When rocking the car back and forth to get out of snow or mud you must first turn off the traction control.

 

What model Highlander do you have?

There is different AWD systems in different trim levels.

 

You shouldn't have TC turned on when stuck in snow or mud as it could potentionally burn out the motor.

 

Sorry, I should have said I have a 2020 Highlander LE.

I thought that Mud mode turned off traction control.

Which motor could burn out?

I'll try to be clearer this time. I misjudged the snowdrift and drove into it so far I got hung up. I tried snow mode but the vehicle didn't move. I switched to mud mode, the four-wheel drive symbol appeared but still stuck. The front wheels were spinning freely. I would like to know if there is a setting that would send power to the back wheels, if they had traction, either just the back or balanced between front and back.

I don't really know for sure, but I think a real four wheel drive system would have let me lock things up so all four wheels turned equally.

Thanks for the help, in any case.

 

None of the snow, mud, etc modes which affect percentage power to the axles will turn off traction control.....must be deactivated manually.

Yes, a native RWD vehicle with a real transfer case is a true 4WD vehicle that will solidly lock all 4 wheels 1:1. Once locked these vehicles cannot make a turn on dry pavement without damage because in a turn each of the front wheels has a different turning radius. But that is not what is in the Highlander which is a native FWD vehicle with a PTO inside the front transacxle and a live rear axle when operating in AWD. At best depending upon the position of the mode switches the AWD transfers a percentage of the 295 h.p.from the V6 to the rear axle. Worse situation on a hybrid because the more powerful i4 and front axle electric motor(s) cannot provide an increase of assist if necesssary to the independent rear axle which is limited by the h.p. in its built-in electric motor.

There's a difference between spinning the wheels and rocking the vehicle between FWD and REV. And operating the TC will aggravate the situation by alternately braking wheels in a vain attempt to stabilize what it detects as a skid . Excessive rocking, excessive engine rpms, and switching gears while axles are still rotating will overheat and can burnout a transmission or the "transfer case" (PTO portion) that feeds the rear wheels. If lucky the overheat was detected and the ECU directed 100% power to the front axle or something in the PTO portion of the front transaxle or clutch assembly feeding the rear axle burned out. Once cooled and on dry pavement switch to the display showing portion of power to each wheel and try a fast acceleration takeoff to verify by the lit segments on each wheel that a portion of power is being transferred to he rear axle.

 

Thanks for all the information.

I knew that I don't have real 4WD and the vehicle is actually FWD with a bonus. I was surprised by how quickly the FWD only warning came on.

This is the first AWD vehicle I've owned and I will take your advice about how to check for damage.

I can say from a number of personal experiences that what I did would have had no particular effects on my other vehicles that had automatic transmissions, namely 2008 Sienna, 1979 Pontiac and 1969 Chevrolet Nova. I rocked them, particularly the Pontiac and Chev, out of a fair number of drifts. Everything else I've owned had a manual transmission.

I really never thought modern technology would be so fragile. Live and learn. Thanks again.

 

I just read everything. What Thomcad said makes scence. I also have 2020 Highlander LE. I was up north and gor stuck in snow. I was on a road for about 10 hours prior to that, so maybe that added some heat to the transfer case, but as I was trying to get out the rear axel kept on disconnecting. I shut the car down, let it cool for a bit and put some branches under the tires. Started it again, the rear shaft connected again. I switched to Rock and Dirt and was able to come put. But I wasn't sure why it was disconnecting the rear wheels when I needed them the most, and what Thomcad said makes cense.

 

It all depends on how hung up your car is on the snow drift. If my wheels only have 10% of the car’s weight on them because snow is pushing up in my frame and underbelly, trying to rock the car won’t do much good.

 

Snow mode does a few things:
1) reduces the throttle input
2) Reduces power
3) More traction control

But... if you're on the stock tires when you got stuck... it's shame on you. Even turning off the traction control to rock/spin your tires out... the stock tires don't grip like a proper winter tire, or even a 3PMSF all-weather tire. When you're spinning the tires while rocking the car back and forth, you're packing the snow and heating up the surface to an warm ice-like condition, which the thin water layer makes it even more slippery, which the stock tires are inadequate for. One of the tricks for this is increasing the friction of the surface... something like kitty litter will help in a pinch

But what do I know? I live by the beach.

 

Mine was just too deep with an ice inderneeth, it was not hung up. I guess this way it purs even more pressure, but who knows. It was a bit frustrating.

And I have Yokohama winter tires. But I understand that conditions of the snow were terrible. I was more upset about the rear wheels disconnect.

 

I've only read a few posts but like I have seen so far.. when stuck always.. ALWAYS

TURN OFF TRACTION CONTROL

 

I had the same issue today. Zero power to the back wheels. Front wheels spinning with zero traction. Back wheels doing nothing. I have a V6 awd xle 2021. The little display showing power sent to all four wheels, but the back wheels never moved. I had to call a tow truck.