When are you using 4x4 Hi?

Couple of points. Our Tacoma pickups are 4 wheel drive and have a transfer case. That is different than all wheel drive which do not. You can engage your 4 wheel drive high in any situation where the tires can slip a little. The gear ratios from front to rear are not far apart. It is better to occasionally run your vehicle in 4 wheel high even on wet pavement than to never do it at all. The front differential needs lubrication and should be engaged regularly. That being said, common sense should indicate when to shift into 4 wheel drive. I once had a boss who told me that God did not grace me with a lot of common sense, so please use what little I had. I'm gathering many on this forum share the same syndrome.

 

For sure your tires helped! 4hi would just be another advantage...

 

Yes mine was great it was an 06 and I got it from an older guy. Got it with 50k and beat it up until 90k. Sold it to dealership to get a gas saver. Funny thing is - I gave them the Tahoe, got a 05 Mazda AND cash back (MORE CASH than I originally even paid for the Tahoe). I was close with the dealer as I had bought a couple cars from that same salesman in the past. He told me they warrantied the truck, sold it to one of his buddies, and 10k later the tranny and rear diff blew. Dealer had to pay for it all lol. I guess I sold it at the right time. I must have really beat it up

 

So a related question -

If driving on the interstate where most curves are reasonably not sharp, can one drive in 4HI in a heavy rain assuming you switched to 4HI under 60 mph?

 

I'd use 4hi in the OP's conditions.

I also use it in heavy rain.... Or when on dirt/gravel.

It makes a difference when hitting heavy puddles in the rain or keeping from tearing up a dirt/gravel road.

I do take it out for tight turning if I'm not concerned with getting stuck. You can tell if the drivetrain is binding.

 

The malls around my house have nice parking lots

 

Grow up in a place like Phoenix where there is no snow ?

 

He has yet to come back to demonstrate his vast expertise.

 

I’m a complete 4X4 noob.
I’m up in Mammoth and there isn’t much snow but stretches of road that have a light layer of ice.
I did engage 4X4 for the longest stretch.

My question is this:
What constitutes a tight turn? Is it ok to make a turn at an intersection?

Any advice would be appreciated.

When buying the truck, I really didn’t know there were these rules for using 4 wheel drive.
Thanks!

 

Lots of us are noobs!

I appreciate the productive comments and advice.

 

Seriously, I'm in the car business and my Toyota salesman was an absolute idiot. Three months in and I'm still finding things I had no idea it had and this thing is basic compared to my previous car.

@dc7rr1 with the low speed limit in Mammoth and icy areas all over town, I just use 4H until the streets thaw.

 

You'll absolutely know when you're turning too tight in 4x4 on a firm surface it's a terrible unmistakable feeling. An intersection won't be a problem.

 

Thanks for the responses and great info!

 

When the truck creaks and moans because the drivetrain is binding.

It won't hurt if it happens, just don't make it a habit.

 

I'm not a Chevy fan, but I understand they have 4low, 4hi & 4auto. That would be a nice option...

 

Oh, no 90 degree turns on pavement in 4hi.

 

You can, but my personal recommendation is don’t, for the exact same reason you shouldn’t use 4hi just because there is snow on the road. In 4x4 there is 50% power going to front and rear axles, this means that each axle should be turning at the exact same speed (I’m ignoring lock / unlocked diff for this). So with perfect traction, you can actually force one axle to slip in 4x4 when it wouldn’t in 2x4, which is obviously dangerous / bad news. I’ve seen many 4x4 loose traction on show / rain going round non sharp corners simply because they had 4x4 engaged when they didn’t need it, and 2x4 have been fine. Of course this problem is always amplified when using locked diffs.
4x4 system like the Tacoma are designed for off-road, or very severe weather conditions, so IMO use it as such, and realize that rain, light snow is not severe, well not unless you have the wrong/ shit tires.

Plus at 60mph on the highway, if you loose traction it’s because you’re driving too fast for the conditions, neither 4x4 or AWD will help that.

 

4wd will generally give you more control when driving. That being said, if the weather is bad enough, you should be driving carefully and not overpower the tires.

 

One thing I'd like to add... I believe I've read the recommendations are to drive at least a couple miles in 4x4 per month... For those of us in the south, that probably means dry pavement at least some months. Just preferably straight line as mentioned

 

The manual on my 2nd gen and on our 5th gen 4runner said not to engage 4HI from 2HI over 62mph. Just FYI. Lots of common sense tells me no matter how slow you’re going, take it EASY on the throttle when switching in or out of 4wd and use it when you’re in extreme or near extreme road conditions to your advantage but don’t pull into a parking spot in 4HI, try to go back to 2HI for that so you aren’t scrubbing. You shouldn’t be near 62mph if you’re thinking you need more traction anyways IMO. NICE AND EASY DOES IT. STEADY AS SHE GOES.