Weird AWD behavior during loss of traction

J

Jetlaggy

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Mazda CX-5
We live on a modest hill that just got covered in 3-4 inches of snow the other day. My girlfriend was trying to get into our driveway from a stop and could not get traction for the life of the car. The front tires spun and spun and the car only occasionally put power to the rears for a second before going entirely FWD again. I actually had to double check the back of her car to make sure it was the AWD version because it sure wasn't acting like it. I tried it in my Crosstrek just to see if it was normal, and sure enough it crawled the moment I gave it gas, no tire spinning. This was fresh snow, not ice.

Is this to be expected for an AWD CX-5? I feel bad because I talked her into getting the car but now she doesn't have confidence to drive it if it's slick.

Note: An extra set of snow tires just isn't practical for our apartment storage needs and climate (Salt Lake City). It's not that cold here and the roads are dry 9/10 days in winter. We got this AWD car to avoid having the extra tires her old 2WD car would have needed.
 
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Was the steering wheel straight or turned at the time front wheels were spinning? AWD will most likely not engage if the steering wheel is turned at certain degree.
Depending on the prior driving, the rear differential clutch might have overheated, so no engagement.
If the front wheels spin really fast from stand-still, the AWD will never engage to prevent damage to the clutch. Gotta take it slow.
 
yugrus said:
Was the steering wheel straight or turned at the time front wheels were spinning? AWD will most likely not engage if the steering wheel is turned at certain degree.
Depending on the prior driving, the rear differential clutch might have overheated, so no engagement.
If the front wheels spin really fast from stand-still, the AWD will never engage to prevent damage to the clutch. Gotta take it slow.
Click to expand...

Straight as an arrow and a very slow 2 footed brake/gas transition. I thought maybe it was her driving so I gave it a go myself and still nothing. Ive driven in snow for years. Did the exact same thing with the other car and not an inch of spinning. Rolled right away.

Other car had Geolandars and CX-5 had Michelin Defenders. As far as I know both are decent all-season tires.
 
This had happened to me and I resolved it by an accident. I drove up the driveway and stopped in the middle - a complete stop. Then the garage door opened and I started. Only my front wheels were turning. After 30 odd seconds of trying I accidentally moved the gear to R and as soon as the car started to go (an inch) backwards stopped - got back to "D" and this time the car moved elegantly forward.

My personal feeling is - when I was going up the driveway and then I stopped with push button start/stop - as OFF somehow everything gets locked into FWD. If at the very 1st. instance of car moving a AWD is required CX5 is not engineered to deliver it. The car has to move a bit - either forward or backward for the system to kick in. But that's just my take.
 
bmninada said:
This had happened to me and I resolved it by an accident. I drove up the driveway and stopped in the middle - a complete stop. Then the garage door opened and I started. Only my front wheels were turning. After 30 odd seconds of trying I accidentally moved the gear to R and as soon as the car started to go (an inch) backwards stopped - got back to "D" and this time the car moved elegantly forward.

My personal feeling is - when I was going up the driveway and then I stopped with push button start/stop - as OFF somehow everything gets locked into FWD. If at the very 1st. instance of car moving a AWD is required CX5 is not engineered to deliver it. The car has to move a bit - either forward or backward for the system to kick in. But that's just my take.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Makes sense. Maybe the AWD sensors got tricked. I would think power to the rear tires would happen instantly and not 5-10 seconds after the front ones don't have traction and only briefly.

Next time it snows I'll play with it and film it. It was very confidence breaking and makes you wonder how well it'll work when you might really need it without realizing you do, like around a curve in a blizzard.
 
When i had my 2013 manual cx-5 trying to tow 1500kg off a level grass field soaking wet with rain i had a simular incident.

Tried to pull away from stationary only for the front wheels to spin up, and no movement. Lifted off the accelerator then tried again but with very few revs, almost idle (it was a diesel), and the car pulled away with ease.

I wasn't impressed to be honest and wondered if i had dropped a clanger as my xtrails had 4wd LOCK which was selectable, and even in auto AWD would never just spin up the fronts.

Second Cx-5 2015 car has a much improved AWD system, more sensors etc, so now i believe on a par with my 2009 xtrail.
 
Jetlaggy said:
We live on a modest hill that just got covered in 3-4 inches of snow the other day. My girlfriend was trying to get into our driveway from a stop and could not get traction for the life of the car. The front tires spun and spun and the car only occasionally put power to the rears for a second before going entirely FWD again. I actually had to double check the back of her car to make sure it was the AWD version because it sure wasn't acting like it. I tried it in my Crosstrek just to see if it was normal, and sure enough it crawled the moment I gave it gas, no tire spinning. This was fresh snow, not ice.

Is this to be expected for an AWD CX-5? I feel bad because I talked her into getting the car but now she doesn't have confidence to drive it if it's slick.

Note: An extra set of snow tires just isn't practical for our apartment storage needs and climate (Salt Lake City). It's not that cold here and the roads are dry 9/10 days in winter. We got this AWD car to avoid having the extra tires her old 2WD car would have needed.
Click to expand...

It's typical for a Mazda. The AWD is pretty good, but it's not the best by far. You need Subaru or dare I say it, Chrysler, to get real AWD in this price-point.
 
Salt Lake City? The problem is you guys don't know how to drive out there. ;)

All kidding aside (or am I? I still visit family in SLC periodically), what you describe does not seem normal to me. My AWD CX-5 even with just all season tires has been an absolute tank and should really not have issues with the snow (ice is another story). Fact is, my old driveway in the mountains (very long/steep with some sharp turns in it) in the winter posed no issues for my CX-5 to get in and out of. And I guarantee it was 100 times worse than any driveway you guys have (some folks here may be an exception for that claim).

That said, I thought the factory Geolandar tires were total s*** in the snow.
 
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