VW 4Motion - What's the f**ing point?
Discussion
Most of the cars we've owned in recent years have been some type of 4wd/awd. Some the real-deal complete with low-range boxes à la LR/Land Cruisers, others 4wd-lite options like on our old All-4 mini countryman.
None have been as spectacularly useless as our Multivan 4Motion. Even dry grass has is spinning wheels. Wet grass sees mud flung up the sides of the vehicle. Gravel drive ways result in holes being dug. How can it be so bad? You'd think with it being a hybrid the EV part would allow perfect transition from stationary to rolling thanks to carefully measured torque output, but no. Traction control as agricultural as anything I've ever experienced has the van lurching forwards, spinning wheels and generally making a complete hash of things.
Are they all that bad or is it broken? It certainly doesn't bode well for genuinely slippery winter conditions if it is this s
t in the spring.
And we even went for the all-season tyre 'upgrade'. God knows how bad it would be on summers.
None have been as spectacularly useless as our Multivan 4Motion. Even dry grass has is spinning wheels. Wet grass sees mud flung up the sides of the vehicle. Gravel drive ways result in holes being dug. How can it be so bad? You'd think with it being a hybrid the EV part would allow perfect transition from stationary to rolling thanks to carefully measured torque output, but no. Traction control as agricultural as anything I've ever experienced has the van lurching forwards, spinning wheels and generally making a complete hash of things.
Are they all that bad or is it broken? It certainly doesn't bode well for genuinely slippery winter conditions if it is this s
t in the spring.And we even went for the all-season tyre 'upgrade'. God knows how bad it would be on summers.
Not used it in a van but had 2 golfs with it. It's not strictly a traditional 4wd drive system, it's classed as awd. I've had no issues with it but I expect it's better for use on road in low traction areas, eg out of a wet junction etc. the few times I've needed extra traction in a wet field or on snow, it's been fine, even with summer tyres.
I mean while the system will never match a LC or Defender, I'm really surprised by this OP (unless you're trying to do something with it that you're not telling us)
I've had several Multivans, (including PHEV), none 4Motion, all FWD, and have had no problem with fields for festivals etc. even when a bit soggy or hilly and with a small trailer on the back! Yes they'll spin the fronts and dig in if you bury the throttle but I was actually surprised how decent the traction was...
And struggling in dry grass? To quote Blackadder, I smell something fishy.
I've had several Multivans, (including PHEV), none 4Motion, all FWD, and have had no problem with fields for festivals etc. even when a bit soggy or hilly and with a small trailer on the back! Yes they'll spin the fronts and dig in if you bury the throttle but I was actually surprised how decent the traction was...
And struggling in dry grass? To quote Blackadder, I smell something fishy.
Is the car a bit "grabby" during manoeuvres? I'm thinking about the fact it's digging itself holes in gravel driveways as being indicative of a very non-graceful ability to pull away.
I had a Mercedes A-class as a rental recently, I assume it had some sort of mechatronic gearbox instead of a slush box. It really didn't creep properly, and covering the brake just made it kill drive altogether. Wouldn't have been a nice car to parallel park in close confines, and I can imagine would do similar to what you are describing on grass and gravel.
I had a Mercedes A-class as a rental recently, I assume it had some sort of mechatronic gearbox instead of a slush box. It really didn't creep properly, and covering the brake just made it kill drive altogether. Wouldn't have been a nice car to parallel park in close confines, and I can imagine would do similar to what you are describing on grass and gravel.
I don't think it is driving style. it is the OH's car, we both drive it and have both been surprised at just how much it seems to struggle to pull away on anything but dry tarmac.
As for tyre - I'm not sure, whatever the OEM Bridgestone All-season three peaks snowflake model is, correct pressure and less than 1000 miles of wear.
Given we live very rurally and at quite an elevation we specifically waited (8 months) for a 4Motion build. At this rate I might have to tow it on and off the drive with the RR come winter
As for tyre - I'm not sure, whatever the OEM Bridgestone All-season three peaks snowflake model is, correct pressure and less than 1000 miles of wear.
Given we live very rurally and at quite an elevation we specifically waited (8 months) for a 4Motion build. At this rate I might have to tow it on and off the drive with the RR come winter
vikingaero said:
If it's DSG, just let the creep action roll you forward before any accelerator action.
Unrelated to your 4wd issues, but a mate of mine reported jerky step off of his Golf to the dealer who did a gearbox software reset and wiggled some wires - came back a different car. Maybe you need the dealer to have a look.WH16 said:
None have been as spectacularly useless as our Multivan 4Motion. Even dry grass has is spinning wheels. Wet grass sees mud flung up the sides of the vehicle. Gravel drive ways result in holes being dug.
I presume it’s spinning all 4 wheels?Wife has a 4Motion DSG diesel Tiguan - also had a set of winter tyres and it was pretty amazing on snow, basically it was like it wasn’t there.
In normal use, turning right out of our village on the fast bypass can be a bit hairy but the Tigua n never once spun its wheels, even on summers. She has a fwd Karoq now and that’s a right handful out of wet junctions.
I would say there's a fault.
Tyres sound like they should have no issues, OP maintains driver doesn't impact the problem, which leaves the vehicle itself.
Even FWD on winters shouldn't struggle like OP states.
I have driven a modern 4Motion camper van and it was fine. I simply didn't notice the 4Motion and the same is true of my old Golf 7.5 R. Again, other than hard driving you wouldn't have known it was there. Makes me think something is wrong.
Tyres sound like they should have no issues, OP maintains driver doesn't impact the problem, which leaves the vehicle itself.
Even FWD on winters shouldn't struggle like OP states.
I have driven a modern 4Motion camper van and it was fine. I simply didn't notice the 4Motion and the same is true of my old Golf 7.5 R. Again, other than hard driving you wouldn't have known it was there. Makes me think something is wrong.
Sounds normal for a Haldex based system with open diffs. The power will always go down the path of least resistance first then once it detects a wheel on any given axle is spinning, the car will apply the brake on that wheels to an extent thus the power goes to the other wheel... which in theory has grip and gets high moving. Hard one to explain but loads of videos on YouTube of Haldex equipped cars on rollers, set up in different configurations and you'll see how it'll spin the free wheels until the car shifts power. It's not a 4x4 system, there's no difference locks etc. It's not great in that sense but I had a Haldex equipped XC70 and once you know the limitations, it's surprisingly capable... and sometimes, you need to deploy the Arab technique... ie point, give it full attack and pray nothing gets smashed off the bottom whilst momentum takes you through.
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