Prius in the snow II?

My '07 Touring handles better than my Corolla did in the snow. I have not yet had VSC or traction control activate yet since I got the car last Feb. I have had no problems with it in snow. I have driven our '03 Prius in heavy snowstorms also without any issues except once when I got stuck in 8-10 inches of snow on the side of the road when I backed up too far out of a driveway, but when I cleared the wheels' path I was able to get back onto the plowed area (2003 does not have VSC or traction control I believe). Basically if you drive it sensibly it handles fine just like, or even better than, any other mid-size car. I have not upgraded the tires (Bridgestone Turanza's) either.

 

1. Slipping wheels have nothing to do with electric mode. Traction control works whenever it is "needed."

2. Gas engine will come on periodically (if it is not being activated otherwise) to keep the heat on.

3. On cold days, the Prius warms up like any other car. Maybe a little faster since it stores some of the coolant/antifreeze in a thermos bottle, and pumps that in on warmup. Many of us use an elecric engine block heater (also available for regular gas engines) to pre-heat the engine on cold days and speed up the warm up even more (though that is usually for fuel economy reasons).

 

I've had no problems at all, actually it handles quite well in the snow. Now, that being said, with the low ground clearance, it can't be very deep snow.... but the VSC and traction control do well in helping keep the vehicle out of the ditch....

 

I just completed my third winter with my '05 Prius in Anchorage, AK. With good snow tires and a little common sense, getting stuck is rather difficult.

The traction control is pretty aggressive about preventing wheel spin, but as long as you're not mashing the gas at very low speed, the wheels don't slip much. If you're trying to get up a steep driveway covered with glare ice, though, forget it....snow tires won't help any FWD car, traction control or not.

The Prius handles beautifully in the snow with proper snow tires. All-seasons don't cut it in my book.

Traction control will engage any time the front wheels exceed the speed of the rear wheels by a given amount. This will occur even in electric mode. In fact, the Prius has enough torque from just the electric motor it can spin the front tires a tad when sitting on glare ice, even with snow tires.

The gas engine will run more often when the heat is on to supply cabin heat, but not exclusively because it's on. I stopped several time to snap the below pics these last two days as I drove from Anchorage to Haines, AK. Each time I stopped, I left the car on. The only thing I could hear in the serene wilderness was the stereo inside the car. It was otherwise silent, and I had plenty of heat. Using a block heater and blocking the entire front end of my car helped quite a bit.

 

All Prius have traction control. VSC is an option, but not traction control. The electric motor has so much low speed torque that it would be nearly un-drivable without it.

Tom

 

Hey,

I loved Fairbanks when I was there! Now that I have a Prius maybe I'll drive there next summer and spend the winter. Hmmm, what to do for money? Else I'd be there in a minute.

Travel safe Bill.

 

Thanks for clarifying that Tom.

 

I took this video of my Prius getting out of the snow in action (from driver's perspective). See the MPH in big blue number and the flashing yellow icon is the traction control.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8046782958239824369

 

It does fine in the snow, but put on a good set of snow tires and you'll see a HUGE improvement. My Hakkapeliitta's make me feel like I have all wheel drive!

Here's my snow tire review:

http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40181&highlight=hakkapeliitta

 

We had the same concerns about the snow, but after 1 week, it is not a big issue. My wife reports that using the Prius, with the stock tires and traction control, is as good, or better than the other cars she was using to deliver mail. The only issue might be ground clearance. Snow tires will help any car.

See here for report.
http://priuschat.com/forums/showthread.php?p=529291#post529291

 

Prius on ice

Jayman and others claim, quite adamantly, that their Prius will just stop dead rather than spin tires and a little slick mud or glare ice renders them completely immobile. So I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, but I think it's something that's been resolved or otherwise affects a certain sub-population of Prius owners.

Last year I deliberately tested the Prius in snow over 4" deep on the longest steepest hill I could find around here, and while the traction control light was blinking, it would spin the wheels and then grip, and I made it up the hill (but not if I stopped at the steepest point and then tried to continue, I had to back down and try again, this time keeping a little forward momentum all the way).

Yesterday I drove to friend's house and he has a very steep driveway, (steep enough that I often scrape the bottom of the front end of the Prius if I try to leave straight out nose first from the driveway to the street). I got out of the car and just about fell down because of the ice on the driveway. You could literally slide down the hill starting from a standstill, with a very tough time stopping yourself. But the Prius drove up and backed down that hill without a problem. If I had known how icy it was, I would've tried to spin the wheels on the way up to test them, but I didn't want to do that after I parked because then I'd be in his garage door.

I'm driving a 2006 with stock tires, base package (no VSC). Tires at 39/37.

 

If you are concerned about how the Prius handles in the snow [not that you shouldn't be concerned about the safety aspects of the car's handling in all conditions], you should make sure to purchase a Prius with the optional Vehicle Stability Control (aka VSC, ESP, etc).

I purposely tried to make my VSC equipped, OEM tired, chainless Prius lose control in a car free, snow and ice covered Tahoe area ski resort parking lot. I couldn't!!!!

If you want to see how big of a difference VSC/ESP makes on a snowy slalom course, check out this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiZjeeMExY4

As for the traction control . . . There is a common mistake many drivers make driving in the snow in vehicles with traction control. For many drivers, out of force of habit, as a result of driving cars that didn't have traction control, they would let up on the gas pedal as soon as they felt the tires spinning. This is absolutely the wrong thing to do with traction control if you aren't going too fast for the conditions. We hear many Prius drivers complain about how the Prius will bog down when they are trying to roll out from a stop. If you let your foot off the gas, you are giving the traction control system the wrong message. I say give it more gas and let the traction control system do its job! I have done it many times with my lowly 'all season' tires and without chains . . . and it works every time. I haven't tried it on glare ice, but then I am not dumb enough to try it for the fun of it.

 

I have a 2004 without VSC or snow tires, and it's utterly useless in snow and ice. We seldom get snow, and I don't depend on the car for daily transportation, so I really can't justify the expense. (I do have good snow boots, though, and big knobbies on the montain bike. ) The VSC was available only in a package costing another $5,000, so I didn't spring for it. Maybe next time.

As for going to Yosemite, get some real snow tires to go with your VSC - not all-seasons - and take some winter survival stuff just in case.

 

Unlike many others, I have never had any problems with our Prius in the snow/ice/rain. While we have had the car in a relatively moderate winter climate (southern CT for the last two winters and central MA for this winter), I have noticed no problems with the car. We've driven in snow, ice, sleet, rain, etc. and never had any real problems. Now, we've had to slow down and drive more conservatively than we normally would, but that's probably a good idea anyway. In our experience, the Prius performs as well as any FWD sedan we've driven (and better than many). In fact, it definitely out-performed my previous car: a 16-year-old RWD Jeep Cherokee. This is all with the stock tires, by the way (the same set we've had since we got the car).

This said, I have no doubt that the Prius with the stock tires could have problems on steep, icy driveways, but I'd expect that of most cars. I also strongly agree with Sufferin' Prius Envy that VSC is highly recommended. However, I don't think that it'll help much with gaining traction on a slippery hill; it is mainly for if you start to spin out on a wet/icy roadway. The one thing I regret about our car is that we didn't get it with VSC.

 

Hmm, methinks you weren't trying very hard.

Just this morning, I was turning right (from northbound to eastbound) at this intersection:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.846267,-87.97243&spn=0.000927,0.001888&t=h&z=19&om=0

In my "VSC equipped, OEM tired, chainless Prius" at 31 MPH and I slid into and bounced off of the curb on the left before sliding into and coming to a stop at the curb on the right.

Now in warm dry conditions I've taken this turn at over 35MPH without so much as a whimper from the car/tires. As far as I could tell, there wasn't any ice, but the road was damp at spots, and there may have been some slush that fell off the car in front of me.

Anyhow, unless the road is completely dry, I won't be taking that particular turn any faster than 25 MPH from now on.

 

I see you're a fellow Chicagoland resident. There was definite glaze of ice this morning, hard to see at times. I thought the roads were all salted and taken care of, but if you were out early or they missed that turn lane, all bets are off.

In my understanding, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, the addition of VSC does not let you turn significantly faster. It keeps you pointed in the direction you are going, so you don't slide sideways, fishtail or do other unintended gyrations (most of which are more noticeable with RWD than FWD anyway). But you can't change the laws of physics - if you're on ice, inertia over-rules traction and you're still not changing directions quickly, regardless of VSC. But because you're pointed in the right direction, you're better at avoiding obstacles. And you're not going to tip because you hit a dry patch or a curb sideways (hence the vehicle stability). ABS keeps your tires from being locked while you're doing that. And traction control keeps your tires from spinning out if you're accelerating at the time.

I remember a girl years ago complaining that her car skidded into the ditch even though she had 4WD. Her friend's response was, "yeah, that helps to get you going, but all cars have four-wheel skid". This was before ABS was common, but it still points out that care has to be taken for the driving conditions even if technology is there to help.