This past weekend I went to my local dealer for a test drive.
As he was describing the car and all the functions, he told me that I shouldn't go over 40mph while in snowmode? Is this true?

 

I don't believe that is true, I've driven faster than that in snow mode last year and had no problems.
Snow mode is suppose to work only up to 10-15 mph and all it does is make the throttle less aggressive.

Also the AWD only comes on when the tires start to slip, Doesn't matter if snow mode is pressed or not.

 

You will find that most salesmen have no idea what they're talking about.

 

How true that is. It seems most car salesmen were in some form of retail sales before they switched to car sales and never bothered to learn much about the product they were pushing. Of course I'm excluding that informative and knowledgeable forum friend we have from Long Island New York. He is certainly the exception.

 

Yea the snow mode is only if your stuck in 4ft of snow, I'm on my second X car and never used the snow mod. An it does turn of at 15 MPH( I think)

 

All it does is change the acceleration curve so that from a dead stop power is *gradually* xferred to the wheels no matter how much you mash on the fun pedal. By the time you hit 40 mph snow mode has pretty much done its job!

Why its installed on AWD, Im not quite sure. I didnt go hammering down from a dead stop in the snow last year in my AWD car though, so I suppose it might be helpful in some conditions.

 

I can't wait for it to snow so I can actually try this out. Last year was my first winter with the G but I rarely took it out of the garage. Not anymore!

 

You'll never need the snow mode on, unless your in the Artic and see 10 ft of snow.. I have never once used it. An will all the snow we saw last year I never needed it.

 

^^ true about the salesman thing. My salesman said i could add paddle shifters to my X. And pointed at the airbag torx screws and said they go there >.<

 

I have 2010 G37X......when we had that freak snow storm of 15 inches here in CT, I was out during the worst hours rescuing my father who decided to go grocery shopping in his SL500. ....FAIL..........I also rescued a friend and a bystander. The G was a BEAST.

 

I believe snow mode evens out the distribution of power to all wheels evenly...if not than pretty close to it. But as soon as you go over 40mph it pretty much sends more of the power back to the rear.. lets say 80-20. There is no problem with going over 40mph its just that the snow mode becomes useless after 40mph.

 

FWIW,

This is from the owners manual 2-40

SNOW MODE SWITCH (if so equipped)
SIC3602
For driving or starting the vehicle on snowy roads or slippery areas, turn on the SNOW modeswitch.Theindicatorlight􏰄1onthe switch will illuminate. When the SNOW mode is activated, engine output is controlled to avoid wheel spin.

 

So the answer to the original question is that the salesman was full of ****, as usual. With snow mode engaged, it will automatically turn off after 10-15 mph. You don't have to worry about manually turning it off after you get moving.

 

Car sales is retail sales. It's all the same whether you're selling Ad space or a vehicle or a PC.

Obviously they should be more knowledgeable about what their selling but it's all retail.

 

i just got back from the dealership. They told me that the snow mode is to "lighten the throttle response." It makes the throttle less responsive. It doesn't lock it into 4 wheels up to 12mph, and it is fine to drive at any speed.