"All Motor Is Best Motor" (acidicheartburn)
04/02/2015 at 16:44 • Filed to: None
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"All Motor Is Best Motor" (acidicheartburn)
04/02/2015 at 16:44 • Filed to: None | 1
| 14 |
My wife's 2004 Nissan Murano AWD is dead and needs to be towed to the dealership. Being AWD (and with a CTV) does it need to be taken away on a flatbed instead of towed? It has no transfer case disconnect, but I don't know if it's fulltime AWD. I don't believe it is, as I can force the AWD on with a switch in the center console.
Captain of the Enterprise
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:46 |
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Nissan Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 685003
Franklin, TN 37068-5003
Phone: (800) NISSAN-1 (or 800-647-7261
505Turbeaux
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:47 |
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flatbed or you break it all
TheHondaBro
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:47 |
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The Murano has front-biased AWD, so if it's towed with its rear wheels on the road it should be fine.
Twism
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:48 |
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flatbed only.
PatBateman
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:48 |
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To be safe, get a flat bed.
vicali
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:49 |
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eww, I had to go to a Murano forum to get that, now if you excuse me I'm going to wash my hands..
JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:49 |
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Are there really places in the world what will still tow a car without a flatbed? Maybe it's the prevalence of AWD where I live, but there's not a tow outfit within 200 miles of where I live with a wheel-dragger wrecker.
And yeah, flatbed that sucker, or be sorry.
HammerheadFistpunch
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:50 |
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Flatbed. no question.
BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:52 |
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Best is flat-bed or wheeled dollies under the the non-lifted axle, as some non-flatbed tow trucks have, but dollies may not be useable for highway speeds or long distances.
Technically a HALDEX AWD system is usually FWD, with the rear axle engaging sometimes, depending on the coupling and electronics controls... it is still not guaranteed to be entirely disconnected, and it should be treated as if it is engaged, and would break with one axle rolling, and the other not.
IF it does have a viscous coupling, and the rear tires are dragged-rolling, and the fronts are not rolling, it could over-heat and damage the viscous coupling itself.
PS9
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:52 |
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Is this a warranty repair?
A1: yes-> Who cares, tell the dealer that's how it was when it died
A2: No-> Call Steve Lehto, and sue them under the lemon law, make them pay anyway.
(These ideas are probably bad and will be of no help at all. My apologies)
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All Motor Is Best Motor
> All Motor Is Best Motor
04/02/2015 at 16:53 |
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Thanks for the responses guys, I'll make sure it gets on a flatbed.
Will with a W8 races an E30
> TheHondaBro
04/02/2015 at 16:56 |
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Most FWD based AWD vehicles will overheat and destroy the AWD coupling if towed with the rear axle on the ground. Flat bed is absolutely required.
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Will with a W8 races an E30
> BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
04/02/2015 at 17:03 |
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The Haldex coupling is very similar to a viscous coupling, but with added friction material and a little extra gap between the plates. It will absolutely overheat with a large speed difference across the coupling, and quickly.
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BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> Will with a W8 races an E30
04/02/2015 at 17:12 |
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I was under the impression that some Haldex systems use electronically-controlled direct-engagement clutches, but that might not be accurate, and might be in addition to a slip-reactive viscous coupling, rather than 'instead of.'
As Will mentions, a viscous coupling depends on speed-differential-friction-induced heat to engage, to allow the rear axle to assist the front (or vice versa on some systems like Porsche Carrera 4 that are rear-based, front-assist), and uses just a small amount and brief time of axle speed differential to raise the viscosity of the fluid to engage the coupling, and enable torque to pass through the coupling to engage the secondary axle.
Towing with one axle turning, and the other not, with that viscous coupling in play between the two (not mechanically disengaged) would indeed quickly destroy it, and even leaving the gearbox section of the transaxle in neutral is no guarantee that the axle differentials would be totally disengaged from each other.
It is a fail-safe solution to assume they are connected, and drag-towing would destroy the AWD system.