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vsc lite

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by arkusvt, Dec 5, 2010.

  1. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    the last few days the vsc lite has been intermittently coming on, together with the annoying lack of power. this is driving on BARE tar roads with no slippery conditions of any kind. should i be concerned and running to the dealer? thanks
     
  2. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    How is your tire condition/pressure? (meaning are your tires due for replacement?)

    also when is it comming on, when you are starting from a stop or just regular driving ?
     
  3. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    all 4 tires,(winters), were very thin and the lite never came on. replaced the 2 fronts with new winters and that day this started happening. same size, and 35 # front and rear. could that be it? happens VERY infrequently under general driving. perhaps 4 or 5 times in last 200 miles. when you let off the gas it stops. thanks
     
  4. Jerry

    Jerry Junior Member

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    When VSC engages there is also a chime. No chime, it's not VSC but Traction Control.

    1. Check tires for tread depth and replace if needed.

    2. Put some air in your tires. The vehicle placard pressure is the bare minimum that you shouldn't ever go below. Unless you check and adjust your pressures every driving day using 35 psi is not enough too low. Just don't inflate above the pressure shown on the sidewalls.

    3. There should be 2 psi more in the front than in the rear.

    3. Traction control engages whenever the Prius senses a wheel slipping. This is done to protect the small motor/generator from overspinning. Don't be so aggressive on the accelerator, just hold it steady.
     
  5. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Do you notice it happens when you are going over a bump or uneven surface?

    So do you mean your rear tires are still pretty bad right now (treadwise)?
     
  6. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    the rear tires are fairly worn, treadwise. i bought the car new; it has 77k on it, so i have a pretty good idea on how to drive it; being aggressive or not on the accelerator has nothing to do with the problem. it is NOT a wheel slippage issue. (apparently the computer thinks it is). i've been running 35 psi in all 4 tires since i bought the car, with both summer and winter tires. no problems until now.
     
  7. BAllanJ

    BAllanJ Active Member

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    I suspect that your vsc is seeing different revolutions per minute on your front and rear tires and seeing this as slip. The reason for the difference is actually that your rear tires are worn enough that they have a different circumference, or your replacement front tires are of a different size or otherwise different rpm. By the way, you should try to avoid having tires with much better traction on the front... your stability on hard braking will not be optimal and you're likely to spin out a lot more.
     
  8. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    All VSC equipped Prius have the full VSC system. I don't think any of them come with stripped down VSC lite.

    Tom
     
  9. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    i think you nailed it with the differential in tire size from front to back. i have another set to match the ones i put on front; just didn't get them on yet. will do that tomorrow and report. thanks for the help!
     
  10. Optimus

    Optimus Member

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    Perhaps you need to re-read the thread. This has nothing to do with VSC vs. a stripped down software package called "VSC lite" as you say.
     
  11. Ryanpl

    Ryanpl Active Member

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    Tom, Based on the thread title I thought OP had some way to turn down sensativity of VSC.
     
  12. arkusvt

    arkusvt Junior Member

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    i think the mystery is solved !! i put the other two matching tires on the rear today and although i haven't driven it 100's of miles, the problem has not returned. appreciate all your help and comments. thanks
     
  13. Optimus

    Optimus Member

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    Hopefully so. They always say to always have a matching set of tires on a vehicle. It looks to be even more so true on vehicles such as the Prius with sophisticated traction control. It may actually be sensing the different tire diameters as somehow being tire slippage. It's a little too coincidental that the problem started immediately after you had 2 new tires installed, and immediately went away after you replaced the other two. Please report back if the problem reappears though.
     
  14. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

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    Just to clarify, when VSC engages, there may not be a chime. The parameters for the chime seem to be when the situation exceeds the capability of the VSC. Kind of like a, "I've done all I've can, captain. The rest is up to physics and luck!"
     
  15. Optimus

    Optimus Member

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    Being a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Fan--this comment made me laugh. If my Prius ever says this to me in the same voice as the Heart of Gold (ship from the books/movie), I'm going to have a heart attack.
     
  16. BAllanJ

    BAllanJ Active Member

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    That's rather infinitely improbable don't you think.

    :)
     
  17. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Thanks. I hate it when I waste a joke. In my case, that happens rather often.

    Tom
     
  18. Optimus

    Optimus Member

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    :D:D