New Suv Owner: Question 4wd Control Modes

[Tribeca]

I just got a 2004 GX470 (love it!) but I have no idea how the 4wd controls work.

For normal city/highway driving, should the 4WD control be at High or Neutral? I had different answers from the folks at the dealershipOne person from the dealership said that it should be on "N" (neutral) but the owner's manual says that at neutral no power is delivered to the wheels and the vehicle must be stopped. I plan on calling the Lexus maintenance dept but I wanted to see what everyone else on here says.

Thanks so much!

[smaislin]

In your transfer case: high is for normal driving. You use it just about all of the time. Low is not used very often and for some, maybe never. Low is for difficult situations where traction is exceptionally difficult such as off-road in sand, seriously difficult mud, or in loads of snow. Low provides you with more control over your wheel (tire) speed. Also, you would use low if you are on a steep decent that is iced or very slippery and you wish to use downhill hill decent control. The downhill assist function only works in low gear. The nice thing about downhill assist is that you can keep your car in its normal drive gear "D" and the downhill assist will keep the car at a safe speed without you needing to use the brakes or accelerator. All you do is steer. In nasty situations it is amazing (I use it to head down my 15% 800 foot driveway when we have icing conditions).

Neutral is just like in your transmission, the gears are NOT engaged and you will not go anywhere. Neutral is just the spot between high and low so the gears can disengage before they engage in the new gear. Your transmission has the same.

I suggest reading the manual that came with the car. You should also try out everything so you have first hand experience on what all of the features do. There are many driveline features and all kinds of combinations.

By the way, you can only switch the transfer case from high to low or back when the transmission is in Park or Neutral.

I find it hard to believe an auto dealer would think you put the transfer case in neutral to drive the car. That's very sad!

Enjoy.

[kev]

1st time driver during icy conditions looking for advice.

I bought my GX in '04 in SoCal but recently moved up to the Seattle area, and we just had our first snow during the work week in which the aftermath was icing of the roads.

I made it into work OK with some minor skidding that I got through with gentle tapping of the brakes going slowly. Traction control engaged once (that's the beep beep beep sound, right) when I was heading down the slight hill from our neighborhood also around 10mph but stopping on an incline and needing to turn left up another slight hill.

Question I have is: when going down an 8%-10% grade with multiple stop lights and likely icy conditions, is that the right time to use DAC? I probably won't try this during rush hour but it's worth trying out when there aren't many ppl on the road with me (e.g., after 10PM).

If you feel yourself skidding while starting off slowly down the hill, do you gearshift into 'N', then switch from 'H' into 'L'? If you are in DAC mode, how do you stop if there's a stoplight? Do brakes still allow you to come to a complete stop while in DAC mode? Do you need to lock the center diff in order to engage DAC?

[The G Man]

If you do not go off road, just leave it in 4 high and you will be fine. You do not need to tap on the brakes since the GX has anti lock brake, just push the brake and hold it there and the electronics will do the tapping if necassary. DAC is mostly for off road use, you can play around it when there is no traffic, but I would not use it in the city. If you are going down a icy hill with multiply stop signs, try shifting into lower gear and use the engine braking. If you feel yourself skidding while starting off slowly down the hill, it may be time for new tires or get some snow tires, I would not shift into low or use the DAC in that condition. I believe the brakes still work when in DAC mode and you do not need to lock the center diff to engage the DAC.

[Tribeca]

In your transfer case: high is for normal driving. You use it just about all of the time. Low is not used very often and for some, maybe never. Low is for difficult situations where traction is exceptionally difficult such as off-road in sand, seriously difficult mud, or in loads of snow. Low provides you with more control over your wheel (tire) speed. Also, you would use low if you are on a steep decent that is iced or very slippery and you wish to use downhill hill decent control. The downhill assist function only works in low gear. The nice thing about downhill assist is that you can keep your car in its normal drive gear "D" and the downhill assist will keep the car at a safe speed without you needing to use the brakes or accelerator. All you do is steer. In nasty situations it is amazing (I use it to head down my 15% 800 foot driveway when we have icing conditions).

Neutral is just like in your transmission, the gears are NOT engaged and you will not go anywhere. Neutral is just the spot between high and low so the gears can disengage before they engage in the new gear. Your transmission has the same.

I suggest reading the manual that came with the car. You should also try out everything so you have first hand experience on what all of the features do. There are many driveline features and all kinds of combinations.

By the way, you can only switch the transfer case from high to low or back when the transmission is in Park or Neutral.

I find it hard to believe an auto dealer would think you put the transfer case in neutral to drive the car. That's very sad!

Enjoy.

Thanks for clearing that up for me!