Hey everyone what are some good snow tires for my 2011 Rav 4 ?It's 4 wheel drive !! I've heard snow tires make the diff !!

USA? ours is not same outside, ours is
"All 80s sold in North America and Europe now have a full-time four-wheel drive system
1990 and 1991 had an open centre differential which was lockable in 4HI and automatically locked in 4LO" ( never to be used on dry pavement ever(the key word part time )

center diff . J80 versions. i guess
one good way is get 1 tire on dirt < or all 4.
now it can not winded up and lock up.
this is not FT4wd full time , 4wd is complex and depends on all things in the drive line.. above cures most errors.
or jack up 1 tire/wheel and hear it unwind and turn the lock off.tire down.
or drop sand in front of any tire on pavement and makes it slip
do not turn the steering wheel or it winds up tighter, ouch.

I have done this too by accident. or kids messing about.


4600-pound beast what are the options then 4wd all versions./
let me see. center diff part is the tricky part of all, so many kinds.
slip clutches or true center diff, and lockouts. locking front hard to rear. options..
when locked many are just like a WW2 jeep or my old CJ5 (I have wangler 08 now 4wd.. ok now I see what it is exactly. below.

yes you did lock the center diff. and now he open gear diff is dead and clocked up
the most safe fix is patch of sand tire slips. some way
locked up is for offroad or ice/snow surfaces.
WISH I COULD SEE YOUR PARKING SPOT.
IF NEAR DIRT, GO THERE DEAD SLOW. FEEL STEERING ACT UP. GET 1 OR MORE TIRES ON DIRT AND UNLOCK IT.
BEST NOT USE THIS, UNLESS OFFROAD.
OR DEEP SNOW.
FULL TIME IS BEST.
FANCY TRUCK ALL MODES LIKE THAT.

good luck and be SAFE !

4 wheel drive is dangerous because it allows you to START rather quickly especially vs a rear wheel drive. The dangerous part is you cannot STOP any faster than any other vehicle.
Driving in snow is all about understanding limitations.
I once drove a Ford Pinto with no snow tires from Niagara Falls to New Hampshire with snow on the road from Syracuse. I had to go up a mountain east of Keene. On the way up I passed a couple of 4WD Jeeps off the road. At the top I had to stop and wait for the snow plow, but I made it all the way up without stopping. YMMV

all wheel drive is not 4 wheel drive
there is a diff in the transmission that supplies power equally to the front and read wheels
when traction is lost on a drive set , the other set will remain stationary and the set without traction will spin as in your description
the same result will occur if you have both driver side wheels in a bog, the passenger wheels will be stationary and the drivers side wheels will spin
on some AWD vehicles and I thing yours has one there is a button that can be engaged that stops the transmission diff from acting like a diff and then the rear wheels will drive
read you owners hand book for driving in bad conditions

Not without changing most of the front components out.

ask diff reconditioners shop or off road shop if a limited slip diff center is available ( welding diff centers is not an option as it makes the car illegal on the road and dangerous to handle on a good road surface )

you need tall gears that do not loose traction because of the torque advantage from low ratios as in the switch on the dash. so don't use it in tow mode

as for tires there are special snow tires available with spikes in the tread , special tread patterns

( ask a tyre shop for what would be best)

extra weight over the rear end would help with traction

I would think that wide tires would tend to "aqua plane" as they rode up over the snow but talk with a tyre shop again on that

there may be a diff locker available from an off road shop

Consider changing the entire rear end to get the diff operation that would best suit you

The RAV4 is a 4 wheel drive vehicle.
All wheel drive is when all four wheels have power at all times. This can be permanent or manual engaged. Clutches are used to prevent tire damage.
4 wheel drive is when one set of wheels has power and the other two can be engaged manually or automatically.
You should use 4 wheel drive when in mud or snow and extra traction is needed. 4 wheel drive can not be used on dry pavement.

on your hummer ,as on other 4x4 if in 4 wheel you must have slippage on the tires or you will snap the drive shafts or u joints.the wheels on a turn will turn at diff speeds thats why in 4 wheel it feels like you are crawling over your own fender.its ok if on packed snow or rain but if you have good grip tires it might do it in the rain.never have in 4 wheel lock on dry pavement.

does pressing the c diff button in my Rav 4 1998 meant to be used for driving in snow?

I have a 2006 rav4....there is a button to the left side of the radio labeled 4WD push it and 4WD light comes on on dash. It is electronic. Bad thing is that it automatically turns off the 4WD when the car reaches about 25 MPH....This means that if you want to sling mud while going through a puddle at 10MPH while reading 40MPH on speedometer...you are out of luck.

I work for Toyota, and I will be glad to provide you with the actual answer:

The RAV/4 product is available in two models, a 4WD model and a 2WD model.
The difference between the two is on the 2WD model, there is no driveshaft going under the vehicle to the rear wheels, and no rear differential. There is no "RAV/2"; both models are called RAV/4's.

There is a lot of common confusuion about how the 4WD works. It is full time 4WD. In other words, it is always in 4WD. It does not "kick in/kick out/automatically engage", or anything like that. It is 4WD all of the time. But, when I say "4WD", that is sometimes mistaken for "all wheel drive", and, in this case, the RAV/4 is not "AWD". What this means is that if you raise the RAV/4 up on a lift, and put it in gear, 1 rear and the other side front tires will spin. True "all wheel drive" would have ALL 4 wheels spinning. This is not the case with the Rav/4. What the RAV does have, making up for not having "True AWD" on the 5 speed model, however, is a switch that locks the center differential in the transfer case, which, when engaged, applies a method of "locking" the 4WD system for maximum traction, but it is still not AWD. The automatic version doe not have this ability.
The last "true AWD" vehicle for purchase was a 1970's International Scout.
If you are considering purchasing a RAV/4, that is a very good investement. They hold their value quite well, and are virtually bulletproof; I do not make any "money" off my RAV/4 customers...
Just "gas station work". Very nice cars. I hope that this helps you, please feel free to comment back with any otherr questions...Glad to be of assistance.
Toyota Ed