I assume that the Honda V6 that is in the 2004 is also mated to a Hondo 5 speed transmission. If so does the AWD work the same as in the Honda Pilot. The advertising for the Honda Pilot AWD system is very informative but with the 2004 Vue with the V6 they hardly mention any of the technical aspects of the AWD system.
I did an experiment with my 2004 Saturn Vue with the V6. I drove and stopped the car off the road so that the left front and rear tires were on the pavement and the right were on the sand on the shoulder of the road. I then did a hard acceleration from a stop and what happened surprised me. I was expecting the right front tire that was in the sand to spin and then hear a clunk as the rear differential kicked in but instead I herd the left front tire that was on the pavement burn a small patch of rubber and then herd a clunk as the rear differential kicked in. This almost sound like the front differential is what the call in the off road Four wheel drive systems a 'Locker differential. Does anybody know how the system works? Just curious.