Why does 4WD feel difficult to turn?

Improper operation of 4WD system, delay in oil changes, not using quality oil and other fluids, excessive idling, excessive cold starts. These are some of the reasons we need to buy new cars. With Wranglers and 4Runners, you don't save much money buying used due to their insane resale value, so just buy the damn thing new.
I am 13,500 miles and I have done 5 oil changes already lol

 

Remember 90s era SUV rollover issues? Less attentive (I am being diplomatic) drivers kept rolling them over on the highway offramps and causing wrecks. Industry had to come with a solution and we all now have traction and stability control system that makes it a lot less likely. I don't see how this different.

 

Another example of people ignoring the warning stickers and not reading their operation manuals.

You can't fix stupid - some people have no interest in educating themselves. Doesn't mean the world needs to bubble wrap itself to create a safe space for them

 

Let's be little nice to new owners of 4Runners.
I've done stupid things when I got my first 4Runner like using 4L on pavement and climbing the stares of the house when I had to turn 90 degrees. There were tire marks on the concrete on the turn.

On one of my posts even expert complaining on my factory LED housing saying there's glare that would blind on coming traffic. Didn't even bothered to reveal it.

 

The main point of my comment was that you never know how a vehicle was treated in its past life, not a direct jab at OP using 4HI on a dry surface for 5 seconds. The second point is that many automobile owners act as if their owners manual is in some forgotten dialect which inadvertently leads using the vehicle incorrectly, or using wrong fluids etc.

I have know people with trucks and cars who have cranked up tunes to the point of engine knock and transmissions slipping only to remove the tune and trade it right in so it can blow up on something else. Is it wrong that I would like to take steps to avoid having to deal with the fallout of someone else's bad decision?

 

You are not alone mate. Also a newbie to Part-Time 4WD concept.
Always driven AWD.
So didn't ask correct questions during Test drive. The Salesman had it in H4 during Demo and after delivery. (Delivered in H4)
Until someone corrected me on these forum. Awesome

 

I wonder if he thought it was like the Limited open H4, since those two share some other features.

Overall, it is too bad they mostly dropped the multi-mode 4wd from the 4th. Almost certainly a cost savings measure, since the Limited and LC both have it.

That feature had me considering an older model or Limited (or GX even), but ultimately I decided to lean more towards the off road side (ORP), with even more features you can use incorrectly, lol.

 

Thanks for your explanations. Very helpful. I recently bought a 2021 4-Runner to help me not put so many miles on my FJ. We had a good snow recently, about 5 inches. I put my 4/Runner into 4H. All was fine until I tried to pull into a parking spot at a store. The binding was bad. I’m used to my FJ. So, tbis is a serious question. Do I have to put it back into 2H to pull into parking spots/make sharp turns?

Many thanks for your explanations & suggestions. This is a new experience for me. I don’t want to Jack up my 4-Runner!

Thanks All!

 

If the parking lot is covered in snow, you'd be fine in 4H. But bare patches of pavement, if they are dry, will cause binding when turning, so it would be best to put it back into 2H for areas with bare pavement. The turns in parking lots are pretty sharp.

 

Thank you very much! Yea, that caught me off guard. My 4-Runner is literally my first automatic trans. vehicle that I have ever owned. I didn’t know if that was the issue. That’s how I found this 4-Runner forum. Very cool! Thank you for all of your info.. it is sad that the dealer sales people don’t know a damn thing about the vehicles they sell. Mine was also in 4H when I bought it in Oct.! I put it in 2H before pulling out of the dealer lot.

Many thanks for your reply & help. Very much appreciated!

Sincerely,
Tess

 

Question for the board at large: in the case of @Tess4x4 ”s observation that her 4Runner exhibits more binding when turning into a parking place in 4WD than her FJ, could it be explained by the FJ’s shorter wheelbase?

I would have thought the opposite — In terms of binding across the axles the wheelbase is irrelevant. But in terms of binding across the front and rear prop shafts a longer wheelbase would produce less binding. No?

 

You get axle wrap up due to the difference in distance traveled between the inner and outer wheels in a turn, not so because of wheel base length. Although there is a contribution to binding due to the difference the front axle pair and the rear axle pair travel in a turn.

Not exact but it'll give you a visual perspective of how far each wheel moves in a tight turn. You can easily see the difference not just between axle pairs but also the difference between the front and rear pairs and why transfer cases blow up.

 

I'm betting her FJ didn't have the issue because manual transmission FJC's with 4wd all had the full-time 4wd system. So she may have been in 4-high with an unlocked center. (Post above yours says this is her first auto transmission).

 

That would explain it. I was unaware any FJs came with full time 4WD.

 

This Part time 4WD concept is honestly baffling.

Almost lost control just turning into a bend.

Speed under 40MPH. Not sure if it was black ice or something else.

But the sedan behind me took the bend easily without issues. Good thing he kept a good distance behind me.

Rear Wheel drive factored in?

Couldn't engage 4WD because it was dry pavement with salt.

 

Which end of the car went sliding, front or back?

Were you on gas, on brakes, neither?

How are your tires?

Sounds puzzling on dry pavement. Doesn't sound like AWD would have helped anyway; it's mostly marketing BS for the benefits on dry pavement. (Unless you floored it and broke the back end loose, but you have to try to do that in a 4Runner).

 

I just remember it randomly from when I was shopping for them way back when. Really strange to configure them that way, though.

I still lament the loss of the multi-mode 4wd from the 4th gen, especially in threads like this.

 

Manual trans full-time 4wd FJ was awesome except that 1st gear and reverse needed to be lower ratio.

 

-- Wasn't speeding

 

4wd will only get you going but can cause understeer when turning because the wheels cannot turn at their independent speeds.

 

So the back end broke loose. And it was wet or dry? Sounds like you just hit something slick, if you were giving it constant gas and you went from not sliding to sliding all of a sudden.

If the road is intermittently slick, then yes, AWD can help prevent oversteer and understeer (by spreading out the load across the tires).