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traction control on sand

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by small house, Feb 9, 2008.

  1. small house

    small house New Member

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    have just had a bad experience with the traction control? . at roadworks a layer of fresh sand was laid, and the prius stopped dead, would not move across this sand . all the other cars in the queue made it through easily . i am assuming that wheelspin/traction control was to blame. i notice a lot of threads about a similar problem on snow/ice. has anyone had this problem, or know of a solution ? it was an uphill gradient, we were first to cross the freshly laid sand (3" deep) . nothing i tried would make the vehicle move forward !.
     
    #1 small house, Feb 9, 2008
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Another 05 with the old TRAC ECU. Here's another one jayman.

    Edit: How rude of me. I should also reply to this.

    small_house, welcome to PriusChat!

    Yeah the earlier models seem to have the "slip and die" TRAC. The 06+ models have the "slip and grip" where it allows a little wheelspin to help you get moving.

    I used to have the same system as yours. No amount of prodding of the accelerator would get the car moving. I had to shift to R and then back to D (I assume shifting to N or P then back to D would work too). The only reason why mine changed was my ECU was fried and the dealer gave me a new one. Although Galaxee (our resident Prius tech's SO) said her DH said there weren't any changes he's aware of to the TRAC in the new ECU.

    Either way, mine changed somehow somewhere and I have no idea how to get the rest of you to "upgrade" to the new TRAC programming.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Feb 9, 2008
  3. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    Were you moving when you came to the sand or did you stop on the sand and then try to accelerate across it? If you stopped on the sand and then tried to proceed, it sounds like a case of too much throttle. The Prius has a built-in creep that will move you forward with no throttle unless you have your foot on the brake. All you needed to do was let off on the brake and the car would have crossed the sand easily.
     
    #3 seasalsa, Feb 9, 2008
  4. small house

    small house New Member

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    the car was moving, then stopped abruptly on the sand .i tried many combinations to get moving , to no avail : light throttle , heavy throttle, reversing then accelerating . its possible there may have been a way , but with 12 angry drivers waiting behind me turning around seemed the polite option.
     
    #4 small house, Feb 9, 2008
  5. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    So, how did you get enough traction to turn around?
     
    #5 seasalsa, Feb 9, 2008
  6. small house

    small house New Member

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    3point turn in reverse. the car would go backward and sideways on the sand, just not uphill .
     
    #6 small house, Feb 10, 2008
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