Turning Traction Control Off

[Oro_O]

.... But I couldn't get up the slope. There was just no power. Turned around with some difficulty and parked the car. Walked the rest of the way (only a couple of blocks). Climbing up the stairs out of the valley, I saw a Volvo race up that same hill spinning it's tires wildly. He made it up the hill. The driver had remembered to turn off the traction control.

Will I remember to do it next time? We'll see.

This is the big advantage of manually switchable traction control. More control options in wet and slippery conditions.

I was able to retro-fit a switch to disable the TC in my Volvo; I had encountered the same power cut-off on icy hills. Big difference and very useful to disable it sometimes in winter conditions. Completely counter-intuitive, but true.

 

[supton]

I often had to turn both VSC and TC off in my Tundra, regardless of tire installed, in RWD. It needed all the help it could get.

Our 11 Camry has never had the TC off and has yet to get stuck, regardless of tire. Perhaps we have never tested its limits, maybe I will have to turn TC off next winter, but either it wasn’t needed here, or it was set up right (it occasionally sets the light but I don’t think I have felt it “do” much if ever).

 

[CharBaby]

Yes, TC uses the ABS to aid in controlling skid on slippery surfaces & around turns too during slippery situations.
But too, it also controls or even cuts out engine power in(what I experience in snow) in order to avoid wheel spinning in order to aid in…not getting stuck in snow/deep snow.

However, I often have to turn off the TC so that I can indeed get out of deep snow as the TC doesn’t allow the engine to use the available power in that particular situation. I mean with TC on and if you’re stuck in the snow, and floor the throttle nothing happens. No power. Just a big blahhhhh of nothing.

I almost never touch the TC OFF switch and just leave things alone. And yes, the TC does default to ON with each engine restart.

 

[Blinker]

Some traction control systems don’t have an on/off button. GM vehicles with the 4T40/4T45/4T65 come to mind. It was known as Enhanced Traction Control, and the vehicle must be equipped with ABS brakes. If the ABS sensor senses wheel slippage, the ETC system will alter engine timing so the engine produces less torque. It alters fuel injector timing and spark timing.

 

[Jetronic]

This is the big advantage of manually switchable traction control. More control options in wet and slippery conditions.

I was able to retro-fit a switch to disable the TC in my Volvo; I had encountered the same power cut-off on icy hills. Big difference and very useful to disable it sometimes in winter conditions. Completely counter-intuitive, but true.

Agreed, but if you're just driving on a cleared road it's likely better to leave TC on. You won't be as alert after enough driving time and black ice is hard to spot in the best of times. stability control on a sensitive setting might be more important, but anything that reduces the chance of imbalance is worthwile.

So, I don't consider TC and stability control as a nanny system if it can be turned off or dumbed down enough.

 

[4WD]

View attachment 89287

I would’ve thought you would reference your owners manual….but I guess not

Start reading the tire section and call me in the morning

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I live in an area of winding roads, with many off-camber down hill turns. If it is dry, I will shut it off if I am hustling to the grocery store.
Many Asian cars have tiny rear disc brakes; the traction countrol / ASC modulates these brakes.
I would swear this is why my wife's car ate her rear brakes by 30K.
That and the fact the pads were the size of dominoes!

 

[Jetronic]

Not only traction control/asc. Modern EBD cars will maximise rear brake effort (to the point just before slip is excessive) before limiting brake pressure. So the rears are doing much more work than they used to, and the slower you break, the less pressure gets limited and the higher rear brake pad wear will be.

 

[ls1mike]

Some traction control systems don’t have an on/off button. GM vehicles with the 4T40/4T45/4T65 come to mind. It was known as Enhanced Traction Control, and the vehicle must be equipped with ABS brakes. If the ABS sensor senses wheel slippage, the ETC system will alter engine timing so the engine produces less torque. It alters fuel injector timing and spark timing.

That is not true of the 4T65E. I have owned a 1998 Bonneville SSE, 2001 and 2004 Grand Prix GTP x2 and a 1998 Buick Regal GS. They all have buttons to disable traction control.

 

[OilUzer]

I often had to turn both VSC and TC off in my Tundra, regardless of tire installed, in RWD. It needed all the help it could get.

As you know, Tundra has open differential and not a limited slip and it also has no locker. Toyota calls it Auto-LSD. It is brake activated "LSD" (I think of it like "syn" vs. full syn vs. real syn oil ) and some may argue that the name is somewhat misleading as it's not a real limited slip ...
good thing is that you can turn it off and overall I like it. I don't do major off-road but never been stuck either since you also have the 4WD to back it up.

 

[Blinker]

That is not true of the 4T65E. I have owned a 1998 Bonneville SSE, 2001 and 2004 Grand Prix GTP x2 and a 1998 Buick Regal GS. They all have buttons to disable traction control.

Not all models come equipped with the button. For instance, the Buick Century has Enhanced Traction Control and has no on/off button.

 

[ls1mike]

Not all models come equipped with the button. For instance, the Buick Century has Enhanced Traction Control and has no on/off button.

Right, but your post made it sound like all of them.

 

[Blinker]

Right, but your post made it sound like all of them.

That’s why I said “some”.

 

[meep]

2014 Lexus. It was “getting in my way” during a rather spirited, “getting too comfortable with the car,” period. I turned it off and noticed no difference. Light still flashed during wheelspin, cutting power, halting mild step-out during powered turns.

the real benefit is it said, “hey, do you really need to drive this way?” and that was fine.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Some you push for traction control off and push again or hold for stability control.

 

[Oillover]

2014 Lexus. It was “getting in my way” during a rather spirited, “getting too comfortable with the car,” period. I turned it off and noticed no difference. Light still flashed during wheelspin, cutting power, halting mild step-out during powered turns.

the real benefit is it said, “hey, do you really need to drive this way?” and that was fine.

That's the ....beauty? of Lexus vehicles.
They make you feel like a complete idiot/buffon for attempting to have any sort of fun behind the wheel.

Try that with an older, smaller RWD Euro vehicle with a manual transmission and you'll be rewarded progressively the harder you push it.

 

[CharBaby]

Some traction control systems don’t have an on/off button. GM vehicles with the 4T40/4T45/4T65 come to mind. It was known as Enhanced Traction Control, and the vehicle must be equipped with ABS brakes. If the ABS sensor senses wheel slippage, the ETC system will alter engine timing so the engine produces less torque. It alters fuel injector timing and spark timing.

Good point!
I'd like to elaborate on this by saying that, I have a friend who owned(past tense) a 200? something Chevy Malibu and in one instance, he couldn't get up his own driveway in the snow because the TC killed so much engine power that he actually go stuck when in the past with other vehicles w/o TC, he'd just give it more gas(so to speak) and claw up the driveway and park safely. That's just one story. I'm sure tires had something to do with it also but, IDK the exact condition of the tread.

 

[supton]

As you know, Tundra has open differential and not a limited slip and it also has no locker. Toyota calls it Auto-LSD. It is brake activated "LSD" (I think of it like "syn" vs. full syn vs. real syn oil ) and some may argue that the name is somewhat misleading as it's not a real limited slip ...
good thing is that you can turn it off and overall I like it. I don't do major off-road but never been stuck either since you also have the 4WD to back it up.

Yeah, I found it didn’t do much, pulling brake lines sounds good in theory, but I found that powering through stuff was better. My chief complaint with the system was that I could not easily enable and disable, I had no beef with it once moving, I just wanted it off when dealing with my driveway.

 

[meep]

I haven’t had to deal with much snow since moving south, but I recall similar issues with earlier abs systems and stopping. It varied per model. At one point around 2002, I took our 2 vehicles out at night in about 7 inches of snow. By night I mean 2am. Did repeated stops with and without the abs fuse pulled. In our town and country minivan, abs did a great job. I grew up in the foothills of the appalachians, so even 1/2” of snow was a serious issue on a downhill; we had plenty of practice with it. I could not beat the abs in the Chrysler in shorter braking distances in the snow. It also did not beat me. The 97 pathfinder, however, was surprising. The whole reason I was out at 2am was I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop in snow over the past 2-3 days of snow. what I learned? I consistently stopped it from 25mph on a slight downhill (to exaggerate the braking need) in shorter distance than abs, by 10-15’. That was an eye-opener. We kept the fuse pulled until the spring.

at that time I seem to recall that there were only 3 abs systems. Chrysler got theirs from mercedes. Nissan…. I can’t remember… may have had their own?

 

[2EHA]

undefeatable traction and stability control is not a new thing

my e55 couldn’t actually be turned off unless you went into dyno mode