Offroad Like Conditions This Past Mega Winter Storm.

[Jim Nazium]

OK, we were dumped 18" in a matter of 12 hours or so this past Sunday. With the high winds, poor snow clearance and overall heavy congestion typically found in a major metropolitan city, snow accumulations varied in parts from 18" to 30".

I will say this, and there is "snow" substitute for 4 full blown winter tires, regardless of how many drive wheels you have. It is the difference between sort of limbering and getting along, and complete futility.

Comparing the RX 400H with other SUV's I have had in the past (many of them had far more OFF road type of drivetrains, ie. QUADRA-DRIVE by Jeep etc.) I can honestly say you are not hindered in any way by the present system found on the Lexus RX 400h (except for one small point, I will mention below). You get excellent ground clearance, thorough traction at all times and excellent driveablity in all levels of deep, heavy, compacted snow, even when trying to manouevre between large snowbanks spaced 8 feet apart, and where the entrance between them resembles a bombed road angled at 30 degrees which can bank and sway from one angle to another.

Apart from taking this on the rubicon trails, which I suspect know one would, this is on par with any other SUV on the market sold in North America. Just remember, to invest in winter tires.

Now for the ick... Lexus should of devised a way to turn off the electronic controls. By that, I mean the anti-slip aka traction control by means of a switch or over ride button. There can be times where this is desired, especially if you attempt going somewhere you shouldn't attempt, and getting yourself stuck (like trying to squeek through a tight passage where you need to go slow due to obstacles that could damage your vehicle in case you slip or slide)... which happened to me trying to enter a private parking lot that was properly cleaned on the inside, but by the stupidity of the local city snow removal team they had paved clear the snow off the streets and onto the parking lot entrance. The entrance to the parking lot had a rusty tow truck parked sideways and impended a clean entrance / shot of getting into the parking lot. So I entered slowly and sure enough the vehicle was overwhelmed by the heavy and deep snow and I eventually plowed out and sank. Now that wouldn't be so bad, not with a four wheel drive vehicle (better yet if you have a low gear) but unfortunately the more you press the gas the more the electronics kick in and completely shut power to the drivetrain. So technically your stuck, you cannot overpower the inertia of the snow and spin the four wheels to make headway. Worse, you cannot simly reverse your way out, since the same thing happens in reverse. Well, experience kicks in (back in the days of rear wheel drive with only two winter tires for the rear drive and zero electronics (not even fuel injection)). I got the 400H out by using the rocking motion, basically it is a forward motion, then just before you lose forward momentum you quickly shift to reverse and accelerate, basically switching back and forth till you either get yourself out by going forward or back.

In the end, the pathway from my tracks cleared enough of a path that I was able to once out of the parking lot to attempt re-entry into the parking lot by following the make shift tires tracks I created in the snow.

Bottom line, Lexus needs to create a over drive switch and retrofit them, even if it costs the vehicle owner a small premium. In fact, I would even pay for it full price.

Cheers,

MadloR

[JimsGX]

OK, we were dumped 18" in a matter of 12 hours or so this past Sunday. With the high winds, poor snow clearance and overall heavy congestion typically found in a major metropolitan city, snow accumulations varied in parts from 18" to 30".

I will say this, and there is "snow" substitute for 4 full blown winter tires, regardless of how many drive wheels you have. It is the difference between sort of limbering and getting along, and complete futility.

Comparing the RX 400H with other SUV's I have had in the past (many of them had far more OFF road type of drivetrains, ie. QUADRA-DRIVE by Jeep etc.) I can honestly say you are not hindered in any way by the present system found on the Lexus RX 400h (except for one small point, I will mention below). You get excellent ground clearance, thorough traction at all times and excellent driveablity in all levels of deep, heavy, compacted snow, even when trying to manouevre between large snowbanks spaced 8 feet apart, and where the entrance between them resembles a bombed road angled at 30 degrees which can bank and sway from one angle to another.

Apart from taking this on the rubicon trails, which I suspect know one would, this is on par with any other SUV on the market sold in North America. Just remember, to invest in winter tires.

Now for the ick... Lexus should of devised a way to turn off the electronic controls. By that, I mean the anti-slip aka traction control by means of a switch or over ride button. There can be times where this is desired, especially if you attempt going somewhere you shouldn't attempt, and getting yourself stuck (like trying to squeek through a tight passage where you need to go slow due to obstacles that could damage your vehicle in case you slip or slide)... which happened to me trying to enter a private parking lot that was properly cleaned on the inside, but by the stupidity of the local city snow removal team they had paved clear the snow off the streets and onto the parking lot entrance. The entrance to the parking lot had a rusty tow truck parked sideways and impended a clean entrance / shot of getting into the parking lot. So I entered slowly and sure enough the vehicle was overwhelmed by the heavy and deep snow and I eventually plowed out and sank. Now that wouldn't be so bad, not with a four wheel drive vehicle (better yet if you have a low gear) but unfortunately the more you press the gas the more the electronics kick in and completely shut power to the drivetrain. So technically your stuck, you cannot overpower the inertia of the snow and spin the four wheels to make headway. Worse, you cannot simly reverse your way out, since the same thing happens in reverse. Well, experience kicks in (back in the days of rear wheel drive with only two winter tires for the rear drive and zero electronics (not even fuel injection)). I got the 400H out by using the rocking motion, basically it is a forward motion, then just before you lose forward momentum you quickly shift to reverse and accelerate, basically switching back and forth till you either get yourself out by going forward or back.

In the end, the pathway from my tracks cleared enough of a path that I was able to once out of the parking lot to attempt re-entry into the parking lot by following the make shift tires tracks I created in the snow.

Bottom line, Lexus needs to create a over drive switch and retrofit them, even if it costs the vehicle owner a small premium. In fact, I would even pay for it full price.

Cheers,

MadloR

I couldn't agree more... We've had a couple of 8" snow storms here recently, followed by freezing rain right after the last one that turned everything into frozen snow. Got stuck just this morning on the side of a snowbank trying to parallel park. Keep pushing the accelerator and nothing happens! Finally made it out, but I sure missed the 4WD system in my GX470.

Jim

[Jim Clark]

The 400h doesn't have a "real" AWD system, it's a FWD car with occasional rear wheel assist. It's disappointing to hear that the traction control system will take over and basically shut down if it finds itself in a difficult situation. It must have something to do with protecting the hybrid drive system. They even say in the manual that our cars are NOT designed to go off-road.

The Audi S6 I traded would go through almost anything, it didn't have much ground clearance, it just used the front of the car as a plow. My '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee will go almost anywhere in anything, in low range it'll climb trees.

[wwest]

The 400h doesn't have a "real" AWD system, it's a FWD car with occasional rear wheel assist. It's disappointing to hear that the traction control system will take over and basically shut down if it finds itself in a difficult situation. It must have something to do with protecting the hybrid drive system. They even say in the manual that our cars are NOT designed to go off-road.

The Audi S6 I traded would go through almost anything, it didn't have much ground clearance, it just used the front of the car as a plow. My '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee will go almost anywhere in anything, in low range it'll climb trees.

The dethrottling of the engine is the result of the need to apply braking in order to provide rear (and possibly front) LSD functionality. Absent the dethrottling prolonged "LSD" braking would undoubtedly result in a complete set of warped brake rotors.

On the standard RX there is a quick-n-dirty way to disable VSC/TC. Unplug the MAF/IAT connection while the engine is idling, the engine will die, plug things back in, restart the engine. You will have a CEL and VSC/TC disable for the next few drive cycles.