Prius worst car in history in winter

Yes Brad you can thanks to Adrian Black, post 39 of this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...how-disable-stability-traction-control-4.html

I have not tried this but others have and report that it works fine, see post 70 of that same thread for example.

 

Mine didn't give up on the uphill earlier this week, despite having 'all-season' tires that clearly have aged into just three-season tires. In fact it easily climbed past a couple nonhybrids already getting towing assistance, before accelerating veerrry slowly out of a steep turn but still getting up the worst portion.

Before the hill, it passed every Subaru still on the street that late in the evening. They must have had bad tires, as my Subaru wouldn't have been going that slow.

This car doesn't yet have much winter experience, but so far I have no reason to disable its TC.

 

I live well north of you and we have not had an issue with either of our cars in the snow. We can plow through snow banks with no problems.

Ice, I know of no car good on ice. I do hate the ABS brakes on the prius but to call it junk is out of line, IMHO.

But thats me. I grew up learning to drive in snow and ice and have been doing so since 1986.

Not trying to flame, just share my POV.

 

What part of NB are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in NS.

 

I live in Pittsburgh with lots of steep hills and yes I do lose at least 10 mpg in the winter. My trips between home and work are three miles. So the car may get up to temperature about one mile from my destination. My old Volvo that the Prius replaced would get around 15 mpg or less in the winter where my Prius gets mid thirties.

I have Michelin Ice X on all for corners and have very little trouble getting around or stopping in the snow. Now I will tell you last winter was a real education since this car is my first front wheel drive. Now that I have learned how to drive a FWD in the winter I have zero problems getting around.

 

I drive a 2010 Prius and it drives just fine in heavy snow. You just use common sense. I've seen some SUV's in the ditch because they were driving a little too fast for the conditions. I keep my gasoline tank full. I have absolutely no complaints with the Prius in heavy snow.

 

My Prius is an excellent winter driver. Hills are no problem, the car stops great, But, of course, it is 80F here in So Cal today

 

didn't read the whole thread but i partially agree with the OP. I find it harder to stop in the prius than other cars i've had while on a snow covered road. i think it's the tires. it also seems to take longer to blow hot air from the vent. it's not terrible, but it does take longer. and i do keep mine in a garage, but it's not a heated garage.

 

The traction control is absolutely annoying in the Prius, it does not allow for any wheelspin at all. Sometimes wheelspin is useful, why can't we get an off button to get it!

 

It does allow the wheel to spin. My 2006 model spins up to 15 mph and 2010 should spin a bit more. It wont spin/slip like 50 mph.

 

A short patch of slick road will give that impression. On a long road that's nothing but snow, you'll discover the wheels do indeed spin a little.
.

 

It would allow some slight spin, but it is not nearly enough if you are at a low speed. I live on a relatively steep hill. The traction control will slow me down before I get to the top. Once I get below 10mph, it's pretty much all over for me and I have to backup and start over.

 

The Prius is not the best vehicle to have in the snow, but it does the job most of the time. I think "worst car in history" might be a bit of overstatement though. Of course, I grew up in another era- my first car had no power steering, no power brakes, no power seat, no a/c, no anti-lock brakes, no traction control. It was rear-wheel drive. It did have an AM radio so I was better off than some of my friends!

PS- 16 degrees is just cool. A cold night is when the your nose hairs freeze at about zero degrees.

 

The OP obviously never drove my 1969 Camaro in snow.

Tom

 

Yeah...or my 76 Firebird.

Seriously. The Prius is adequate transportation in snow and/or ice. It's not the greatest, but it's far from the worst.
I don't think the OP meant to be an apostate, so we should probably not stone him/her to death....at least not this time....

I think this person was just a little frustrated.
You know....cabin fever, and all like that.

 

In my experience, the car's temperature display seems to be consistently warmer than outside ambient temp. My local weather info says it is -33C outside this morning but -27C is the best I could muster on this morning's drive. My MPG since Dec has been 40MPG. But it hasn't been quite this cold.

 

There are minor temperature differences everywhere so do not rely on a local weather station to tell you what temperature it is in some other location. I guarantee that if your local weather station was located in a barren field with a riparian area adjacent to it that the temperature would be different in the riparian zone even if it was located just across the street. There are a lot of factors that effect temperature. One reason the car may read higher than your local weather station is the simple fact that roads radiate absorbed energy and the air immediately above them tends to be hotter than the air say above a field or forest. So unless your local weather station has pavement right below it, it may read a bit cooler than your car.

*edit*

I just noticed you wrote -21C. You don't have pavement. you have snow and ice! Brrrrrrr lol

 

Your temp sensor (thermistor?) is in the front of the car by that (comment deleted) emblem if my memory serves me correctly. It's gonna be slightly warmer there than it will be 100 yards away from the car, since you're bleeding heat from the emgine compartment.

40-MPG probably isn't bad in your neck of the woods.
Good Luck.

Hang in there.

 

I have to agree that the Prius is not good in the snow. My 2010 prius (purchased in Dec. 2010) got stuck in the snow today There was less than 3" on the ground. I started to go into work but turned around because all the roads were bad. When I came back up the steep hill (first time driving any car up this hill in snow -- not plowed yet), I got stuck! Called for a tow but managed to free the car with some shoveling and help from a snow plow. The car was struggling to get up with the traction. A Toyota Corolla was also struggling but all the other vehicles passed me with no problem. I will take the advice of trying ECO mode next time per another post. Not crazy about purchasing snow tires -- grew up in MA and never had to put them on any of my cars. I also never got stuck in the snow before. I noticed that when I had the hazards on the battery indicator was really low.

 

You may not need full snow tires but maybe better tires overall. What tires are on your car now?