2017 4 Expy wheel drive is whimpy!

[Samuel Street]

I tried to get through 8 inches of snow today and got stuck! It seems as the 4 wheel drive is not designed to be used? It would seem that the front wheels under load will disengage and the engine speed decreases? Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[Trainmaster]

I've had a 2000 and a 2008 and the 4-wheel drive is great. Never a problem and never got stuck. Sometimes fight a bit to disengage, but that's it. Drove lots of them on the job too, off-road.

 

[Bmac1955]

Perhaps a bad actuator solenoids. Experienced this issue on a F150 shift on the fly 4 we. Just a guess here.

 

[Langer]

What tires? The ones I had in when I bought mine were junk. Did you turn off TCS by holding it until the icon popped up on the dash, or just press it? I assume you tried 4-low?

 

[B-McD]

I would agree with the above posts. 8 inches of snow is nothing but I would run it in 4H, not 4A. Your note about engine speed decreasing sounds like the traction control nannies kicking in. You can get better output by turning off the TCS as Langer mentioned. Good tires are a must but 4WD is meant to get you going in the snow. Does nothing for turning or stopping. Good luck!

 

[tdappleman]

4WD is fantastic on mine. Just got back from another ski trip with snow and ice with zero issues. The right tires will certainly make a huge difference in overall performance. The average all-season tire is not going to impress you much in snow that deep. If you are in the market for tires and you want snow performance then look for the triple snowflake symbol.

 

[mr_dave]

This is the best vehicle I've ever had in snow. Based on what you describe, it sounds like the tires may be slipping and the traction control may then be cutting power. I'd recommend a couple things: 1. Use 4H (not 4A) and 2. Turn off traction control. If that doesn't work you probably need better tires or there may be something broken.

 

[B-McD]

Some additional food for thought - we have the new Michelin Cross Climate all seasons on my wife's Audi Q5. Triple peak snow rated and they have performed great this winter. Very smooth riding tire as well so no real, traditional all-season tire tradeoffs. They don't make them in my 22" size but if they did I would get them in a heartbeat.

 

[jkayca]

We got 16 inches of snow a couple of weeks a go and the truck handled it like a champ. I put it into 4 low (which turns of the TCS) until I got out of my driveway and subdivision. Neither of which were plowed recently.

I agree with others, make sure you have a good set of snow tires. All seasons won't cut it even with 4 wheel drive.

 

[jlines]

Check reviews on your tires. Mine is slipping and sliding in the snow. Turns out the tires don't have the best rating.

 

[Vdubnick]

yep, tires... i rarely use more than 2wd driving thru deep snow. tires and momentum

 

[twodollars]

I just replaced the atturo trail blades on my wife's 13 with cooper at3's what a huge improvement in snow performance. And in noise, balance, etc.

 

[B-McD]

Check reviews on your tires. Mine is slipping and sliding in the snow. Turns out the tires don't have the best rating.

Checked reviews before I bought them and most were positive. The real world performance is proving the naysayers wrong. I am running the Cross Climate 2 versions, not the originals which did indeed have less snow performance. Audi's quattro system seems to do a good job as well. The Michelin Premier LTX on the Expy are great in the dry and the rain, passable in the snow.

 

[tacoduck]

I will also say that my 4wd works great on my 2016 expo. We got 20 inches and it handled it like a champ. Very pleased. When engine speeds decrease, its usually traction control trying to control wheel spin. Disengage traction control and see if that fixes it.

 

[blackedoutlimited]

I had a 4WD 2016 platinum on 35s (ridge grapplers) and never once had to use 4WD in any snow it saw (most was 10”)

My current 2WD limited SWB had crappy Yokohama geolandars on it u til two days ago and our last snow storm dropped 6” and it tackled that like it was nothing and they were at 30% tread left.

Get a good set of winter tires, lower the psi, and turn off the traction control nonsense. Hit the button once to turn of traction control and then hold that same button for 5-7 seconds to turn off advanced trac and you’ll notice a big difference