Yesterday, right after my car had been washed, I tried to accelerate quickly from a complete stop onto the freeway. The car barely moved, and I heard a noise like something was slipping. I tried again - same result. Then I just eased onto the gas to accelerate slowly onto the freeway - not really a good idea, but it worked. I called my Toyota dealer and asked if they had heard of this before, and they said no, but to bring it in if it happened again. About 2 hours later, in a similar situation, there was no problem. Has this happened to anyone else? Any idea what is going on?
It's my GUESS there is nothing bad going on. From what you say is it possible the tires were still wet when slippage began? What you describe sounds like the traction control system kicking in. It acts like that...power to wheels, slippage, TC momentairly prevents power from going to the wheels. Once they stop slipping you more gingerly step on the gas and off you go!
Something similar happened when I tried to accelerate on wet and uneven roads. It happened because traction control kicks in. I am not sure if that's the case for you.
Your tires did NOT spin, traction control did NOT have to turn itself on, and you were able to accelerate . It may have been the slick road surface of the on ramp, you may have been on an uphill, it may have been wet, etc. long and short is, you should typically be able to accelerate quickly - you were just in a bad spot
Known problem with the OEM tires. They are not real grippy. A patch of sand/gravel or water/snow and a somewhat heavy foot on the acellerator from a stop will cause the TC to save the electric motor as the wheels slip.
I like the traction control idea. It did not feel like the tires were moving at all - something mechanical was slipping. It sounded like it was coming from the center front of the hood, not the sides. The freeway on-ramp was dry, ungravelly, and clear; this is LA, after all! I had driven the car 1.5 miles prior to getting to the on-ramp, so I THINK they were pretty dry. I've been driving this car in LA conditions, including this very on-ramp, daily for 20 months now, so I know how the car is supposed to react. Any other ideas? I think I will research the traction control system, if not.
I have never noticed any sound when the traction control kicks in. So if you really did hear a sound, then I suspect it might be something else.
When trac kicks in, the squiggly road under a car icon will flash, unless the trac operation was really brief. MG2 is directly connected to the wheels mechanically, through fixed gears and a chain, and that is the first thing that propels the car from a stop, until about 5 MPH where ICE kicks in. If anything were really slipping at takeoff other than the tires, then something would have to be completely broken, and you would not be going anywhere except to a dealer by tow.