Why no 4WD Auto / Multi-Mode?

And yet the big 3 have had it for years.

If you want something less "gimmicky", I'd settle for the full time 4wd the Sequoia and 4R get.

 

Front wheel drive vehicles do remarkably well in snow/ice. Weight over drive wheels and pulling a load rather than pushing it seems to be a winning combination in most slippery road situations.

 

Truly! And the Echo was a tank. Put over 423,000 kms on it (do the conversion yourselves, my American friends). LOL

 

it isn't the drive that's gonna put you in a ditch, it is the stop. Tires that aren't worn out (preferably snows in the winter) and driving a proper speed for conditions.

 

Front engine - front wheel drive vehicle vs front engine - rear wheel drive vehicle

I've never felt a need for AWD on any of my cars.

 

My gf has a highlander platinum awd with center locking dif and thing cruises in the snow. Granted it's weight is a little bit more evened out but it's a beast so I fully get where you're coming from.

 

I am only familiar with front 2WD (FWD), RWD, 4WD, and AWD...not auto 4WD... Driving on ice/snow....

Driving a front wheel 2WD (FWD) car is better than rear wheel drive (RWD).
RWD pickup with an empty bed is worse than an SUV with weight over the tires.
Empty pickups in RWD is the worst, therefore 4WD and locking differentials become more important than other vehicle types.

You could have 2WD, 4WD Hi, 4WD Lo, Auto 4WD all in the same vehicle if you want.

 

This is what the big 3 put in their pickups.

 

Owned 2 GM’s with the auto awd….both transfer cases went out under 85,000 miles. I really didn’t trust it anyhow, when I needed 4x4 I placed it into 4x4.

 

How often does the Toyota auto 4WD go out?

The scenario is I need it, then I don't, then I do, then I don't...etc.
I don't know anyone with AWD that wished it was manual.

In this expensive, competitive market, with all the other tech, I don't understand the excuse to not want this feature that Toyota already offers on other reliable vehicles. Unless auto 4WD doesn't work that good on pickup trucks or Tundra has a different/better solution.

 

I live in NE PA , I have TRD off road rims with Nokian snow tires that I install from Dec to March , I never had to put my truck in 4WD during the 20 + inches of snow we got last year

 

Problem with the 4R, they only offer the full time 4wd unit in the Limited trim. I say it's a problem because many find the Limited to be inexcusably ugly (myself included). I'd love to have the leather ventilated seats, awd for the wife, and JBL sound, but I don't because I couldn't stand to look at it every day. I'd have to park it 3 streets over and walk home so nobody would know it's mine.

 

Toyota has a great AWD solution which could be probably easily used in Tundra. On Land Cruiser, Lexus LX or Sequoia, they use lockable center Torsen differential. Of course, it works great. There are just two disadvantages: The mileage would be slightly worse and it's more expensive (although I would be happy to pay for it).

 

Toyota's full-time 4HI is great. They put it into the Land Cruiser, the most durable vehicle ever. They put into the Sequoia, put it in V8 4Runners back in 2005 or so. Mind boggling why the sweet Torsen center diff isn't available in the all new Tundra.

As we'll see, and what Mike Sweers looks at, is people say "I don't need no fancy 4HI, I bust the mohonky into 4HI when and where I want to." Ignorance is bliss I guess.

 

Answered your own question here, cost and mpg. Toyota has already admitted they would sacrifice everything for better mpg, including no tow hooks.

 

COST. Toyota is king of giving you less for more.

This truck could of been special and it is not because of money. The MPG excuse is BS. Another MPG claim was Tow hooks.. Tow hooks didn't drive down MPGs. They drove down profit.

 

The Sequoia and Land Cruiser both have open/locking Torsen center diffs. Select 4hi, stays open to allow different wheel spin speeds the from front to rear axles until you hit the center lock button. Solid system, there are threads where some have put the Sequoia transfer case into a Tundra. IIRC they did have to get the drive shaft shorten due to the transfer case's extra length.

 

Looking at all the features and options they deleted from the Tundra with the mid 2nd-gen refresh, I have to agree.

 

Yota full-time 4HI with CDL is extremely stout. Land Cruisers, Lexus, T4R, Sequoia have gone literally millions of miles collectively and I don't recall a peep about Torsen system failures.

Reason Tundra doesn't have it is what you see here on Tundras.com - enough buyers say "I don't need it". They generally don't even know what it is or how it operates, and here we are.

 

I have owned 1) AWD 2) 4WD 3) 4Auto from - Jeep, Dodge, GMC, Subaru, Toyota, and driven friends Fords with 4auto.
Anyone that is actually concerned about driving in sketchy weather with a 2wd Toyota Tundra through winter should spend about $1200 for 4 good snow tires and rims - Something like Michelin X Ice. Your Tundra will handle alot better and it will stop much much better than the Detroit pickups using 4auto with all season tires or AT tires.

My personal experience is 4Auto makes you drive faster in bad weather when you should be slowing down. if you engage 4WD on your Tundra you know the weather is just plain bad and you slow down.

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Now my opinion is the reason Tundra does not have it is because the biggest complaint is 1) mileage before 2nd) biggest complaint .....needing a redesign.

Including 4auto would have increased rolling friction affecting mileage. if they removed the tow hooks to allow the air dam to work at speeds for better mileage - they sure as hell were not going to add 4auto.

 

I have Blizzaks on my truck. I need 4Auto because the intersections here are icy but the rest of the street is clear. Without it, I have to remember to shift into 4Hi as I come to a stop so I can get going again then quickly shift to 2Hi once I get rolling, especially if I'm turning.

 

At least you can stop! that is what is important.
Someone I know has a 2021 F150 Lariat that came with All Season Tires. To look at the treads you can tell that tire option came on there for two reasons. Mileage and to be quiet. The few people I know with 4Auto pickups do not put winter tires on.

Tell us (anybody) what is going to happen to people that are driving a 6000 lb truck with AS tires when they approach the first icy intersection a little quick, why, because their 4Auto makes them think the roads are fine. It is good to slip when taking off. It tells you of conditions.

Do I wish my Tundra came with 4Auto? Maybe but it Depends.
Unless I was using my truck for my livelihood, if I was driving daily in a real winter I would be using a vehicle with AWD that had good weight balance. Not a pickup with an empty bed. I don't drive much in the winter with my truck and it has the Michelin AT's so I can't comment on traction taking off. Others here have said the Toyota Atrac system does a good job - were they using snows? Maybe they can chime in as you seem to be saying snows + Atrac doesn't work well ?

re: Toyota and 4wd. My sons 4Rrunner Ltd. has full time 4wd. The 4Runner Trd pro model does not. is this Marketing ?

 

I think around here most folks know they need good winter tires. The guys who choose not to run them don't necessarily do so because of 4Auto (or they would also do so even if they only had 4Hi and 4Lo, not 4Auto).

 

The Toyota Torsen box is a full time system. There would be a MPG penalty. A CAFE average is weighted by the sales numbers.

 

I live in an urban area and pulling out of roads that are snow/slush onto a plowed dry road at full steering lock is a major PITA. Throw in a curved road with low visibility and drivers going too fast (pulling out of my driveway) and everyday quickly becomes an adventure in the Tundra. Auto 4WD was a feature I was waiting for as well.

 

I totally agree!


Same, one of the main reasons I am holding off on my purchase. A must have for me on a new truck I will be using for a variety of driving scenarios, not even a question.

 

I hope Toyota never goes 4auto.

 

Imagine if the new Tundra had a V8 option along with the standard TTV6, TTV6 hybrid, full-time 4WD with center locking torsen diff, TRD OR package with rear locker and tow hooks. That would have been a real world beater and it's a shame that they couldn't see that.

 

Today, I took my LX 570 and my 2019 Tundra on the same offroad trail, covered with snow. Both vehicles had the same winter tires (Blizzaks DM-V2). LX 570 was so much better thanks to its Torsen center differential! I am not sure if I still want 2022 Tundra. Maybe F-150 or RAM 1500 with selectable auto mode would be better. I drive in snow about 4-5 months every year.

 

At another 10k in cost..