manual modulation of stability control on/off switch

[veeman]

yesterday night had to get to work in the middle of a snowstorm.  since the temp was hovering around 31-32 degrees, mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.  cars were skidding all over the place. 

what i learned a few years ago because i couldn't get up a hill in the snow was that you have to manually turn off your stability control so that your tires can spin until they gain traction.

yesterday, starting at every traffic light, i had to manually turn off the stability control.  also, on the highway, i had to continually fiddle with the button in order to gain any traction whenever the highway had even a slight incline.

my question is, do you just turn off the stability control the whole time you're driving in such weather or do you only turn it off when at a stop or going uphill?  also, do you have to do this in an all-wheel drive vehicle?

[Soup DeVille]

The Lincoln's I used to drive were horrible for that; traction control made it useless. I recently drove a land rover with a snow/ice mode and it was bloody brilliant; so I guess my answer is "it depends"

On most cars though, once I turn it off, I leave it off. None of my current vehicles have stability or traction control on them either.

[VTEC_Inside]

Ugh, I got stuck good once because of traction control. That was an '02 Accord though which used the brakes quite a bit to limit wheelspin, thing braked me right into a rut.

The newer systems seem quite a bit better though. The gfs 2012 Civic still allows a little bit of spin.

[SVT666]

When there is snow on the road I turn the traction control off as soon as I get in the car and leave it off.

[CALL_911]

When there is snow on the road I turn the traction control off as soon as I get in the car and leave it off.

Same

[Laconian]

Are we talking about stability control or traction control? Because they are not the same thing.

[hotrodalex]

BMW's system is pretty good so I leave it on unless I want to have some fun.

[MrH]

Are we talking about stability control or traction control? Because they are not the same thing.

+1.  I usually turn off traction control if I'm having a hard time getting going in the snow.  Stability control goes off when I want to have fun.

[SVT666]

Are we talking about stability control or traction control? Because they are not the same thing.

They are on our cars.  The VDC button turns both on or off at the same time.

[Raza]

E320:  Off when dry, on when wet or snow, switch as necessary in snow (ESP and TC integrated)
Passat:  Always off (TC, no ESP)
Jetta:  Always off (ESP and TC integrated)
Z4:  Generally on, don't drive in snow because you'll die


When I drove my brother's S4 in snow, I didn't turn it off and the light didn't flash once.  I'd imagine there are situations where it might be necessary, but I haven't seen it yet.

[Raza]

+1.  I usually turn off traction control if I'm having a hard time getting going in the snow.  Stability control goes off when I want to have fun.

I think in the majority of cars, ESP and TC are integrated into one button. Most don't have two separate buttons. 

[CALL_911]

E320:  Off when dry, on when wet or snow, switch as necessary in snow (ESP and TC integrated)
Passat:  Always off (TC, no ESP)
Jetta:  Always off (ESP and TC integrated)
Z4:  Generally on, don't drive in snow because you'll die


When I drove my brother's S4 in snow, I didn't turn it off and the light didn't flash once.  I'd imagine there are situations where it might be necessary, but I haven't seen it yet.

What the fuck are you doing in the dry to necessitate turning TC+ESP off on a daily basis?

[ifcar]

I think in the majority of cars, ESP and TC are integrated into one button. Most don't have two separate buttons. 

On most, you can turn off traction control -- for precisely this reason -- but not stability control.

[GoCougs]

Yes, on the G37 one button controls both stability and traction control (and even then neither can be fully defeated it seems).

As to driving in snow I keep it on save for starting out when slick or buried. I've found stability control to be a moderate advantage to safe driving in snow.

[MrH]

Most are integrated into one button, but pressing it will just deactivate TC.  That's how it is on the BRZ and was on the miata too (at least that's how I remember it).  Press and hold the button for 5 seconds to disable TC and DSC.

[MX793]

They are on our cars.  The VDC button turns both on or off at the same time.

On my Mustang, you can turn them off independently.  Push the TCS/ESC button once to kill the TCS.  Push and hold (while stopped) to kill both TCS and ESC.

[SVT666]

Yes, on the G37 one button controls both stability and traction control (and even then neither can be fully defeated it seems).

The AWD with the Active Brake Limited Slip is why it feels like TC is still on.

[AltinD]

No snow here ... obviously 

[Speed_Racer]

I just leave mine on all the time, because a) I never notice it and b) I'm not doing the kind of driving that necessitates turning it off. If I screw up so bad that ESC kicks in, I'm gonna need it to save me from my stupid self.

[AutobahnSHO]

buy a 1997. Problem solved.

I can see stability control being cool, but traction control in an AWD seems 100% unecessary.

[hotrodalex]

+1.  I usually turn off traction control if I'm having a hard time getting going in the snow.  Stability control goes off when I want to have fun.

If my traction control can't get me going in snow, there's no way I'm going to be able to do it with just my right foot.

Might be different with a manual transmission, but I haven't driven any stickshift cars with TC.

[ifcar]

If my traction control can't get me going in snow, there's no way I'm going to be able to do it with just my right foot.

Might be different with a manual transmission, but I haven't driven any stickshift cars with TC.

Traction control works by cutting power when the wheels slip. Sometimes you need that power, or to control when you have it.

[SVT666]

If my traction control can't get me going in snow, there's no way I'm going to be able to do it with just my right foot.

Might be different with a manual transmission, but I haven't driven any stickshift cars with TC.

No.  If your TC slows your tires down and they get bogged down, then you're stuck. In snow you need to keep your tires spinning to avoid getting stuck.

[Cookie Monster]

I've never had much experience driving any cars with TC/stability control. My mom's car has it but I rarely drive that. My dad's MDX is an '02 and I believe that was the only year it wasn't offered on MDX's (first year).

[hotrodalex]

No.  If your TC slows your tires down and they get bogged down, then you're stuck. In snow you need to keep your tires spinning to avoid getting stuck.

Oh, are you talking about when you're already moving? I've never had an issue with that, TC on or off.

Thought you meant taking off from a stop, in which case my TC is a much better option than trying to feather the gas pedal.

[MX793]

Oh, are you talking about when you're already moving? I've never had an issue with that, TC on or off.

Thought you meant taking off from a stop, in which case my TC is a much better option than trying to feather the gas pedal.

On really slick surfaces, like ice, the TC can prevent you from being able to get moving from a stop.  A lot of systems tell you to turn it off in such conditions.

[68_427]

Don't have it.  AWD and no stability control works great

[veeman]

thanks for all the replies!

yes previous posters are right that it's not the stability control i'm turning off, it's the traction control.  maybe the button is turning off both?  since my car (2007 sonata) is the antithesis of anything even remotely resembling sporty, i doubt the car has capability to turn off the stability control but not the traction control. 

i love having the stability control.  i've had two especially harrowing incidences in my life regarding this prior to the advent of stability control.  in an 89 dodge daytona i did a 180 on a rain soaked local fast moving traffic bidirectional road during morning rush hour ending up in the oncoming lane and by luck no one was in the opposite lane.  in a mid 90s taurus i ended up sliding 300 feet down a 45 degree downward slope highway rain soaked onramp embankment, finally stopping at the bottom of the grassy embankment after hitting a tree.  if i had been in an explorer or cherokee, i would have likely flipped.  in both cases, i was going too fast but not crazy fast and my tires had low tread.  since i've owned my own cars, i damn make sure my tires have good tread and that there are no mismatched tires.  wife gets mildly irritated because i'm spending 600 - 1000 bucks on both cars each every 50,000 miles for new tires but totally worth it.  you immediately can tell the difference.   

[veeman]

regarding the traction control, in my sonata, i will get nowhere in the snow with it on.  absolutely nowhere.  may be a totally incompetent bunch of engineers designed it because, especially to a non-enthusiast, it's not apparent you have to disable it.  the button is out of the way below and to the right of the steering column and there is no way an inexperienced driver would know what to do.  it's got a fairly powerful 235 horsepower engine.  when the roads are slick, traffic is slow, and there is slushy snow stuck to your tires turning them essentially bald, you will go nowhere.  you'll start sliding down hills going in reverse because as you slam or feather the accelerator, the traction control detects they are spinning (no shit) and will cut power to them.  the car starts behaving like a donkey that won't move no matter how hard you whip its ass. turn off the traction control, the tires spin like a high speed laboratory centrifuge, all the stuck snow on your tires gets disintegrated by the intense heat and friction, and the car starts behaving properly.  maybe the traction control is useful if only one of the front tires is spinning, because it'll redirect power to the other front tire.  but in slushy unplowed roads, obviously both front tires are going to be equally impaired.  when i see these newer sedans stuck in the middle of roads usually where there's a slight incline, with other sedans going right around them, i just know the driver doesn't know to turn off their traction control.

[Soup DeVille]

If my traction control can't get me going in snow, there's no way I'm going to be able to do it with just my right foot.

Might be different with a manual transmission, but I haven't driven any stickshift cars with TC.

This is completely false.

It is sometimes needed to spin the wheels in snow, to both claw your way to more solid stuff and to spin the tires fast enough that they clean themselves off.