Will I make It up my Driveway?

[robinredbreast]

With the Michigan winter months coming I'm afraid I won't be able to get up our driveway with the Prius BC because of the traction control .With our Past other FWD cars even with the drive snowblowed and salted we needed the wheel spin to make it. The drive way is steeper then it looks in the picture . I never had a car with Traction Control before.

Robin

[efusco]

It'll be exciting...going down may be even more so!!

[VARedDevil]

I have a 70 foot, nowhere near as long as yours, driveway that hase about a 25 degree incline that starts almost immediately at my garage door, so there's no running room to get started up the driveway. I don't have experience with the Prius yet on the driveway, but I had a VW Jetta that had Traction Control and the Accord we have has it. Even though you could shut the traction control off on the Jetta I never did, and I took it up the driveway with about 6 inches of snow with no problems and once I had shoveled off the driveway it was even easier. I don't think you'll have a problem as long as it doesn't get icy...then it won't matter what you have, unless you have studded tires....(little bit of my native Minnesota experience coming out there)

[robinredbreast]

I will tell you a funny short story At the end of the drive that you cannot see is our polebarn When our Propane is delivered by truck our driver is told not to go down the drive to fill the tank .One day their was a new delivery guy who didn't get the message from the Propane company not to go down customers drive. Well he did and had a wild drive down missed the barn by inches The driver was whiter then the snow.

[priusham]

Probably not... but here's a sure fire fix...

[Frank Hudon]

that's too funny!

[robinredbreast]

Update today we got 8inchs of wet snow and still going .Tried to get up the driveway today got halfway and the traction control would cut on and just make me sit half way up ,with my foot on the gas going nowhere. I don't like the traction control at all. I wonder if better tires would help a little.

[V8Cobrakid]

I have a driveway that's ablmost a mile long in the mountains. Completely dirt up to the house. I learned to just punch it all the way up... it's like my own little rally.. although.. i guess you shouldn't do that in snow or ice.

[Silverback]

I seem to recall that in the days when front-wheel drive cars first started to appear in N. America, the Saab's were renowned as rally cars. Great traction except on steep slippery uphills when the weight shift would take weight off the front wheels. Their solution when the going got really slippery....back up the hill.

Which leads me to another question. Does the traction control work when the car is in reverse?

Bill

[DaveG]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(robinredbreast\";p=\"52616) </div>

Update today we got 8inchs of wet snow and still going .Tried to get up the driveway today got halfway and the traction control would cut on and just make me sit half way up ,with my foot on the gas going nowhere. I don't like the traction control at all. I wonder if better tires would help a little.[/b]

Did you try just feathering the gas so power is only being applied very lightly? Traction control will definately cut in if lots of power is being applied, but it should back off if you're only pressing on the gas lightly and creeping up the hill.

Dave.