4-wheel drive on dry pavement

I own a 01 TRD and when I hit drive pavement in 4-wheel drive while turning (especially at a low speed, say while turning into a gas station) I experience a drag as if the emergency brake is on. In fact one time I was at a gas station and as I had my wheels cranked the vehicle actually had such a drag that it came to a stop.

I found the following info. while searching on this site:


superjoe83 []
AF Regular

Joined: Mar 2004


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Posts: 51

04-12-2004, 12:55 AM Re: 4 wheel drive acting up (Post #3)
if you were on dry pavement and in 4wd, thats your problem, the front and rear drivelines turn at the same speed no matter what when your in 4hi or 4low, so when you turn on dry hard sufaces the tires turn at different speeds (or at least try to) but the transfercase wont let that happen so, the tires give by hopping off the groung to let the drivetrain unwind

So here are my questions:

Since there will always be times in the winter when roads will have both non-dry and dry conditions, does the situation of turning on dry pavement while in 4 wheel drive impact the life of anything on the vehicle?

Obviously, it's a royal pain in the a?? to have to remember to switch from 4-wheel drive to 2-wheel drive every time you hit a dry parking lot, gas station and so on. Do you just ignore the situation and leave it in 4-wheel drive?

Thank-you in advance for any and all replies.

I ignore the situation and leave it in 2WD unless I have traction problems, then I temporarily put it in 4WD. After I have traction, I put it back into and leave it in 2WD. I leave it in 2WD unless the rear is sliding sideways. If this is normal, then maybe you need to add weight to the rear of the bed.

Leaving it in 4WD stresses all the drive train. Your tires take the brunt of the wear. They not only hop off the ground, they can turn at a different speed than the ground and skid - particularly in turns.

thats totally normal. even when off roading dont use 4x4 untill you have tractiopn problems.

on flat road with a little bit of snow i have no traction problems. but if there is an inch or two of snow and ice then i put her in 4 wheel drive.

like the other guys said, this is normal. 4wd will bind up while turning hard on dry pavement. Wait till you drive or ride in a truck that is locked up front and rear. They bind up easily on dry pavement, it's actually scary...

Im guessing this guy has auto locking hubs, what is so dificult about shifting the lever into 4wd. That is the purpose of on demand, if you want one that you don't have to bother with there's Subaru which is an excellent AWD car you could also consider Honda or Acura.

I would prefer a new 4Runner actually.

Ya well my point was those manufacturers make an all time 4wd instead of an on demand that Toyota uses ( I would prefer a 4 runner too )

The V8 4Runner is all time 4WD

The reply that the "4wd will bind up while turning hard on dry pavement" is what I was looking for - thanks.

I only had this happen a couple of times driving from a snow/wet condition to a dry condition.

Since AWD was brought up, does anybody feel that they would make a pickup all-time AWD? Why or Why not? Just curious.

Honda is coming out with one ridgline or something like that, looks a little like a small chevy avalanche or you could look at the subaru brat it's basicly a truck.