Michael-MA

This does not work in the 2007 model.

From the Lexus Website: "With this drivetrain engine power is automatically routed to the front and/or the rear wheels as necessary to provide optimum traction." What does "as necessary" mean?

Interesting. The dealer told me the car was rear wheel drive except when it needed AWD. They said that is why the mpg is not much different than the non AWD models. Thanks for the clarification.

There are a few post about how effective the AWD function is on the IS 250 and the talk usually turns to tires, but what I want to know is: when is it active and when is it not (i.e., 2 wheel drive). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here is my understanding: The "snow" switch only makes the car start in 2nd gear, so it has no value other than from starting from a stop. Once at speed, the snow function does nothing for you. The VSC function applies breaking to the appropriate wheels to keep the vehicle stable and pointed in the direction steered. This is not all wheel drive however. My question is: How do you know when AWD is active? Is it only when the indicator light comes on in the dash, i.e., only for a split second at a time? Is it when you hear a beep as I did when I made turn in snow and the vehicle slipped slightly? In other words, is the car in AWD only for split seconds, or does it remain in that mode once it has sensed a slip of the tires? Thanks to all for any light that can be shed on this subject.