Traction control engages at high speed

Thank you JeffD . I genuinely did not know that, but it does explain why traction is so smooth and progressive over certain less than perfect surfaces. Ditto with very hard acceleration

 

The torque limiter "JeffD" mentions is where the clutch is positioned in a manual car "attached to the flywheel" . It is of almost identical design as a clutch, but has no release mechanism.
The clutch plate is held by just enough spring pressure to be able to transmit all the torque the engine can produce, but will slip if shock loads are transmitted to it by sudden speed or direction changes of MG1. This helps prevent mechanical failure of the transmission components. It does little or nothing to limit torque to the wheels this being done electronically by the computers controlling current supplies to the two MG's, and engine power output.

John (Britprius)

 

Thank you John, brilliant information. I did not know this either! The Prius II continues to amaze me with its technology 18 months after I purchased it. Impressed? Definitely!! Pleased? Absolutely

 

Been known to happen:
1/3 million miles, 2 clutches slipping | PriusChat

 

could be you do need struts and/or an alignment, but that's not gonna affect traction control.

 

That depends on how BAD it is.
Either of those can cause the tires to "skip" if they are bad enough.

 

What is the wheel RPM deferential that will cause the TC warning light to turn on?

 

my prius is doing the same thing, any updates on your situation?

 

I had the same thing at 100kph (~60mph) when I changed two tyres to a slightly different size (195/65 to 205/60 iirc, 40% cheaper ).

It was fixed again when replacing the remaining 2 tyres.
So not saying the OP's problem IS the difference in wear, but I can confirm a slight difference in circumference can cause this issue. (In my case the difference in circumference was 2% iirc plus what ever difference there was in wear, but I think the old tyres had more thread left than the new ones to begin with!!! They are still in my garage because it is a waste to toss them...)

 

This happened to me after I reset my ABS/VSC System with my tech stream. Same tires as I’ve always had since I got it. It’s only as I approach 60mph, the light starts flashing and it acts as though I’m loosing power, like it would when the traction control kicks in when the front wheels start to spin? Weird.

 

You can use Techstream to look up the reasons for the most recent four (I think it's four) times the traction control was triggered. It will have the vehicle speed, g forces, speeds of all four wheels, etc. That will probably bring you very close to a conclusion on what's going on.

When you say you "reset" your "ABS/VSC System" with Techstream, what did you do exactly? And was there a reason you did that?