I just bought a 2003 Impala about a month back, last night we got our first snow of the season. As I was driving in at spots some kind of “traction” control kicked in and I guess helped me get better traction. I have never had something like this on a car. It only works when the car I guess senses it needs additional traction control. Exactly what is happening and how does it work and what does it do for the car?
Page 4-9 of the Owners Manual
Traction Control System (TCS)
(3800 V6 Engine)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery road
conditions. The system operates only if it senses that one
or both of the front wheels are spinning or beginning to
lose traction. When this happens, the system reduces
engine power and may also upshift the transaxle and
apply the front brakes to limit wheel spin.
This light will come on when your traction control
system is limiting wheel spin. See Traction Active
Message on page 3-41.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this is
normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
re-engage the cruise control. See “Cruise Control”
in Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever on page 3-7.
The traction control system operates in all transaxle
shift lever positions. But the system can upshift
the transaxle only as high as the shift lever position
you’ve chosen, so you should use the lower gears only
when necessary. See Automatic Transaxle Operation
on page 2-23.
Ed B.
Thanks, but I guess my question is this a good thing?
YES
I second @VOLVO V70, Thanks to @edb1961 for the owners manual clip.
YES, traction control is a good thing, why would you think anything else?
It is odd when your foot is on gas and abs is pumping your brakes. My car does not have stability control but it definitely does not like taking even wide turns on flat ground in slippery conditions. Like entering my cul-de-sac. And I think my tires perform great in most winter situations.
Since I have never had a car with it before I was not sure exactly what it was. Plus since you can turn it off I was wondering if was something worth having on all the time.
The only time that you should turn it off is if you are driving on a gravel road, as that type of surface tends to “confuse” the system and can actually lead to less traction.
Other than that scenario, it should be turned on all the time. However, Luddites will likely tell you otherwise because “they know how to drive”…or some nonsense to that effect.
I have traction control on my 2011Sienna and I have never turned it off.
What is it, you ask?
About a $1,000 addition to your car mandated by regulators that takes control from you and works against you under certain real-world conditions and is never needed by anybody driving safely.
Personally, I’d rather keep the cash in my pocket. But regulators really don’t care how much their regulations cost or whether they work in the real world.
It makes the car heavier.
Uh, just kidding. Just reverse ABS. Personally I like to take control if it is slippery enough to spin the wheels and seldom let it brake the wheels.
LOL, great reply Bing! {
PostScript; kudos to VDC too…
bertrand wrote:
Plus since you can turn it off I was wondering if was something worth having on all the time.
This system reduces power to the wheels that are spinning. Most of the time this is good because you want power going to the wheels that have traction. This will usually keep you moving steadily and help to keep the car under control. However, sometimes you’re in a situation where all of the wheels are spinning going up a steep hill and reducing power to any of them causes your car to lose momentum and stop. In this case, it’s better to turn off the traction control, let the wheels spin (but not excessively), and make the necessary quick steering adjustments as the tires bite and slip. We have to do this on our steep driveway from time to time.
If your traction control system is kicking in a lot as you drive, it could mean that you’re driving too aggressively for the conditions or that your tires aren’t good.
the same mountainbike wrote:
About a $1,000 addition to your car mandated by regulators that takes control from you and works against you under certain real-world conditions and is never needed by anybody driving safely.
Are you driving any distance on snowy roads this week? If so, is every driver coming from the other direction just feet from your car at a combined speed differential of maybe 50 to 100 MPH guaranteed to be driving safely just like you? Personally, I’m happy for any reasonably-priced features that can help cars around me stay under control.
"Personally, I'm happy for any reasonably-priced features that can help cars around me stay under control."
There you go…being logical again.
Point made, Lion.
But I still would rather not have a system that interferes with my full control over my braking and acceleration systems.
And I prefer that the drivers around me don’t have a system that makes them feel invincible. There’s enough of that on the roads with SUVs, many of which end up in the ditches.
the same mountainbike I agree. I have been driving since 1965. I have always been a focused driver. Unfortunately many drivers are not. The “nanny” devices could save them and others (you, I, and those we love). My 2010 Kia Forte SX 2.4L, 6spd M/T 32,000 miles has had some Traction Control problems. I was negotiating a familiar curve on dry pavement at 10mph less than normal (20mph). When exiting the curve I as normal applied a bit of throttle. The traction control went insane. It applied full braking for no reason. It felt like my front tires were pointing out in opposite directions. The more I tried to apply throttle the more it applied brakes until it killed the engine. I knew there was a Dodge Ram pickup following me! they stopped in time but were no doubt wondering why this idiot was stopped in the middle of the road. I was able to restart and go on my way. The dealership could not duplicate with me and mechanic doing donuts in an empty parking lot. I don’t trust computers. I have not experienced TC/SC on ice. Since retirement I have developed a foolproof solution for snow and ice. I stay home!
Retirement definitely has that advantage. Now, when I look out the window in the morning and it’s snowing, instead of fearing my commute I simply pour another cup of coffee!
You should turn traction control off if you are parked on a slippery surface facing uphill and cannot move because traction control keeps using the brakes. When you get out of that situation, reengage traction control. Besides the gravel road, that is the only reason to shut it off.