4MOTION Tested

cliffhanger01 · Nov 26, 2022

On our last trip we decided to try out our Cali 4MOTION. It has been a wet winter in New Zealand, and we had some serious trepidation as we headed off road up a grassy field to a beautiful spot near lake Tutira.
Halfway up we passed through a wet boggy area that would have been a disaster for our last rear wheel drive campervan. The only problems I had was the constant alert beeps and the auto braking as tall weeds came too close. Before returning I studied the settings and turned those features off and we came back without issue. See pics. Cheers, Cliff

SusiBus · Nov 26, 2022

Does it have a diff lock?

cliffhanger01 · Nov 26, 2022

SusiBus said:
Does it have a diff lock?

I don't think so. Well, there is no obvious button, how can you tell?

SusiBus · Nov 26, 2022

Go and find somewhere really wet and boggy. Spin the wheels until you're stuck. Then look for a little button on dash with a little symbol showing 4 wheels linked with lines. If you can't find one, you're really stuck!

cliffhanger01 · Nov 27, 2022

No seriously, it is better to know the limits before striking them.
I assume without diff lock 4MOTION means in slippery conditions you have one front and one rear wheel turning - which is much better than 2Wheel drive without diff lock, where you only have one wheel turning. I know that patch of wet ground would have been beyond my 2-wheel drive small Hiace camper.

kurienp · Nov 27, 2022

The diff lock button looks like this below. That screen shot is from a crafter so ignore the location.

Enjoy the adventures.

cliffhanger01 · Nov 27, 2022

kurienp said:
The diff lock button looks like this below. That screen shot is from a crafter so ignore the location.

View attachment 102567

Enjoy the adventures.

Thanks for posting that. As suspected, sadly we don't have one of those. But still, basic 4MOTION is still a big step up on 2 Wheel drive. Cheers Cliff

WelshGas · Nov 27, 2022

cliffhanger01 said:
Thanks for posting that. As suspected, sadly we don't have one of those. But still, basic 4MOTION is still a big step up on 2 Wheel drive. Cheers Cliff

It is very rare you would ever need it. I've gone 8 yrs and over 100,000 miles and never needed it, even in blizzard conditions in Norway. The normal 4Motion is very clever.

Corradobrit · Nov 27, 2022

WelshGas said:
It is very rare you would ever need it. I've gone 8 yrs and over 100,000 miles and never needed it, even in blizzard conditions in Norway. The normal 4Motion is very clever.

Normal 4Mo and appropriate tyres are all thats needed 99.9% of the time

SusiBus · Nov 27, 2022

I like having the backup of having a Diff Lock as we often stealth camp in rather inaccessible places. It allows you to have the confidence to drive over rough bumpy ground to get to that perfect bit to park up on. I will confess though l have never really needed it.
One advantage I have found, as we change our Cali regularly, a Diff Lock is a very big plus when selling.

R_Sargeant_CH · Nov 27, 2022

I owned a series of Mazda E2000 trucks that we used for ballooning, latterly 4wd. Even with that, I was stuck several times on wet grassy inclines. Wet grass is like soap!
Our Cali therefore has 4wd and diff lock. I don't want to find out the limitations of not having a diff lock the hard way.
The VW 4wd is a Haldex unit. If you are a greasy type and curious, see this YouTube video:

SusiBus · Nov 27, 2022

Having watched the video to the end, all I need to do now to be able to service my own diff and haldex unit, is to grow a really long beard and learn to talk superfast.

hirsty · Dec 2, 2022

I am 4MOTION curious - thanks all for the above. I've got stuck on flat damp grass on several occasions, seems embarassingly easy.

chris ratay traveler · Dec 11, 2022

A good demonstration I stumbled across that illustrates with and without locking diff...

If you get stuck, remember to reduce the tire pressure by 50% to get out, then drive below 80kph until you reinflate.

Tarquers · Dec 11, 2022

chris ratay traveler said:
A good demonstration I stumbled across that illustrates with and without locking diff...

If you get stuck, remember to reduce the tire pressure by 50% to get out, then drive below 80kph until you reinflate.

My van. Posted this a couple of months back. Shows how bad 4Motion is when there is no traction. Think manual 4Motion diff lock would be the better combo, DSG software could be better.

My preferred rule of thumb is to reduce the tire height by 25% (rim to road distance) as that roughly doubles the contact patch size And gives a much longer contact patch length.