Not sure if anyone has experienced this, but in my '06 GX470, whenever I get off the highway and brake into a sharp corner offramp (right or left does not matter) and apply the gas, the car jerks like the drive sytem kicks in. It almost feels like the front wheel component of the AWD system gets disengaged during the turn and then suddenly engages when you accelerate with a jerk. I notice it happens on dry pavement. Years ago, we had an old GM front wheel drive car that would do this in turns. My question is whether this is normal and if not what could it be and what would be the fix.

Thanks

So it happens only during turns?

I think the problem with tranny jerks is that we sometimes might be "choking" the car meaning that we are accelerating too fast or pushing it too hard when the car is trying to stop. I have noticed it on the 4Runner and CRV and both arent 4wd vehicles. The 4Runner is a 2wd while my CRV is a 4wd but I noticed that when I don't accelerate "right" either car has that tranny jerk...

How many miles on the GX?

There is 140,000 km - which is around the 90,000 miles. I find it only happens on tight turns slowing down from highway speeds. If I feather the accelerater, I can keep it from engaging roughly but it has so much torque at the low end, that is often hard to do. It feels like it is engaging the 4 wheel drive on the front wheels - my 4Runner did it sometims when I engaged 4 wheel drive and gave gas at the same time. I can't feel if it is the tranny or the transfer case engaging. When I look at the drivetrain it almost looks like a 4runner drivetrain with a motor/solenoid to engage 4 wheel drive - looks kind of crude but thats why I seem to think it is the trsfr case.

Possibly according to your explanation. What Gen (year) is your 4Runner?

my experience with this type of symptom on several cars over the course has been low tranny fluid, when banging a turn if it is low on fluid there is the potential of it starving for fluid, pressure drops, internals don't apply the right pressure to keep things moving it seems the engine loses connection with the wheels or that the tranny might be slipping a little and then when you level out a little bang it reapplies the pressure cause the fluid leveled out.

That's one explanation,

the other is the 4x4 kicking in, do you have auto 4x4, full time AWD or Manual 4x4 not sure how that vehicle is set up, if it is auto and only has an auto setting then there is a possibility of gunked up abs rings giving you false readings and the system thinking that you are slipping and engaging to save you, if its manual it could be binding from the last use and not fully disengaged if it's full time AWD it will always be engaged and likely not cause those types of symptoms.

Sporatic transfer case engagement is pretty obvious and if you've driven this thing for a while you'd probably be able to tell if that were happening, I'd check the fluid and cross your fingers that it's only a little low on fluid.

Good luck.

The 4Runner was a 1997 but I am refer to the '06 GX470 jerking.

Thanks for replying

I will check the tranny fluid but this is a model with no dipstick - I understand the tranny is filled up until it bleeds over and then plugged up so I will have to get to the garage for that - its worth checking out obviously.

Its an all wheel drive model so the 4X4 should always be engaged, but it almost feels like it is disengaging in a sharp turn to allow for the turn movemement and then it reengages - I always thought this was in the differential but it seems like the trsfr case does the disengagement - not sure if it has anything to do with the computer control. Any other way you could describe a transfer case engagement? I have seen other AWD cars (i.e. Volvos) and their tires are all bald on the outsides because the AWD does not properly disengage in turns so I thought this was Toyota's version of a better system.

Anyways - thanks for the advice