appsdba

Hey Guys,

For all you RX300 AWD owners out there, I wanted to ask you the following:

1.) If you've taken it to the snow, how did it handle? Did you feel confident & did the car feel steady? Were there moments you felt like you going to lose control?
2.) Since you have full-time active AWD and snow mode via the ECT, did you need to use chains?

The reason I ask is that I may be hitting the snow shortly after Christmas and want to be prepared. I'm also open to any advice you may have in driving in the snow with this car. I love my RX and I don't want to damage it or anything. I'm a California beach kid so I don't have much experience driving in the show

Thanks in advance.

jgoorn

1.) If you've taken it to the snow, how did it handle?I have used the car in the snow (03 FWD) and it felt almost exactly the same. I did enable snow mode but that was mostly a confidence booster/doesn't let you accelerate as rapidly button. Did you feel confident & did the car feel steady? In the snow the car handles very close to regular driving. Remember to read this article about braking and turning: http://hope.ly/1zxTodn Were there moments you felt like you going to lose control? Yes. I am situated in Dallas and man not a lot of snow but oh man there's ice. I have slid while stopped atop a small hill on ice. I am sure it wasn't the car's fault but crap it was scary. There's nothing like remembering that YOU'RE in control. Remember your limits and the car's limits. You may be an F1 driver but they don't drive in snow and ice.
2.) Since you have full-time active AWD and snow mode via the ECT, did you need to use chains?
Well I don't have AWD and I didn't ever feel the need for it really, I will provide proper backup to Hypervish's comment that tires are everything. http://hope.ly/1zwbvBN

hypervish

1) Yes, I live in the Northeast so snow is a way of life. I feel confident and the AWD system has worked flawlessly thus far in up to 2 feet of snow. I have the limited slip rear differential so that gives me an advantage over other RX300s. Drive with common sense, know your cars limits and you won't find yourself getting into a sticky situation.

2) Where are you planning on driving that will require chains? I don't think chains will work on the RX300 due to the limited space between the rear strut and tire (read the manual regarding this, I remembering seeing info about this in there).

Most importantly remember that AWD can only be as good as your tires allow it to be. There is no substitute for SNOW tires. AWD may help you get moving, but they won't help you STOP.

DewHawk

Mine has been fine even without snow turned on.

jgoorn

Yeah when I used it I noticed a significant confidence boost, engine braking, and reduced acceleration (because of start in 2nd gear)

appsdba

Thank you for your input, hypervish. Good stuff and I will take it to heart. I plan on going to Sequoia and then Big Bear.

appsdba

Thank you for sharing your experiences, jgoorn.

appsdba

Really! Okay, so snow mode is not entirely necessary. Good to know.

kalali

We had a couple of rough winters in the past two years and our experience with the RX was OK not great. We have a driveway with roughly 15% grade followed by a left turn into the garage and my wife got stuck twice while slowing down trying to make the turn. I'm sure snow tires would have made all the difference but all in all I think the AWD system used in the RX, and in most FWD-based cars, are not the best out there, unless you have LSD at least on one axle. If you have little experience driving in snow and plan on using the RX in snowy climate, do yourself a favor and invest in a set of snow tires. You'll be happy you did.

appsdba

Hello Kalali,

Thanks for you input. It seems the best advice I'm getting is to get some snow tires, which I will look into shortly.

Thanks everyone for your advice & experiences.

carguy07

Tires are everything, get some Firestone Winterforce tires. They are better than chains. IMO

appsdba

Thanks carguy07

salimshah

Bit of clarification on "snow mode"

Snow mode disables low gear, thus limiting torque to the wheel. If your vehicle is not moving and you apply lot of torque to the wheels on ice (snow turned into ice under weight (pressure)), the tires may slip instead of the vehicle being propelled. Engineering solution is to apply less torque.

Once vehicle attains speed the auto trans moves to high gears as normal.

So please do not think that with "snow mode" your vehicle gets added traction while driving. It is only working when you are at stand-still.

Without snow mode, one can establish traction by, keeping a light foot on the pedal and externally by rocking forward/backword motion and then using aids like kitty litter, sand, gravel, twigs, floor-carpet etc.

Salim

appsdba

Hello Salim,

Thank you for your clear explanation of snow mode. I now have a better understanding of it and how to use it now.

Best regards.