RXSF

Well, just got back from Tahoe...plenty of snow already. While i was there, i got to test out the michelines, the vsc, 4 wheel drive, and the snow button.

the tires were "okay". turning on the sand gave definate slipping, but this is purposely trying to make the VSC kick in. They obviously arent snow tires, but they did just fine on the 3 hour car ride. there wasnt a storm so i didnt get to drive them while snow was falling.

The VSC does wonders. it seemlessly does its job and i couldnt be happier. I am wondering though, that when it does kick in, the yellow light with the car and the squiggly lines starts blinking, but i dont hear the beeping that is described in the manual and also from videos on youtube of people at the Taste of Lexus events who take turns too quickly. Does anybody else get beeping?

awd is obviously helpful. i didnt get stuck in any snow, but i assume it worked with the vsc to keep my on track.

the snow button from what ive tested does nothing. lol that is all i have to say. i tried pushing the button and counting the gears during acceleration, but i get 5. also, since i have the sport shifting, it also allows me to push the snow button and start in first gear and keep it in first gear. weird

here are two pics of the car at soda springs. very dirty. its all clean now though

Booyah

Just taking off from a start to hard and the VSC (yellow light) flashes its holding back your tires from spinning--it will not beep at you until you get it out of shape in a turn pretty good then it will beep at you

CX889

One time there was lots of snowfall in Vancouver and as soon as I felt RX lost a little control when cornering, the beeping sound occurs.

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

On my SC when the VSC (ecu) feels the vehicle lose control (fishtail/slide) it applies the necessary measures to get the car back into line and it shows you the icon and also beeps.

When you merely loose traction (minor tire slippage) and the ecu cuts the throttle to compensate you receive the light and no other warnings.


As far as the snow mode goes, it’s not meant to keep you from using all the available gears. It’s a safety measure in which it does not allow the car to deliver peak torque to the tires (main cause of loosing traction). For example when you floor the throttle it only applies a fraction of that to the engine, our throttles are by wire, so it does not allow the throttle body to open all the way and lunge the car forward. When you are traveling down the road and apply excessive throttle the ecu once again does not allow the vehicle to kick down gears and possibly loose traction.

grouch

What snow.....................That looks like my driveway after it been cleared.

Glad to hear you had a good time.

RXSF

lol, that was the parking lot of the ski place two days after a storm.

lexiss, i understand what your saying, its just like in my IS300. even flooring it in snow mode makes it seem like normal acceleration. but in the RX it feels the exact same thing, and people say it only starts the car in 2nd gear.

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

humm are you sure you do not have a 2nd button? On our Lx470 and our landcruiser we have a 2nd button, once you initiate it the car will only start in 2nd gear.

Rollin'ES3

Looks like you had some fun....I was planning to test mine out in Big Bear but it got canceled

RXSF

nope, no second button...lol

had a great time. driving was the best part, hehe

19psi

great pics. i miss snow; it never snows here.

lucasb7

We hit kirkwood last weekend and the car did great, it was crazy, basically a 2 inch layer of ice for 30 miles, there was one really icy patch where we saw 4 accidents, but not us!

Lex2000TL

The first time I drove my 2008 RX350AWD with snow mode “on” I felt that gas pedal is stiff and something is holding back of my vehicle (that is the way it feels). So, I started digging in asking questions here, on this forum, asking Lexus service and, later on, I contacted Lexus USA customer service.
The bottom line is that snow mode does only 2 things: starts from complete stop using 2nd gear and stiffen up gas pedal to avoid driver overpowering wheels on slippery road. That is all.

cariesfree

Thanks for sharing. It's good to hear that the RX handles well. How fast/slow were you driving? How did it feel when you braked? I just want to get a feeling before I hit the road. I had some skidding on my last vehicle when I braked from about 30-40mph. Thanks.

RXSF

braking is very tricky. i was afraid that i would over heat my brakes since there would be miles and miles of downhill that i had to keep at like 40 mph. i ended up just using the engine braking and kept it on 4th gear.

when it came down to stop completely, there was some brake pedal vibration signalling the abs was working. then there was some whine from the back of the car according to the family that was suppose to be the abc or traction control doing its job. at first, its pretty nerve wrecking to feel the brake pedal vibrate but you get used to it.

no drama at all otherwise.

on the regular freeway to get to tahoe, taking I-80E, i was going at like 70+ and people were still cutting in front of me :shrugs:

cariesfree

Thanks. Now that you mentioned the vibration, I did have that prob with my other 4x4. I ended up using the gas pedal to reduce the gear as you did. Thanks again.