineer) - - by lowering tire pressure from 35 to 20 psi and putting it into 4WD-High. Can we do this with our RX350, by lowering tire pressure and putting it into AWD Lock? Does this feature equate to a true 4WD-High mode? Thanks.

You should be OK if you lower the tire pressures, but personally I wouldn't do it without having a friend with me that had a real SUV with a proper transfer case.

Thanks for the input! Do you know if the 2010's new AWD Lock feature is the equivalent of an SUV's 4WD-High mode? We are having trouble understanding what the Lock mode really does and how to use it, as applies to venturing out onto the sand in the car....IF we ever try it.