Snow Joyride

I just happen to be in Stow(just north of Akron) right now, sitting for my granddaughters while son and dil are on vacation and was facinated by your string start. A year ago I would not have attempted going anywhere in my Prius if there was more than an inch or two of snow. Now that I've replaced the wimpy Good Year originals with Bridgestone Insignias the confidence level is up several notches. Had I known the difference it would make, I'd have ignored my basic frugality and changed out the tires from day one. Live and learn.

 

I did have a question about driving in snow. I haven't had a car with ABS, TC, VSC before. Flooring it was usually sufficient to get my old car moving. We got about 4-5" of snow and I was able to get the car out of the driveway but it got stuck as soon as it lost momentum. I tried to shift from R, D, B and kept stepping on the gas but it never budged an inch. After about five minute a plow driver and pick-up driver (thanks guys wherever you are) pushed me on to a street that had been plowed. Other than getting kitty litter, a shovel, and an old rug, does anyone have tips on how drive the Prius in snow? I assume that the TC immobilized the car?

 

It's both a tire issue and a 'traction control' one as well. I've noticed with mine that if I'm moving and keep up some momentum, even just a little bit, I'm usually okay, but stop in 4" or more of snow and you're stuck, can't spin a tire. I still have the stock Integrities and while I've heard them disparaged at great length on this forum, have found them to be okay for driving on snow/ice if one is reasonable and prudent. I'm sure that a better snow tire is going to help some, but isn't going to make a snowmobile out of any Prius. When the snow gets deep, I drive my Jeep.....or, now, my Tacoma (sold the gas-guzzling Jeep and got a Taco just this past week).

 

Thanks for the info. So, if the TC is causing the problem, is there anyway to overcome it (or bypass TC)? I tried switching into B which I figured was kind of like low gear, but that didn't seem to help. Or I was so flustered I may not have changed gears properly?

 

I thought only the early 2004-2005 Prius had the aggressive TC? At least mine does, on "all season" tires I was helpless at icy intersections, and stuck in 3-4 inches of snow.

The best upgrade you can make is to run an aggressive studded snow tire for winter driving. I've always used studded tires in winter, and the Prius seems to appreciate the traction benefit more than most cars

I'm quite happy with the Goodyear Nordic I got from Canadian Tire. They are the same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Europe

Goodyear Eur-Winter Tire-UltraGrip 500

As you can tell, the tread pattern is directional and *very* aggressive. The tread compound is soft like a Bridgestone Blizzak winter tire, with the capability to add studs. At icy intersections, I have been able to dust awd Subaru's and Audi's running "all season" tires

However, once the car bogs down in deep snow, it's impossible to "rock" it out. My 2007 FJ Cruiser also has full time TC, but it actually allows wheelspin. I have purposely driven into snowbanks in 2wd, just to see how far it would go before stopping.

Once it bogs down, a bit of rocking and it's free. FYI I also run winter tires on my FJ: Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus. Excellent snow and ok ice traction, my Prius still has the advantage on ice

So if you live in a region with "real" winter conditions, consider "real" winter tires. You probably can't get the Canadian Tire Goodyear Nordic tires in the US, consider the factory studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5

 

No, there is not. Well, there *is* a service manual procedure, but I won't discuss it. You could destroy the cvt using that procedure, which is one hell of a lot more expensive than a tow

 

Thanks so much jayman. I test drove a ford (might have been a focus) and they had a little button that allowed you to turn on/off the TC. The guys had to push the car all the way to the plowed street before the tires would spin again. Quite embarrassing. Toyota should have really put a disable button on the vehicle. If this was truely a sudden blizzard on unplowed roads, itchy would have had to wait to be plowed out. We did have about 6" of snow in an hour a year ago, so its a possibility. I will be looking into getting snow tires for next year.

 

with my experiance.. it's a traction thing.. and an acceleration thing.

when you tell the prius to go.. go.. just floor it till you get up to speed.

also.. get better tires. my goodyear comforthreads were champs in the snow

traction control was slowing you down. if you have an 04 or 05, you can disable it with a "code". you can burn up the hybrid system.. so user beware.