Why did Toyota drop lockers for the Prados?

[1ounce]

Yes I know, A-TRAC and MTS/Crawl, but all of these doo-dads seem like they are a lot more complicated than the time proven solution of at least a rear locker.

They dont seem opposed to lockers in general considering you can still get them in the Tacoma and 4Runner platforms.

I got stuck for the first time in my GX460 and needed to be recovered from another vehicle (I never wheel alone for this reason). Simple recovery with some soft shackles and chinesium kinetic rope, but it was still humbling. I had a locker in my 4Runner and I'm confident I could have self recovered if I had one in the GX.

I'm new to the GX platform so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. Why did Toyota drop lockers from the LC products? I tried to "build my own" LX 570 and I dont see a locker option, either.

 

[sedonut]

Mall cruisers don't use lockers very often.

Manufactures know how to make a product that lasts almost forever. Humans like shiny, new and variety.

 

[Jstawgn]

Rear locker are available outside US.

Might change in next generation 4runner as lockers are available front and rear on Bronco, Colorado ZR2 and Rubicon.

 

[LX5708]

Rear locker are available outside US.

Might change in next generation 4runner as lockers are available front and rear on Bronco, Colorado ZR2 and Rubicon.

Don’t forget the Mercedes G Wagon has front and rear lockers too. Heehee

 

[Rednexus]

FYI, an aired-down GX with ATRAC and good tires works well off-road without lockers. The one time I've gotten near-stuck my my 470 (dug it out of mud with a foxhole shovel by hand - it was otherwise totally stuck), I had not bothered to air down and was wheeling at 32 psi. If you air down to 15-20 psi the difference in traction is immense and ATRAC works very good in mud, snow, rocks, and with a wheel or two off the ground. We wheeled ours in Moab and the San Juans this summer and never needed a locker, ATRAC pulled the GX right through every situation with the tires aired down. I was very disappointed with the GX in mud and snow until I started airing down.

That being said, my next big mod will be either transmission upgrades or front and rear Harrop e-lockers. ATRAC is good, a locker is better and would be much smoother off-road. The upgrade is about $4K using East Coast Gear Supply prebuilt rear 3rd members and front differential assemblies.

 

[Banandalorian]

I think that Lexus does a bunch of things with the GX to play up that it's a suburban luxury SUV. Locking diffs are for trucks like a 4Runner...

Given consumer trends, I wouldn't be surprised to see the next gen GX/LX offer some more off roady bits from the factory but I don't see them going through the testing and certifications for things like driveline or bodywork components this late in the game for the current generation.

 

[1ounce]

FYI, an aired-down GX with ATRAC and good tires works well off-road without lockers. The one time I've gotten near-stuck my my 470 (dug it out of mud with a foxhole shovel by hand - it was otherwise totally stuck), I had not bothered to air down and was wheeling at 32 psi. If you air down to 15-20 psi the difference in traction is immense and ATRAC works very good in mud, snow, rocks, and with a wheel or two off the ground. We wheeled ours in Moab and the San Juans this summer and never needed a locker, ATRAC pulled the GX right through every situation with the tires aired down. I was very disappointed with the GX in mud and snow until I started airing down.

That being said, my next big mod will be either transmission upgrades or front and rear Harrop e-lockers. ATRAC is good, a locker is better and would be much smoother off-road. The upgrade is about $4K using East Coast Gear Supply prebuilt rear 3rd members and front differential assemblies.

I was at 15 PSI, 33" Falken AT3's. I tried bringing RPMS up to 1500 slowly, working the brake and not working the brake. If ATRAC was doing anything, I didnt notice it. Soft sand and gravel surface.

Lower tire pressure might have done it but I don't carry a way to re-set a bead. I should look into that.

I had traction boards also but a tug was quicker and less messy.

I havent bought the crawl/MTS module. Is that worth it or is it just using ATRAC also and giving you speed control other than the pedal?

 

[Rednexus]

You should notice it kicking in. It uses the ABS pump to apply brakes to the spinning wheels, so it will make the unsettling ABS-like noise. It usually responds within 0.5-1.0 seconds of slippage (in my experience). Obviously, if you are trying to get up something steep/loose, you can lose a lot of momentum when your wheels are spinning before ATRAC kicks in, which is where a proactive locker will really excel over reactive ATRAC. ATRAC has gotten me up some pretty nasty stuff, although I've never used it in deep sand before. It also might struggle if neither wheel has good traction (probably what happened to me when I initially sunk my GX in a mudhole).

 

[mattds]

I was at 15 PSI, 33" Falken AT3's. I tried bringing RPMS up to 1500 slowly, working the brake and not working the brake. If ATRAC was doing anything, I didnt notice it. Soft sand and gravel surface.

Lower tire pressure might have done it but I don't carry a way to re-set a bead. I should look into that.

I had traction boards also but a tug was quicker and less messy.

I havent bought the crawl/MTS module. Is that worth it or is it just using ATRAC also and giving you speed control other than the pedal?

YES, I think the MTS would would have made a HUGE difference. I wheel with about 3 other newer 4runners all with the rear locker. And on many occasions MTS seems to work better (over all). sometimes they can walk up stuff that i struggle with (but still make it up) but they are often left with one front wheel spinning while i can transfer power around.
MTS (to me) is even one step further, as i seem to notice it uses momentum somewhat to get the trucks out of places at times. If MTS in rock mode isn't enough then i try crawl control (however sometimes i think it's a bit hard on the truck so i'll change my line..etc)

for the cost of it go for it.

 

[Banandalorian]

I was at 15 PSI, 33" Falken AT3's. I tried bringing RPMS up to 1500 slowly, working the brake and not working the brake. If ATRAC was doing anything, I didnt notice it. Soft sand and gravel surface.

Lower tire pressure might have done it but I don't carry a way to re-set a bead. I should look into that.

I had traction boards also but a tug was quicker and less messy.

I havent bought the crawl/MTS module. Is that worth it or is it just using ATRAC also and giving you speed control other than the pedal?

YES, I think the MTS would would have made a HUGE difference. I wheel with about 3 other newer 4runners all with the rear locker. And on many occasions MTS seems to work better (over all). sometimes they can walk up stuff that i struggle with (but still make it up) but they are often left with one front wheel spinning while i can transfer power around.
MTS (to me) is even one step further, as i seem to notice it uses momentum somewhat to get the trucks out of places at times. If MTS in rock mode isn't enough then i try crawl control (however sometimes i think it's a bit hard on the truck so i'll change my line..etc)

for the cost of it go for it.

I haven't added Crawl Control but have seen it in action in a friend's Tacoma and it is pretty slick.

I recently added MTS and have been able to mess with it a little bit. I'd say in layman's terms that it "preps" ATRAC based on the selected mode so that the system requires much less time to react and sort out what a given wheel should be doing.