Quote:
Originally Posted by super10s
I neglected to mention the specific circumstances that the battery failed under. The 12v battery that I replaced in my '06 Highlander was not defective, just undersized (read previous post on replacement). Every time the 12v battery went dead the car had not been driven for ~2 weeks in winter. Each of the last two winters out here in Denver we have had some huge snow accumulations that have required me use my Tahoe 4wd until the snow receded. The Highlander 4wd-i system isn't the greatest in real deep snow, even when fitted with winter tires. My guess is that the mechanical (dumb) rear differential is happily sending all the torque to the fastest spinning wheel, argh. It would be fabulous if they would ditch the rear differential and just put a smaller electric motor on each rear wheel, since the rear drive is completely electric and separate from the front anyway. With a setup like that I could finally justify getting rid of the gas-guzzling Tahoe. Cheers.
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Toyota should really have used a larger 12V battery. I'll bet some motorcycle batteries are larger!
The HiHy's winter problem is due mainly to lower ground clearance and smaller diameter tires than most truck frame based SUV's and pickups.
It does indeed have an intelligent 4WD in that it will not allow any wheel to spin without traction. If bogged down in deep snow, where no progress is being made, power simply is not sent to the wheels. This disconcerting behavior has been reported by several on this forum. I've had no problems in winter driving in less challenging conditions, including handling steep grades on snow where you can feel the i4WD at work and see the dash icon light - never any uncontrolled wheelspin. I've never tried flooring it on snow, but seriously doubt that it would do anything scary - just accelerate as fast as traction would allow - as it had (in '06) the most advanced traction and stability control system on the market.
Pete