Our Toyota FJ Cruiser made a recent trip to Yosemite National Park, the third time it's done so since being in our long-term fleet. Trips like this are perfect for clarifying the FJ's strengths and weaknesses. They're also good for memorable surprises. Like how black ice, really big roadside trees and a complete loss of vehicular control might just ruin your day.
But first, a list of Yosemite trip dislikes. I'll follow up later this week with a "good" list.
- Poor outward visibility. This topic has received plenty of coverage before. But the FJ's squat stance was really annoying in Yosemite Valley as it completely prevented me from seeing any of the grand mountain formations like El Capitan or Half Dome on the drive in. I felt like I was driving a mobile WWII bunker.
- No map lights. The FJ has one dome light and that's it. When driving on dark roads, having to switch on the dome light to read something really cuts down your nighttime vision.
- Poor audio quality of the optional satellite radio. The sound coming from the FJ Jammer noticeably degrades when switched to XM satellite radio. I've noticed this a lot more in the FJ than in other satellite radio-equipped vehicles I've driven.
- Stability control switches off when in 4WD. I was up early one morning driving. It had rained the night before but temperatures were still in the mid 30s. I had put the FJ into 4WD High for extra traction when accelerating. Yet I was caught unawares when the FJ encountered a patch of black ice when going around a corner. The FJ lost traction and started sliding off the road. The antilock brakes were completely ineffective. Only with some quick steering-wheel work was I able to thwart what would have been a rather nasty collision with a large oak tree.
It was only after this incident that I noticed the illuminated "VSC Off" light on the gauge cluster. (VSC is Toyota's stability control system.) Some FJ owners (or any other owner of a vehicle whose vehicle's stability control system switches off when put into full-time 4WD) might be lured into a false sense of security when engaging 4WD. If they know that their vehicle has stability control but don't realize that it switches off in 4WD, they could encounter a situation like I did.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com, 20,104 miles
banhugh says:
11:35 AM, 01/29/07
What does the manual say about it? Does the stability control engage AWD when necessary? That would be a good option (having 2WD until the stability control orders AWD to gain traction)
chernysh says:
12:43 PM, 01/29/07
The MT6 has AWD with all the traction control modes, and 4x4 (center diff locked) w/out traction for the nasty stuff.
I think one reason the AT turns off the traction control is because its not designed to be a fulltime system due to the locked center diff.
desmolicious says:
02:10 PM, 01/29/07
So would you say it would have been "safer" to drive it on road in 2WD mode than 4WD, seeing that 2WD would have had the VSC?
Maybe you should do some closed course swervery testing (think strategery....) to see which is the better option.
firstwagon says:
02:23 PM, 01/29/07
I'm concerned that people will become dependant on VSC and electronic nannies and not bother to learn to drive correctly.
If you didn't have VSC, would you have entered that corner slower?
Also why do you think it would have helped? I can see how it would help in a power-on skid but I don't see it doing much when you are drifting sideways because of slippery ice. If the ABS was ineffective, that means the tires have no traction and your only hope is you reach a "less slippery" area before you run out of road.
bromans says:
05:23 PM, 01/29/07
The manual states that VSC switches off when: 1) The transfer case is set to "HL" or "LL" full-time 4WD (manual transmission-equipped) models -- HL would be with the center differential locked; 2) "H4" or "L4" (auto-equipped FJs.) It seems that the locked center diff prevents the use of stability control.
Firstwagon is right. VSC might not have helped much in my situation since it operates via the brakes. But in another situation -- an average driver who thinks that putting an automatic-equipped 4WD FJ Cruiser into 4-hi makes him or her safer on an average rain-slicked road -- the lack of functional VSC could be a problem.
-- Brent Romans
playdrv4me says:
09:29 AM, 02/ 4/07
Stability Control systems are probably one of the most important safety features of the past 30 years, by far I would put stability systems even ahead of airbags, since the stability system attempts to mitigate an accident altogether.
That being said, I too believe that reliance on these systems by poorly trained drivers will still result in alot of unneccesary accidents as the technology can only go so far.
actualsize says:
08:48 AM, 02/ 5/07
Because the FJ Cruiser is a traditional 4WD vehicle, it has no center differential at all. You could look at it as permanently "locked". VSC systems don't work properly in 4x4 systems such as this, as they can't manipulate and redistribute torque through a locked/absent center differential.
4WD systems are not meant for on-pavement use, even if the road is slippery. VSC aside, without a functional center differential they will bind and slip when you turn - actually precipitating a break in traction that may not otherwise have occurred. Keeping it in 4x2 mode would have been the better bet - unless accumulated snow were present.
So-called full-time 4WD or AWD systems have a center differential that can be locked or unlocked. As long as a center differential is present and unlocked, ABS and VSC systems are fully functional in 4WD modes.