Prius, getting stuck in snow

Factory tires will work OK for many people in moderate conditions, the first winter. By the second winter, many of them will find the factory tires seriously degraded.

This doesn't cover all conditions or all drivers, true snow or ice tires are essential for some conditions.

He was referring to your Persona trim. Its tires will have more difficulty than the narrower tires on other trims.

I must share that Nobody name with lots of people, many of us do drive in deeper snow. Though where I sometimes go in winter, my Subaru is the minimum, and even it can run into clearance problems. There is a reason dad needs to put chains on all four wheels of an F250.

 

I'd prefer to avoid tax-supported sabotage of my car, too. Most snowy places don't allow that choice any more.

 

You can get away with those better in places where the road gets cold enough that snow stays powdery and blows right off, without partially melting or compacting into ice. Here, snow is infrequent and the ground rarely gets cold, snow is usually brief and melts from the bottom up for the first three days, and is always too wet and heavy to blow off. So that tire strategy fails miserably.

 

Plows? What are those?

Oh, I remember. Those are the machines that well prepared winter zones (i.e. the mountains and farther inland) keep in plentiful supply and put to considerable use every year. Down here in the Puget Sound lowlands, plows are needed only a few days every other winter, so few are kept. Plows do not get to most streets unless the snow lasts many days.

I grew up and learned to drive in a very rural area far inland. Many times, we had to either drive in big snow, or remain stranded and isolated for considerable periods. So we learned how to get around.

 

This photo was taken the day after Valentine's Day hereabouts. Plows are not an option -- they're a fixture. And winter tires (with studs) go on when it goes below 7 C and come off when it stops going below 7 C.

 

Vermonter checking in, 5 months of real winter up here. Cold, wet, snow, icey mess... plus hilly terrain... for months on end.

I wouldn't even dream or running ANY of my cars and especially not my Prius without 4 real winter tires. Sure you can "get by" without but the the extra margin of safety and control that winter tires give you over "all seasons" in undeniable. If you haven't ever used snows then you really don't know what you are missing, or the added risk you are taking unknowingly.

LLR tires turn to roller skate wheels below 40 degrees, hard as a rock. It's not just the snow. Winter tires are made of a softer compound that stays softer at below freezing temps.

Prius with snows does just as well as any other car I've owned on snows. The TC isn't terribly intrusive unless you have no momentum at all. As others have said though, ground clearance is the issue. Once you get over 6-8" of snow on the road, you are pressing your luck (though that honestly goes for most any non-four wheel drive.

I only proselytize about 2 things, snow tires and the ukulele. If you live anyplace with real winter, you should have winter tires. If you have a pulse, you should have a ukulele.

 

Michelin X-Ice are categorized as LRR. I'm sure they're at the back of that pack, but I was pleasantly surprised that mpg did not fall off when I switch over to ours. It's a bit apples/oranges tho, our OEM's are 215/45R17 MIchelin Pilots on the (porker) OEM alloy rims, and the X-Ice are 195/65R15 on steel rims.

 

"Fall, and an older man's thoughts turn to snow tires."

My X-Ice have gone four winters, I'd estimate less than 20,000 kms in total. By far the most of it on bare, paved roads. Tread depth currently around 8/32". I believe new is 10.5/32"? You could verify that.

They'll be going on again this winter, not sure about the one after. Snow tires you don't want to cheap out, run the tread low. 6/32" is bare min I think.

 

Mendel said - "My X-Ice have gone four winters, I'd estimate less than 20,000 kms in total. By far the most of it on bare, paved roads."

Well, bare -wet- roads. I grew up there. When it's not raining it's raining.

Happy to not have to deal with that wet heavy snow too here in Edmonton! Though I could do without the extreme cold. It's hard on plastics and fingers.

 

Hankook k115 tyres are great in the snow

 

We live in the snow belt south of Buffalo (7 ft of snow last November) and our newer Prius (model five) has the same 17" wheels as the OPs Persona. We often travel from Buffalo to St. Paul, MN in the winter (so we are familiar with the OP's winter. We don't find that we need either Snow Tires or Studded Tires - just sensible driving! The only thing "special" I do is to make sure that there is plenty of tread depth on the tires. the

The 8" comments make a lot of sense (should be 7" with the 17" tires). But, it really wouldn't make much difference on what tires you have.

 

You can drive a car through snow on all season tires. It's done all the time here where I live. But when conditions get really bad, those all seasons will feel like no seasons. There are always cars in the ditch or against the trees during and just after a snow storm.

The difference between a snow tire and an all season tire in snow and ice is immense. The added safety that a snow tire provides is significant. I put the snow tires on when the snow is about to fall and take them off right away in the Spring when snow fall is unlikely. If you do that, they should last 3-5 winters. They also give your summer tires a break and they in turn will last longer.

A half worn snow tire is about as effective as a new aggressive all season. Rotate the snow tires at normal intervals and keep them at optimum pressure. If you drive gently on your snow tires, they will last longer. A snow tire has more void area, so less rubber contacting the road. The rubber formulation in modern snow tires allows the tread to stay supple in sub freezing conditions so it can grip better.

There are snow tires that are better on ice and some that are better in deep snow. I have a dedicated winter car and it wears 4 snow tires during the Winter.

They put so much salt and other nasty chemicals on the roads to melt snow and ice (it's for those who refuse to install snow tires can get around) that it does eat the underside components on an car very quickly. I've seen these chemicals melting ice at near zero F at night. The brake lines on my old pickup just gave way last week. I try to wash the bottom of the car and truck in Winter regularly, but the damage that is done is incredible. At the end of the salt season I go through the underside of the Winter vehicles with a sprayer, then wash and get all the mud out and wipe everything off. Even with all that, the metal and rubber rots pretty fast. I get about 10-12 years out of the Winter vehicles. The pickup was new in 1998. It's lasted the longest.

The Prius doesn't go out in the salt and whatever chemical slurry they add to the salt. We do have days when the roads are dry during Winter season, so that's when the Prius gets to go out, and only when the temps are well down below freezing.

 

Agree 100%, and see the same thing in ditches and sometimes upside down. Laws of Physics apply to all vehicles, regardless of type, and it's really highlighted on snow and ice.

 

I got snow tires. LRR tires are just not designed for snow traction. And the car is really light to begin with. Snow tires are your best option.

LG-H810 ?