Attoyac

I come with a history of Jeep ownership. This is my first Lexus. I presume that you engage 4 wheel drive by (A) locking in the front differential, followed by (B) engaging L4. Thanks for the help.

hzhao

The LX is an ALL- Wheel Drive setup, meaning the 4 wheels drive at all time with tongue transfers between front and back automatically based on road condition. Locking center differential and Low Range are for off-roading purpose and/or under extreme conditions such as you were stucked in the mud, etc. There is no way for you to engage or dis-engage the 4 wheel driving.

REDHORSE

In 4 wheel drive all the time.

Attoyac

So, let me get this straight. I'm driving along and come to some mud that I presume can't be driven through in 2 wheel drive. I want to use 4L to hopefully get through the mud, so I put the transmission in neutral and engage the 4L switch on the center console, and proceed?

With older Jeep's as in CJ7's,...you had to stop and lock the front hubs, then shift into 4 low.

hankinid

Attoyac, your LX has full-time all-the-time 4 wheel drive.

In other words, the ONLY way to get 2 wheel drive would be to remove the front driveshaft. For low range, simply stop the truck, shift the stick into neutral, and select low range.

Simple. You should be able to download an owners manual from Lexus.com in the owners section.

hth

hzhao

Not really. In your described situation, you keep driving through the mud..... only when you stuck, wheels slipping and couldn't get out. Then, you will engage the Locking Differential by hold the lock button for couple of seconds. 4-low will only be used for extreme off-roading.

Attoyac

Thanks for all the help. Having owned 4 Jeeps, I've played in the mud quite a bit. You can do a lot in the mud with 2 wheel drive in low range. My experience is in the Sabine River bottom in East Texas.
Yes, I've read the LX manual. Maybe I'm a little bit of a dummy, but it was a little vague to me, about the process. So your saying if I can see that it's going to take 4 wheel drive, then go ahead and lock in the diff., then put the console switch in 4L.This is why I'm reaching out to you all. This LX is a little different.
Thanks again.

hankinid

You've got it.

It's always in 4wd. If you need more traction you can lock the transfer case via a switch on the dash. More than that, you've got low range with the transfer case.

Wife and I have canoed the Red River a few times...only issue was very shallow water that caused me to hop out and pull the canoe over the low spots. A bunch different here in Idaho.

Attoyac

Thanks. You live in some beautiful country. My first mandolin was built up in Sandpoint, Id.. I've had to portage a few times myself. The Red can get very low during drought conditions. Take care :-)

Quadro

No. As others said the LX is full-time 4WD meaning all 4 wheels are engaged all the time regardless of whether it is in 4L or 4H. It's not a Jeep where you have a part-time 4WD system which needs to be engaged.

hankinid

...and that said, I doubt that unlocking the transfer case will help in mud.

Steve

Gordj

It has been my experience that when you get to the place where you would have locked the hubs and engaged low range in the jeeps you should stop, lock the centre diff and turn off the traction control. You can't spin the wheels in the mud if your traction control is on and I find that to get through mud I want to spin the tires. You have 360+ horses under the hood and you shouldn't need low range. The button with the back of the truck and squiggly lines I think.

Quadro

I guess it depends. With a locked centre diff the power is distributed 50/50. However the beauty of LX centre differential is it has Torsen which can vary the amount of power between front and rear axles depending on traction. I could image that it can have benefits in certain cituations compated to just static 50/50 split.