Winter is coming… Driving 4x4 in the snow

Hi all, got AWD vehicules before, but never had a 4x4. AWD is simple, it’s working by itself. All you need to do is turn off VSC when wheels are spinning trying to get out of a slippery situation.

I kinda understand 4hi would be used in situations when driving in a lot of snow on the ground (in or right after a snowstorm) and I should switch back to 2WD when I hit dry road. 4lo would really be the exception if I get stuck and nothing else works.

But what about all the other functions? There’s a nice thread explaining what they are, not really when to use them… In regular daily driving situations (worse would be reaching a snowy uphill trailhead to go fatbiking), when do you use the VSC, A-TRAC and locker buttons, if that makes sense?

Reading the manual, my guess would be if I get stuck and wheels are spinning, push the VSC button to engage Auto LSD in 2WD and see if it helps. If not, push it 3 seconds to deactivate the aids and try again. If not, try 4hi. Rinse and repeat with the VSC button. If all fails, 4lo, A-TRAC and finally locker. Really, in daily driving situations, I’m sure you only have to use 4hi from time to time and maybe the VSC button occasionally.

I know I’ll have opportunities to try soon, just wondering if I got it right.

I have a manual transmission, no MTS for me.

 

Basically thats all you need, switch 2WD and 4WD as needed.

If you get stuck, experiment, the locker can actually cause you to sink more into the snow, a trac is more ideal sometimes. MTS is a gimmick, a trac and locker are simple and more usable.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-trac-trac-auto-lsd-explained-easy-to-understand-i-hope.70551/

Some good info right here.^^^