Prius Traction Control Complaints on the Rise

The thing, knowledge, that you seem to be overlooking (or intentionally ignoring?) is the patently UNSAFE nature of ALL FWD vehicles when operating with marginal traction. Having TC, Traction Control, is simply the manufacturer's way of abating or somewhat alleviating the HAZARDS involved.

Which would you rather have, directional control of your vehicle on the slippery stuff, or find yourself 6' under.

The only solution, as I see it, is to your protect yourself from inadvertent wheelspin/slip, leading directly, INSTANTLY, to loss of directional control via the use of tire chains on those front wheels.

And it might help to keep in mind that for all hybrid owners living south of the snow belt low traction, low rolling resistance, tires are highly/more/most desirable. So that's what the manufacturer ships.

 

no ... it's not whether "I" have to deal with deep snow .... I don't have problems, and there are PLENTY of Prius drivers who do just fine in the snow ... year after year ...



... and they drive just fine because they have decent snow tires, as F8L said a few posts back .... and just as DB said 2 years before that, in post #122:

I have to laugh, when he calls it a zombie thread - when it got resurrected in 2010 ... and now the zombie is about a half decade old.

It's the same ol' clap trap ... resurrection after resurrection ... folks will complain about slipping in snow ... TC problems etc etc
The answerers will say, "get decent tires" ... or "quit pulling out into traffic until it's clear" ... etc etc. Those folks get their feelings hurt, and we're off and running.

So - to keep this light hearted (since it should be obvious after a half decade, that this could go on for another half decade) I'd like to show off the aftermarket traction control kit. MPG's will drop a bit, but the snow won't be such a challenge for some:




.




.

 

Actually you may note that toyota did allow a little more wheel spin in the Gen III making it markedly less hyperactive. It still is a bit aggressive for my taste, but complaints did register at toyota, and they did change. I would have preferred a button that turned it down to a level like bmw sets there tc, but toyota is targeting old drivers with the prius and wants to still nanny them. I wonder if they turned it down further on the younger targeted prius c.

 

at the end, in the winter you do need ... winter tires!

 

lol if that was a response to me. I live in austin. There was snow on the road 1 day since I had my prius, and didn't drive that day.

As I said from reports toyota listened to the complaints and improved the over aggressive TC. Its still too aggressive for me, and I know its technically feasible for them to dial it back without hurting the car, perhaps with a button like they put in my previous Lexus, also built by the same company. Its not like we need to speak no evil or disloyalty should bar us from making constructive critism. I do occasionally drive in heavy rain and mud. I have upgraded my tires for better traction in these conditions.

 

As opposed to where I live. My solution to all-season tires is to buy winter tires that can tolerate summer. I run winter tires all year round on both my Prius and my Jeep, and my boat doesn't need tires.

Tom

 

Why no pictures of YOUR winertime backup, your RX..?

 

"..Toyota is targeting the old drivers..."

No, I think not.

It's the older drivers who long ago learned how to "feather" the throttle "just right", just enough, to find that sweet spot, just enough engine torque to produce forward motion but not enough to induce continuous wheelspin/slip.

And that, mostly, was with RWD vehicles that are today frowned upon for wintertime low traction conditions.

I strongly suspect that it was for us, your elders, that the TC disable function is now available, not for the youngsters that think unlimited wheelspin, BURNING rubber, is the way to get up that slight ice covered incline.

Several years ago I happened upon a BMW driver, well into adulthood, 40ish probably, that couldn't get his BMW up a slight slippery incline. His TC was obviously ruling the day so I asked him if he had a TC off capability. He subsequently turned it off and then proceeded to BURN RUBBER thinking that would gte him moving.

Not!

I asked if I could drive and he agreed. I found it a relatively simple task to "feather" the throttle just enough, just right, to get the BMW in motion and then another ~50 yards up the incline and a right turn into his driveway.

He said: "how'd you do that?" and then "would you teach me?".

No.

 

"..my previous Lexus.."

Lexus RWD...?

RWD and TC go back a very long way, and to my knowledge almost all of those included a TC off functionality. TC "off" functionality for a RWD or R/awd is not nearly as fraught with peril as is a FWD or F/awd.

Which is why the manufacturer's were, have been, so late, reluctant, to give that TC off capability to drivers of FWD. Much easier to make the decision to provide that capability for F/awd. As can be noted the early F/awd systems didn't even include TC, while the same MY brotheren not only had TC, but also no "off" capability.

How does that stand today, is TC off capability as common on pure FWD vehicles as is common on F/awd vehicles..? I'd bet not.

Personally the way I would implement TC off capability would be that the vehicle had, in the immediate past, encountered wheelspin/slip. Only in that case would I allow TC to be turned off. Now "off", but only temporally, conditionally. TC would automatically come back on IMMEDIATELY should the gas pedal "use" "signature" indicate anything other than throttle feathering, judicious use of engine torque, not BURN OUT.

 

Hmmm...a bit strange, I do the exact opposite.

I run on nice and quiet, comfortably riding, summer use only tires, on all of my vehicles, BridgeStone Turanzas, all year 'round.

But I ALWAYS have tire chains at the ready, on board, in case of need. 2 sets during the winter period for my DD, the '01 RX300 F/awd. In the wintertime the RX is the only vehicle we use for trips to MT.

 

you always venture off in your replies ,.


obviously it was not ment to you but OP.

i dont see whats the problem with having winter tires in winter and summer ones in summer... summer tires degrade to unsafe quality when tire temps are under 7C. There is nothing to lose money wise either. I dont understand this US thinking.

 

NM. Please delete me.