i will be traveling to north for ski resort from Florida (summer). I got part time d and I will be driving overnight, question I got is I'm pretty sure some roads will freeze up somewhere , and how much would I damage my car if I put it in 4hi?

 

??? Read the owners manual, it will tell you. Otherwise, as long as there is some slippage you will be fine. Dont put in 4x4 if the roads are dry.

 

Dont use lock on the road unless it is thoroughly covered in snow or ice. Driving in lock on hard surfaces where the wheels cant slip will bind up the transfer case, and it could unbind it self in the form of ceasing to be 1 piece.

 

You would be surprised how much these can do in 2WD. How far north are you going?

 

I'm in Michigan in the middle of a winter snow blast, and I'm surprised how much I don't use 4WD. RWD and good tires will get you far. It it gets real bad and you feel the need, click 4HI and you should have no problem.

 

Driving up to Cincinnati

 

Howdy from West "Mitten" to you.

Ditto on everything you posted. I have barely used the 4WD with the 2 feet of snow we got dumped on us over the last week. Barely used it in the foot of snow we got from Thursday to Friday.

 

You're driving all that way to ski in Cincinnati? That's almost not considered 'north'. How about Vermont or NH, where they actually have snow?

 

way to long from FL,

 

I usually always put it in 4HI when the road is slippery enough for it to be used (when all the road is like this, I don't switch it on just to go thru a slushy patch) just so I have the better control should I need it. I find that in 4WD it has better control in turns and curves, no fishtailing at all, no sudden slipping, it just goes. If I have to avoid an accident or some driver that loses control I'd much rather be doing that in 4HI. Obviously this doesn't make stopping any easier, so don't be like some of the people we get here that think 4WD means drive as if the snow wasn't there, you still have to drive slower than you normally would etc., but I prefer the extra control I feel I get in 4HI over 2WD. I also don't have an LSD, for whatever reason they ordered it with an open one, I don't mind, but that does make 2WD in the snow less pleasant.