Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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You are probably right, Isuzu probably just figured that the average person wouldn't know the difference between using a 4Hi feature and TOD and didn't want to give people the opportunity of mixing it up. It would be definitely nice to have though when the roads to get really bad though. 4Low is fine, but of course you need to pull over and put it in neutral to shift into it. That said, on several trips to the Sierras last year I didn't have any issues with TOD on steep snowy roads. The system worked great.
If the conditions dictate that you need to have a full 50/50 lock of the transfer case, you can run in 4-low in "D" and get up to ~40mph w/o problems. Over 40mph you should not need to be running in full-lock 50/50 so 4-hi is kinda useless combined with the average Joe who would drive around on dry pavement in 4-hi. Most of the people on here are more car savy/gadget savy to know not to do it but you'd be suprised what some people out in the world will do.
-mike
PS: I'm working on an override to provide 4-hi, I'll let you know how it works out if I ever finish it.
So there isn't anything inherent with the TOD system to limit such a 4Hi feature? Its just an issue with Isuzu not installing such a switch?
On the "auto-4wd" systems you see in the GM and Ford versions, there is no wet-clutch pack and no "variable" torque, it's either 0/100 F/R split or when enough slip is detected it acts as if you hit the 4-hi button and goes right to 50/50 lock w/o the clutch packs engaging. That is why those auto-4wd systems seem to bang in when they activate and you see wheel spin on them when they engage.
-mike
TOD uses clutches to distribute power to the front. 4Hi would be locking the center differential.
Also, in most 4LO scenario's, you would probably put much more at risk at 40MPH than the transmission and speed...i.e. obstacles, rocks, etc.
When in TOD, a clutch is used to distibute engine power to the front which is why there can be a continous distribution between 0 and 50%. So, if the TOD system inherently sends 15% to the front under normal driving, the clutch would be slipping all of the time. When the rear wheels slip and 50% power is distributed to the front, is the clutch just slipping less or is it not slipping at all? I probably don't understand how a wet clucth works compared to a normal manual transmission clutch, but normally there is a lot more wear on the clutch when is slips as opposed to being completely engaged.
How is pressure applied to the clutch in this type of system.
I'll see if there is a better description in the Trooper Helms Manual tonight for us to examine.
-mike
Thanks
-mike
Apparently the fan had come almost complete loose? 33k miles and the first somewhat major repair...
I guess those could be called catastrophic though.
-mike
Major - Take my vehicle in get it 3 days later
Catastrophic - Without my vehicle for 1 week or more.
At least that would be my definition. Wouldn't be as big of a deal if I had gotten a loner car, but no such luck. However, You can't expect that with an Isuzu, which is fine.
Love the vehicle, it has been my favorite so far (and I've had about 15 vehicles in my not so long driving career)
-mike
-mike
I am still witnessing ingnorance in terms of public's awareness of the existence of Axiom. I have recently pulled into a Daewoo/GM dealership (to get some parts for my wife's car) and the salespeople were asking me what I was driving. Some even went outside to look at the truck. They admitted it looked really sharp but said they had not seen one before. Similar experience with Mazda dealer, where I stopped recently to check out the new 6 model. Again, public awareness is the key. I can't believe Isuzu did not realize it.
-mike
Now...this may make some people cringe, but we bought it as my wife's car (I can see the looks now...another Axiom as a SMV!) and so far we are very pleased. We both feel its a safe vehicle for any road condition she could enocunter and it offers all of the praticality of an SUV...well that's what it is...or is it a truck..or a wagon...hmmm...whos cares!
There are many positives...strong acceleration (even without the power mode), good road manners/handling (aside from some of the jittery stuff mentioned in other messages), good build quality, good interior space, good climate control, great powertrain warranty...
I would rate the negatives in this order...fuel economy (about 13 mpg in city and 18.5 on highway...we do mostly city and the weather has been cold and snowy so our average is about 15 right now), occasional jittery ride, rear window does not open/lift (we have 2 dogs..this would make getting them out easier), lack of bass on factory stereo...
As you can see (aside from the fuel economy) my negatives are relatively less important than the positives...which is why we bought one.
We factored the resale value into consideration and decided this is our car for the next 6 years. So far, we are very happy with our decision.
I enjoyed reading the board...keep up the informative dialogue.
My citty mileage is about the same as yours, but I live in a pretty hilly place and so I believe my city mileage is lower than what other people experience.
Thanks for any info.
Unfortunately for me (and my MPG) there are a lot of hills. In fact, if all I did was drive in and out of my housing plan, I'd probably average about 10 mpg!!! (or less!!!)
BTW...I have only ever seen two other Axioms...
I saw a post a little while back about recommended tires...so far the Integrity's have been decent, but I too was wondering what other people have/like. I have a while to go before I'll need new tires (only 960 miles on the vehicle now) but it never hurts to survey. I'd be looking for the best combo of traction and ride comfort...let me know what you guys think.
I will replace mine at about 20K miles (now I have 9K)with michelin cross-terrains. People seem to love the performance of these tires under both wet and icy conditions. They are expensive though, last time I priced them they were $143 per tire. Go to tirerack.com and check out owner ratings, they are all positive.
I know what you mean about the hills. The minimum displayed MPG on the MID is 6mpg and I am always seeing that figure as I drive the hills here. Luckily, what goes up must come down and so the mileage is better than that.
I recently reset the MID avg. fuel consumption meter after entering highway and tried to drive as economically as possible for about 15 miles. Not exceeding 60 mph, my avg. fuel consumption was 23.6 mpg. I noticed that wind has a strong influence on fuel economy as do side mirrors, which folded would attribute to fuel consumption decrease of about 1 mpg at 70mph. It seems to me that Axiom would benefit from a 5-speed automatic transmission because at 60 mph I get 2,250 rpm and with 230 lb/ft of torque, the engine could easily cruise the vehicle at 1,750 rpm, which would probably help fuel economy. How about an Axiom with a 6-speed manual transmission? I bet that would be fun to drive!
-mike
-mike
The next fun section was a steep climb with large ruts where the wheels usually go. I hit it with a little speed and kept to the left of the ruts, one wheel in the center and one on the left burm. As we crested the hill we see 3 off roaders that had skirted the climb rather than get stuck. I wanted to poke my head out and ask it they'd gone around that small climb? The Bro and I had a great time, the AX really impressed him! I'm now wishing I had a 4X4.
Anyway, I was searching around the web for more information about the TOD system and came across this PDF file from Borg-Warner. There is a very brief description about the TOD system, but it says there are 4 available modes.
2Hi
4Hi
TOD AWD
4Low
Granted, this file is from 1998 so they may have determined the system couldn't handle 4Hi for long periods of time as Paisan suggested, but I also still wonder if Isuzu decided not to offer 4Hi to keep uninformed consumers from running 4Hi on dry pavement. The info is on page 6 at the following link:
www.bwauto.com/pdf/bwa1998.pdf
Paisan, anymore details you can share with us regarding the clutch setup in the TOD unit?
We drive in the "comfort" mode 90% of the time but I have noticed that sometimes it seems like the ax might be in the "sport" mode. Has anyone else noticed this?
I thought it might be when the car is cold, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Tonight we took the car to an Xmas party and on the way there (the ax was in the garage before we left) the ride seemed a little harsher than on the way home (after the car had been sitting outside in 35 degree weather for 3 hours). We traveled the same roads both ways.
Maybe it's just me, but I have noticed this at times and was just wondering if anyone else has.
I even purposefully went over some rougher spots on the way home, and it seemed fine.
Just to clarify too...even though it was a party, I didn't have anything to drink (I figure someone will read this and say, "Yeah, after a couple of drinks everything seems smoother!").
Let me know what you think...
As for your experience, it may be that the software is expecting the same reaction from the shocks in all temperature ranges when in fact they react slower in cold weather resulting in a harsher ride