With 4wd anybody just "lose it" in snow or rain?
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leftyguns21
New member
mine got a little loose on the snow the other day. but once i took my foot off of the gas and the vsc kicked in she straightned back out. i was crossing a few lanes to take a left and i gas'd it pretty good. other then this issue ive had none
steven_newyork
New member
Tires Make All The Difference
I have a 2004 V6 4WD and when I first got it I had many of those "loose it" situations and thought I made a mistake with the 4Runner. Thats when I found this forum. Everyone raved about the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo tires and said how well it made the vehicle handle. I replaced the crappy OEM Bridgestones at about 30,000 miles and could not be happier with how it handles with the AT Revos. I am now on my second set and the 4Runner goes through deep standing water with no hydroplaning and it is great on snow as well. Just remember it is a tall vehicle and take the corners slow on slippery surfaces and you will be fine providing you have good tires like the AT Revos.
I have a 2004 V6 4WD and when I first got it I had many of those "loose it" situations and thought I made a mistake with the 4Runner. Thats when I found this forum. Everyone raved about the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo tires and said how well it made the vehicle handle. I replaced the crappy OEM Bridgestones at about 30,000 miles and could not be happier with how it handles with the AT Revos. I am now on my second set and the 4Runner goes through deep standing water with no hydroplaning and it is great on snow as well. Just remember it is a tall vehicle and take the corners slow on slippery surfaces and you will be fine providing you have good tires like the AT Revos.
4boer said:
Most 4WD and AWD vehicles are going to have this same behavior. Having power to all 4 wheels is the best option for stability and traction, and when paired with good tires, you stick. I had my 85 trade ends once. During the winter, I always left it with the hubs locked in because I was using 4WD quite a bit around town (my home town is a ski resort, lots of snow). My dad is a mechanic and former engineer, and he preaches on how to make a vehicle last to the point you want to shove a sock in his mouth (he says step 1 on making a vehicle last is buy a Toyota). So whenever he saw that I had my hubs locked in, he would unlock them to reduce drivetrain wear. So one day, I'm driving down the highway, it starts snowing hard, and I throw it in 4WD. But the hubs were unlocked. I flipped around and got rear ended in the oncoming lane.... The speed limit was 65, me and the other driver were doing 35 because of the snow, so our impact speed was 70. The next day I got my 98 4Runner.
KB084RUNNER
New member
I traded a 2006 GMC Yukon Denali AWD on my 08 4Runner and I must say the Denali with it's 6,000 lb curb weight did handle much better in the snow just out of sheer weight. However, I think the 4R is a better choice for me because it gets 33% better gas mileage and is still able to negotiate all the slippery roads in the Cuyahoga National Park where I live during the Winter.
Plus, AWD/4WD is really only needed by me about 6 weeks a year but when needed it is really needed. So it is a better choice. I don't attempt to drive normal speeds when it is icy but follow the ability of the vehicle and the 4R gets the job done just fine. In rain you can drive this thing 90mph with no adverse effects.
It is also easier for my wife and daughters to drive and the complaints I was getting from them about motoring around in a 6,000 lb "tank" are gone as even my 15 year old "newbie learner" can drive the 4R easily.
All in all.....I really like this truck...
Plus, AWD/4WD is really only needed by me about 6 weeks a year but when needed it is really needed. So it is a better choice. I don't attempt to drive normal speeds when it is icy but follow the ability of the vehicle and the 4R gets the job done just fine. In rain you can drive this thing 90mph with no adverse effects.
It is also easier for my wife and daughters to drive and the complaints I was getting from them about motoring around in a 6,000 lb "tank" are gone as even my 15 year old "newbie learner" can drive the 4R easily.
All in all.....I really like this truck...
To get this car bent out of shape or swapping ends.. you have to be doing something very wrong. Time to find a big empty parking lot next winter and try to purposly get the car bent ouf shape and figure out how to recover the slide.
When I did this with my GFs 4unner I couldent get the car really bent out of shape... its a very stable vehicle.
When I did this with my GFs 4unner I couldent get the car really bent out of shape... its a very stable vehicle.
matroe11
New member
We finally had a "winter storm" here in the Carolinas a few weeks back. I figured, time to test the 4WD and head to the mountains on a snow day for some snowboarding action. Going up the interstate, which had not been plowed or salted, I was steady at 70 mph unless there was traffic. There were other cars littered all over the highway who had spun out. I felt confident the whole time and my T4R trucked right on through it. The only time I got sideways was playing around in parking lots and even then it was hard to get it turned around. 
I'm very happy with my purchase and find it hard to want any other vehicle!
I'm very happy with my purchase and find it hard to want any other vehicle!
On slippery and wet snow you have to be a bit careful and drive slow. I notices slide after 45mph, but if you smooth should be able to bring the car back from slide. On the hard snow it handles much better. It is easy to loose if you are not smooth with steering and gas pedal. Short answer, drive slow, especially on the corners. It is heavy and will easily slide on the snow, good thing car is also easy to bring back to tracks. Just ease of the gas and be smooth on steering.
snorto
New member
sciff5 said:
Taking your rig to an empty parking lot and purposely slipping around is critical to becoming a capable winter driver in my opinion! You need to become familiar with the way your vehicle handles when it loses traction and you need to practice recovering from such situations. Otherwise you'll just be one of those people who panics and smashes the brakes at the first sign of trouble.
Obviously it's important to find a safe, deserted place to 'practice' though - with no obsticals to hit
