Prius is a dangerous vehicle in snow

Many of us upgraded from the factory tires, since they weren't anything special on snow. If you've been using them for over 2 years now, especially if the PSI was on the low side, they're likely wore down pretty well.

Check your tread depth. Odds are, you're due for replacement. Consider a high-traction tire. I personally liked the HydroEdges on my 2004, since they improved rain handling as well as traction on snow.
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This is a well known flaw in the Prius due to the so-called "Traction Control" (actually a drive train protection system). Most people complain of the weak ability to climb a slippery hill, but I have flagged this aspect of the problem since I bought my 2004 Prius almost 7 years and 188,000 miles ago. I have learned to be very conservative whenever acceleration through or into traffic due to this tendency to hesitate usually when doing an accelerating left turn.

The problem is reduced, but not eliminated, by better tires as stated above. I now use the very good Nokian WRg2 tires from Finland - my 4th set of tires on my Prius.

JeffD

 

No winter traction discussion is meaningful without some mention of what tires you have, and their condition.

The OEM Ecopias on my car went from quite reasonable (though barely tested) their first winter to nearly worthless this winter. Though I also have a newer car model with greatly improved TC, so it didn't stall when the tires slipped.

 

Well, I guess a lot of us came up through many other cars-I to had a Spitfire-now talk about worthless in the snow-went through a winter in Grand Forks. ND with it.
As to the Prius, mine is an "07 with mostly the basics. I live in SE Washington State and getting over the passes to the west side is at best an adventure. Like always I went to Les Schwab and had ceramic studded tires put on it. It gets around great, mileage is a bit lower like they all do in the winter (heater, defroster etc). As to the traction control - well I like it. I know what to expect and allow for it, as in I don't pull out when another car is coming or the light is likely to change. I'd want a army tank (6 gal per mile) to do that kind of stuff. The breaking controller is fantastic! I have to work hard to get it to come unstuck. I think driver experiance and driving technique are more important than all the computer goodies they can hang on the car, but I do help.

 

Sell your car if you hate it much. Sounds worthless, so I'll give you $100 for it.

 

I'm just wondering how all those other owners in Canada, Northern States, Norway etc seem to manage?

Oh, they make sure they are prepared and use suitable winter tires.

 

5 winters with the 2004 in Minnesota were just fine with the high-traction all-season tires...



...and when my first set of HydroEdges needed replacement, it just happened to be March when we were getting dumped on with lots of snow. So, I got the opportunity to compare the very same tire with the difference between minimum tread and brand new. Depth of tread most definitely influences gripping power.
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Part of me wonders if this is a troll. It's always suspicious when someone makes their first post about how much they hate item XYZ, on the XYZ forum, where a bunch of people happen to congregate together and share their interest in XYZ.

(XYZ meaning pick your subject of choice, Prius or otherwise)

 

That was the same way my '04 would behave with "all season" tires.

But shod with four very aggressive studded Goodyear Nordic winter tires (Sold at Canadian Tire, same tire as the discontinued Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Scandinavian countries),



My '04 Prius easily blew away 4wd trucks and SUV's running "all season" tires, when the light turned green

Of course, the ultimate for traction is a 4wd running factory studded winter tires





A problem with all the electronic nannies is they usually get confused in "real world" conditions. For example, ABS was never intended to provide shorter stopping distances over locked brakes

On snow and *especially* a gravel road, a car without ABS and locked brakes will stop substantially shorter than a car with ABS

My advice to you - invest in 4 good winter tires. If your jurisdiction allows studded tires, the factory studded Nokians like I run on my FJ Cruiser are the ultimate for winter traction, especially on black ice and glare ice

 

I too had a Volvo Wagon, but mine was an 89. The thing was AWESOME in the snow. I got a little too comfortable with how well it did, and upon switching cars to a 90 Camry, promptly ended up in a ditch. My expectations were shifted from having driven the Volvo for so long.

 

My Nokian WRs are getting worn. They do have less grip than they did last winter. I find if I am VERY conservative with the accelerator pedal I can avoid the "shutdown" that so many hate. Gently press on the pedal until the car starts to move. Wait there, until the car begins to move confidently, then apply a -little- more. Keep doing this and you will find you will leave other cars behind. Yup, it's a slow takeoff. Nope, others are -MUCH- slower, as they sit spinning their wheels, nicely polishing up the intersection!

 

This issue has been beat to death. And this poster probably is a troll. If not... Just buy some good tires for the conditions you drive in, and you will discover that the "issue" is not much of an issue at all with good tires. The stock goodyear integrity tires are absolute crap in nearly all conditions.

I bet if you installed the integrity tires on a regular fwd car that does not have traction control, then instead of finding yourself temporarily stopped in the intersection, you'd probably be spinning tires like a fool and still going nowhere.

 

I sold my '06 for exactly this reason. It's not a tire issue. It's a problem with the car's software.

Toyota quietly dialed this "feature" back in '07; why this was never the subject of a class action lawsuit I'll never know.

If you think your car is bad, double what you're experiencing and you'll have my '06. It SUCKED and I always drove with trepidation in rain or snow.

It's kind of counter-intuitive to feel the power drop to idle, force oneself to feather the throttle, then press really gently while traffic is bearing down on you. The first time it happened, I came this close to being broadsided by a truck as my car just kind of sat there in the middle of the intersection.

The car has a lot of torque when accelerating from standstill. It's easy to break a tire loose, and once that happens, the traction control dials back the power and you're not going anywhere. Normal reaction is to keep pressing the throttle. But if you do, as soon as the tire stops spinning power comes back in, and guess what, the tire breaks loose again and the cycle repeats. The OP's tires were not spinning; the car was just sitting there with no forward movement as the traction control did its thing.

I think you're incorrect, and I dispute that the OP is a troll. The GII Prius has a very rudimentary suspension and an overly intrusive traction control system, and the issue has little to do with tires. I tried winter tires, super expensive performance rain tires that are normally installed on Porsches—this feature still sucked. There's a reason why it's been beaten to death: It's a problem. Thing is, I like the car but I'm not a fangirl. I liked the mpg, the features, the technology. I hated the traction control, and don't think it's unrealistic to admit it.

I'm now driving a car with RWD, a fully independent suspension and limited slip differential; first time I drove it in rain, I couldn't believe how bad the Prius really was.

 

I can only go by my own experience, and it is as follows. I observed the traction control situation on my '06 when I first bought it. If I accelerated briskly from a stop, it would sometimes kick in and very momentarily cut the accelerator. I also experienced hydroplaning in rain. I then replaced my tires with wider hydroedges. Since then, I have had no traction issues, on either wet or dry pavement. And the tires are superb in the rain.

I know the '04 - '05 had a more sensitive system, and I sometimes wonder if some later models do as well. On mine, I have even observed the front tires being able to freely spin a fair bit on gravel without the traction control engaging.

btw: RWD is usually not much to brag about in the snow, loose gravel, or sand, even with a limited slip diff those rwd characteristics are still going to be present.

 

I've also owned my fair share of vehicles, including 2wd (front and rear), 4wd, AWD, etc... and we have yet to experience any issues with traction in our Prius that would be any different than any other 2WD FWD vehicle we've ever had. I've owned an '02 Prius, an '04 Prius (current), know two other people close to us with another identical '04 and one GIII '10, and none of us are having traction control issues. And if you can believe it, the other '04 is in Minnesota (we get a little snow/ice here....) with stock Integrities with only about 4/32" of tread left and still gets around. They are only just now getting new tires, after I've warned them repeatedly how poorly the stock tires are. Yet, they managed to drive 200 miles one way in an ice/snow storm without issues last Friday (New Year's Eve). Yes, the traction control light did come on a few times for them, but road conditions were poor and there were cars in the ditch (but not their '04 Prius).

So, I refuse to believe that ALL '04 to '09 Prius have a traction problem, or that the '04 to '06 have an even worse version of it. I've got two examples within my own little world of '04 Prius' doing VERY WELL in snow/ice, and john1701a will probably also agree that his is working well (also in Minnesota). Could at least SOME '04 to '09 have a software issue? Sure, but mine doesn't. Neither does my friend's.

As was already said, GOOD TIRES ARE KEY.

 

I agree. It makes you think that some cars have a different software version or something. No idea why an update wasn't issued if that were the case. Shame we can't easily compare versions to those that have experienced major problems.

 

Yes, good all-season tires (or winter tires for those in arctic climes) are key. Also, Gen III owners say that traction control has been improved starting in 2010.

 

Hi Artful1,

I think the issue is more of a gas pedal problem. Although, the stock tires on the 2nd Gen Prius are pretty slick on wet surfaces.

Let me guess - you were wearing boots. In boots, you cannot feel the initial accelerator pedal pressure. By the time you feel the pedal, its half way down. And anybody pushing a gas pedal halfway down in winter driving is going to slip the tires in most cars.

The solution to this is to put your foot where you think the pedal is, then watch out the windows for feedback on how far you are pressing the pedal. You will quickly learn that your pushing on the gas pedal, and not actually feeling it. And north-tier drivers are 90% with winter tires on their cars.

New Balance makes shoes that are reasonable in winter, for driving. Although, its wise to have a pair of boots in the car in case you have to walk a long distance.

I think this also explains why so many mid-lattitude people have so much trouble with this, were so many north-tier drivers have so little problem. The north-tier drivers are in boots all winter long, and learn this after the first week of driving the car continuously in boots. The mid-lattitude people are in and out of boots from day to day. So, they never learn it.

A BT-Tech chasis stiffening plate will also help avoid chasis twist, and jumpy unloading of tire normal force, which can result in slipage, and VSC doing nasty things....

 

Two thoughts:

1) Good tires.

2) Don't turn in front of oncoming traffic unless you are sure that you can make it. In winter driving this is never guaranteed.

Tom