My experience of VSC on Toyota cars, Prius, Sienna and Scion xB, is that it operates very crudely, almost like a hand brake on each wheel, with an almost all or nothing brake force application on the appropriate wheel, surely a modern electronic stability control should have a higher degree of variability of brake force? It seems when I test it in a snow covered empty parking lot, it feels like an on/off braking action on the wheels with no in between. Is this the way it should operate? Does anyone have system insight as to how the VSC works in term of levels of brake force to the relevant wheels? Is it just a cheap crude system lacking sophistication that's just designed to meet minimum Federal requirements. Perhaps the crude operation is designed so that people don't push the limits too much and become too accustomed to the VSC intervention?
The electric motor is shut down when the wheels loose traction... It's a simple kill switch to protect your drivetrain from the extreme torque of a very powerful electric motor. It's dishonest for Toyota to claim it has anything to do with "stability" or "traction" or "safety" or whatever, it's merely an acceptable weakness of the hybrid design. Many people don't trust or don't buy Prius because of it. The rest of us think this failing is far outweighed by the car's overall benefits in non-icy or slick conditions. People who live in icy conditions most of the year don't want a Prius. People who live in places like California where gas is more expensive than the rest of the country and it no longer rains anymore really like having a Prius.
i've never seen or felt it come on, but i haven't given it a good thrashing in a snow covered parking lot.
It is far better on my 2012 plug-in than it was on my 2005. My Bad I was thinking traction control. Not enough coffee, I will fix that problem in the morning!
I tried to do donuts in a parking lot, the VSC didn't let me. It also didn't let me make the car fishtail. I was impressed. I have not tried it in other cars so I didn't think the prius was a rough or basic VSC system but I really don't know.
PriusCamper - Do you have a reference for this statement? I've never seen this stated anyplace about VSC on Prii As for the VSC performance, comparing it to my old car - 2002 Highlander (4wd) it's far more sophisticated. It does come on a lot more than my Highlander and always keeps the car going in the desired direction (whether straight or on a turn). I'm pretty impressed frankly. The Highlander's VSC was very crude by comparison and I could easily override it on sharp turns. And it was very rough when it kicked in. You can barely tell it's active on the Prius. I do miss being able to turn it off just for fun driving in parking lots but I realize that it does have a protective function for the drivetrain.
Since 2012, it has been illegal to sell new cars without VSC. I think you are confusing VSC with the older Prius Traction Control issues.
