New Hyundai owner here!

Pete Cooper · « **on:** September 16, 2017, 14:52:24 »

Hello to everyone! Recently took ownership of a new Tucson Premier SE to replace my 2010 VW Tiguan R-Line. So far I have to say that I'm impressed with the Tucson. Certainly got the same level of bells and whistles that the Tiggy had. More comfortable ride though!

I was very active on the Tiguan owners forum and hope to be the same here, once I get to understand what the Tucson is all about.

Grant · « **Reply #1 on:** September 19, 2017, 10:23:31 »

Welcome

Ciaran · « **Reply #2 on:** September 19, 2017, 12:05:53 »

Welcome! Is that the 4x4 type one?

Pete Cooper · « **Reply #3 on:** September 22, 2017, 09:08:51 »

Quote from: ciaranefc

Welcome! Is that the 4x4 type one?

Yes, Ciaran. As I tow a caravan, and it replaced a VW Tiguan 4x4, I wanted to keep that feature.

Ruperts Trooper · « **Reply #4 on:** September 22, 2017, 15:52:27 »

Ironically - most caravanners don't need 4wd these days - even wet grass is fine with 2wd and the right tyres - and most 4wd "soft-roaders" such as Tucson and Santa Fe operate in FWD mode 99% of the time anyway.

Ciaran · « **Reply #5 on:** September 25, 2017, 11:11:25 »

Ahh - I wanted to make sure I was right with what I thought! I know a bit about cars but didn't know the Tiguan was a 4x4 too.

Pete Cooper · « **Reply #6 on:** September 27, 2017, 09:07:41 »

Quote from: ciaranefc

Ahh - I wanted to make sure I was right with what I thought! I know a bit about cars but didn't know the Tiguan was a 4x4 too.

Like most medium size SUV's these days, you can buy both 2WD and 4WD versions. As Ruperts pointed out the 4WD versions are effectively Front Wheel drive most of the time. The difference will be in the differential between the front and rear axles. The VW uses a Haldex system that will automatically provide drive to wheichever wheel/axle needs it, so 4WD will be present without you realising it. On the Tucson and others there is a button to engage the centre diff and provide the drive to the rear axle. In this case you need to anticipate if you need 4WD before getting stuck! As I was a development engineer for Land-Rover back in their early days, I can deal with either method.

Ciaran · « **Reply #7 on:** September 27, 2017, 15:02:04 »

Thanks for explaining - I've learnt something new today : )

Grant · « **Reply #8 on:** October 04, 2017, 15:57:14 »

Sussex Pete isn't quite right.

The button on the dash is to LOCK the 4wd system "on".

So, you don't need to press it to get 4wd, but without it pressed, the car runs in FWD mode unless the traction control detects wheelspin. Then it quickly shuffles power to the rear axle as well to regain grip. If you select the lock however the car runs 4wd all the time.

HOWEVER you should not run with the LOCK on all the time on tarmac. The car is designed to be FWD and running in 4wd all the time will eventually "wind up" the centre diff and may cause damage. It will also waste fuel and so on - you can only leave that on all the time in snow or other slippery conditions where it reduces / eliminates the delay in the car bringing in the rear axle.

So rule of thumb is - leave "Lock" OFF all the time unless you KNOW you will need 4wd (towing a boat up a slip, caravan on wet grass etc).

Jon · « **Reply #9 on:** October 04, 2017, 22:57:43 »

This is the AWD system on the Tucson and latest Santa Fe.
As above, don't lock it unless there's very low traction. Also the system will brake any spinning wheel and send power to where there is grip, so 4x4 lock is usually unnecessary.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahr-6CTZ7wg

Ruperts Trooper · « **Reply #10 on:** October 05, 2017, 09:20:54 »

Most "soft-roaders" have smart 4wd systems which run in FWD virtually all the time, for economy, and only use 4wd when traction issues occur - when this happens the electronics varies the amount of torque transmitted to the rear axle, from 0-50% - only the cleverest, most expensive, FWD-based systems can transmit more than 50% torque to the rear, that's normally when a full-time system is used.

The Hyundai "lock" button is a bit of a gimmick as the system is probably best left to it's own devices but it does create the impression of being a real off-roader. The CM Santa Fe 2006-2012 needed the lock button on occasions as the Borg-Warner 4wd system was slow to operate but the later DM Santa Fe uses a Magna 4wd system which responds quicker.

Pete Cooper · « **Reply #11 on:** October 08, 2017, 09:34:12 »

Quote from: GrantHyundai

Sussex Pete isn't quite right.

The button on the dash is to LOCK the 4wd system "on".

So, you don't need to press it to get 4wd, but without it pressed, the car runs in FWD mode unless the traction control detects wheelspin. Then it quickly shuffles power to the rear axle as well to regain grip. If you select the lock however the car runs 4wd all the time.

HOWEVER you should not run with the LOCK on all the time on tarmac. The car is designed to be FWD and running in 4wd all the time will eventually "wind up" the centre diff and may cause damage. It will also waste fuel and so on - you can only leave that on all the time in snow or other slippery conditions where it reduces / eliminates the delay in the car bringing in the rear axle.

So rule of thumb is - leave "Lock" OFF all the time unless you KNOW you will need 4wd (towing a boat up a slip, caravan on wet grass etc).

Thanks for that clarification Grant. My explanation came from slight misinformation from the selling dealer. As RT wrote, the lock button is probably only to be used as a last resort.