Hello, in December I purchased a new 2011 RAV4 4WD 4 cylinder Engine and today was the first time I took it out in the snow. We got about 4" of snow on the roads this morning and I had to bring my daughter to the bus stop and the RAV4 did not go to well in the snow. The vehicle appeared to be slipping and sliding on our street though our development at a fairly low speed. Correct me if I am wrong here but isn't the RAV4 4 wheel drive automatically go from mostly 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive when needed? It just so happens we were invited to a customer appreciation night at the Toyota Dealer and we spoke to the service manager about this slipping and sliding issue and he seemed a bit surprised. So he asked one of his service reps to show me how the 4 wheel drive works. The rep kept mentioning about having to be stopped in neutral to put it in 4 wheel drive and he pressed the button on the dash that would lock the center differential? He was driving my car with a manual in one hand trying to explain how the 4 wheel drive works. When I got home I read the manual and it appears that pressing this button locked all the wheels together by locking the center differential? I also, read that this was only good up to a low speed and this mode would automatically disengage at a low speed. Should you really have to stop and push this button when you get 3 - 4 inches of snow and you just don't want to slip and slide? I was thinking you would use this mode if you really got stuck and not for every time you get 3 - 4 inches of snow. Could it be that the Toyo tires that came on the RAV are just not to good in the snow? The RAV4 has Toyo A20 Open Country Tires with the 17" rims. Are these tires not so good in the snow? Could someone explain how my 4 wheel drive is suppose to work? Thanks for all your help.
2011 RAV4 4WD Not Good In Snow? Tires?
Machquilter
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Nokins
Big Al
I also have a 2011 rav 4 4cylinder 4WD and I am running the Nokin Hakkapilitta R SUV studless winter tires on all 4 wheels.With these tires I have NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER . I live south of Buffalo Ny and just got a shot of 8" of snow. I drive 40 miles one way to work every day thru the alleghany national forest. The nokins are the best snow tire I have ever driven on. Very little slip and great starts /stops. If you are serious about safety/ traction I would highly recommend putting these tires on your stock wheels for winter and buying aftermarket rims to mount your all season tires for summer /spring/fall.
Big Al
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Most dealers know about as much about tires as Lindsey Lohan.
...and I wonder why?
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I installed a set of Blizzack stud-less tires on my wife's Rav 4, and the difference when driving on solid ice or though snow is amazing. But I haven't had the need to lock the 4x4. With the stock tires on both a 2009 Forester and the Rav 4 I mostly had lateral skids on icy turns, but the traction/stability control (s) corrected the problem quite fast on both.
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The dealer sold you a car with stock tires, and such aren't designed for driving though deep snow and thick ice, just all season tires for very light snow and ice. But all dealers sell their cars with stock tires and wheels unless you pay big $ for special tires and wheels. So, while the dealer does not know much about tires, he (or she) is not at fault in this case.
Write down the tire brand and model, plus ratings (all the numbers on the sidewall), and then go to "tire rack.com" and look at your tire ratings. More than likely there will be an "M+S" on the side.
For winter driving alone, you can have Blizzack, the Nokian mentioned by others, plus several other "stud-less" winter tires. If that fails, you can find them at Tirerack and other online stores. But be aware that stud-dless tires have a softer than usual rubber compound, which makes them a bad choice for summer driving. Driving during cold weather, ice, and snow? That's what these tires are designed for.
Look under "Performance Categories"
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I put a set of 235/65/17 Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 on my car right away. Got about 4+ inches of snow the other day, drove like a TANK. I mean, I did play around with it a bit to get it to slide around corners and stuff, but I drove a rally car for a few years so it was a blast.
The car and the AWD make a big difference on the road (as compared to FWD or RWD) but tires make up another good part of it, but I still say it is only 40% of the game, the rest is ALL driver. However, I literally drove the RAV4 like a Rally car down some back roads the other day just to see if it could take it, and it did amazingly well, just felt top heavy when comparing it to the old Subaru STi. But in any case, I say upgrade the tires, and take it from this guy.... Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 best bang for the buck hands down. I have a 2011 Rav4 4cyl as well.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...ect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=10821&counter=2&ar=65&rd=17&sw=false&cs=235
Oh BTW the Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 are a All Terrain Mud / Snow tire, super quiet, have a first 12K mile / 1 year warranty against PUNCTURE! Yeah, you get a nail in them, and they can't fix it, they replace it! Best warranty on the market there. They are a 50K mile rated tire, A traction, B Temp. However they really handle like they are a street performance tire. I was AMAZED! Coming from a racing background and using some serious tires in my day, like the Bridgestone RE-11's, and Hoosier Racing Slicks, these babies handle like they are almost that good on dry pavement. But seriously, on the road they are quiet, they do VERY well in the show because being a ATM tire they are self cleaning (meaning they sling out the mud / snow) they do this because of the heavy duty side wall lugs.
Oh did I mention I worked 10 years as a ASE repair guy / parts sales person as well.
The car and the AWD make a big difference on the road (as compared to FWD or RWD) but tires make up another good part of it, but I still say it is only 40% of the game, the rest is ALL driver. However, I literally drove the RAV4 like a Rally car down some back roads the other day just to see if it could take it, and it did amazingly well, just felt top heavy when comparing it to the old Subaru STi. But in any case, I say upgrade the tires, and take it from this guy.... Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 best bang for the buck hands down. I have a 2011 Rav4 4cyl as well.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...ect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?pc=10821&counter=2&ar=65&rd=17&sw=false&cs=235
Oh BTW the Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 are a All Terrain Mud / Snow tire, super quiet, have a first 12K mile / 1 year warranty against PUNCTURE! Yeah, you get a nail in them, and they can't fix it, they replace it! Best warranty on the market there. They are a 50K mile rated tire, A traction, B Temp. However they really handle like they are a street performance tire. I was AMAZED! Coming from a racing background and using some serious tires in my day, like the Bridgestone RE-11's, and Hoosier Racing Slicks, these babies handle like they are almost that good on dry pavement. But seriously, on the road they are quiet, they do VERY well in the show because being a ATM tire they are self cleaning (meaning they sling out the mud / snow) they do this because of the heavy duty side wall lugs.
Oh did I mention I worked 10 years as a ASE repair guy / parts sales person as well.
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I've been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the stock Toyo A20 17" tire in the snow so far this winter. Much better than the Bridgestone Duellers that came stock on my 08 CR-V. If you live in a major metropolitan area, most city streets are cleared and salted quickly after a storm which may reduce the necessity for a winter tire.
I agree that it's not the car. I had a '07 RAV 4 Limited, 4WD - which did great in the snow - even up to 18 inches of snow. My car was totaled on 12/29 (not my fault, thank goodness) - so for the past 3 weeks I have been searching, test driving, researching Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan, & Subaru -- I've decided to go with a 2012 RAV 4 again - mainly because I LOVE the way it handled in the snow. I'm just waiting on them to be on the dealer lots. I did have to engage the 4WD button and stay below 25mph often, but even on the occasions that I didn't engage the button and just drove 30-35mph in the snow - it handled great.
OEM's just fine
In your driving scenario, I suspect that the slushy conditions had more to do with this situation than anything because those conditions are very prone to cause slipping and sliding as the snow is extremely heavy and dense and the tires tend to push through it than ride on it. It's almost like driving a boat and being pushed around a bit by the current and swells.
I tested out my RAV4 in a parking lot with about a 1/2 foot of snow and found that it performed great even when I didn't push the lock button. I couldn't get stuck! The really noticeable difference was in reverse. The lock button caused tremendous improvement when in reverse. I'm sure this is because you sort of become a rear wheel drive vehicle when attempting to go backwards. Reminded me of being in my '70 Ford Maverick which was terrible in the snow!!
Anyway...I think that slush is the culprit here, but I'm sure that winter tires would have helped too.
Jumping into this thread late, but the NorthWest is just coming out from under a pretty good snow storm. Was able to take my 2010 RAV4 through various snow conditions in last few days on my OEM Yoko tires. In all winter driving conditions...snow, slush, ice...they performed very well.
In your driving scenario, I suspect that the slushy conditions had more to do with this situation than anything because those conditions are very prone to cause slipping and sliding as the snow is extremely heavy and dense and the tires tend to push through it than ride on it. It's almost like driving a boat and being pushed around a bit by the current and swells.
I tested out my RAV4 in a parking lot with about a 1/2 foot of snow and found that it performed great even when I didn't push the lock button. I couldn't get stuck! The really noticeable difference was in reverse. The lock button caused tremendous improvement when in reverse. I'm sure this is because you sort of become a rear wheel drive vehicle when attempting to go backwards. Reminded me of being in my '70 Ford Maverick which was terrible in the snow!!
Anyway...I think that slush is the culprit here, but I'm sure that winter tires would have helped too.
I came here because I had the same experience as the OP. Here in Rochester we have local salt mines so they love to salt the roads in addition to plowing them. But what that ultimately results in since they plow during snow storms is lots of slushy roads. I found that with the OEM tires on my 2008 RAV4 it would slip a bit as well but ultimately the system did keep it on the straight and narrow. I have to admit that it was my first time driving on slush in the car so I was trying to see how hard I could push it and even then it really did a decent job. If was driving more carefully I doubt I would've had any issues, and I think you're right--when you're driving in slush it's like driving through very thick water which no matter what is hard to maintain traction in. With the OEM tires in regular snow there's no issue at all so it really does come down to just being careful when the roads are slushy. If you're a real car person changing between those and winter tires might provide better performance, but if you're not the OEM tires will do fine too.
Very late to this thread. But, the question is exactly similar to what’s there in my mind. Just bought a second hand 2011 Rav4 4wd with 3rd row seat. Excited about this and reading lot about it. I would really appreciate the answer to my question.
If I go above 25 mph, will my Rav4 4wd apply power to all four wheels whenever required? I understand after reading that, I will have to only lock(4wd) when I am stuck. Is that right? If both answers are yes, then it’s almost similar to AWD. I am just trying to figure out, it's not just a 2 wheel drive when 4wd lock is not engaged.
Looking forward to your answers. Than you!!
If I go above 25 mph, will my Rav4 4wd apply power to all four wheels whenever required? I understand after reading that, I will have to only lock(4wd) when I am stuck. Is that right? If both answers are yes, then it’s almost similar to AWD. I am just trying to figure out, it's not just a 2 wheel drive when 4wd lock is not engaged.
Looking forward to your answers. Than you!!
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I 've only read page 1 and 4 of this thread and I have to go out now, BUT if the vehicle was slipping around in 4 inches of snow, I would press the button to cancel the traction and skid control for 5 seconds, to shut them off, but only for the time you are in the deep stuff.
Ott.
Ott.
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I run Hankook DynaPro ATM tires year round and traction is never an issue.
![Image]()
As I said before if you don't want traction turn off Traction Control. If you want to skid turn off VSC, Vehicle Stability Control.
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I went hooning down a local UFSF road that had about 2 feet of consolidated snow, slush, mud and water. As soon as I got on it a Subi came up in my rear view looking to the do the same. It was ON: HAMMERDOWN. Soon I lost sight of the subi and continued for a short bit. It was getting very deep and I feared getting stuck in the muck. Turned around. Turned off the VDC to play a little more. Was VERY surprised to learn that I had much less control of the car. When I wanted to get lose in the past I would turn off the VDC. But I was surprised how much faster I was able to drive with the "Ninny" on. I am a competent off road driver, but Modern cars; what do you know...
Last night I put on a fresh set of blizzak WS80s. Our old set, ws70, were worn down half way and past the point of the sticky rubber. Wife was complaining that she was sliding around some. Even commented how the VDC pulled the car straight in a slight slide recently. Modern cars...
Tires really make or break the winter driving experience. Spend the money and hassle of winter tires if you live in SNOW country. Bottom line!!!
My assistant pulling off the old wheels/tires
![Image]()
Last night I put on a fresh set of blizzak WS80s. Our old set, ws70, were worn down half way and past the point of the sticky rubber. Wife was complaining that she was sliding around some. Even commented how the VDC pulled the car straight in a slight slide recently. Modern cars...
Tires really make or break the winter driving experience. Spend the money and hassle of winter tires if you live in SNOW country. Bottom line!!!
My assistant pulling off the old wheels/tires
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