Traction Control

you were lucky!

It's as though the car is thinking
- it's way too slippy - I'm not moving on that!
- folds arms or wheels

 

OK What Tires?

OK, I'm a relative Newbie but... After a few significant snowfalls I've come to the conclusion that my Prius (which I still think is the greatestproduction car on the planet) is not cutting it in even a little snow.

Sooo... It's obvious to me from reading the forum that I need different tires. Everybody chime in and let me know which ones. I'll buy whatever the consensus is.

Thanks.

 

My underwear didn't think so. Can you say Pucker Factor??

 

Re: OK What Tires?

If you are allowed to use studded tires in Indiana, I highly recommend 4 of them. I'm unsure how long your winter conditions last, how cold it gets where you live, snowfall, possible ice, etc

There are studded snow tire designs that are pretty ancient. I believe Consumer Reports and Tire Rack tested something called a Winter Master. That looks like a 1970's design, and it didn't compare well to modern studless snow tires

A modern studded winter tire still offers superior grip on ice. By "modern" studded tire, I'm referring to the factory studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5, or the studdable Goodyear Nordic from Canadian Tire. This is the same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Europe

Studless tires also work well, but tend to be more expensive than studdable tires. The exception appear to be the factory studded Nokian, but their extra grip and performance may be worth it to you

In a variety of cars, I've used the original Bridgestone Blizzak, the newer Dunlop Graspic DS-2, Yokohama Ice Guard 10, and Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus (A truck tire for my FJ Cruiser). My observations:

Bridgestone Blizzak: Excellent in snow, good on ice. Wanders and sloppy handling, wears quickly. The special winter compound is only 55% of the total tread depth

Dunlop Graspic DS-2: Excellent in snow, ok on ice. Actually tracks fairly well at highway speeds. High wear

Yokohama Ice Guard 10: Excellent in snow, ok on ice. Quite bad wandering issues at highway speeds. Better choices out there

Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus: This is a light truck/SUV winter tire, but the Toyo Observe passenger tire has the same tread compound. Toyo uses ground up walnut shells in the compound, which they suggest is better than studs on ice. I'll admit the Toyo is very good on ice, but the studded Nordic's on my Prius are still better. This tire will wander a bit at highway speeds

My comments about highway wander apply to most winter studless tires. The tread compound is much softer/flexible than regular "all season" tires. That helps winter traction, but don't expect Junior Racing Boy levels of handling

 

Here's an article that should be of interest. Winter Weather Warning for Prius Drivers People sliding of the side of hills is not good.

 

My 2007 has STUDDED snow tires and I have gotten stuck on the hill that constitutes my paved dtiveway more than a few times - even when there's only 1" of snow on it. I have also gotten stuck at steep (public) intersections - just a mite dangerous, you might say So for those who say putting up with this TC is an OK tradeoff, I'll say, try living in a climate where the ground freezes. It's dangerous - that's all there is to it. I am going to try the technique posted by Silver 9. If it doesn't work, I'll either move south or sell the car.
-AnneH

 

I suspect you would be stuck in a "normal car" also.

 

I have seen my son go through as much, or more snow, than me with his '99 Saturn SL2 5-speed without traction control.

 

Well I'm now waiting for some rain so I can try my Prius out on some slippery clay to see if my technique of soft on the go pedal works. I know some tracks that can be almost impossible for rear drive so I can see for myself.

Hey after 6 months I only noticed yesterday there is a yellow light comes on when you have wheel spin!! I never saw that before but I heard squealing tyres and felt the traction control working. Must have been watching the road.

 

After driving a 93 lumina with bald tires for the first few snow falls this winter, I picked up my new prius in nothing other than a fresh snow fall. Immediatly I felt it handled much better. That day I took it to a corner where is was a stop up hill. Most other times evern with several other cars it was hard to get out of this intersection. It also has a hill fomr one direction makeing you wonder if you are really clear to go. The prius immediately sliped.. grip... slip... grip... right up till if got going.
In sluch or ice I find this system just fine. However when you get stuck, you really get stuck. After a night of blowing snow I backed the car out of the garage to find that it blew in about 6 inches. A little more than it looked like. I thought it would make it though it so I tried plowing into it. It got in till it hung up. After a coupel minutes of attempting to rock it. I shoveled a little. Still could not get moving out of it. I remeber somthing brough up in one other thread here. Hit the brake and hit the gas. Let off the brake it shot ahead and right out of it. It wasn't a tremdous amount but just enough for what I needed. This is all with my 2008 received in a wisconsin January, With several snowfalls to have tested it out in since then.

 

Yey!! Let's sue a big company for a person's own stupid actions. I've had problems with the TRAC on my Prius...but it was MY fault. I wanted the car to do something that was physically impossible. I shouldn't be taking it easier or adding space in front of me or allowing more time to get going when pulling into traffic if the road is slippery. Nooooo, be damned with the weather, the car should handle the same way everytime out, no matter what the weather.

what happened to personal responsiiblity to drive the conditions? Or even in a safe speed limi induced dry road?

Please, all who think the Prius is unsafe, just sell the damn thing and move on. It's just a car. Better yet, get a 4WD for those 3 days u need it. Sometimes it's all i can do to vent about stupid people in our lawsuit happy society.

Rant over.

Now, complaining to Toyota in a non-lawsuit, constructive way will enact change must faster. If Toyota (or any company for that matter) doesn't listen to it's customers and improve the product...there go sales.

Maybe the next verion of TRAC on the Prius or any car will suit more, so more can be sold.

and please, just as this rant won't win over any of the previous posters, neither will replies of more owners stating for fact that the Prius should be taken off the roadways win me over.

Next lawsuit: my Prius uses GAS and it's killing all of us and our way of life...

 

My 2008 Prius is only a week in my driveway. We had four inches of wet heavy, slippery snow. The roads were dangerously slippery. Nevertheless the TC worked well. Tires would not spin up, but they provided traction to move through slowly. ABS worked perfectly. What probles that were obsevered in the past appear to have been resolved. Door frame label indicates a build dtate of 2/2008. I am getting a reliable 45 - 50 mpg (when not smowboarding, of course). So far, the Prius is 150% of what I expected.

sincerely,

MikeN

 

Has anyone found these same traction problems with the hybrid highlander 4wd? It seems the same over-rev issue applies...same system. I guess 4wd means more traction, so maybe issue never seems to rear its ugly head.

What about the Camry hybrid? Any issues with these owners?

 

There isn't a consensus among Prius drivers as to whether the Prius has a traction control problem, or is just working as it should, at least with the newer models. This is a polarizing issue.

Tom

 

There are a handful of Prius owners who have issues with the Trac, with highway stability, or who have experienced The Stall (2004-2005 models).

With regards to the Trac, I have yet to hear a clear explanation of why some of the cars experience this and others do not. It's simplistic and insulting to automatically blame the driver, especially those of us who were raised to drive in winter conditions

I do plan to test drive a 2008 Prius sometime this week to determine if the Trac algorithm has changed as much as everybody claims. It should be easy to then contrast my 2004

 

Please post your results. With your driving experience and the range of vehicles you own, the results should be interesting. Make sure you factor in crappy OEM tires if that is what they are running.

Tom

 

Tom

I'm scheduled to test drive a 2008 Prius "Special Edition Premium." I'm going to guess this is comparable to my 2004 "B", with the addition of the backup camera.

I have no idea what tires are fitted on it, I will find out Thursday. Although a lot of the snow has melted, the lows still result in slick surfaces. I'm scheduled for 8am, and will try to swing by a car wash to ensure a nice slick surface

jay

 

I live in southern CA and visit Lake Tahoe during winter season. No problem with my HiHy 4WD-i (but I got rid of the original equipment Goodyear Integrity tires at 6K miles, before making my first trip up there.)

Prius is not a Jeep. Those owners living in snow country are wise to own a 4WD vehicle with appropriate tires for bad days.

 

Tom

Ok, finally have a chance to report the results. Drove my Prius to the dealership at 8:30am, temps around -16 C. Played with their 2008 Prius for around 30 mins, then had to rush in my Prius to the office as we are having some project issues at the moment

I test drove a red "Special Edition Premium" which includes a backup camera. That would be a nice feature if it worked. Since their Prius had been left outside, due to the temps the backup camera was fogged up, couldn't see s*** on the mfd when shifted into R. Oh well

ALso, noticed the 2008 is just as cold blooded as my 2004. I still have the grille fully covered, so I actually can be toasty warm inside. I just about froze my pointy bits off driving that 2008. What else ... the dash plastics are better now too.

Observations:

It has 16 inch wheels, shod with Bridgestone Turenza tires. I was a bit surprised at how stiffly it rode. Could have been the cold temps, perhaps tires all inflated to max, or the 16 inch vs 15 inch on my Prius. My Prius still has the winter tires, which naturally ride much softer due to the softer tread blocks and more sidewall flex. Not a very compliant ride, that's for sure

Although most of the snow has disappeared, I was able to find slick spots on side roads. So I stopped on the icy spots and tried moving again. HUGE difference compared to my 2004! My '04 would not have a problem either, but I'm also running aggressive studded tires

I don't think a brake was applied to the slipping wheel. With my FJ, the trac will apply the brakes to the spinning rear wheel, which rapidly pulses the brakes around 15 times a sec. The FJ also has electric boosted brakes, you can feel the boost pump run

THis Prius rapidly regulated the power to the drivetrain. My 2004 - if on the "all season" tires - would struggle by applying the power, cutting the power, waiting 2-3 secs, applying some power, etc.

The 2008 Prius appeared to do the same, but only it did so 3-4 times a SECOND. That was surprising. If my 2004 acted the same way, I would never have pissed and moaned about the Trac, and probably would not have believed those who have complained about it

Driving two Prius literally within 30 mins is absolutely the best way to see for yourself the differences in Trac

So when I returned the new Prius and took off in my 2004, that difference in Trac behavior was pretty surprising and obvious. Now I'm wondering if it was just a software patch, or faster processing - hardware changes.

Am I going to ditch my 2004 and get a 2008? Maybe.

 

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the comprehensive review. I wonder if the current version hybrid vehicle and skid control ECUs would plug into the 2004 model.