Vermont snow driving tips

Maybe the ground clearance was a problem. I would avoid driving our Prius under those conditions on level ground, let alone over a Vermont mountain pass.

p.s. The last time I drove that pass under those conditions was in 1978 driving a Chevrolet Corvair with conventional snow tires without studs.

 

I don't have experience of your scenario.

Have you checked your tire pressures recently to ensure they are still at least at placard? I'm not sure which is better (I'm a PFA) but I have read that a slightly higher pressure can help keep firm contact on snow.

 

You might consider carrying a pair of cable tire chains with you. They're a bit of a pain but strapping them onto the front tires should give you the bite you need to keep pulling ahead in those kinds of conditions. There does get to be a point where the undercarriage of the car is riding up on the snow accumulation, increasing drag and reducing tire traction until nothing can get you going aside from a shovel or a strap.

I usually try to keep the traction control from engaging but it sounds like the drag from packing the snow and physics of the incline were exceeding the available traction. I don't think there were any driving techniques you could have used aside from reversing and busting ahead again, which wouldn't have been practical with traffic behind you and would have yielded very slow headway. Without chains to strap on, the best options would be turning around or waiting. Since you still weren't able to make progress following the plough, I think the incline was just too steep for the available traction.

Driving in reverse offers more traction on a climb, as weight shifts onto instead of away from the drive tires, but I would only do that for a very short stretch with no one else around. I save that trick for getting up the driveway. I wouldn't have used this technique in that situation.

High tire pressures do give you more ground pressure on the tire footprints for better grip but I don't think that would have been enough in the situation. I run 44psi front/42psi rear. It's nice for low rolling resistance and nice snow grip.

Eric

 

We've driven thousand of snow miles in numerous states, as well as Canada ... in our Prius, as well as our Lexus hybrid SUV. If you use the Google PriusChat tool, you'll get TONS of threads. In short, most of them will tell you the OEM tires are junky for snow ... REGARDLESS of which of the snowy state's roads you're driving. You really need to get a nice set of snow tires. It'll make all the difference in the world. It's similar to many other cars ... not just the Prius. Get a set of cheep steel wheels too ... that way you don't have to keep remounting each season as well as re-balance. We have a set of studs on cheep rims for our Lexus. It's made our drives 100% perfect. Prior to our hybrids? ... heck, we even lost it into a ditch driving our 4x4 explorer with studs. It happens some times. but ANY car can drive in snow, with the right tires. Our Prius was destroyed, so most of my driving is done in the Leaf now. But if you're driving with decent driving skills and the right tires? Even a toaster can drive in snow!



This is one of local Leaf'rs driving around in one of our local mountain ranges - around the 6,000 foot elevation level ... now, your not going to let a toaster out drive you, are you? Even if you never hear from another VT Prius snow driver ... get some real tires . . . read a few of the snow driving threads, and you'll be fine!
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with modern traction (acceleration) and stability (yaw) control systems, it is only a myth that you still need all wheel drive in the 21st century. I told my mother to buy the new forester only because at driving 8K miles a year it would be senseless for her to buy a FWD car and switch b/t all season and a winter set.

but for people who drive a more reasonable amount it makes better sense to buy a FWD car and switch to winter tires in november and then back again in march. Especially in a prius that has low ground clearance and no ability to be rocked out of trouble. If you want better ground clearance but still want decent gas mileage try a FWD 4-cylinder crossover like Escape, Highlander or Venza.

 

Yikes. This is a pretty scary thread to read if you're contemplating buying an '11 or '12 Prius and have an '06 CR-V EX with 8 inches of ground clearance, AWD, and VSC.

Not that we in New York get horrendous snowfalls like the ones in Vermont, but the past couple of winters have had some storms that have been doozies.

To think that I might not be able to drive on certain roads in the Prius in snow (Taconic Parkway, anyone?) is troubling. To think that I might not find this out till I was ON those roads is even more troubling.

 

I have a home in VERMONT:

Hankook h727 tires...best tires I ever mounted on any car.

I'm running 50/48 psi on them for past 10k miles

Rode them thru extreme winter snow in Vermont &
wet rain tropical storms in Florida, and HOT 90+ weather also.

*I have also had them on the I-95 corridor from FLORIDA to MAINE in both the summer & winter..

Two words, 'great tires'

 

I run the Hankook H727's as well and can attest to their amazing winter performance. They're great all-year tires--no switching needed. With these tires, I much prefer driving the Prius in snow to my old 4wd, unless the snow is really deep.

It sounds like the OP already had some good snow tires mounted but the conditions were just very poor.

 

Tanglefoot, does running the Hankooks year round adversely affect your mileage? Have you calculated the dropoff, if any? Thanks! (I'm considering a '12 Prius.)

 

The OP clearly stated that he is running studded Nokian snow tires. You don't get much better than that.

For the OP, we get the same sort of nasty weather around here, but unfortunately we are not allowed to run studded tires. The long and the short of it is that the Gen II Prius has traction control issues on slippery uphills. In general, with the right winter tires, it is an excellent winter car, but it does have trouble with traction control once you lose momentum.

My solution is to drive a Jeep TJ on the really bad days, or better yet, stay home.

Tom

 

I haven't noticed any measurable drop in MPG from switching from the Integrities to the H727's. They are on the LRR tire list and I believe it--they roll very nicely. They are also very quiet and long-wearing. I've never seen a tire that combines so much winter traction with low-rolling resistance and long life. The '07 still gets mid 50's MPG in the winter and high-50's to low-60's in the summer at 44/42 psi tire pressure.

 

Wow, that is terrific! Thanks for letting me know. I will almost certainly put Hankooks on the Prius if I get it!

 

It's not the clearance or the tires, it's clearly the traction control. I live in Vermont, drive a Gen II, and have had this exact same problem happen to me a couple of times. Fortunately there are only two places it's happened, both on short stretches with nobody behind me, so I've been able to just sit there, apply the gas slowly, and inch up.

Clearly you can't do this going through the ApGap.

It's not enough to make me give up the Prius, but it would make me reconsider driving it through the Gap with 6" on the ground.

 

Probably you have warn the studs to the point that they are no help? I would check it out as studded Nokian are very close or are #1 traction tire! Hal

 

Have to admit, as the first significant snowfall of winter is set to make its way to our region today, I am thinking about how I would fare in it if I were driving a Prius or an Insight as opposed to my AWD CR-V.

But I'm keeping in mind what tanglefoot wrote in this thread about his Hankook H727s and quietly hoping that nothing like what happened to nctacoma would ever happen to me!