[Terasec]

Not counting offroad.
Just curious how often people throw it into 4x4,
And what conditions.
I rarely use it.
Just came back from a trip upstate,
Wasn't record amounts of snow,
But white out conditions, unplowed roads. Multiple cars in the ditch.
Tenant had to use his 4x4 on my 200' driveway.
I have yet to find myself where I needed to put it into 4x4.

 

[MrJeepR44]

Not counting off road, I have used it in heavy rain when there is a lot of standing water. I never needed to use it to get going... I just used it to make going through deep puddles more predictable.. it seems to help. On an icy parking lot in Colorado Springs, I didn't lock the 4x4, and I didn't seem to notice much of a difference between driving on ice driving on dry ground

 

[tiptronic]

Apart from locking it ( & that negates itself after 30mph ) you have no controll over 4x4 . It will engage 4x4 ,without input from you , as & when speed, grip, conditions warrant it. Plus you will never know if its in 4x4 or 4x2...thats the whole beauty of the AWD system.

 

[Afmcronnie]

Can you link us where you got that data about negating the 4wd lock over 30 mph, Tip? I've never seen that in anything from Jeep.

 

[MrJeepR44]

It's now posted on the Jeep website under FDI. Not sure when they added it but I think it's recent:

The Freedom Drive I™ 4WD system features an Electromagnetically-Controlled Coupling that is attached to the rear differential. It monitors wheel slippage and transfers torque to the axle using it most. During high-traction driving (highway driving), this system transfers virtually no torque to the rear axle, but instantly transfers it to the rear wheels when conditions call for it. 4WD LOCK shift-on-the-fly automatically sends the optimum amount of torque to the rear axle based on conditions. 4WD LOCK remains electronically "locked" under all conditions up to speeds of 35 mph.

It doesn't actually specify this for the FDII, but I suspect it's the same. That being said, if I hit large puddles going 40mph with 4x4 locked, I swear it feels different than unlocked

 

[dixiedawg]

I drove home yesterday in some tough stuff, one highway was closed (28, between New Bethlehem and Brookville) High winds too, which really push our Patriots. Never locked 4x4 till I hit my driveway, then locked it in and hit Low, no problems up the hill in 6-8 inches.

I did lock it in one the road one time in the past, when it really was bad, just felt better.

 

[MrJeepR44]

I drove home yesterday in some tough stuff, one highway was closed (28, between New Bethlehem and Brookville) High winds too, which really push our Patriots. Never locked 4x4 till I hit my driveway, then locked it in and hit Low, no problems up the hill in 6-8 inches.

I did lock it in one the road one time in the past, when it really was bad, just felt better.

Sounds like fun. I really do need to move to a more exciting climate

 

[Afmcronnie]

It's now posted on the Jeep website under FDI. Not sure when they added it but I think it's recent:
It doesn't actually specify this for the FDII, but I suspect it's the same. That being said, if I hit large puddles going 40mph with 4x4 locked, I swear it feels different than unlocked

Thanks for the link. Thats been suspected, but it's the first time Ive seen it documented.

 

[Afmcronnie]

Sounds like fun. I really do need to move to a more exciting climate

That would be somewhere north of Kansas City. We have only had .6 in of snow this season.

 

[johnnyboy123]

Haven't used it much since 4x4 kicks in if it feels slip. I do engage it on occasion when the roads haven't been cleared yet.

Sent from my HTC Glacier using AutoGuide.Com Free

 

[NHPATRIOT]

I don't "off road". Never been my thing. However I do buy 4WD vehicles and I do use the 4WD feature often. I use 4WD in general( for me on the whole - only had the Patriot since August )...

1 - As needed on bad roads( i.e. snow and ice ). This winter aside( NOT the norm )here in NH we have BAD winters and the roads are awful at times. 4WD really helps.

2 - When launching and pulling my boat out. In the summer I routinely use a dirt ramp that can get very muddy if the tide is down low = 4WD a MUST! I waterfowl hunt so I use my boat from October all the way into mid Feb. The ramps can be pretty slick then! :wow: 4WD is a MUST to launch or pull a boat from Dec-Feb here most days!

 

[Kyleozzie]

iv kicked it in a few times now just because i am interested in the system.. and my pat only has 500 miles on it lol

 

[goguadi]

It's now posted on the Jeep website under FDI. Not sure when they added it but I think it's recent:



It doesn't actually specify this for the FDII, but I suspect it's the same. That being said, if I hit large puddles going 40mph with 4x4 locked, I swear it feels different than unlocked

in the european pat 2.0 crd manual,it says you can lock it anytime,at any speed,and that it will work at any speed.
it blends with the 6 gear manual Aisin BG-6 gearbox,and they state that it is not FD 1 but something between FD1 and FD2.
same goes if you read about the diesel pat on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Patriot

quote:"For Europe and Australia a 2.0 L (1968 cc; 120 cid; 140ps) Volkswagen-manufactured diesel engine is fitted along with a 6-speed manual gearbox. All EU cars are fitted as standard with four wheel drive and a version of the Freedom Drive System which is tuned differently from the U.S. versions, but with similar capability to FDII with brake traction control and three switchable electronic stability control and traction control settings for on or off-road use."

 

[renospatriot]

I don't "off road". Never been my thing. However I do buy 4WD vehicles and I do use the 4WD feature often. I use 4WD in general( for me on the whole - only had the Patriot since August )...

1 - As needed on bad roads( i.e. snow and ice ). This winter aside( NOT the norm )here in NH we have BAD winters and the roads are awful at times. 4WD really helps.

2 - When launching and pulling my boat out. In the summer I routinely use a dirt ramp that can get very muddy if the tide is down low = 4WD a MUST! I waterfowl hunt so I use my boat from October all the way into mid Feb. The ramps can be pretty slick then! :wow: 4WD is a MUST to launch or pull a boat from Dec-Feb here most days!

Has it snowed in NH yet? Other than that freak ice storm we had in New Jersey this past October, we don't even have a 1/2 inch of snow this winter. I spent hundreds on getting the fireplace prepped and couldn't wait to use it, only to have it littered with old news papers waiting for that one cold day. Maybe I can use it in the summer time when my wife drops the A/C temperature below 55.

 

[MrJeepR44]

in the european pat 2.0 crd manual,it says you can lock it anytime,at any speed,and that it will work at any speed.

Mine says that too. The website for FDI makes it sound like it may or may not be completely locked above 35, even though the dash indicator says it is

 

[Nico85]

I've only used it during the heavy snow storms as well. Last year when we had those blizzards I needed it to get to my firehouse or to pick up my brother from a friends house in town. I have the FDI and it got me exactly where I needed to be. The only time it didnt get me somewhere was when I drove home from my firehouse the next day and I couldnt get up my driveway. My street hadnt been plowed and the snow was up to the front bumper. Got to my driveway and that was all she wrote.

 

[NHPATRIOT]

Has it snowed in NH yet? Other than that freak ice storm we had in New Jersey this past October, we don't even have a 1/2 inch of snow this winter. I spent hundreds on getting the fireplace prepped and couldn't wait to use it, only to have it littered with old news papers waiting for that one cold day. Maybe I can use it in the summer time when my wife drops the A/C temperature below 55.

Yeah, it has been the same up here although that October ice storm you got was a full blown Nor'easter for us with about 8-10" of very wet and heavy snow.

We actually got a storm this past Thursday and Friday( Jan 12-13 ). About 5-6" of wet heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, and regular rain over the 2 days. Made a real mess of things up here. It could have been a lot worse but the temps kept going into the 40's which helped keep it from really building up( i.e. rain vs snow ). We have about 1-2" on the ground left.

It got really cold here yesterday and today( down to -2 last night )so it hasn't all melted off. Warming back up slowly though. Around 30 today then a few flurries to an inch tonight before a few days of 40's and some rain. Won't be any snow left on the ground I would think by Thursday or Friday at the latest.

I actually went waterfowl hunting Saturday despite the cold temps and high winds as the season ends today( I am about to head out ). I thought for sure that due to the storm it would be a tough launch of the boat. NOT! MA must have got all rain as there wasn't so much as a spec of snow or ice to be seen anywhere on the marsh. It looked like October not January. There had been some ice there prior to the storm when I hunted Wednesday.

I am not complaining though. Just got heating oil for the 1st time Saturday. 170 gallons. That is all we have used since I filled the tank at the end of March last year. As long as we do not get any kind of prolonged extreme cold snap the rest of the winter I will probably use maybe 150 more tops. At $650 for 170 gallons I want to use as little as possible.

 

[Murman]

I have used my spare tire more than my 4X4 lock...

No (as in minimal...) snow this season. That may change...

From the NWS... AFTER A PROLONGED DRY PERIOD TO BEGIN THE RAINY SEASON...WE WILL SOON BE EXPERIENCING A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN THAT WILL GIVE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BENEFICIAL RAIN AND SNOW FROM THE MIDDLE PART OF THIS WEEK INTO THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK.

 

[UA_who]

If you throw out "off-road"... then rarely.

Winter weather in the mountains falls into two categories:
1) good enough for most passenger cars... i.e. well plowed
2) bad enough that the wussies at the D.O.T. close down the road.

So either way, I rarely use 4wd on a paved road. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever pulled the little silver lever on asphalt before??? I'm sure the system has kicked in to AWD for me a time or two. And one time in specific, it saved by butt. I was driving on the freeway at 65mph or so, in the rain. Heading uphill at 6500+feet elevation. In a very short distance, the rain turned to snow, and the road went from wet to frozen with a thin layer of snow. That combo at 65mph was bad news for a couple of vehicles in the ditch. The Patriot handled it perfectly. ABS went crazy, traction control light flashed... and I was thankful.

 

[Bruno]

So far it is my second winter with the Patriot and I only needed to lock the 4x4 once. All other times the FDI was efficient enough. All the other times I locked it (and ESP full off) were in order to do some fun donuts on the parking lot on virgin snow early in the morning