The C - A Gutless Snow Machine

Yep. Been there with the 4WDi Highlander. The Synergy system will not allow wheel spin. It's fantastic on ice but useless in snow without ground clearance and snow tires.

 

Yikes. I just got my snows put on. Thanks for the update!

 

That's odd... because I expected poor snow performance from mine based on a lot of reviews, and it spins fine. It'll throw dirt in my driveway as it digs through the snow (not that that helps a whole lot, but it spins). I am running some of the more aggressive studded snow tires (Ipike) which I selected over the more tame ones like the x-ice and such, for better tread in deep snow. I've taken it uphill on snow covered driveways in 3 or 4 inches of unplowed snow, and it spun a few times, but made it. It's made it out of my driveway in 6+ inches of snow, after two or three tries. For a 2 wheel drive car, it does quite well, I think. Not a subaru by any means -- my old '81 suby with studded snows will sometimes keep going with snow cresting over the hood. But, for what it is, it's not any worse than any other front wheel drive car I've driven. Tires are key (I got my 4x4 ford Ranger stuck in a snowstorm because of bad tires the other day -- stopped in the middle of the highway and wouldn't go up the hill any more, and my girlfriend had to come rescue me in the prius -- which wasn't having any problems

 

Cool report. The C sounds like a better snow machine than my 2006 HiHy. I'm only guessing but maybe Toyota has better sensors against overheating and allows some spin now. I'm excited to see at the next snowfall.

 

From weather.com: (emphasis added)
If you get stuck...

1. Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
2. Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
3. Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.
4. Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
5. Pour sand, kitty litter, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.
6. Try rocking the vehicle. (Check your owner's manual first — it can damage the transmission on some vehicles.) Shift from forward to reverse, and back again. Each time you're in gear, give a light touch on the gas until the vehicle gets going

 

Got my snows on then had a reason to take my usual route from Grand Ledge to Lansing and back. Did this in one of the worst wind and rain conditions I've been in to date. Am pleased and surprised to report I got 60 MPG on the way home and over 50 on the way to Lansing. We are supposed to get 2-4 inches tonight and will try to get out and see how all this works.

 

The stock Dunlop tires on the PC get very low user ratings for ice and snow traction. The ratings probably are as bad as you can get. I mention this because the problem may be more in the tires than the car. The Tire Rack survey shows that only 1.8% of owners would consider buying this tire again. My C4 has a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks for winter use.

 

Living in Utah, home of the Greatest Snow on Earth, I need to have a car that can cope in the snow. The prius C's traction control is so advanced that I cannot lose control in the snow even when i try. But, I also cannot make it up a snowy hill with the traction control on. This is why I always put the car into maintenance mode for snow driving (if you cannot drive, don't do this) and i can make it up most hills just fine. In fact, im planning on making a Prius C snow drifting video over this winter, its gonna be dope. Its fantastic for a FWD for drifting when the TC is off. By the way, what possible repercussions could there be from spinning the wheels a little? Anyone know?

 

How do you turn the traction control on and off? I wonder if it's turned off on mine, and that's the difference? Mine is the two model, BTW.

On spinning... in certain circumstances spinning and digging your way through the snow is the only way to move. However, you have to have tires that will dig -- ones that just polish the snow into ice isn't going to work. And, you have to know that there's something to dig down to... if it's bottomless, and you get high centered.... not so good either.

I'm a firm believer of dedicated snow tires (either studded or studless) in the winter. Even compared to quite agressive offroad tires, it's amazing how much better performance modern snow tires give you. I didn't used to think this way, but I've driven in so much snow with both that I won't drive in the winter without snow tires any more (also, I probably drive on snow 6 months out of the year... if you have a shorter snow season, it's different).

 

I picked up my C-2 today , so of course it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Looks like priority 1 will be getting snow tires!

 

For folks not familiar with kitty litter, use only the old fashioned non-clumping kind.

If you must use the modern clumping stuff, test it first. When wet, some kinds will turn into a gooey greasy mess that is unlikely to improve traction. (I haven't tried it for traction, but do clean cat boxes.)

 

The traction control is designed to keep the RPM of the electric motors below specific safety values, and so will limit wheelspin greatly. But if you have good snow tires there won't be wheelspin as they will have sufficient traction to move the car. The stock 'all-weather' tires are fairly low in snow traction, so they slip easily resulting in the traction control kicking in. Tires with better grip don't slip, so you keep moving.

 

It is the same as the standard prius. If you have the push to start like i do, this is the process:

1. Pull the handbrake to keep car from rolling during this process
2. Push start button twice, without pressing the brake. Puts your car into ready mode or something like that.
3. Depress the gas pedal twice, fully, while in P
4. switch to N (i think you have to hold brake to switch 'gears'). Release brake once you have switched 'gears' and fully depress gas pedal twice.
5. Switch back to P and fully depress gas pedal twice.
6. The display should say "maintenance mode"
7. Hold brake and press power button, turning the car on. TC is now off.

It will reset back to normal next time you turn the car back on after turning it off.

 

Therefore, it is basically impossible for your TC to be off if the only way to turn it off is through this temporary maintenance mode.

 

Remember that TC in a Prius exists first and foremost to protect the transaxle, and only secondarily as a benefit to the driver.

The damage mechanism suggested in past threads is that when the wheels are spinning, the electrics are capable of very rapidly reaching high RPMs. Should the wheels suddenly get grip, the shock loading could be damaging.

 

Is there any benefit to traction control (in terms of improved traction) as it has been implemented on Prius vehicles? Typically, one thinks of vehicle traction control as a system that limits wheel spin on the front tire that has lost traction while keeping torque available to the other wheel that still has friction between it and the ground. Instead, I get the impression that the traction control on a Prius simply backs off both engine and motor torque to protect the electric motors and the double planetary gear device from impact loading. As a result, if one wheel begins to slip, you are done.