Gen-III: Fixed Ill-Conceived Traction-Control?

i think it's better but not great. get a lot of ice there?

 

OP, looks like spell check hijacked your last sentence. I think I understand, but maybe have a look at it.

 

The inability to deactivate traction control is the single item I dislike most on my 2010. Luckily I only have to deal with ice <10 days total a year around Dallas.

 

I don't find it's a problem. And I DO drive on icy roads more than warm pavement. Though if the ice and snow is building up on the roads I use the FJ Cruiser for ground clearance issues. You do have to be patient. The GIII will keep going when the GII would shut down. Just not at full wheelspin.

 

We've had no problems getting around.

Wheelspin's overrated. If you're patient the car will do what it needs to.

 

Thanks. You do know you can edit your original post?

 

Do recall that, as originally conceived, the Prius traction control (TC) was mostly 'lipstick on a pig'. The pig was protection for the transaxle to prevent damage under certain conditions, the lipstick was an appealing marketing label that matched the name of a good feature on some traditional drivetrains.

Prius TC has been improved several times. I believe the Gen2 had several versions, i.e. your 2009 has a better version than the 2004s. The Gen3 system is better still. Many of us like it so far, but a significant portion of owners still describe it as inadequate.

 

right, i've heard of that before. some have reported better traction with better tyres, but i don't know which ones.

 

West Michigan winter , no trouble here , though I have winter tires during 6 months of snow

 

It shouldn't be shitting off all power. It will cut power down to prevent the tire from spinning at 80mph but that is to protect the transmission from damage. When dealing in winter months always anticipate the traffic and give yourself ample time to clear a intersection

 

We all realize the need to protect the system, but the traction control on the Gen III's (only Prius I know) sucks big time compared to "regular" cars...and make no mistake, I do like my Prius.

 

agree here.

 

It's actually much better on the gen III try a gen II. LoL

 

Lol autocorrect problems haha

 

i'm hearing that iphone is notorious for auto-correction changing to obscene words. why would that be?

 

Read that, but thought I also read there is mod to deactivate..as required. Never found one for Gen III's.

 

It's like this: There are reports all over that the Gen II would get stuck on snow/ice at the drop of a hat.

I've got a Gen III; I've been driving it in snow and ice every year, starting in December 2009.

In particular, in December 2009, there was a 4" slippery damp snowfall. I took my learner's permit daughter out to the nearest unused, unplowed parking lot, and we then spent quite a bit of time skidding around. What with all the fancy traction control doo-dads, the car was a breeze in the snow. We could make it go sideways a bit, sort of, by jamming on the gas and turning the wheel hard right or left; let go, and it would promptly fly straight. Found it very difficult (i.e., impossible) to get the rear end to swing around, non-traction-control style.

However: No problems getting the fronts to spin in the snow and not a trace of the car trying to get stuck. Mind you, this snow was not packed down, except for where we had been.

On another occasion was coming back home with the wife through Connecticut one winter's day when it started snowing. With packed white stuff on the road the crowd on the road slowed down quite a bit, 45 mph or so. In front of us some fellow went sideways, then pulled a quick 360. I was in front of a small clot of traffic and, steering carefully, managed to go cleanly around the fellow without hitting him or losing control of the car in the process.

Finally: I've had to rock the car to get it in or out of the occasional pile of snow. One can spin the fronts, no problem, although I'll admit I never had it on pure ice with ruts.

In any case, the Prius Gen III appears to be a decent snow car. My old '71 VW Beetle was probably better, given the somewhat higher road clearance and rear wheel drive. And the 2002 Civic worse then either, given that car's lack of traction control.

If the Prius Gen III has a demerit, it's the low ground clearance. But there are cars out there with less ground clearance than a Prius that have similar problems in deep snow. I don't go driving in a foot of snow; other than that, the car's fine.

KBeck