satnav

I know the RX350 isn't a real SUV designed to go off-road, but after the recent blizzard on the East Coast I am really disappointed by the AWD in this car. My driveway is plowed by a truck so it is very clean, but the city plow leaves maybe a small 5 inch high pile that about 1 feet across after it goes by. My RX350 couldn't through that the front wheels just kept spinning. I tried snow mode and even push the 4 Lock which I think does nothing. The back wheel didn't even spin once it seemed like I was driving a FWD car. Our older RX330 a 2004 model got stuck also, but when we jabbed the gas after a few seconds the car made this weird screeching sound and you could see the back wheels spin as it climbed the driveway no problem albeit slowly. Its a bit disappointing to see an older RX has better AWD then the newer models. I mean the back wheels didn't even spin on my 2010 the front wheels just spun. I tried turn traction control off, 4 lock, and snow mode no help. Also when going up the 2010 kept sliding sideways on my 04 the steering felt washy, but at least it was sliding off the driveway.

I also had A6 before this and it has never gotten stuck and its a lower car so its not like a drive my car through snow bank. We ended driving the older RX everywhere this weekend as the 2010 is not very assuring when it snows.

Any thoughts? Anyone understand the AWD system in the 2010 and newer model is it supposed to have less capabilities then the older RX?

Also my neighbor has Sienna and you could see the front and back wheel spin when stuck. In my RX I can't believe the back wheels don't even spin when the front wheels are spinning. Lame

CoastalRX

I’ve gone through a lot more snow than you described in my 330. In fact I used a 10” storm to teach my daughter how to drive in snow, she did fine.

My new 350 is only FWD, doesn’t the 350 AWD have a switch to go from FWD to AWD? Are you sure it was working? In any case, even FWD should have taken you through that.

I don’t know why your 350 would have such a problem with 5 inches of snow.

CSSLDR

Satnav,

Were your wheels straight when passing through the mound? How fast were you going?
Other factors - age of your tires, pitch of your driveway - up or down?

I'm considering an RX and I currently have Subarus - Any more info you have would be appreciated.

deilenberg

First thing that comes to mind is the condition/type of tires. Also just re-read your post and ICE might well be the problem you experienced. NOTHING besides studded tires will have traction on ice. Some snows claim to, and are better then normal tires, but with the right ice conditions, you're just not going anywhere.

My experience on Saturday AM was just about the opposite of yours.. I had about 10" of mounded snow at the end of my driveway, and I wanted to get both trucks out of the driveway so I could use the snow-blower. They were parked side by side.. and besides the hump at the end of the driveway, the driveway had 6" of loose snow on it.

Truck #1: Porsche Cayenne, full-time 4WD, limited slip diffs front and rear, and locking center differential. With Pirelli Scorpion snow/ice tires on it (wide ones admittedly, 275/55-19.) Started it - put it in reverse, backed out. Felt a tiny bit of wheel spin when the rear wheels went through the pile of hard snow, when done there were rub marks on the snow from the belly pan.

Truck #2: '11 RX-350 almost new rubber all the way around. Michelin, forget what, but "All-Season" tires. Before even starting to move it I pressed the 4WD lock button. Put it in reverse, took my foot off the brake and it simply rolled right out onto the street, without even the slightest slip over the hard packed snow.

I was impressed by the RX 350, it was easily as good as the Cayenne on this test. I later took it to a parking lot that had about 6" of snow in it and tried tossing it around a bit, without using snow-mode or locking the 4WD. It's possible to get it sliding a little bit sideways with some effort (inertia will do that for'ya), where under the same conditions, the Porsche would have resisted sliding. The RX takes off and stops just fine in that amount of un-plowed snow.

The Porsche 4WD system is about one order of magnitude more complex then the Lexus one (which is good in how it works, less good for maintenance - it does active torque distribution to help control sliding conditions..) but the RX system isn't a slouch.

Anyway - I'd be looking at your tires, tread wear and tire pressure (too high will do that, and summer rubber can be expected to be particularly hard and bad in conditions like this.)

corradoMR2

Something is not right. My RX carved through unplowed streets with ease the other day without breaking a sweat while a few front wheel drive cars got stuck.

MitsuMan13

I would tend to agree with what has already been posted. The tires seem to be the reddest of flags in this case.

satnav

Yup everyone is 100% right. I bet its my tires. I asked some people and a few of my office mates first thing was "umm tires" because even a FWD car shouldn't be that bad. I currently have Continental Cross Contact which if you look at the tread is awful as it runs parallel to the tire.

My wheel was turned as I was turning into my driveway and also my driveway has slant. So that would be another reason why. My RX330 older model has Michelin Primacy MVX4 or something so I am going to have those installed.

But just wondering does anyone know why the rear wheels won't spin? I mean I would expect the back wheels to get power if the front was splitting especially if the 4 Lock is on because per the manual it says it automatically sends power to all wheels. I tried it today with my wheel straight. Same thing rear wheels never spin only the front wheels spin. Any idea?

THanks

cossie1600

Whole point of the AWD is not spin the tires, not sure if spinning the rear tires is a desirable choice

satnav

I guess, but my question is how do I know if the back actually get any power? And does the 4x4 Lock even do anything?

sightdev

oem tires are LRR 4 season tires so it wasn't designed to "plow" snow/mud. with that note, winter of 09/10, we had lot of snow in NE and I didn't have any issue plowing through foot snow with 4-lock mode. trick to driving in deep snow is to turn off TRAC and allow tires to spin freely. I do admit, its no where near my old GC

m1964

I can't explain why, but I fell more confident driving wife's Q5, then my RX after the same storm...

cossie1600

If your car moves in slippery surface with minimal tire spin, it's working

corradoMR2

Admittedly, the Audi Quattro system is better than the RX AWD system because it can apply more or less power to any of the four individual wheels.

corradoMR2

Turn the Trac button off, set the 4 wheel lock on, then hit the throttle. Have someone be outside watching to see. Front and rear wheels should spin.

LeoDLion

My RX350 does not have AWD. We have about 5 inches of snow on the driverway. My driveway is more inclined than most other people's driveway. The first time going into the garage, it seems to stumble. So I back off, got a good distance from the driveway, got some speed going and it went right in. Never had a problem again when you get a some velocity going in.