When can I use 4wd?

Hello all.

I am currently purchasing my first 4Runner. I’ve got a bit of a drive to get home and it’s currently snowing and sleeting. So I am wondering, when is it okay to use 4hi? I’ve heard you shouldn’t use it simply on the road, but does some snow and sleet make it safe to use?

 

If the snow is sticking to the ground? I would say yes, or a little icy, i would say yes, just rainy i would think you do not need it. Remember when you crank the steering it wants to bind up a bit. Have fun.

 

Your owner's manual should explain it...it's important that the road is slick enough that the front wheels can skid a little if they need to since the whole driveline is locked together so dry roads can hurt the driveline components. Personally I'd recommend that you use it only if you need it to get the vehicle moving...or at low speeds around town only in deep snow. On mine I think it says you can disengage it while moving up to 45 mph. I once used it to get to work in about ten inches of freezing slush (maybe 30 mph tops) but otherwise I'll just use it at low speeds off-road in slick mud or on wet grass so I don't spin my wheels and scar the terrain. On the highway it really doesn't do anything to help you and might give you a false sense of security. Tires are super important; the tires that came on my 4-Runner (I think the model was Dunlop AT-20) absolutely sucked on ice and snow and with new Michelin Defenders I have much much much more traction on ice and snow (and in rain and on dry roads) even in 2WD. If you have those tires I suggest you have them replaced and sell the old ones on Craigslist...I waited four years until they wore out and that was kind of dumb in retrospect.

 

IMO, if you engage 4WD and the truck feels different in an odd way, like too sticky or too hard to steer, then it is unneeded and detrimental at that point. I'm hesitant to ever use it on the street unless there is a decent bit of standing snow, and I'm going slowly. On the street, traction to accelerate isn't as important... and 4WD does nothing to help traction when stopping or turning (unless you are comfortable with "powering through").

 

if the road is covered by snow/ice, 4h
if you feel 2h wheels slip, or traction control sound, 4h
it is ok to drive 4h at 70mph, but, if the road is slippery enough to use 4h, you shouldn't drive 70mph at all because you can't stop

In northern Canada, 4h is everyday drive mode for 6 months

 

Funny this came up. We got 24" of snow over the past couple days and I was using 4HI. Usually when I arrive where I'm going I go back to 2 wheel operation. I forgot this particular time and now the roads are clear. At slow speeds I noticed the steering was weird and realized I had it in 4HI still. I never had noticed it doing that before. 4 Wheel drive on flat, dry roads, no good and not needed.