I just got a 4runner a month ago. When I put it in 4 wheel drive (it snowed 6 inches today), and depress the brake pedal quickly, the brakes “grind” and don’t stop the car like they should. If I am going very slow they work fine. I had the brakes checked when I bought it and they were good. Everything works great in 2WD. Any ideas?
That sounds like the ABS kicking in. Four wheel drive only helps to get you moving, it doesn’t help braking or traction, that is the job of the tires.
At least, that has been my experience with my Blazer 4wd over the last 7 years.
Ed B.
ABS working as designed. Figure out how to press the brakes less hard or quickly and plan your stops. The 4wd can be deceiving if your first since get going fine, stopping and turning are another complete matter. The only thing besides slower speeds that truely helps there are winter tires.
Don’t put it in 4wd unless you are STUCK and need to get unstuck. In blizzard conditions, when there is no pavement visible maybe, but otherwise it will drive better in 2wd…
Don’t put it in 4wd unless you are STUCK and need to get unstuck. In blizzard conditions, when there is no pavement visible maybe, but otherwise it will drive better in 2wd…
I COMPLETELY DISAGREE with that. I guess you don’t live in snow country…4wd is GREAT for snow covered roads and keeping you from getting into trouble in the first place…Especially on hills. You don’t want to wait until you’re stuck on a hill in the middle of a snow-storm to put it in 4wd…If you had it in 4wd in the first place you’d NEVER have gotten stuck. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been driving in a snow storm where if I didn’t have 4wd I never would have made it home. One storm…snowing 2"/hr…started snowing at noon. Company closed down at 3…I lived 15 miles away…I got home at 6pm…Snow finally ended the following day (after 45" of snow had fallen).
Even in “snow country” 3.75 feet of snow in one storm isn’t the norm, unless you live somewhere above 10,000 feet. And to be fair, Caddyman did specify “when there is no pavement visable” as a qualifier for using 4wd, as would be the case in a storm dropping almost 4 feet of snow…
Even in “snow country” 3.75 feet of snow in one storm isn’t the norm,
UM…Wrong…The town I grew up in averaged OVER 300"/yr of snow…And you don’t need to have a 3’ snow storm to have a 4wd system GREATLY IMPROVE your tracking. 3-4" of unplowed roads…you’ll be far better off in 4wd then 2wd.
The argument isn’t weather there’s pavement or not…The point I’m making is IF THERE’S SNOW ON THE ROAD…it’s FAR FAR BETTER to be in 4wd…You DON’T wait until you get stuck. 4wd is DESIGNED to get you going and KEEP you on the road in adverse weather.
There’s this town on the West coast near Santa Barbara where it doesn’t snow at all. If I had 300" of snow here last Winter, I might be living there. Most of the Maineiacs here don’t understand the Governor either. So much the same; so different. The Terminator vs. the (school district) Consolidator.
4wd LOCKS both front and rear axles together…When you go around a corner, the wheels on the front and rear axles must travel at different speeds. If they are locked together, they can’t…Sooooo They break traction and send you sliding off the road, or at a minimum, the steering gets all loose and funny as first one wheel then another breaks traction. To overcome this, they invented all-wheel-drive, which makes provisions for different wheel speeds…
After the first big snowstorm you will notice most of the vehicles in the ditch or down in the center median are 4wd…
…Sooooo They break traction and send you sliding off the road, or at a minimum, the steering gets all loose and funny as first one wheel then another breaks traction.
I’ll SOMEWHAT agree with that…IF you drive at HIGHWAY speeds during a snow storm…THEN yes…that COULD happen…and IF you do that…then I suggest changing your driving style…that is NOT the way to drive in snow.
When the roads are covered with snow…you want to FIRST…keep your speeds down…Then drudge through the snow at reasonable speed in 4wd. You take ANY 2wd vehicle you want…And I’ll show you some roads/hills in the town I grew up…I’ll be behind you and watch as you drive into a ditch…OR…stop dead on the road because you’ve lost all traction.
After the first big snowstorm you will notice most of the vehicles in the ditch or down in the center median are 4wd…
And that has NOTHING to do with the vehicle…Has everything to do with Soccer-moms buying Explorers and NOT knowing how to drive one. Maybe the people in your area need lessons on driving 4wd in snow…You’ll NEVER see that in areas like the Rust Belt. A high proportion of the people there have 4wd NOT AWD…And almost all have hitches with towing cables/chains to pull someone out of a ditch driving a fwd/rwd/awd vehicle who THINKS they know how to drive in snow.
Thanks for the reply - it probably is related to the ABS, but it seems like I should still be able to stop. Just the other day, on a snowy road, somebody pulled out in front of me too close, and when I hit the brakes, instead of slowing like I expected to, I got the “grinding” and very little slowing. I guess I should take it in to get it inspected. I was hoping to avoid that outlay of cash.
Thanks for the advice, I live in AK and don’t expect to see pavement again until spring. I’ve had 4WD vehicles in the past, but not with ABS so I’m thinking it’s that. I’m hoping it can be adjusted or something though, because I’m thinking it’s not safe the way it is.
Stopping ability has nothing to do with 4WD. It does have a lot to do with tyres. Do you have four good WINTER tyres (NOT snow tyres) on that Toyota?
4WD will not keep you from sliding into the ditch, but it may help you get out.
4WD will not keep you from sliding into the ditch, but it may help you get out.
YES it will…You’ll slide LESS in 4wd…If braking…I’ll agree…once you start sliding while braking…4wd isn’t going to help…But 4wd will help prevent you from sliding while driving down a snowing/ice road. All the cars I’ve ever seen go into a ditch or snow bank did so because they lost control of their vehicle while moving…NOT braking.
Caddyman you are very correct. (Primitive) 4wd is wonderful for low speeds/off road or those versed with its operation. Basically you cannot touch the accelerator while turning otherwise you will GO straight. (Primitive) 4wd is great for going straight and slow. I have experience with (primitive) 4wd and full time AWD(Audi/Subaru).
It is quite rare though in modern trucks/SUV’s to have a primitive 4wd. They typically also include a full-time 4wd mode that is essentially AWD.
If you feel the ABS is kicking in too prematurely about the only adjustment you can make is to improve the traction, you do that by improving the tires.
You need to carefully examine all four tires. Make sure they have the same air pressure in them. Is this a brand new 4 Runner, or a used one? If it is used perhaps one tire is different than the other 3? If one tire is close to worn while the others are newer as soon as the tire with low tread losses traction the ABS will kick in. Therefore all 4 tires need to have good tread depth and be matched meaning the same brand and tread style to get maximum braking out of your ABS system.
If the 4 Runner is brand new check the tire pressure and make sure they all have the correct psi as per the mfgs sticker and/or owner’s manual. If one tire has a leak and has low pressure it would cause the ABS problems. Not all OEM tires are equal and perhaps the tires that came on the truck are not too good in snow.
It is quite rare though in modern trucks/SUV’s to have a primitive 4wd. They typically also include a full-time 4wd mode that is essentially AWD.
Which truck/SUV has a full-time 4wd that acts like AWD. Every 4wd vehicle I’ve ever owned since the 70’…ALL lock the front and rear axles when in 4wd. There is always one wheel on each axle that is the drive wheel. And that is EXACTLY what you want to keep you on the road when driving in snow…And I don’t mean just crawling through snow…Driving 30-40 mph in 3-6" of snow…you want 4wd with BOTH axles locked. If as you say 4wd is only good when you get stuck…then please tell me WHY anyone who off-roads keeps their truck in 4wd ALL the time…Any off-road racing…they don’t switch to 4wd when they get stuck…they keep the trucks in 4wd ALL the time and high speeds so they keep their trucks from getting stuck.
Here are a few articles on driving in snow.
http://www.omninerd.com/articles/4WD_vs_AWD_and_the_Fallacy_of_Snow_Traction
http://www.onthesnow.com/news/132/a/8590/four-wheel-drive-vs-all-wheel-drive-in-the-snow
With all that said…I’ll agree…MOST people don’t need 4wd or awd. But driving in snow country (upstate NY) or snowy mountain regions…4wd or awd is far far superior to fwd or rwd. And for extreme snowy conditions…4wd is far far superior to awd.
Any vehicle with full-time 4wd mode is the equivalent of AWD. It allows the slippage of front and rear wheels speed to a certain degree. Basically any truck/SUV you can leave in full time 4wd on pavement is the equivalent of AWD.
Those articles leave out Subaru & Audi AWD which always has a front and rear wheel spinning. Way to many definitions to be so emphatic on this superior to that.
The articles are way too simplistic. For example Subaru AWD with manual transmission uses no electronics. Just a viscous center coupling and LSD rear differentials.
What year 4-runner?
I don’t know this for a fact with 4-runners, but with many other 4x4’s, the ABS should turn off when in 4wd. This is because (and I haven’t waded through the other threads here yet so maybe it’s been explained) when your truck is in 4wd, the wheels MUST slip in order to turn. This confuses the heck out of the ABS, so it should be off when in 4wd. Does the 4wd light come on when you’re in 4-wheel?
Like I said, though, I don’t know if this is the case on your 4-runner. It could be that newer 4x4s’ ABS systems can figure it out.