The present disclosure provides technology for preventing burst of a clutch under the driving circumstance, which enters into a road surface with a high friction coefficient after passing through a road surface with a low friction coefficient in vehicle driving; and the present disclosure determines if a wheel-lock has occurred in driving based on a factor reflecting a driving status of the vehicle; upon determining occurrence of the wheel-lock, in the case that a vehicle speed rapidly increases and a difference value between a transmission input shaft speed and an engine speed, which form a current driving gear, is larger than a set value, blocks a mechanical engagement between a clutch and a wheel, which form the current driving gear.

A control device is to be applied to a four-wheel drive vehicle including a first coupling device interposed between a rear-wheel final gear device and a rear left wheel axle and a second coupling device interposed between the rear-wheel final gear device and a rear right wheel axle. The control device includes a controller changes a coupling torque of the first coupling device and a coupling torque of the second coupling device independently of each other. The controller estimates, when the vehicle is accelerating, a vehicle body speed of the vehicle under a state in which the coupling torque of any one of the first coupling device and the second coupling device is set to a value larger than zero and the coupling torque of another one thereof is set to zero. Thereby, the control device can accurately estimate the vehicle body speed when the vehicle is traveling while accelerating.

One vehicle wheel is disconnected from a differential while the vehicle is in a front wheel drive mode. A controller checks for a malfunction of the differential while the vehicle is in the front wheel drive mode and in response to a request to enter an all wheel drive mode. If speeds of the other vehicle wheel and the differential input indicate that the malfunction is present, the all wheel drive mode is disabled and the driver is informed. If fluid temperature indicates a risk of the malfunction, all wheel drive mode is temporarily disabled and the driver is informed. If the temperature condition continues to be present for a predetermined duration, the all wheel drive mode is disabled.

A four-wheel-drive vehicle includes: a pump that is actuated by an electric motor; a friction clutch that has a plurality of clutch plates that are pressed by a piston that is movable by working oil discharged from the pump; a control device that controls the electric motor; front wheels, to which a drive force of an engine is always transferred; and rear wheels, to which the drive force of the engine is transferred in accordance with the fastening force of the friction clutch. When it is determined that the vehicle is in a high fastening force-requiring state in which it is necessary for the friction clutch to transfer a large drive force temporarily, the control device causes the electric motor to output torque that is larger than torque that the electric motor can continuously output.

Systems and methods are provided for controlling a transmission of a vehicle that has a selectable one-way clutch. The system includes a sensor system, an anti-lock brake system (ABS), and a controller configured to, by a processor: monitor for a deceleration event wherein an estimated output speed acceleration of the vehicle is reduced below a first threshold, receive a status of the ABS, and output one or more control signals to command the transmission to inhibit the application of the selectable one-way clutch in response to detection of the deceleration event when the selectable one-way clutch is not applied, and the estimated output speed acceleration of the vehicle is either: (i) below the first threshold while the anti-lock brake system ABS of the vehicle is active, or (ii) below a second threshold while the ABS is inactive, wherein the first threshold is greater than the second threshold.

Systems and methods are provided for controlling a transmission of a vehicle that has a selectable one-way clutch. The system includes a sensor system, an anti-lock brake system (ABS), and a controller configured to, by a processor: monitor for a deceleration event wherein an estimated output speed acceleration of the vehicle is reduced below a first threshold, receive a status of the ABS, and output one or more control signals to command the transmission to inhibit the application of the selectable one-way clutch in response to detection of the deceleration event when the selectable one-way clutch is not applied, and the estimated output speed acceleration of the vehicle is either: (i) below the first threshold while the anti-lock brake system ABS of the vehicle is active, or (ii) below a second threshold while the ABS is inactive, wherein the first threshold is greater than the second threshold.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a motor vehicle controller comprising a computing device, the controller being configured to command a first releasable torque transmitting device of a drive-line to switch between a released condition in which a first releasable torque transmitting device substantially prevents transmission of torque from an input to an output portion thereof, and an engaged condition in which a releasable torque transmitting device allows torque transmission from an input portion to an output portion thereof. The controller may be configured to receive information indicative of: a speed of wheels of a first axle; a speed of wheels of a second axle; and a terrain over which a vehicle is driving. The controller may be configured, in response to a detected disparity between the speed of wheels of said first and second axle when said first releasable torque transmitting device is switched to said engaged condition, in dependence upon said received information indicative of the terrain over which the vehicle is travelling, either: output a signal to automatically cause said first releasable torque transmitting device to perform a reconnect operation comprising momentarily resuming the released condition, and then subsequently resuming the engaged condition, or maintain said first releasable torque transmitting device in said engaged position.

A vehicle clutch control device is provided for switching from a two-wheel drive traveling to a four-wheel drive traveling. The vehicle clutch control device includes a dog clutch that separates a rear wheel drive from a front wheel drive by releasing the dog clutch, an electronically controlled coupling that distributes a driving force of a transverse engine to left and right rear wheels in accordance with a clutch connection capacity, and a four-wheel drive control unit. The four-wheel drive control unit switches the drive mode to one of a disconnect two-wheel drive mode in which the dog clutch and the electronically controlled coupling are released, a connect four-wheel drive mode in which the dog clutch and the electronically controlled coupling are engaged, and a stand-by two-wheel drive mode in which the dog clutch is engaged while the electronically controlled coupling is released.

An output control system incorporated in a vehicle including a clutch device comprises an upper limit setting section which sets an upper limit value of an output of the drive source to a starting control upper limit value when the output control system is performing a starting control; and a wheelie determiner section which determines whether or not a wheelie is occurring in the vehicle when the output control system is performing the starting control, wherein when the wheelie determiner section determines that the wheelie is occurring, the output control system performs a wheelie suppressing control for suppressing the output of the drive source while maintaining the starting control in such a manner that the output becomes less when the wheelie determiner section determines that the wheelie is occurring than before the wheelie determiner section determines that the wheelie is occurring.

A method of controlling an all-wheel-drive system connect event including providing a power transmission apparatus having a clutch, a propeller shaft, and a rear drive unit with a clutch pack assembly. The rear drive unit clutch pack is actuated by creating a model of the propeller shaft rotational speed, adapting the model parameters to compensate for temperature and vehicle wheel speed, storing the model, adapting the model utilizing information collected during a previous all-wheel-drive system connect event, and developing a set point for the clutch driving element utilizing the model and a multi-loop control architecture. The power transmission apparatus clutch is then engaged.