4WD a nightmare at slow speeds

[TimmyB]

Longish story but I want to make sure you have all the info you might ask.

Our Ranger has never needed to be in 4WD. We always live in nice weather and we don't go off-road. This year, we have to stay up in Michigan due to family reasons and we have definitely needed to be in 4WD many times already.

Even though I've never had 4WD (just a couple of auto AWD vehicles), I do realize how they work and that they don't like to have the steering wheel fully turned at low speed, and they will bind up a bit in those situations. However, ours is beyond "a little stiff". On the road, it runs just fine but if I pull into a store and try to turn into a parking spot, it jerks the car so hard every few feet that it is almost impossible to be sure you're not going to hit the car behind or in front of you. (Yes, this happens in D and in R, and turning L or R.)

Talked to my service advisor and he said it's probably just really gummed up since it never got used and I should take it into a big parking lot and drive some circles to see if it would break down the gummed up axles. Well, two weeks of additional driving and lots of circles later, still no better.

It's going in on Tuesday (two days from now) for an inspection, but I just wondered if anyone here had similar issues before and what your resolution was. I did purchase this vehicle in 24 out of my expiring lease and paid several hundred dollars for the inspection that would make it a Certified Pre Owned vehicle and receive the accompanying warranty, but it's pretty apparent this aspect wasn't "inspected".

I'd like to have a little better idea before I head to the shop. Thanks for any helpful replies!

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[WhyNot21]

Is the parking lot clean, or covered in snow? I've honestly never even driven my Ranger in the snow, but would assume it worked like other 4x4's I've had. If the parking lot was plowed, I would take it out of full-time 4WD or have your issue.

 

[TimmyB]

Is the parking lot clean, or covered in snow? I've honestly never even driven my Ranger in the snow, but would assume it worked like other 4x4's I've had. If the parking lot was plowed, I would take it out of full-time 4WD or have your issue.

Yeah, I've tried that but it apparently needs quite a distance to disengage the axle because even though it says "2H", the same issue exists. I would have to do this hundreds of feet away. What I've been doing is picking parking spots where I don't need to turn the wheels quite so sharply.
As for pavement, it obviously is smoother if there is still snow on it but it's iffy as to what it will look like before you arrive.
Thanks for the assistance!

 

[Frenchy]

Sounds like you're keeping it in four wheel drive when you're on pavement. Do yourself a favor and learn not to drive in four-wheel drive on pavement. It is only to be used on dirt roads and heavy packed snow.

 

[TimmyB]

Sounds like you're keeping it in four wheel drive when you're on pavement. Do yourself a favor and learn not to drive in four-wheel drive on pavement. It is only to be used on dirt roads and heavy packed snow.

Thanks for the reply. So, being from a snowy state yourself, how do you handle driving on really crummy roads which are not plowed but you pull into a store and that lot is pretty clear? Do you just switch back and forth each time (and as I mentioned, QUITE a ways before the parking spot)?

 

[Frenchy]

For starters I drive to the conditions. If the roads provide low traction then I'm simply going slow. Next I make sure I have good tires. This doesn't mean you need snow tires. You simply need a good M&S rated All-Season at the least(not all All-Terrains are great for winter driving). The last thing is making sure you have adequate weight. When I had my 2019 Ranger, I put 2 70 lb sand bags in the bed because I had nothing else. In my 2012 Frontier I have plenty of weight that it's not an issue.

As for 2WD and 4WD, it all depends on the conditions. If you NEED 4WD then keep it below 30 MPH. Also make sure to drive to the conditions.

Last but not least if needed, get a set of Chains or AutoSocks. These might be a last resort, but not a bad idea when traveling to places where it snows often.

 

[Frenchy]

I will also add that I try to keep my vehicle in 2WD when driving in the snow. When in 4WD you can actually lose traction if not careful. This is common for those still learning to drive in the snow.

Here is the old Ranger I had

Here is the Frontier I have. It easily crawls through snow with no questions.

 

[RangerBill]

Longish story but I want to make sure you have all the info you might ask.

Our Ranger has never needed to be in 4WD. We always live in nice weather and we don't go off-road. This year, we have to stay up in Michigan due to family reasons and we have definitely needed to be in 4WD many times already.

Even though I've never had 4WD (just a couple of auto AWD vehicles), I do realize how they work and that they don't like to have the steering wheel fully turned at low speed, and they will bind up a bit in those situations. However, ours is beyond "a little stiff". On the road, it runs just fine but if I pull into a store and try to turn into a parking spot, it jerks the car so hard every few feet that it is almost impossible to be sure you're not going to hit the car behind or in front of you. (Yes, this happens in D and in R, and turning L or R.)

Talked to my service advisor and he said it's probably just really gummed up since it never got used and I should take it into a big parking lot and drive some circles to see if it would break down the gummed up axles. Well, two weeks of additional driving and lots of circles later, still no better.

It's going in on Tuesday (two days from now) for an inspection, but I just wondered if anyone here had similar issues before and what your resolution was. I did purchase this vehicle in 24 out of my expiring lease and paid several hundred dollars for the inspection that would make it a Certified Pre Owned vehicle and receive the accompanying warranty, but it's pretty apparent this aspect wasn't "inspected".

I'd like to have a little better idea before I head to the shop. Thanks for any helpful replies!

If you are in 4-wheel drive when on dry pavement, the symptoms that you describe, are exactly what will happen when turning. The pavement must have a slippery surface to use 4-wheel drive. It is hard on the drive train to do that.

 

[GhostStrykre]

fwiw, i do try to turn my 4WD system on once a month when i know i'm driving in a straight line. i think my toyota's advised that activity in the owner's manual to ensure the gears stayed lubricated. i just carried the habit over into my fords. as a result, my 4WD engages and disengages within about 10-20 feet so long as i'm not at speeds above like 20 (the faster you go the further you travel before it engages).

when i go really long periods of time without engaging 4WD it absolutely takes longer to engage.

so i think yeah, you went way too long without using 4WD, and as others have pointed out, dry pavement is just gonna make it act funky. like, don't expect to make a 90 degree turn from a stop sign without it giving you some feedback when it's dry.

once you introduce limited grip situations like snow, things go much much more smoothly.

 

[Trustable]

Thanks for the reply. So, being from a snowy state yourself, how do you handle driving on really crummy roads which are not plowed but you pull into a store and that lot is pretty clear? Do you just switch back and forth each time (and as I mentioned, QUITE a ways before the parking spot)?

I just switch back and forth. It becomes a habit once you get used to it. You can switch on the fly so no delay in having to switch to neutral or park

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I'm confused, are the roads snowy that you're using 4wd on?

If you're having 'trouble' disengaging 4wd, try stopping, shifting into 2wd, driving in reverse for 2 feet. This will 'unbind' anything in the driveline and allow the truck to shift. Make sure you're backing up in a straight line.


As a side note, I use 4wd all the time (snow and offroad) and I have never experienced what you're explaining. Dry pavement is the killer of 4wd though, so... don't use it on dry roads. When you turn in 4wd, the truck is trying to turn all the wheels at the same speed and turning needs to operate different speed. On dirt or snow, this is no problem. On dry pavement, something has to give.

 

[Cmar]

I'm confused, are the roads snowy that you're using 4wd on?

If you're having 'trouble' disengaging 4wd, try stopping, shifting into 2wd, driving in reverse for 2 feet. This will 'unbind' anything in the driveline and allow the truck to shift. Make sure you're backing up in a straight line.


As a side note, I use 4wd all the time (snow and offroad) and I have never experienced what you're explaining. Dry pavement is the killer of 4wd though, so... don't use it on dry roads. When you turn in 4wd, the truck is trying to turn all the wheels at the same speed and turning needs to operate different speed. On dirt or snow, this is no problem. On dry pavement, something has to give.

This above. 4wd is for low traction surfaces only, snow, ice, gravel, dry sand, mud, wet grass. If you use it on high traction surfaces you will experience exactly what you report. And if you are really unlucky you can break a CV joint, transfer chain, or diff.
Turn it off before moving to from low traction to high traction surfaces, after all it couldn't be easier in a Ranger just a dial to change. If it doesn't want to disegage just stop and back up a bit as dexcribed above.

The old Toyota all gear transfer cases used to wind up so much when driving on hard sand that it was sometimes almost impossiblle to get them out of 4x4 without a bit of back and shuffle. They were much stronger than the almost universal chain drive jobbies used tthese days.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

I’m about 40 miles from you and have been driving in the lake effect snow belt for decades. I also have a Tremor like you do. I have about 3-350 lbs of tube sand in the bed. Makes a huge difference and rarely have I had to use 4wd in the snow ( maybe once or twice in the last three and a half years). Like others have suggested when conditions are slippery you can go from 2wd to 4 high on the fly. So use it if you feel you need it then switch it back. But recommend putting some sand bags in the bed.

 

[TimmyB]

Woke up to all these replies this morning. Thanks for all the chiming in and help! I'm pretty sure not having any weight in the tail end is the biggest problem that I can quickly address. I'll see what they say tomorrow.

 

[TimmyB]

...When I had my 2019 Ranger, I put 2 70 lb sand bags in the bed because I had nothing else. In my 2012 Frontier I have plenty of weight that it's not an issue.

This is why I started using the 4WD because the rear end kept sliding out when turning at an intersection. Fixed one problem, discovered another.

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