Traction Control and wintery conditions

Nope, you died and everything since then including this note is just an illusion. <cue Outer Limits music>

You have a choice between your 'lying eyes' and what "Joe Benton," a notorious hybrid skeptic wants to claim. He is a nut case and spends too much of his time trying to find something wrong with the Prius. That is the role of a propagandist.

If you think your car is unsafe, wait for the next winter storm, find a parking lot, and see if you can make it misbehave. But good, bad or ugly, the only thing that one can count on from Joe Benton are Prius skeptical reports.

NOTE: I'm sorry to be so harsh but "Joe Benton" and ConsumerAffairs has gone over the top and sad to say, he provides the nonsense you quoted as fact. You've come to PriusChat, one of several fact based web sites and soon folks will offer you experience backed up by real world driving. "Joe" cherry picks his reports and he really is doing nothing but instilling FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt.)

You've already survived an ice storm without death, dismembership or an accident. To make sure things are OK, use the next storm to find an empty parking lot and see if you can make it 'misbehave.' Use experiments to find the limits. As for "Joe" and the fear mongers, that they might have led you to ask here is the only good thing. There are several other excellent hybrid web sites and Yahoo groups that have unbiased accounts from actual Prius experimenters that many of us also participate in postings. Although Consumer Reports are not fans of the Prius, at least Consumer Reports is reasonably fair, honest and factual.

If you'd like to have some fun, go to ConsumerAffairs and file a complaint about Joe's article that you quoted. Point out that you survived an ice storm and didn't die. That the claims of the article you quoted turned out to be false. Then notice at the very end, he asks if you do NOT want to be contacted by a consumer attorney. I believe he is a 'land-shark' looking for profitable companies to sue. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

People who complain about the traction control system either don't understand how it works, or have bad tires, or bad driving skill, or all of the above. I will say that if you live in a very snowy climate , real snow tires are a great idea.

Icarus

PS. It is like the skid marks in the slick ice I saw the other day,,, all four wheels locked for 200' as the car missed the corner and when into a deep ditch. Just getting off the pedal and STEERING would have prevented a pretty serious crash. 1/2 mile away, another set, heading right into a utility pole! Operator error in both cases!

 

Consumeraffairs.com ≠ Consumer Reports

Consumeraffairs.com = rumor mongering lawyers trying to drum up business

 

The traction control system does have its flaws, mostly in that it is a bit on the conservative side and tends to cut power very quickly. With good tires it works fairly well, but will undoubtedly be better on the new model.

That said, the driving situation you describe is an issue of VSC, not traction control. VSC, or Vehicle Stability Control, works to keep your car under control around corners and in slippery conditions. The VSC on the Prius works very well.

As previously stated, the web site you reference is full of baloney or some such similar substance.

Tom

 

Consumeraffairs.com may suck, but the article has merit.

PriusChat has many threads and posts about the problem of power being cut off, especially on inclines, the lack of an on/off switch, an improved traction control ecu on later model Priuses, etc. See, e.g., this thread started by nyprius:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/40883-does-ecu-upgrade-fix-04-05-traction-control.html

 

I was concerned about the Prius in snow after reading a lot of the posts on problems with the traction control.

I live in NH and drive to Boston each day for work, sometimes in some scary stuff. My driveway has a slight incline, enough to stop lots of vehicles if not cleaned off properly. At the end of my street there is a hill with a stop at the top.

So far, the Prius has not disappointed. In a snow storm it got up the hill on the street with the traction control light flashing but it kept on going and I had no issues. I guess it could be equivalent to driving on very soft beach sand, go slow and keep going.
Anyhow.

As many have said good snow tires are a must, likely with any front wheel drive vehicle. I have Nokian Hakka R tires on my Prius and love them....they are the best....turns the car into a SUV!! (just kidding!)

 

Any car with traction control benefits greatly from snow tires when driven on snow and ice.

 

Complete rubbish, and propaganda for those who really don't understand how traction control works in ANY auto.

It reminds me of the early days of anti-lock brakes. People didn't, and many surely still do not, understand how they work. This lead to foolish statements about this technology also.

The Prius traction control works the same as in ALL autos. Want better traction control? Buy better tires. It's the same story with every car. End of story.

... Brad

 

The main problem is the lack of an on/off switch. If you lose power going up a slippery incline (which does occur as noted in the article), the problem would be solved by being able to turn off the traction control.

 

Close, but not quite correct. It is true that most of the comments against traction control (and VSC) are misinformed rubbish. That said, not all traction control was created equal. The traction control on the Prius simply limits torque to the drive wheels when slippage is detected, and it does so in a fairly aggressive manner, especially at very low speeds. More advanced traction control systems will apply a brake to a slipping wheel, allowing torque to transfer to the other drive wheel. Toyota's FJ40 will do this, but not the Prius.

As another note, let me add that the traction control on the 2006 Prius and newer is vastly better than the 2004 and older. Some place around 2005 a new algorithm was implemented which allows for more wheel spin.

Tom

 

I have a 07 prius,after driving around in area for a few days i wasnt too happy with trac control,unfortunately because the engine to generator(dampner)dosnt have any way to absorb large amount of torque when it does get traction.there is no way to turn trac control off,its a safety feature so you dont damage anything,i think that is why conventional vehicles handle beter.the prius gets parked and the subaru outback gets to have fun in the snow.sorry but the prius isnt the best car for snow but it still does pretty good if you know what your doing

 

The VSC works amazingly well on my '08 Prius but the traction control is way too aggressive. It will only let a tire spin about 1/2 a revolution and power is chopped completely. I do wish there was a way to disengage the system. Sometimes you have to have wheel spin to get moving on snow or ice. The Prius would be better in my opinion if it didn't completely chop the throttle before it tries again. What little bit of momentum it has achieved before the slippage is lost when it throttles back too much.

My wife's parents have an inclined driveway. The Prius sits at the bottom and we have to walk it while other members of her family with front wheel drives make it up just fine. They do spin but they keep their momentum enough to make it to the top. I just wish there was a way to turn it off like I can on both of my Fords. Even my '04 Mustang GT doesn't completely chop the throttle and allows it to gain momentum with the traction control on. In some situations it has done better than the Prius although I feel much safer in the snow in the Prius by far...

 

It's an acceptable quirk for me no matter what the actual reason for it is. The Prius is my wife's car. I like conventional cars so I have one. I'd rather my wife stay away from situations that I would normally turn the traction control off on my car since I don't think she has the skill needed to spin her way up an ice/snow covered road anyhow. If she could turn it off, the car would probably end up in some ditch somewhere. I'll take it as it is and be happy with it but it would be an irritation to me if it was my daily driver and part of the reason I don't have one for myself...

 

I have a 2008 package #5. I replaced my tires before the winter season with MXV's. I live in Minnesota and the car is excellent in the snow. Each vehicle is different. This car is safe and has excellent traction and control. Drive carefully and know your vehicle. I see many SUV's off the road on icy days.

 

I agree. Ours would probably be better with a different set of tires. It's a 2008 and has whatever came stock on it.

After you get moving the Prius does fine unless you lose momentum. You guys have to remember that I'm in the WV mountains and most of the time you are either going uphill or downhill...LOL. Like you said though, each car is different. My Taurus wont get moving on the ice/snow unless I get the tires spinning and saw the wheel back and fourth and my Mustang is just the opposite. Spinning the tires does nothing for it since it has a limited slip rear end. It just starts going sideways. I have to get the car rocking by just bumping the clutch to get it moving.

 

I personally don't mind the traction control until I and really stuck. Regular driving down the road is fine. However I do understand the problem with turning it off. What I was thinking... like it matters now... is that if could have had a setting say 1 - 10 allowing the driver to increase the aggressiveness of the system. Also say if it gets to far into one way the gas engine would be require to be on and at x rpm to not cause harm to the HSD. This would seem like a fair compromise. I know it's not going to happen. But one can dream.

 

My 09 with traction control has been very good in heavy snow this January and February. Have been driving with normal tyres on six inches of snow with no problem. I have not experienced any of the conditions mentioned by others.