No 4WD in Reverse ??

Submitted: Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 15:46
ThreadID: 82760 Views:6172 Replies:6 FollowUps:7
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Sometime back I asked on this forum if some small SUV's had 4wd when in
reverse. This followed an incident my neice had in a Ford Tribute, or the rebadged
version of the Mazda something....anyway she drove into a muddy gutter while
doing a 3 pointer & couldnt back out of it...rear wheels still on the tar.
Subsequent enquiries revealed that there was indeed no drive to the rear
wheels in reverse, with 4wd engaged. Has anyone else encountered this phenomenon & does it apply to other front wheel drive SUV's ? eg Xtrail,
Rav etc. My neice took the car to the dealer, assuming there was a fault & was
told, no, thats the way it works. Seems odd to me, what do you know ??
.....oldbaz.

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Reply By: Robin Miller - Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 15:56

Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 15:56
Half the little ones are really front wheel drive with rear wheel connecting as the car deems appropriate.

Thats why we have always got RAV4's they were true 50/50 split up until last longer version a few years ago ( we brought the last of the real ones).

Seems I am buying the last of the old model of a few things lately , whats that saying - If it ain't broke don't fix it.
AnswerID: 437279

Follow Up By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 16:04

Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 16:04
I hear you Robin, but can you confirm if some dont have 4wd in reverse ?
My old Jack has FWH so I dont have to have all that gear going round for
no reason.......oldbaz.
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FollowupID: 708713

Reply By: Member - mazcan - Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 17:55

Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 17:55
hi oldbaz
could be the same as my mazda bravo when in a bog and i start to rock it to and fro forward reverse mine which is vacumn operated will drop out of 4wd and has caught me out on two seperate occasions and it will only re-engage if i turn the motor off and then restart and re-engage 4wd mine has auto fwhubs so the fact this is happening to a mazda tribute it may well be the same problem hope this throws some light on it
cheers
young baz
AnswerID: 437290

Follow Up By: Member - mazcan - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 14:25

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 14:25
hi old baz
mine has only had this happen twice at all other times it has stayed in 4wd in reverse as well
so i can only put it down to the fact that maybe the vacumm activated engagement didn't pull it into gear properly when i first engaged 4wd
hence the 2 isolated experiences
at all other times it has worked A1
after reading the threads here the tribute is a different system
sorry for the confusion old baz
cheers
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FollowupID: 708882

Reply By: Member - Boobook - Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 20:04

Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 20:04
The problem is that those small SUV's aren't 4wd, they are AWD, All Wheel Drive.

They have a non lockable diff in the middle which means it only takes 1 wheel slipping for it to lose traction and they will probably get stuck with all the torque going to that wheel and NONE to the 3 wheels on solid ground. Just like a 4wd is really only a 2 wheel drive unless it has TC or diff locks.

I seriously doubt that it comes out of 4wd in reverse, mostly cause it never had 4wd anyway ;-)
AnswerID: 437318

Reply By: Muntoo - Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 20:35

Monday, Nov 29, 2010 at 20:35
Nissan dealer told me Patrols are the same, unless you lock hubs in manually. If hubs are locked automatically, as soon as you select reverse it disengages. Dunno how true it is.
AnswerID: 437325

Follow Up By: pepper2 - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 07:12

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 07:12
thats not correct auto hubs do not disengauge when reverse is selected,you need another dealer
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FollowupID: 708835

Follow Up By: JR - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 09:06

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 09:06
Pretty sure they do disengage in reverse,They rely on the fwd rotation of axle to engage them
If you lock them in with spanner they are locked like manual ones
Plenty change over to manual hubs because of this problem
Take it fairly easy on auto types they arent that strong
Only speaking about Patrol ones here
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FollowupID: 708844

Follow Up By: pepper2 - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:14

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:14
Hello Jr i have owned 3 patrols since 2000 all auto hubs none disengage 4wd in reverse over the last 600000k never locked them with a spanner.
Last weekend had to drag a disabled hilux backwards out of a revine in low range 4wd could not have accomplished that in 2wd.
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FollowupID: 708851

Follow Up By: Rob! - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:19

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:19
they unlock and then re-lock in the reverse direction
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FollowupID: 708852

Follow Up By: Member - Oldbaz. NSW. - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:48

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:48
A phone call to the Nissan dealer in the ACT reveals that the Xtrail does indeed have 4wd in reverse if locked in 4wd...a relief no doubt to Xtrail owners. The
Mazda/Ford jobbie apparently does not, not sure about Subies or the others.
Will continue to find out....oldbaz.
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FollowupID: 708854

Reply By: Capt. Wrongway - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 10:23

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 10:23
Boobook's reply is accurate. My son's Ford Escape experienced the exact same situation recently. Had to be pulled out of the storm gutter by a passing 4wd. Locking it in all wheel drive wont help if one wheel has no traction.
Capt.
AnswerID: 437364

Reply By: wizzer73 - Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 19:07

Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 at 19:07
my wifes tucson is an awd suv.
In normal driving the 4wd system is designed to automatically divide the power ratio to wheels where required. When 4wd lock/engage button is activated, drive is divided 50/50 front rear. This then deactivates when vehicle reaches 40kmh.
This info is from owners manual.
I understand this to be same as the xtrail but I'm not sure about the tribute. I would have thought that if the tribute had a 4wd button then drive must be delivered to the front and rear somehow.

wizzer
AnswerID: 437411

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