I'm not a newbie, having owned a Gen2 prius for over 8 years now...but thinking of trading it in for a newer model, and concerned about traction on steep, snowy hills. I live on a hill, and my driveway is steep, and I have had problems getting up my road and up my driveway in the snow due to the governor on the electric motor, even with 4 snow tires mounted and the accelerator peddle to the floor. The governor, for the uninitiated or those from southern climates, prevents the drive wheels from spinning to protect the electric motor. My question concerns the newer models, including the PlugIn...has the traction problem been solved when attempting to drive uphill in wet snow?
I think you're talking about the traction control. I've never heard of it referred to as "the governor". Governors generally limit the maximum speed of a car. You have an 04 or 05 Prius?
While I don't have foul weather experience in a Gen II, I've seen broad agreement here that traction control is improved in the Gen IIIs. There are some videos posted somewhere around here showing it in action. But some readers insist that the problem is not fully 'solved', a portion of the problem remains. If your driving style includes mashing the pedal to floor, or forcing some strategic wheel spin, then you should pay close attention to their complaints. Sorry, I don't have links handy.
That was my biggest beef I had with the Prius I had, wheel spins a little and stop, spin, stop, spin, stop. Where I live and drive, that becomes dangerous because it usually happened pulling out from a side road onto a highway of 55 MPH. The corners are gravel so of course people cant turn correctly and run off the road kicking the gravel across the intersection, which means tires slip and spin. The TCH didnt have that problem. I did get the Prius stuck going uphill and it took at least 10 minutes to go 150' up that hill. It was mostly due to that reason that I have not gone back to the Prius.
Yes, I have an '05 purchased in 2004. I think of it as a governor that limits the RPMs of the axle to protect the electric motor from burnbout, but guess it is now generically called "traction control". I always thought of traction control as what used to be called "differential spin control" in olden days of the 60's.
Thanks, acdii. I spent a few hours once trying to get up my road, then another hour or two to get up my driveway in the '05 Prius, using a combination of snow shovel, cardboard, backing up to gain momentum, etc. A frustrating, exhausting experience. I do sometimes access backcountry trailheads where I would not feel comfortable without a spare tire (PHP model) but would benefit from lower energy cost due to low daily mileage around town. I may wait until the next technology comes along...
Why not just put the car into inspection mode, bypassing the traction control (read: turning it off) so you can get up the hill? I live in Michigan where there are no hills, but I sure did print out the instructions on how to put my Prius into inspection mode and put them into the car, should a situation arise where I need to bypass the traction control!
What model year did you have? With at least 4 revisions of TC on various vintages of Prius, we need to tag complaints to specific model years. Start with 'traction control', and check the 'Search titles only' box. This thread has some videos, one in the base post and more in the replies: 2010 Traction Control Demo. One particular driver with rally experience seemed to have the most cogent complaints about the portion of the problem still not fixed, but I couldn't find anything reminding me of his screen name. My own very limited experience with TC in a 2010, after the All-Season tires had worn down to '3-Season' tires, was quite successful.
The 2004-2005 Prius had the most sensitive version of TC. It was quite horrid! The GenIII is much less sensitive. With proper snow/ice tires you shouldn't have much of an issue unless on straight ice.
Well to each his own I suppose. Many Priuschatters have done this for years with no problem. The key is to not abuse it. The concern is spinning the wheels at very high speeds with the traction control OFF which can overspeed MG1. Then, should you spin the wheels too fast and hit dry pavement causing it to grip suddenly, a shock load "could" spell disaster. This is all theory, but good theory, but as far as I know, no pruischatter has ever grenaded their transmission with the traction control disabled. Key is not being obnoxious with the traction control OFF. Most people just need to get up a snowy hill to their house. A little spin isnt going to hurt anything; after all, traction control allows for spin itself.
Thanks for the insight, PriusGuy....this is the first I've heard about this (haven't been on these forums much for about 5-6 years)years)
