I know that some of the drawbacks of the traction/slip control system have been discussed at some length previously. However, I wanted to mention a problem I encountered yesterday. I pulled into a friend's driveway which was a fairly steep, gravel road about 150 yards in length. It was downhill going in so no problem, although at the time I was going down I wondered in the back of my mind whether the Prius would have trouble with that gradient. I'd guess it was a good 15% grade, possibly even steeper than that. The gravel wasn't very compacted and some or the rocks in the road were golf-ball sized. On departure the car just didn't want to go, it would get part of the way up the hill and then simply stop and go no further. I backed to the bottom and took a running start at it, was finally able to get it to the top but in fairly herky-jerky fashion with the VSC frequently engaging and traction being lost, regained, lost again, etc. When I got back onto a paved road and proceeded toward home I noticed that the battery was down to the last purple bar. I wondered whether trying to force the car up the hill might have damaged anything, but the ScanGaugeII didn't indicate that the engine had overheated or that anything else was wrong, and the car seems to be running fine in the aftermath. I really wish Toyota would do something to remedy the traction issues of this car. It is the only feature of it that I have discovered so far that I really do not like. I realize that the Prius isn't intended for off-roading or mud-bogging, but there are times where, in the course of fairly "normal" driving, one encounters loose traction on a hill, and the Prius is very ill-equipped to deal with those situations IMHO.
You need to change the name of this thread. What you describe is an issue with traction control, and is no way related to VSC. Tom
Imagine if you were trying to ascend that hill when it is covered with snow. You have a 2008 so my guess is that you have the original equipment Goodyear Integrity tires installed. You may find that other tires will offer better traction. I definitely recommend that you acquire winter tires before snow season arrives in your area. Sometimes it may help when ascending a hill, to back up the hill. This puts the weight of the car on the front wheels, and you may get better results.
I had always assumed that somehow the VSC and the traction-control systems of the Prius were interrelated. The VSC light kept flashing yesterday. Anyway, whatever it is it's a whacky system. I do have the OEM Integrities on the car, but I bought it in mid December and drove it to Minnesota in January, so have had quite a bit of experience in snow and on ice, all with the Integrities, but the only place I've encountered real problems is on a hill with questionable traction.....i.e., either snow/ice or loose gravel. I think it is a serious design/engineering flaw. A car should be able to climb a hill at low speed.
All Prius come with traction control. It is a requirement because of the tremendous low-end torque of MG2. Without traction control, most drivers would spin their tires even on hard pavement, and damage to the HSD would be likely. Traction control on the Prius is tricky because of the HSD, but Toyota could have done better. The post 2005 Prius have an improved system that does much better in slippery conditions, but hills remain a problem. Most of the time I can power up hills by keeping steady pressure on the accelerator pedal, but I have failed in loose gravel. I'm not sure if I would have made it up the loose gravel without traction control, as there is no way to tell, but my daughter was able to easily go up the same hill in 2WD with her Jeep. VSC is an optional system that tries to keep the Prius under control. It monitors steering wheel input and yaw. If the two don't agree, VSC cuts power and selectively applies individual brakes to bring the car back under command. Tom
I have been reading traction control for Prius for a while.... I think the reason why it is difference from other car is because the motor has a much higher torque than regular ICE. Because of that, it is easier to slip when traction is low... I guess I will have to wait for this winter to experience traction control myself....
This is true, and has been discussed many times in other threads. If you are interested, a search will give you a lot more reading material. Tom
