recently purchased a g a week ago today, i live in new england so i figured leaving snow mode "on" for the last couple of days would be ideal being that the weather is *** here.wed morning i turned on my G, noticing the snow mode in the on position, but that green light, that i was learning to love was not illuminated. i drove a mile or so then noticed it was shining once more, only for it to turn off again. i parked up, turned off snow mode; turned off car; turned car back on after waiting (for god knows what) put it in neutral. then tried the snow mode before putting it in drive( drove suv's prior) it was the only awd training i have.lol. later on in the evening i drove around and noticed alot of fishtailing an wobbling. i looked down. snow mode on. snow mode light; off. i pulled in a gas station to check my tires, the psi was exact. i proceeded and felt similar feelings from the G that weren't the same from my normal drive.i called the local infiniti they said the switch could be faulty but they need to do a $50 inspection regardless.the slip light still flashes but the car feels to remain in Rwd no sounds from the transfer at all...im probably just paranoid...but help!!

 

Prob just paranoid.

You have read the manual that snow mode should be engaged if the road is snow-covered, or icey. If the road is bare, and just wet, you are better off leaving it in normal mode. The reason is that snow mode engages 50;50 split of torque locking the front and rear wheels. In a turn, the front wheels travel a longer distance than the rears, so the wheels need to slip somewhere if they are joined together with the transfer case. It's similar to a part-time 4WD setup.

For the most part, i only use snow mode when driving in snow during a storm. Most of the time i leave it in normal mode and the car is quite capable..even if i forget and drive in snow like that.

What warning lights are lit on the dash? any?

Did you check the torque of the lugs?

It's possible the car is just slipping and sliding on the icey roads. We have had some black ice here lately.

It's pretty easy to tell if snow mode is engages or not. With the switch on, throttle response should be reduced to the point the car feels like it lost power. With it off, that power should come back. You don't need to turn the car off to switch modes. Just let off the throttle, hit the switch and next stab of the gas pedal should tell you if something changed. It's a pretty noticable difference.

If this happens, your switch is prob fine.

It's really tough to tell when this car is in AWD or just using the back wheels. Hard to "feel" it if you know what i mean.

Finally...how good are your tires?

 

I know that now from reading the threads. My tires are brand new. Im really concerned why the green light isnt one when the snow mode is on. Is that part normal? Is it normal for the green light to be pn the full duration of the drive or does it only shine when awd is engaged?

 

Green light? Perhaps the 03-04 are different, but in the 05-06 The snow mode engaged light is yellow and displays "SNOW". Anytime the switch is flipped to ON, the SNOW light will be lit and stay lit until you turn it on.

There is no indicator as to when the AWD is being used or not. It's transition is pretty seemless and it's pretty hard for the driver to know if all 4 wheels are pushing, or only 2.

If the SNOW light is turning off during your drive, are there any other lights coming on? VDC? AWD? etc? (The AWD light is a warning light indicating a transfer case issue. You should never see this light)

 

My snow mode light is Green not yellow. Vdc has never been turned off. The awd light in the dash that indicates problem with that system has never blinked or illuminated what so ever

 

I would take it to Infiniti and have it checked. Like Mustang 5L5 said it is hard to tell when the awd engages. Do you get a slip light blinking? I have rarely used the snow mode on my X. It drives thru 10 inches of snow like my ranger 4x4.

 

Yup alot of blinking for the slip light. Is that normal?

 

Thats good your awd is working. That light lets you know one tire is starting to lose
Traction.