Central Button On Rav4.1 Dash

[dyer864]

Hi all !

Forgive me for this one as i don't really know what this button does .

I have just bought a Rav4.1 ready for the winter, i know it is permanant 4wd yeah , what does the button do when pressed in the centre of the dash with a line with four wheels . some one said it's the diff- lock .

I havn't a user manual , so if someone could enlighten me , and if it is the diff - lock what purpose does this do for the car, can it be operated at speed or press it when your stationary etc.

sorry for the niavity, just want to know before the weather starts and get it right !

[Flerd]

Hi

Welcome to the club. If I remember rightly the button does lock the differential and should only be used at low speed when traveling on mud or snow. Without it if one wheel on an axle had traction and the other didn't then all the power would go to the wheel that didn't have traction and the wheel would just spin.

Cheers

[dyer864]

Thanks Flerd !

Do you know roughly wot speed you can press it to activate the diff lock

[crofter]

Diff lock must only engaged when there is no movement of the wheels and must be disengaged the moment nomal traction is regained.Failure to do so can wreck the transmission.

The instuction states

To lock the centre differential

1 Press the brake pedal and stop the wheel spinning

2 Put the front wheels in a straight ahead position as possible.

3 Push the diff.lock switch and check that the indicator light comes on

Hth

Del

[dyer864]

So help me out by here

I'm driving along with slight snow fall driving normal in 4wd, when suddenly the snow gets alot heavier making driving alot trickier !

wot do i do , carry on driving slow and pressing the diff lock button ? or just carry driving as norm . or pull over and engage the diff lock button ?

getting a bit confused here

[Davrav]

You only need the diff lock if you start to lose traction. If you are still moving forward the worst thing you can do is stop but if the conditions bring you to a halt with wheels spinning, then engage the diff lock in the manner described by Del above. If you know you are going into conditions where you will lose traction, stop and engage diff lock but, as Del says, disengage as soon as traction becomes normal.

[dyer864]

Ok that's cleared that up abit !

cheers guys !

[anchorman]

You can usually work out if you will need AWD before you get stuck. On a 4.1 you should get a buzzer briefly when you switch it off until it fully disengages. If it doesn't stop, pull over and allow the torque off the wheels or ven rock it back and too. The warning tells you it didn't fully disengage.

Practice now before the bad weather.

[Big Kev]

You only need the diff lock if you start to lose traction. If you are still moving forward the worst thing you can do is stop but if the conditions bring you to a halt with wheels spinning, then engage the diff lock in the manner described by Del above. If you know you are going into conditions where you will lose traction, stop and engage diff lock but, as Del says, disengage as soon as traction becomes normal.

Euphamistically proffered, sir.......must be the lecher...sorry....lecturer training.......

Witheld.....

[Davrav]

You only need the diff lock if you start to lose traction. If you are still moving forward the worst thing you can do is stop but if the conditions bring you to a halt with wheels spinning, then engage the diff lock in the manner described by Del above. If you know you are going into conditions where you will lose traction, stop and engage diff lock but, as Del says, disengage as soon as traction becomes normal.

Euphamistically proffered, sir.......must be the lecher...sorry....lecturer training.......

Witheld.....

Watch it or I'll start using bullet points..........................................

[crofter]

Not dum dum ones,surely??????

Del