Enhanced VSC

My '07 FJ Cruiser will apply the brake to a slipping rear wheel while in 2H. In 4L, with A-TRAC engaged, it will do this to a slipping wheel on the front axle, and a slipping wheel on the rear axle.

You Can jack up one front wheel and one rear wheel on the FJ, engage 4L and ATRAC, and it will easily drive off the jacks

My `04 Prius clearly did not use a front brake to transfer power from a slipping wheel to a wheel with more traction. It simply cut power, sometimes to the point the car was stationary

If other cars around me had also been stuck, there would have been nothing to complain about. But other cars with minor wheelspin would move, and in the case of using snow tires, move rather easily

Proper winter tires, preferably studded, make a huge difference. Putting on aggressive studded snow tires really helped my Prius. I also run factory-studded Nokian snow tires on my FJ

 

2010 definitely does, I can smell the brakes when I was racing it in the snow.

 

Racing as in going fast around slippery corners, or racing as in spinning the tires? In the first case VSC would activate the brakes. We know that to be true. In the latter it would be traction control. All information to date suggests that the Gen III Prius does not engage the brakes for traction control, although at this point the information is far from definitive.

Tom

 

Done both. The stability control is actually not a bad system on the Prius since it does allow a moderate slide before it kicks on. The traction control is a lot more strict as to how much spin it allows. I think under moderate spins, the brakes do apply and I can accelerate with just a small hint of brakes engaging to slow the car. On the other hand if it is too icey, I can really feel the car slowing down as the engine cuts out and brakes get applied.

 

Actually, my expectations are quite high. I'm a really good driver in snow and my Prius does everything I need it to do.

 

that is great, wish i could say the same about it. i dont think driver has anything to do with it when a car is stuck going uphills