Trouble with VSC in snow

Don't push quite as hard. Give just enough go-pedal to keep
moving forward, and let the car do its job. Push too hard, and
the oscillations between "go" and "back off" swing too wide.
.
_H*

 

it's not the vsc doing it to you it's the Traction control. There are several threads about this subject here but to put it simple. It is quiet aggressive, it is there to help protect the hybrid synergy drive, and better tires have been known to help.
There is a way of disabling it but is a per start kinda of thing and has been question to voiding warranty. It does not apply the brakes it just cuts power to the tires. But I sure if you search some of the previous threads there may be more info that I have forgot.

 

Do you still have the OEM tires? I heard they are horrible (in term of traction) in snow. In that case, spinning tire a little more will not help.

 

If its a lot of snow you can get a set of chains (actually wire with lttle metal cylinders) from Walmart for about $40. I've used them to go snowboarding in Big Bear in CA climbing 8000 foot mountinas during a freakin blizzard. No problem with the tires slipping.

 

I'm on my 3rd Prius and have just about given up trying to drive in snow on hills. I have a long gravel drive, fairly steep that gets very little sun in Winter. There are always icy spots until spring (Colorado Rockies). With other 2 wheelers, I get a running start, and when the wheels start to slip on an icy spot, use the cars momentium to slide across and pick up traction on the gravel. You can't do that with the Prius. It restricts power to the slipping wheel and you loose momentium. Embarassing, but the first time I tried it with the 1st Prius -- I had to get the neighbor to tow me up! He still snickers over my choice of cars. I don't know of any fix for this.

 

In all of the above cases w/the Priuses, were you running on the stock tires or using good snow tires, studded tires or chains?

 

Snow tires help a lot. Good snow tires.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R

 

In addition to going slow and steady up a snowy hill, if you have to travel on snow and ice often then I would consider (1) getting good snow tires, or (2) getting new all season tires that perform well on snow and ice.

The Touring Edition's OEM all season tire is the Bridgestone Turanza El-400. Its performance on snow and ice is only rated "fair" by Consumer Reports (its second lowest rating) in its November 2009 issue.

But there are all season tires that Consumer Reports has rated to perform well on snow. In particular, the Hankook Optimo H727 is the only all season tire tested by Consumer Reports that is rated "very good" on both snow and ice. In fact, its snow and ice performance ratings are as good or better than most of the winter tires tested by Consumer Reports. [Edit: The cheapest place to get them online is Gripston.com.]

In any event, if you're going to get new snow tires or new all season tires, you should check out Consumer Reports November 2009 tests of tires -- it's the most recent and comprehensive tests of tires that I know of. Here's a scan of the Recommendations and Ratings:

Consumer_Reports_Nov._2009_Tire_Tests-1.doc

 

I put new Hankook 727's on our Buick and so far thsy are great on snow and ice. I don't think they have a size for our new 2010 Prius V

 

As pointed out above, it's not VSC, it's traction control. We have a 2006 with Nokian WR-G2 tires. Just today, on a long uphill of snow covered ice, we left a whole column of cars behind us.

Your Prius, like ours, has improved traction control (and the Gen III 2010 is even better). It's still touchy, but you can spin the tires. You won't hear them spinning, since the rate is limited and the electric motor is quiet, but they will spin. Likewise you can rock it out of snow if you need to. Others may tell you that you can't rock your Prius, but I do it frequently. I had to do it this morning to plow through the pile of snow left by the snow plow.

If you don't have them, get good tires. Then find an empty parking lot and get a bit of practice with the Prius. It has its own set of quirks.

Tom

 

Thanks for the report on the Hankook Optimo H727's performance on snow and ice (I think you're the first PriusChatter with the 727's to report on its snow and ice performance).

Yes, unfortunately the Hankook Optimo H727 doesn't come in your OEM 215/45R17 size, or come in a size that's anywhere close to that.

But for other Prius owners:

-- it does come in the Gen III OEM 15" size of 195/65R15.

-- it does come in sizes that are close to the Gen II OEM 15" and 16" sizes.

 

I've gotten stuck (as in come to a complete stop where reving the peddle doesnt help) on hills many times in my Prius driving in major snow storms in Boston and upstate NY.

My best strategy has been when you start to slip take your foot off the gas and then once the traction/vsc turns off rev the peddle until it comes on again. Repeat until you dont need to anymore.

Its the best way ive found to get around this over engineered safety feature. Whatever you do dont come to a stop!

 

the 2004 and 2006 prius are the same so wy did toyota not provide a software update for the TC of the pre 2006 prius?

 

As I understand it, a simple reflash of the ECU was not possible. There must be some hardware limitation.

Tom