How Do I Know If My Car is Front or Rear Wheel Drive?

Navigating a slippery or icy surface is when you really do need to know whether your vehicle runs Front or Rear Wheel Drive, meaning how the power from the engine is transmitted to the road.

Both have their advantages in certain situations and, as a general rule, smaller cars tend to be front wheel. Any cars with mid-engines are rear wheel. 

Of course, when grip is going to be an issue, then four-wheel drive is always the answer and these are the three types: FWD, RWD and 4x4.

Quick Ways to Find Out

One easy way to find out is to chuck a wheelie, and see which wheels start spinning! Front Wheel Drive cars will tend to move forward in a straight line, although the steering will also free up to the point of ineffectual, whilst on a Rear Wheel Drive car the smoke will come from the back, and it’ll fish-tail forward as the back wheels search for grip.

It’s not recommended you do this intentionally though and certainly not on a slippery surface or when the vehicle is already stuck, as you’re just likely to be digging a bigger hole for yourself.

Looking under the bonnet can tell you pretty quickly. If the engine is transverse or sideways in the bay, it’s almost definitely a Front Wheel Drive car. Likewise, if the engine is classically mounted front to back, with the belts directly behind the radiator, odds-on it’s Rear Wheel.

The last major giveaway is the ‘diff’, or differential. This is the massive lump towards the back of the underside of the car with the drive shaft going back toward the engine, connecting the engine to the rear axles. 

When You Need to Know

This information really becomes important when you are stuck, or sitting on a very slippery surface.

If in sand, there are several tricks, but the most important thing is to not spin the wheels. All you will do is dig yourself a deeper hole, which will quickly become very difficult to dig yourself out of - especially when the underside of the car begins to rest on the sand, taking the weight of the car (and therefore the friction) away from the wheels.

If you are able to get anything under the wheels upon which your car can gain purchase, like planks, rocks or branches, they’ll really help. As will applying very gentle pressure to the accelerator once these items are in place, rather than flooring the pedal and vastly reducing the chances of the tyres gripping.

In extreme circumstances, letting a substantial amount of air out of the tyre will hugely increase your purchase in sand, but you’ll need to get them back up to pressure as soon as you can once you’re out of trouble.

On an icy surface, steering slightly side to side will help you find grip, especially if you can put sand, grit or gravel down under the drive wheels. But sometimes, whatever you have, it’s just never enough.