Wait... so how does 4WD work on this truck?

My tacoma will go many places my wife's Subaru won't go but on slick snow or ice covered roads I would pick the Subaru everytime.

 

Before owning three Tacomas, I owned three Subarus... back when they were 4WD, not AWD.

The transfer case shifter was cool... labeled FWD and 4WD (front wheel drive to four wheel drive).

They were great, went everywhere I wanted to go in Baja... but, because of 13" tires and no low range (on the first two I owned), some undercarriage damage, lost the exhaust pre-running the '79 Baja 1000, and other things that I have no problem in my Tacomas with over 9" of ground clearance and all the power in the world.

 

I've never owned a Subaru, but likewise for me with the xDrive in our E91 wagon.
But, completely different conditions / animal than deep snow & a truck/suv/jeep.

 

Get a late model BRAT or Wagon for Low Range (1986+?)... Once the mini 'El Camino' truck became the 'Baja' and the wagon became an 'Outback', it went AWD and no low range. That's how they lost me as a repeat customer after buying new in '77, '80, and '86.

 

One thing worth calling out for newbies like me who may find this thread, on 2016 OR automatic there is no specific ATRAC button, instead we have MTS which is essentially 5 settings of ATRAC. Not that I spent 5 minutes looking for that ATRAC button or anything...

 

I just figured you'd be safer with 4wd in the rain.

 

I was actually pretty unimpressed with Volvo's.
4Matic definitely works, though.
Never tried Honda's. Had a FWD Accord in HS (well, my parents did) and I wouldn't go back to that from a PU on winter roads!

 

What do most people use for alternating weather conditions? For example, a poorly plowed road that may have patches of ice or snow, but also has dry pavement. I've always been told never to use 4H on dry pavement so I just stay in 2WD, but going up hills over those icy patches ends up spinning the back wheels.

 

I would list MTS as the replacement for ATRAC. Crawl Control is just MTS at a set speed. MTS is like having 5 settings of ATRAC

 

You should stay under 50mph and turn 4wd on and off as you need it

 

I just turn it on and off as needed. I've been chugging along on dry stuff only to get stopped at a light with an ice patch and go to take off and my wheels spin. I just throw it in 4wd to get going and if the road dries up again turn it off. Also be sure to coast when you turn it on or off.

 

I asked this very same question before I took my car off the dealership lot. However, the dealership should have explained all the features of the truck before you took off with it.

 

That's pretty much what I do, I wasn't sure if it was bad for the truck or not to engage and disengage 4WD too much.

 

I think 99% of dealers don't know every features and how it works anyway lol. Whenever I ask they don't know or feed me lies. They just want your money and then want you to leave.

 

All my Toyota's I switch back and forth as needed, it was a lot easier with a manual throw t-case.

I'm coming most recently from a Pilot and a Subaru Forester Turbo to this Tacoma, so I put on studded winters. The Subaru was and will be the best winter vehicle, but I'm giving my Tacoma a damned good chance with my tires.

 

What's even more fun is having manual hubs and making people angry when you're not only stuck at a stoplight but have to jump out and lock the hubs

 

So not a problem to be moving and switch to 4wd? I've always assumed you needed to be stopped before engaging

 

Yeah, well, although my purchasing experience was overall good, picking up the car was a 30 second deal. "Sign here, congrats on the new truck, thanks for your business!" and that was it. Nothing was explained, even though everything on the checklist was checked as if it was. I was too excited to really care. But after reading about 8 multi-page threads on this in the past day, I doubt the dealer knew any of what you guys have taught me.

 

Haha, yeah, I converted my old YJ Wrangler to warn hubs. Awesome for trail use, but yeah, I didn't really use it in snow after that.

 

That's really sad... the dealer down here I have used for 5 new Toyota purchases (3 Tacomas, 2 Corollas) takes all the time needed to go over that check list. He even programmed the Blue Tooth so my phone would work right away on it... Toyota Carlsbad, by-the-way (salesman was Duff Joy the past 16 years). Now, when I got my 2010 Tacoma (in Dec. 2009) they honestly did not know about the traction systems very well, and that's when I became active on this forum, to learn... and now to teach! LOL