Has anyone set off the VSC?

Yes I have seen it twice, once in each direction. On dry pavement in a large empty parking lot. I wanted to see if it worked. As Presto said the car starts to understeer then VSC kicks in and does it's job. I don't remember what beeps, if any, or indications there were. No I don't intend to test my air bags.

 

It saved my life with my highlander. I was in Ohio on 75 and going about 75 when i seen and hit an
object with my right front tire.I found out later that it tore a hole in the tire.All i heard was a thud and in a
heartbeat i heard all the air leave the tire.The steering wheel never moved.i felt nothing, the car never swayed.
I slowed down and moved to the shoulder and stoped.I think that without vsc the car would have darted to the left and could have hit someone head on.A state trooper came by and changed the tire for me.

 

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

The 2006 brochure states that VSC is an option and included on packages 4 and up. Traction control and ABS are standard.

 

The blinking light with no beeps means traction control. The blinking light with three quick beeps means VSC. (And it means the VSC is working. It does not mean it is "unable to do its job"! Whether it was able to do its job or not will be shown by whether or not you retained control of the car. If you spun out and lost control, it didn't do its job!)

I guess I'm not as good a driver as some, because I used to get VSC kicking in several times each winter when I lived in ND. Always when making a turn at what turned out to be too fast a speed on an icy road. Sometimes, on some kinds of ice, 5 mph can be too fast. I never lost control. I conclude that the VSC does its job admirably, and I'll never buy another car without it.

 

I too had played with the VSC to learn how it works and what it feels like. I suggest doing so yourself so you are not freaked-out if it happens in a real life scenario. I used an empty, slippery ski resort parking lot. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED!!!

Just to recap:

VSC: Vehicle Stability Control. Helps prevent the car from sliding sideways. Always a good thing . . . unless you are into “drifting†on purpose . . . which by the way makes me laugh when I see those car commercials where they have a car spin into a parking space. HOW OLD TECH IS THAT!!! :lol:

Traction Control: Helps prevent the drive (front) wheels from losing grip (traction). But on a Prius the Traction Control is extra touchy to help prevent damage to the Hybrid Synergy Drive system. If you feel the Traction Control kick in and you feel you are thusly put into a dangerous situation with oncoming traffic . . . learn to keep your foot on the “gas†pedal and don't let up . . . if you let up on the gas pedal, you are telling the car to slow down . . . NOT WHAT YOU WANT!!!

Anti-lock Brakes (ABS): Stops the individual wheels from losing traction (skidding) when applying the brakes. For instance; braking too hard, or braking on dry surface and then hitting a patch of ice, oil, loose gravel, ect. If you wish to stop in the shortest distance in a panic . . . learn to press hard on the brake pedal and don't let up. If you let up on the brakes, you are telling the car you don't want to stop as quickly.

 

I tested and experienced the VSC in the first heavy rainfall weeks after buying the 2006 Prius. I took the car out late at night for a spin, but I failed to spin the car. The first few tries didn't activate the VSC as the Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus tires gripped far too well in the rain.

Eventually I started to induce oversteer by taking a 90 degree left turn at 40 mph and hitting the brakes at the apex. The car slowed down gradually and started to straighten out almost immediately after the back end started to swing out. It seemed that the right front wheel was braking. I was very impressed. I had plenty of room to slide safely, but I didn't think I could come out of the spin that well if I tried.

Later I tried understeering by taking a left hand turn at maybe 50 and gunned the accelerator at the apex. I felt the front wheels start to plow, heard the beeps, the car slowed dramatically and the front wheels didn't lock up. It felt as if the rear left wheel was doing more braking, the right front less braking. The car proceeded to follow the general direction the steering wheel was pointing in both cases.

We bought the HG, #4, package primarily for the VSC. This test drive made me very satisfied that we did. I certainly believe that it's still possible to skid, at high enough speeds or steering demands. I don't think it will enable the car to defy physics or the traction capabilities of the tires. I don't think I'm going to pull over or close to 1G in a Prius. I like to think that it's a little like having independent brake pedals (and accelerators?) for all 4 wheels AND having the skill to use them optimally, simultaneaously to avoid understeer or oversteer, even in a panic situation. I like to think of myself as a skilled (if not always cautious) driver, but have no hubris to think I could ever do this without the ECU.

My only worry is that I might become too reliant on this and lose the skill to correct skids without VSC, as people can forget (in panic mode) how to drive without ABS after having it for years. The only downside for me is that it's so effective that I think I'll have to equip all my future cars with it.

An automotive magazine criticized the VSC in the Camry 'sport' model for being to aggressive, comparing it with a hypervigilant nanny that wouldn't let the driver play dangerously or get into trouble. I don't think I'll really miss oversteer or understeer too much.





What I'd like to know is if the VSC system can control the steering angle in addition to the acceleration and the independent brakes. Most antiskid systems only control braking and acceleration, but most cars don't have electronic steering.

 

Here are my observations. When the slip icon lights up and starts to beep, it means VSC is trying to work, but it can't. Try doing a sharp turn on some wet pavment. Go fast enough and turn hard enough to get the car into an understeer that VSC cannot correct, but it will still do it's best to try. When VSC is working, there is little indication of it other than the occassional TRAC light. I've felt a correction response in taking sharp, wet curves at higher than suggested speed, but no audible or visual notification. VSC was very noticeable on a 40km stretch of gravel road. I swerved a lot to get a feel for how it responded, and I did get the occasional beep when i swerved too hard. VSC wasn't one of the features I was looking for, but now I won't buy a car without it

 

Nah..no braking. I was going just fast enough to induce understeer and I let the VSC keep trying to correct.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(theorist @ Jun 26 2006, 09:01 PM) [snapback]277189[/snapback]</div>

The VSC in the Prius cannot change the steering angle. It works exclusively by selective application of brakes to individual wheels.

When the road becomes so slippery that there is no traction of tires on road surface, nothing can prevent a skid. VSC "merely" provides a level of control no human driver could achieve. It's still necessary to slow down under slippery conditions, but VSC is the greatest thing since air bags.

 

I came around a turn once and hit the gass kinda hard. nothing too different but i hit a pot hole. the VSC went off while during the right turn. i would imagine the it might have been possible to lose control for a little bit during this which wouldn't have been good at the time.

the VSC did go off and it was like i drove normally as if nothing happend, and it felt like i lost control of the car but nothing bad had happend, like the car said "no pot hole, no!"...

...i also did a u turn pretty quick later to test it out.... you'll notice if you do that the car acts kinda "funny"

 

This post topic is on my mind a lot. We're buying a Prius this month and I am wavering on VSC. i live in NYC, I don't have heavy snow issues... Since I also don't feel strongly about the JBL stereo, I'm wondering why I would upgrade from package 3 to 5 (option 4 not available here), when it seems rare that VSC kicks in unless it's being tested on purpose or unless you live in a snowy area...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jul 25 2006, 02:15 PM) [snapback]292073[/snapback]</div>

THANKS!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Jun 26 2006, 01:28 PM) [snapback]276874[/snapback]</div>

Packages 4 and up have VSC.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tap @ Jul 25 2006, 06:38 AM) [snapback]291875[/snapback]</div>

I've been driving for more than 40 years, all in places that DO have a winter and snow. I'd have to say I've skidded no more than 20 times in that period, including times when the parking lot or road was covered by ice. Twice in my life I've gone off the road with a skid, luckily with no damage to me or my car. So I'd say that I'm a fairly careful driver in dangerous conditions. Eight years ago I got a car with traction control, and I could tell it made a big difference. From what I've read, VSC in my new Prius will make even more of a difference if I ever need it. I certainly hope I never need it, but the times in my driving history when I HAVE skidded, it scared me a lot, because I wasn't able to control my car, and it's made me more anxious about driving in sloppy/icy/snowy weather. So if the VSC kicks in, with or without a beep, I'm hoping that I'll 'learn' that this safety feature actually works and be less anxious (but not less cautious) about 'bad weather' driving.

I'm hoping to keep my Prius for at least 10 years. The extra cost to have VSC is pretty small when averaged over 10 years' life, and well worth it to me.

One of my sons always tests out a new car in snowy, skiddy conditions in someplace like a parking lot where there's no one else around - he learns how to control his car when he intentionally causes it to skid, so he becomes more confident in driving his car. I've never done what he does - I'm too 'chicken'. Similarly, I doubt I'd every try intentionally to make the VSC kick in. But the people here who've replied that they've intentionally tested the VSC seem to report that it does a better job of controlling the car than they could do without it. So I'll take their word that the VSC is worth having!

 

Not in the Prius (which my option 1 does not have), but in our Sienna coming down 198 in Sequoia NP during a blizzard. Braked harder than I should have, skidded, VCS engaged. Whole incident lasted a few seconds. Not sure how much it helped, but I was glad it was there. I would recommend.