[toobroke]

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q231/tobroke/storm004.jpg

We have a storm coming in and I have a chance to test the all-wheel drive. Wooo hooo!
Lets go play and see if we can get a Highlander stuck! :lol:

 

[nodrogkam]

oh baby that looks fun.

 

[toobroke]

snow results

Well I had a opportunity to play with the Highlander out in the snow. (only a few minutes, too busy shoveling snow!) Now, this is my first all wheel drive and it handles unlike any other vehicle I have owned. When the Highlander loses traction in a skid sideways under power, control is almost completely lost. This vehicle is a bit unnerving. Twice I put the Highlander into 30mph or less power turns and once the vehicle lost grip it was a hang on and see where it stops senario. Control was very difficult to regain. At one point I was stopped at a light then proceeded to turn right under power and the Highlander went squirrely around the corner. This was not the typical control loss that a 2 wheel drive vehicle has such as the back end wanting to pass the front but more like all the wheels pulling in different directions type of loss. The wife then proceeded with her backseat driving lesson to me for the next 5 minutes. I think I need to spend some time in the local parking lot playing around until I am use to what the Highlander does in loss of control situations. Just not use to a all wheel drive. I am pleasantly surprised though at how much traction you have in the snow. Braking seems to be no different though. So the lesson learned is just because you have all wheel drive you still have to drive within the conditions. On a side note on the local news they showed the highways with the typical 10 -20 vehicles in the ditch. Why are the vehicles that are flipped over and the furthest in the ditch from the highway always 4 wheel drives? lol

 

[Bigga]

I've always wondered if traction control really meant traction overcontrol.

 

[liquidsilver]

Ur lucky toobroke. I wish I can get some snow here in southern ontario. We had our first snow yesterday and it was about 1cm....and gone by noon. Yeah as far as AWD goes , don't depend on it so much cause that's when trouble starts. Do u know if ur 4cyl AWD has traction control and VSC? When my HL is sideways due to loss of control, it cuts the engine power and the car beeps like crazy to warn me that it's Skidding.

 

[toobroke]

Traction control

Ur lucky toobroke. I wish I can get some snow here in southern ontario. We had our first snow yesterday and it was about 1cm....and gone by noon. Yeah as far as AWD goes , don't depend on it so much cause that's when trouble starts. Do u know if ur 4cyl AWD has traction control and VSC? When my HL is sideways due to loss of control, it cuts the engine power and the car beeps like crazy to warn me that it's Skidding.

No traction control or VSC. It's lose control they pray you don't hit anything. The only beeping is the wife in the paasenger seat when it starts. No way of shutting it off either! (wife) :lol:

 

[nodrogkam]

haha i had the beeping go off in my HL while in an empty wet parking lot.
its the vsc not traction control. It senses the car is no longer going in the direction of the steering input etc...so its beeping and flashing at you to let u know the system is at work and that you should prepare for an accident if the system cannot correct it fast enough.

you guys with awd can't turn off your traction control like i can with my 2wd. they should let you guys turn off tc, sometimes its better without it when you're off road or stuck. VSC and all the other systems are still on tho.