OK , folks there has got to be a way to bypass this traction control this thing has almost go me stuck driving on a dirt road, and today almost got me hit as i pulled into traffic and turned maybe a little to hard and the prius just stoppped moving and the little yellow trac control light flashed . Then a sec or 2 later I started to go again but my foot was all the way down so when it lunged it apparently broke trac again which caused it to stop and flash again ......If the darn truck had not braked he would have hit me after I pulled out because of the car involuntary pausing without power going to the wheels twice inside of just a few seconds ....Please help me cut , clip, cross, whatever it takes to bypass , or disable this crap ....I dont want a car deciding when I need power and when I dont that is what the gas pedal is for ......
google search "Maintenance Mode" Gen II Prius. Warning, mfr. states not to drive Prius with traction control disengaged, supposedly will damage transaxle.
found these guys driving in the snow after turning the traction control off would love to know if this is just BS or if it really will damage something
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. This is probably more than most Toyota Prius owners are willing to do each time they crank their vehicle, but it does provide a useful alternative in the event of abnormal driving conditions. It would probably be a good auto standard to include a defeat switch on all vehicles equipped with traction control. Any Prius owner with a do it yourself attitude can follow these steps and accomplish something that your local certified mechanic probably doesn’t even know is possible Source: How to Disable Prius Traction Control - CarsDirect
the only thing I know is that the mfr. warns of transaxle damage. What is damaged? Not sure, someone else can truthfully answer that one.
So also if the trans-axle damage is the problem then why (i found a guy on another forum) does the aussie gen 2 version have a traction control disable button and the us version does not this one did not explode and I think that might have been close to overreving
My 2006 Escape Hybrid didn't have any traction control and would light up the tires without doing anything to stop you. The transaxle is similar in design to the Prius'. I wouldn't worry about it damaging anything, just don't be stupid with it.
my wife had a tribute back in the day and I roasted the factory set of front tires off her suv in under 3000 miles....that darn little thing would SMOKE the living crap out of the front end ......especially at red lights ..off the line..ohhhhhh the memories
do you have garbage tires on your car? when I had the integritys it would do that if I wasn't careful, especially bad wet. good tires will help a lot. meantime don't just hold the pedal to the floor when you want to go. smoking the tires isn't moving, its just ruining tires for no reason except it's fun. once you figure out how much gas to give it (and get good tires) the crappy traction control isn't too annoying. I believe Toyota set it up that way because it might break something expensive if it revs up high and then suddenly gets traction.
Get a decent set of tires, that fixed the problem for us in daily driving conditions, years ago. Still is an issue in snow, but its traction control is designed to save itself as mentioned above and not to keep you moving.
yall say dont hold down the pedal but it is a hard habit to break ...you pull out onto a road and the traction control kicks in so the prius quits moving , of course your natural reaction is to push down on the pedal to make the car go but it just sits there for a second or two. I would just rather be in control of the car exp. when it goes and stops not having it do it on its own....I WILL NEVER own one of those cars with the radar that slows or stops you if you get too close to something ... I want to control the car not have the car control me ..
I used to win street races by many car lengths because I didn't just stand on it. while the other guy would sit and spin, I would pull away. its different on the track with sticky tires. on the street, you got to control the pedal and feel how much throttle to give it. its just that simple. but good tires will make a tremendous difference. and by good tires I don't mean some junk made in korea or china. I bought my bridgestones from a used tire place on ebay and saved some $$, but then I can mount and balance them myself too.
