The snow is thawning from what I hope is the last snowfall here in Minnesota for the year. I uncovered a significant problem this winter. We live on a hill. Rear wheel drive vehicles have trouble during a fresh snowfall. Front wheel drive vehicles generally no problem. Our 2005 model Prius should be able to get up this hill but halfway up, when I would expect the wheels to start spinning a bit, it just plain stops turning the front wheels. I assume this is some type of smart traction device that is in over its head. It must shut down the spinning wheels and that means BOTH front wheels. This is dangerous. I am stuck half way up a hill with nothing to do but back down. Is there some way to turn off whatever automatic system is doing this?
Yeah it does that. Mine USED to do what you described but somehow someway, my TRAC has been reprogrammed to act like the 06+ models which means I can now spin my wheels. We've still haven't fully understood why mine underwent a programming change and others haven't.
I'm assuming yours was an earlier in the year 2005. I got mine in mid-August of 2005 and have no trouble with the TRAC. It does the "slip and grab" bit in icy conditions. I think you told us before, but did you have a recall for something that ended up requiring the reprogramming? That is, rather than specially to fix the TRAC problem. I'd guess that dmac also has an earlier in the year 2005. Perhaps he can clarify on that point. Dave M.
Being a California boy, I've only seen pictures of snow, but I know that a quick start from a wet intersection, just s h u t s e v e r y t h i n g d o w n. It is really frustrating. My Subarus love slippery conditions, and just hook up and go. An AWD Hybrid would be awsome, with torque, and traction. Not today though, and certainly not the Prius. But, the Subarus get 20-something, and the Prius nearly 50. Different strokes. How do people live in snow, anyway?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Apr 13 2007, 12:30 AM) [snapback]422419[/snapback]</div> Yes we got our Prius in June 2005 so would be an earlier in the year model.
The traction control is a little over protective. There are a bunch of threads on this topic if you search the forums. Here is the general thinking: 1) Get good tires. The OEM tires suck in general and are impossible in snow. 2) If you are driving a 2005 or earlier, get it reprogrammed. The 2006 and later have more aggressive traction control parameters. 3) Think momentum. If you can keep it moving, the Prius will continue to supply power to the wheels. Once you come to a complete stop it's hard to get moving again. 4) When the traction control starts to give up, mash the pedal all the way to the floor and keep it there. You won't over rev, the traction control sees to that. It just tells the ECU to get a little more serious about supplying power to the wheels, and it will do a little more tire spinning. Hope this helps, Tom
Mash the pedal. that's what i did when in Co. my 04 was a champ in the snow and off road conditions.. only because i would mash it all the way when i wanted it to go... the gas pedal on a prius is like a locomotive conductor... he won't put his train in harm. all you need to do is tell him " max acceleration " and it will be so. if you hold it down lightly the car will think you're looking for a mild acceleration. you could always turn off trac. it's " not recommended "
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Apr 12 2007, 10:30 PM) [snapback]422419[/snapback]</div> Well he got it 2 months before you haha. I got mine in Oct 04 so it was definitely one of the first sets of 05s. I had the ECU reprogrammed but that was for the stalling recall in Dec 05.
