4HI/4Lo is this right?

so we got some snow up here in MA, 10 inches, and ice rain. So yesterday I kinda used 4Hi for practically the first time in real time driving

Driving about 20 mph, from 2WD I put it in 4HI, it flashes a few seconds and then is solid. So I’m driving in 4HI now.

I notice at T juntions, or pulling out of parking spots, with the wheel turned fully basically, it just feels like I’m driving with the parking brake fully on, and like the wheels don’t want to really turn. The truck only has 2,000 miles, has anyone else experienced this?

So for dry normal conditions I drive 2WD

If there’s active snow on the ground, or wet or icy conditions I take it you drive in 4HI

And unless it’s deep snow, or sand or mud and driving slow you switch to 4LO

That’s just my rough quick understanding of it although I may be wrong.

 

Yes pretty much but you will rarely if ever have to use 4LO. Also if I run in 4HI with icey conditions are snow I always put it back in 2WD to pull in or back in to a parking spot or even take a super tight turn.

 

Ah ok because that’s what I felt like I was going to have to do. You can hear the tires squeaking lightly when it happens like your driving with the tires locked up. Only problem is my driveway is a sudden 90 degree turn going up an incline right at the turn and that’s the bit that gets icy or where you’d want the 4HI kicking in

But thanks for the input! It almost feels like a problem with the truck but this is my first truck

 

Yeh I wouldn’t use it on dry roads. And never used 4LO yet.

Do you guys routinely drive on 4HI once the roads are wet? Or just in winter active snow/rain/ice falling or already on the road?

 

4HI only when necessary, I personally turn it off when backing in to a parking space to make it easier.

 

I use it all year on gravel roads just to keep it working. Have had friends have theirs freeze up at bad times from not using it. I use it only if the pavement has a blanket of snow covering the road I turn it of parking and on turns. Bumping the gas will disengage the system much faster.

 

So what if it’s below freezing conditions road doesn’t have active snow but there are conditions for ice because below freezing conditions

Would you drive 4HI then?

 

If your on ice and think you’ll need it you better turn it in before you loose traction. 4wd won’t engage if the front wheels don’t have traction. Your light will just continue to flash.

 

I use 4hi all the time up here in northern NH. It is just part of daily driving on the snowy and icy roads up here, and just getting up and down our steep road. I shift on the fly in and out of 4hi as needed, I just let off the gas for second as I turn the switch on or off. 4low I use in extreme conditions, to crawl when stuck, or when I feel I’m about to get stuck. I used it already this year when I slid into the ditch on the side of my driveway. I probably could have made a mess and got out in 4hi, but crawling out slowly in low was very helpful. As others have already said, as soon as I start to feel that binding in parking lots, etc, it reminds me that I don’t need the 4hi right then, and I disengage it.

 

Wet? Certainly not.

Only time I use 4WD on paved roads is when there's a well established layer of packed, slick snow; slick enough I can't quite get by with 2WD, and even then I'm in and out of it for sharp turns and other situations. Or in deep snow that hasn't been plowed at all.

Rain? No.

I would only keep it in 4WD for a really hard turn if you truly aren't going to be able to make the turn in 2WD. Avoid it as much as possible. Your truck might go better than you think in 2WD if you drive carefully.

 

So you use it once a month on a “dry” stretch of road?

 

Rhis is a good post as I'm just learning about the 4hi 4 lo system on my sequioa .

What does the button that shows 4 wheels and front wheels slightly turned right do?

Does it lock the differential?

Rhanks and this is all new to me.

 

The 4wd system isn't that sensitive that you will bind it up on dry roads unless you are making sharp turns. Long gentle sweeping turns are perfectly fine. It is all about the radius of the turn. I've had 4wd bind up on me in a competently snow covered lot trying to get out of a parking spot slowly. So yeah it's all about how tight the turn is. It's perfectly fine on a dry stretch as long as you're not making a 90 deg turn like at an intersection.

 

I wouldn't use it on dry pavement at all, ever. Even in what feels like a straight line. Why bother with dry paved when there are plenty of dirt roads out there if you really feel the need to engage your 4WD once in a while to keep things lubed.

Personally I usually find an actual need often enough for 4WD that I consider that enough to keep things in working order. But I also consider the 'once a month' rule a little excessive.

 

Right from the owners manual....I engage on dry pavement on the way to work driving in a straight line for about 3 miles a few times a month to meet that frequency. No problems at all.

 

Can you get away with that, sure. You might never see issues either. I've also seen and had trucks that didn't have the 4WD engaged once between March and November. No issues there either. Whether it's advisable or not is another story.

When you feel heavy binding while in 4WD, that's not good. Minor binding isn't good either, even if it happens and is occasionally under some circumstances unavoidable. I'm just saying if you have the option of exercising your 4WD components on a surface that allows at least a bit of slipping, like a dirt road, why do it on a non-slip surface.

Personally I think minimizing binding over the life of the truck is more important. Keeping things lubed will happen enough through the course of my use.

 

This is what Toyota recommended in the 80s.... or at least close to what they recommended

 

I put mine in 4 low and make really tight circles in the hottest dry parking lot I can find.

 

Actually all kidding aside, I exercise my 4 x 4 once a week on a straight stretch of road on my way to work. No issues

 

I mean, shoot, my truck is so damn reliable I need to test it’s durability now in again right?
I’m not used to dealing with maintenance only. Trying to get myself something to do.