A question about a Gen 4 in snow...

With a third or second gen, when owners get clever and disable traction control via a Repair Manual chicken-dance, then you may damage the transaxle. With fourth gen which has a regular owner accessible option to disable traction control, you should be ok. Still I think you best option would be to leave it activated.

I recently got closer to stuck than I was comfortable with, just got out, with some back-and-forth maneuvers. Without trying something silly: disabling traction control. That was with about 8~10 inches, wet/heavy snow. It is very possible to get stuck, but as long as you don't do anything unorthodox you should be ok. Take along a shovel and some kitty litter (unused is best).

 

Depth of snow has very little to do with traction and slipping. You can have an inch of wet snow and the roads will be undrivable and slick, or 6 inches of fluffy snow and the roads won't be bad.

The real reason I would not drive through deep snow is related to ground clearance.

Also, there are VERY few occasions when you'll be truly driving around with 6 inches of snow on the road, as most places that routinely get that much are also good at clearing the roads quickly. And places that don't get that much snow are completely paralyzed and shut down, so there's little need to drive around

 

I agree it's ground clearance that gets you really stuck. Even when the roads are cleared or tamped down, often the parking (if you need to) zones along side of road are still deep, rutted snow: you can plow in with momentum, but then are near-screwed getting back out.

 

It may not be your imagination, the salesperson may indeed have said that. They are very well known to say lots and lots of things that are not true.

In normal modes, the hybrid system protects itself from potential damage. Older models had no easy button for the driver to turn off traction control, this could be done only through non-advertised means. And it could theoretically lead to damage. I can't speak for the current generation with that easy button to disable TC.

 

I just got mine a few weeks back and I'm assuming it's gen IV but unsure. It's a 2016 hybrid (avatar). Why would I want to disengage traction control in snowy/icy conditions? Seems to me that's when I'd most want it?

 

You're probably right. There might be a few instances where it'll work against you, when you're royally stuck. Maybe a good time to get out the shovel and sand anyway. At least with 4th gen it's user selectable, so hopefully they've deemed it safe to disable.

 

Here is a video.
Driving in snow | PriusChat

 

There ar svome other interesting videos posted that may help too. I did a search on PC and found this.
Gen 4 Prius Moose Test | PriusChat

I know there was a video where they drove in progressively tighter circles to get the tires to slip. I cannot find it now.

 

That's because it went down the plughole!