Got to experiment with Multi Terrain Select on some serious ice

Short story: I am really impressed with MTS (mud/sand) in 4wd High.

Long story: i have a very long, steep, and twisty driveway that got hammered with sleet and snow that turned into a solid 1-2" of glare ice after plowing and a severe temperature drop.

it was so bad I had to park the 4runner at the end of my driveway (and chock the wheels) to make sure no one tried to pull in.......it would have been like an olympic bobsled run before salting and sanding.

the difference between 4wd high alone, and 4wd high with MTS set to mud/sand is VERY tangible. I could not get up a steep section of my driveway without MTS on. in 4wd without MTS the traction control was completely debilitating. With MTS on I had almost zero wheel spin.
I did not even need to try 4w Low with ATRAC. I also didn't try disabling traction control. I'll do some more experimenting during our next serious snow event.

FWIW, there is no chance my Tundra or my wife's Silverado would have been able to make it up the steep grade in those conditions.

 

I can see why it would help climbing the slippery slope, but I'm guessing it would not have been wise to then drive down the hill with or without ATS. You would have been sledding in either case.

 

Sorry for my dumb question in advance.

I'm very interested to learn how Toyota MTS work in Mud/Sand mode and how it help in Ice? I thought in Mud/Sand mode should not stop wheel spin vs on Ice should we prevent wheel spin?
Again I'm trying to learn here, appreciate expert advice how traction control should work on mud/sand vs ice.

 

And praying nobody coming down the road as you blast through.

 

MTS is just intensity control over the system. For mud you want wheelspin to clear the tires up but you don't on rocks so the power is transferred to tires with traction. On ice, the vehicle will more than likely not see a difference in traction and not control wheelspin unless you have tire with more traction.

 

The videos I’ve seen demonstrating crawl control looked pretty cool.

 

Mine is 500 feet of glare ice as well, just not quite as steep.

 

In any "slippery" condition (sand, mud, ice) MTS controls wheel spin. In the sand/mud mode it allows some degree of spin which is helpful in those conditions.

 

I was trying to understand how Mud & Sand "had almost zero wheel spin" helped on ice vs OP "could not get up a steep section of my driveway without MTS" in 4H. Where I thought Mud & Sand should allow more wheel spin than regular mode 4H vs something like Rock should be the mode that should have given "almost zero wheel spin".

 

There’s no one way to appraoch this. Sometimes you just have to experiment.
You could try creeping up an icy hill slowly in 4LO, turning on A-Trac, maybe adding the rear diff lock. Or a slow 4LO plus MTS in any of the settings. Or a higher speed 4HI plus MTS Mud&Sand.

The MTS settings will be active under about 7MPH IN 4LO. The Mud&Sand (and Snow) setting can also be used in 4HI, and at higher speeds, which is often useful to keep momentum up in mud, sand, and snow.

I don’t think of it as “the wheels are allowed to slip”. The MTS system uses selective braking to dynamically route power to the wheels that have traction. You have 4 settings to select how much individual wheel slip will be allowed before the system brakes it to allow other wheels with better traction to continue to rotate. It’s so fast that it’s hard to detect the individual wheels slipping.

 

Is there a speed limit to use MTS in 4Hi on mud/sand?

 

Very cool.....glad to hear it's worked for you.

 

dude this post is spot on. its crazy how many forms believe Mts doesn't work at all in 4hi. even driving sports tv guy who's pretty good was not aware. its can be confusing. thanks for posting this.

 

A Toyota dealer/sales person wouldn't believe that MTS in sand and mud mode could be used in 4H. Even told me she went out to the sales lot to try it. I had to turn to the page in the manual before she believed me.

 

Nah, I like my A-Trac

https://youtu.be/VVmvm2Im9Is?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/JInHCShE7_Y?feature=shared

 

Dude first video is beast mode. Love it. I do some high speed stuff and I think atrac turns off after 4-7 mph not sure exactly.

 

Wow, old thread...I actually started this one and completely forgot about it. I'm not aware of any vehicle right off the lot as capable as a 4Runner in truly severe snow and ice conditions.... except maybe a tracked vehicle. The multi terrain select is a game changer in my experience. After 3 years I still haven't had mine off road but it's seen more than it's share of really gnarly snow and ice.

PS- still loving her after 3 years (which is a long time to own a vehicle for me), so much so I gave her a light detailing this week.

 

MTS and 4Hi will fail miserably there, I gauarantee you that. After 3 years you really should take that bad boy offroad, you have decent tires.

https://youtu.be/nAcZjXjYHrs?si=ms4CvH2emovM9Ums

https://youtu.be/1q0FyR1FV9U?feature=shared