Has anyone set off the VSC?

Only time I noticed it, I was taking an on-ramp too fast in the rain, and the light on the dash caught my attention for the moment it lit.

Nothing else memorable about the incident, so I guess it did its job well...

 

In three years of driving I only set off VSC once, when I was cornering on a wet road. It felt like the brake was being applied strongly but very briefly on one of the wheels.

Of course I've set off traction control many times.

 

I've only seen it come on when going over large bumps. I've never felt it do anything other than kill the engine. When I got my car back in January we never got enough snow to try it out. I'm hoping to try it out this winter if we get some snow. That is I hope to try it out in a empty parking lot and not out on the road somewhere.

 

The roads around here are sometimes in fairly poor condition, and there are many things like drainage grates in the middle of the road that take away the car's traction. I've had the VSC activate probably about 5 or 6 times, usually hitting one of said obstacles in the rain. It's very disconcerting at first, as it jerks the car by taking away your ability to accelerate, but I guess if it were ever a situation where the car were really slipping, it would be helpful.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theforce @ Jun 26 2006, 01:03 PM) [snapback]276855[/snapback]</div>

I'm pretty sure you're refering to the Traction Control and not the VSC. I've definately noticed my Traction Control coming on when I go over a big bump from time to time. As Evan said, the VSC is aparently quite noticiable when it comes on, since the car beeps at you.

 

I just had to try it out the first Prius winter (Nov. 2004)...in an empty parking lot...new snow, maybe 3 inches, a few tracks which meant some flattened icy areas. Factory Integrity tires, maybe 5,000 miles. NOT the greatest traction tire in snow/ice!

I got up to about 25 MPH and swerved fairly hard to the left and the car beeped at me (maybe three quick beeps, like the "no, I can't let u go into forced EV mode"). I felt a power loss and the car slowed and definitely stopped moving (sliding) to the left. Still moving forward. I didn't feel braking per se but then the power loss slowed me and probably was a combo of braking and the power loss. My foot remained on the accelerator and I continued to drive forward.

I tried this several times both to the right and left and could not get the thing to tailspin or donut or spin. It always beeped at me.

Only sometimes while doing this would I get beeps AND the Traction Contol light (the 'slippery car icon') to flash on the dash. The TRAC icon always flashed when getting up to speed during my "tests". It doesn't let u spin the tires getting going, that's for sure.

It seems the natural tendancy in a skid is to let up on the accelerator and then attempt to brake to slow down. Well, this system does that in a blink of an eye, before I could react. Didn't seem like the steering wheel was controlled, meaning the wheel didn't turn on it's own, but I wasn't paying attention if the wheel was harder or easier to turn (as I've read is a part of the VSC?)

All in all I thought the system responded well to all I was doing to drive out of control. I'm glad the system is there if I hit black ice and can't respond fast enough or somehow do the wrong thing to bring things under control.

Cheers,

Curt.

PS I have snow tires now but didn't test them in the same manner as the originals. Maybe next winter...'cause I can. I did experience less wheel spins with better traction tires.

 

Next question...Do all '06s have traction control and what does it do? :blink:

 

Yes,
2 lane road, 45 mph and 90 degree turn. What was that plastic can on the shoulder I just passed?
Oh crud..... VSC kept me from sliding off the road.

I turned around and looked at the can... transmission fluid-fell off the back of some farmer's truck and was covering half the lane. So two of my tires went through it-and kicked it up on the lower side of the car and wheel wells.

 

yes. standard on all 3rd gen HSD Prii ('04 and up). Not sure on the classic ('00-'03).

It eliminates excessive wheel spin when on a slick (ice, snow or even wet) or loose (gravel?) surface.

Basically cuts power that is spinning the wheels and allows the tire to try to catch traction at a slower speed.

Cheers,
Curt.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(finman @ Jun 26 2006, 10:31 AM) [snapback]276877[/snapback]</div>

So traction control will kick in before I suddenly need to try to figure out how those dang antilock brakes work, is the idea? :blink:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Jun 26 2006, 01:14 PM) [snapback]276867[/snapback]</div>

Well I have had both happen. Loss of power one time and beeping the other. I think it happend when I was pulling out on a gravel area and turning at the same time.

 

I've set the VSC off a few times on wet pavement.

There's a cloverleaf overpass near where I work. If you take it fast, when wet, the VSC will sometimes activate as you cross the expansion joints in the concrete.

There is a railway track crossing near where I used to live that was about a hundred feet from a traffic light. When braking across the tracks on a wet day the VSC would momentarily activate, and when accelerating across the tracks (going the other direction) the TC would activate.

 

I set off the VSC a few months ago in the snow. I was driving (I thought) slowly through an "s" curve, and as I exited the first curve the rear of the car started fishtailing. Instead of the quick fishtailing I had experienced in my Camry, this time the rear-end drifted slowly towards the left, over-corrected itself and then drifted toward the right. The VSC was beeping like crazy the whole time. At one point I was in the other lane, and after correcting itself I almost left the roadway to the right.

I could definitely feel the VSC kicking in, and it probably made the difference between temporarily losing control and totally losing control. I learned two lessons: 1) get better tires before next winter, and 2) VSC helps, but it's not foolproof. Next time I'll drive a lot slower.

 

I think when VSC starts to beep, it means it's not able to do it's job. When VSC kicks in you won't really get an indicator. Extensive gravel driving gave me some better insight. I've noticed that taking sharp curves with wet roads tends to kick in the VSC. I can feel the car start to understeer, and VSC will take care of it... no beeps. I've gotten VSC to beep at me last week when I tried a hard turn on a wet road and it wasn't able to correct.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Jun 26 2006, 01:44 PM) [snapback]276889[/snapback]</div>

I wish you could turn it off. IMO the way it is implemented it is not safe. I hit a bit of gravel as I was pulling off from a stop to cross over the the other side of a heavily traveled four lane road. I reached the death defying speed of about two miles per hour and it cut power leaving me across two lanes of oncoming traffic for a second or two. Not good IMO.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Jun 26 2006, 10:14 AM) [snapback]276867[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Jun 26 2006, 12:11 PM) [snapback]276939[/snapback]</div>

So which is it? Beep or no beep? The lights flash so quickly I am never sure. Potholes and such irregularities do set off the Traction Control. Even that feels weird, and it's over with before I can even adjust.