4WD monthly exercise

Toyota recommends driving at least 10 miles a month in 4wd to keep everything lubricated and in good condition. They also state that 4wd should only be driven in conditions that allow for the wheels to slide, (sand, gravel, snow/ice) and not to make any sharp turns. I live in a densely populated area so there are sharp turns all over the place and all the roads are paved and dry a majority of the time.

How do you fellow city folk manage to exercise your 4wd according to Toyota's recommendations? Also, they dont mention 4H or 4L or both. It doesnt feel right to me to be driving around in 4L for extended periods of time. Am I over thinking this?

Should I just grab a coffee and take it for a spin in 4H, turn around and come back in 4L on a Saturday morning once a month and not stress about the 90 degree turns?

 

Find a straight section of road. Do a mile or two at a time

 

4h is adequate. Fairly straight road is best. Dry pavement is ok as long as no sharp turns

 

you can drive straight (or mostly).
Also find a gravel lot or park road. If you can't find this,,, move.

 

As mentioned, driving straight on dry pavement is fine, but it’s much more fun to take it outside the city or do some urban wheeling during snow storms or in construction parks.

Use it or lose it.

 

I also on a YT video to stay under 60 miles per hour.

 

In 4hi you can go as fast as you want. I've been up to 85mph in 4hi in my Tacoma, the only thing you hurt is your mpg

 

Northern climates have entered the chat

 

Don't do turns in 4hi and 4lo on dry pavement. Just drive up a straight road in 4hi and switch it back to 2wd to turn around l..same goes with 4lo

You can do turns on snow, ice, dirt and gravel tho no worries

 

If the conditions are such that 4wd is necessary, you probably shouldn’t be going faster than 60 anyway

-former upper midwesterner

 

Gotcha, I was just referring to the Car care nut video.

 

For me it's when I drive through a snow storm on the freeway and once I get out of it I forget to turn off 4hi.
Always drive a safe speed for the conditions, just know speed doesn't hurt the 4x4 system. Binding the gears when turning is what will break parts.

 

Straight lines in 4X4 are theoretically OK. But I'd still keep the distances VERY short. Like back and forth in the driveway. Personally, I'd not take it out on the road in 4X4. There isn't any place where I live to drive in a straight line on pavement for 1/4 mile. And there is always the chance you get distracted, forget you're in 4X4 and pull into a business or at an intersection.

Even doing that isn't going to cause a catastrophic failure. Everyone who has ever owned a 4X4 has had something like that happen. But the more time you spend in 4X4 on dry hard surfaces the sooner you're going to wear out expensive parts.

I've been participating in multiple truck, SUV, and 4X4 forums for almost 20 years, I've owned 4X4's for almost 50 years. Virtually every time someone is having problems with 4X4 it can be traced back to operator error. Either they didn't use it regularly and it no longer works, or they used it improperly and parts are broken. If used the way it's supposed to be used you should NEVER have parts break. A truck with 200,000 miles on it probably doesn't have 5000 miles on the 4X4 components. If you do it right it won't break in that few miles.

The 10 miles/month isn't carved in stone and no one said the 10 miles had to be all at the same time. The shooting club where I shoot is 1 mile down a gravel driveway. I shift into 4X4 every time I go and get in 2 miles each time. From Sept. to Jan. I'm on dirt/gravel roads on a regular basis and may get in 200 miles some months. The rest of the year far less often and I skip a month occasionally. The key is just use it regularly and you won't have issues.

You lubricate everything in 4hi. But it's a good idea to shift into 4lo occasionally even if you don't drive it anywhere but back and forth in the driveway. You're also keeping electrical connections from corroding.

You bought a 4x4 for a reason. Sounds like you need a road trip to the country a few times a year and get some mud on the tires.

 

Y’all gotta move to California! We love exercising our four-wheel-drive in the backyard!

 

I put it in 4Hi on a straight road after a first rain following a dry spell. That is when roads can be slick. Also, I change my Diff and Transfer Case fluid sooner than later.

 

That’s fine. Always drive at a speed you are comfortable with and able to maintain control of the vehicle. Just do it in the right hand lane.

 

There is a trailhead west of Maricopa AZ. 12 miles west, then 2 miles pavement north, then 8 miles on dirt roads that need high clearance at least and 4WD recommended for the sandy portions.

AZ has hundreds of miles of sketchy dirt roads that are used as primary travel paths. I love driving the "Primitive Road ... Travel at Your Own Risk" roads.

I was going to Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area (from PHX) after the yobbos are done making life unpleasant and the fee disappears after April 15 ... DM and we can play in the big sandbox!

 

We also go into Arizona, there’s some great places there. Thanks for the invite, but we’re kind of the type that like going solo, and often find entire valleys to ourselves.

What I really like about all that public land we have out west to explore in is that it’s free, well, at least tax wise, they’re pretty cheap for us to enjoy while exercising our four-wheel-drives!

 

AMEN to public lands that stretch to the horizon. North Carolina is not as uncivilized hillbilly as some may advertise ... either privately owned or strip-malled or neighborhoods.

I moved to PHX for a reason ... open space. And my next move will likely be west Las Vegas to be only 2 hours from DV.

Keep wandering, friend.