Thrice now my car has jerked right then left for no apparent reason. All three times the slip indicator warning flashes for several seconds and then disappears. I'm just worried that there's something more to this. Today when it happened I was going 35mph, road & weather conditions were perfect & I honestly did nothing wrong. The only this I can come up with is right before the car jerked, I went over a slight bump in the road. Still, I remained in control the whole time. Is this normal? Thanks!
8) heliotropehead, Is it possible that you hit some patches of ice and/or wet pavement and if so, that might be why the TC kicked in? Ben
8) Yes I think a pothole could do it. What part of Louisiana? I lived in Oakdale, LA for 13 years before transfering here to Omaha, NE. Ben
Originally from New Orleans, schooled in Lafayette, now living in northern LA but considering a move back to New Orleans.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(heliotropehead\";p=\"62618)</div> It's happened to me a few times, at the same exact spot about a quarter mile from my house. The bump must cause a wheel to become momentarily airborne, which must have the same characteristics as slippage as far as the Prius' computers are concerned.
It's also happened to me when I went over a manhole/utility cover and one wheel spun-out slightly because of water on the metal. Dave
A similar thing happened to me today. I was braking for a red light when I hit a bump in the road, and all of a sudden I lost control of my car for a couple of seconds as it veered side to side slightly. The Slip Indicator Light flashed a few times afterward, then went off. I drove over this bump almost daily and this is the first time I lost control. It was quite scary, felt almost like I was hydroplaning at a low speed, but the road was dry and weather was sunny, so it must have been the bump in the road. I just hope I can avoid having this happen the next time. :frown:
Have you checked the tire tread depth of your tires, especially the front tires? My guess is that they are sufficiently worn to allow the tire slip. If you get new tires then this problem will likely go away.
This happens to me all the time when I brake on a bumpy road with the Prius, especially if you hit a good sized bump in the road. It also happens to our other cars as well. I wouldn't say I lose control, but the brakes definitely feel like they "let go" for a second. It's a long second.
The treads are still good, so I don't think it was a tire problem. I used to drive a Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla before my Prius, and I have never experienced something like this on a dry pavement and at such a low speed in those cars before. I'll just have to be more cautious with my Prius driving over bumps from now on.
so i have a gen 3, and i was just reading the manual for fun... it says that if u're braking, and u depress the brake pedal all the way down and hold for 2 seconds, the anti-slip thing will come on. maybe when u go over bumps, the car thinks ur foot is flooring the brake pedal (b/c the car goes up, and ur foot stays at the same place), and turns on the anti-slip. no idea if this is the case, but that's my theory, since it looks like it happens in perfect conditions.
Don't confuse it with Hill-Start Assist which is activated when you're stopped and you press the brake pedal past a "denté" or a threshold.
