Has anyone confirmed whether the procedure below (from another post referring to a Gen II I believe) works with the PiP for a situation where you might want to try disabling traction control (snow, mud, etc.)? ------------ These steps must be completed within 60 seconds. Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal. Step 2: While the transmission is still in park (P), fully press the gas pedal two times. Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times. Step 4: Put the transmission back in park (P) and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “!Car!” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen. Step 5: Press the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to the start position, without going back to the ready position, to start the engine. If these steps are followed correctly, the vehicle will start with the traction control system defeated.
Anyone? I just tried this on my vehicle and I get hung up on Step 3. I can't shift it into N. I get a two-beep warning but the vehicle stays in P. But I may be doing something incorrectly...just curious whether anyone has had success with this...?
I'm assuming you are holding it in N for a second or so? I noticed it won't shift into N otherwise (at least the 1 time I tried).
Agreed. You must hold the shifter in the neutral position for a couple of seconds before it will switch to that setting.
After following the procedure on my Prius v (wagon), I pressed the brake and start to get into ready mode and the slip indicator light and Hybrid System Warning Light (no buzzer) were lit up. I didn't have any snow or ice to spin my wheels on (yet), but the lights were a good indication that I had turned off traction control. I took me a couple of tries getting into neutral as just switching or holding the joystick in neutral did not work. Then I remembered that I have to hold the brake to get it shift out of park normally. Maybe it is different for the Prius v than for the hatchback.
yeah i mean that's how it always is. you can't shift out of park without having the brake pedal down because otherwise the car would just instantly start rolling.
Yeah, it works, needed it today. You get "Maintenance Mode" on the display. If you clear it, 5 seconds later, it pops up again. Stoopid snow and ice.
Thanks for confirming this. I'm pleased to say I haven't had the need to actually do this with my snow/ice driving the last few weeks. I have Michelin X-Ice snow tires running which I think makes the biggest difference, but I'm very impressed with the PiP in snow thus far. Obviously with its low ground clearance it would be a poor choice to bust through significant accumulations, but for packed snow and ice/slick conditions the PiP + X-Ice has been a very reliable combination...
Today I am asking about defeating the Traction Control on a different thread. Here is a new post from it: Traction control procedure | PriusChat where cwerdna | PriusChat says that you should not do this according to the manual. How many of you have actually used the procedure and how many have had any ill-effects from disengaging traction control?
I disengaged the traction control long enough to clear the path that where I was stuck. It was so bad, that the car was in drive, and going backwards because the wheels wouldn't spin. Once I got to the top of the hill, I reset the car to engage it again.
