This morning, the roads were slick and snow-covered as I drove to work. Before I left, I switched the Bronco into 4-Hi since I hadn’t driven in a few days, and there was probably about 10 inches of snow accumulated in the driveway. The roads weren’t too bad, just a bit snow-covered. I saw a few people sliding around.
Around 10 miles of my commute is on a 60 MPH highway. I wasn’t sliding at all, which made me think maybe I didn’t even need 4-Hi. Still, the roads had snow on them.
I kept my speed between 50 and 71 MPH, usually between 55 to 65 MPH.
Do you think I caused any damage to the transfer case or transmission? I wasn’t sliding at 55 MPH, so I felt okay to keep accelerating. The max speed I hit was 71 MPH for a second, but the speed kept changing because of the cars in front of me.
I know I might sound silly, especially since these newer cars can handle more speed with 4x4 compared to older ones. Just wanna make sure I didn’t mess anything up.
There’s no speed limit in 4-Hi. Like someone else mentioned, if you can go 71 mph, you probably didn’t need 4-Hi. If you’re good at 55, just switch back to 2-Hi next time.
Like others said, if you’re hitting 70 mph, you don’t need 4H. But if you’re driving on slippery roads, you likely didn’t cause any damage. If your Bronco has the advanced transfer case with 4A, you could use that in light snow or heavy rain. I call it the ‘Subaru mode.’
@Dani
4H sends power to both front and rear wheels equally, so you need a little slippage to avoid damage to the transfer case and transmission. 4A is more like a torque vectoring system; if the front wheels don’t need power, it won’t send any. You can drive in 4A on a wet road, and it won’t hurt anything unless the road dries up.
For 4H, a little snow or ice is enough slippage. I wouldn’t drive it on dry pavement.
@Chen
It’s not that simple. If you’re driving straight, there won’t be damage to the transfer case or transmission in 4H with no slippage. The problem comes when turning because the front and rear wheels have different turning radii.
4A doesn’t apply power to the front wheels when it’s not needed, which can prevent damage in those situations. You can even see it on the power monitor on the dash.
@Frost
I stand corrected. I was looking at Broncos, and my dealer said the only way a lower trim (lower than Badlands) could get 4A was with the Sasquatch package. All of their BB and BD seemed to follow what they told me. I only found 4A on lower trims if they had the SAS package.
I don’t have 4A, but I used 4H for the first time on the road today, and I kept it under 55 like the owner’s manual says. It says ‘never exceed 55 mph in 4H’ - Ford.
