Traction control not working in snow

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HGB

HGB

Joined
May 29, 2018
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In the sand
2013 lx, 160K miles. got a lot of snow overnight and I can slide around when applying throttle. I could never break loose like this in any of my other 100 or 200s (including 2010 LX) without a orange warning light coming on and stopping me.

I have tried pressing the traction off button and my dash tells me ‘TRAC OFF’ and there’s no difference.

This happened last month in snow as well. Any thoughts?
 
Part of me wants to say "Cool, enjoy the ride with no nannies and go 4-wheel drifting." But, the other voice says to check fuses.
 
Sandroad said:
Part of me wants to say "Cool, enjoy the ride with no nannies and go 4-wheel drifting." But, the other voice says to check fuses.
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ok so I did some unscientific diag by trying to drift in an open space. The traction control does intervene but does so much later than any of my other 100/200s did.

I wonder if I can tune it in tech stream? My other vehicles would kick in before sliding into a curb, on this, it kicks in much later.

Any thoughts?
 
HGB said:
brand new KO2s 275/70/17
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When I was poking around info looking for new tires, the reports I had were that those are not especially grippy on ice or on snow that's packed into something slippery. That doesn't explain the late intervention of the nannies, but it might explain the easy drifting to begin with. Somehow I doubt the TC is adjustable, but I've not used Techstream.
 
Sandroad said:
When I was poking around info looking for new tires, the reports I had were that those are not especially grippy on ice or on snow that's packed into something slippery. That doesn't explain the late intervention of the nannies, but it might explain the easy drifting to begin with. Somehow I doubt the TC is adjustable, but I've not used Techstream.
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This happened with brand new Michelin defenders last month also,and I’ve had both tire models on previous cruisers.

As you said, The issue isn’t the lack of traction, but the TC not intervening early enough. its almost a delayed reaction to me sliding out.
 
Maybe pull the battery cable and give it a hard reset?
 
I know everyone here loves the KO2’s... but... they are not a dedicated snow tire. It’s a 30 year old tread design and while it offers great off road capability, however, the rubber isn’t designed for optimal performance below 45*f. That said, it is no explanation as to why TC isn’t kicking on. I don’t know exactly what you are feeling but I would check for codes. If nothing is present, master reset (as suggested above). After that, hopefully conditions allow for you to do additional tests. Keep the group posted - thanks.
 
HGB said:
2013 lx, 160K miles. got a lot of snow overnight and I can slide around when applying throttle. I could never break loose like this in any of my other 100 or 200s (including 2010 LX) without a orange warning light coming on and stopping me.

I have tried pressing the traction off button and my dash tells me ‘TRAC OFF’ and there’s no difference.

This happened last month in snow as well. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
First winter with this LX?
 
Last edited:
HGB said:
This happened with brand new Michelin defenders last month also,and I’ve had both tire models on previous cruisers.

As you said, The issue isn’t the lack of traction, but the TC not intervening early enough. its almost a delayed reaction to me sliding out.
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So in 2 months you have had new defenders and new KO2?
And I run KO2’s in the SUMMER, They suck in packed snow and ice. A few years ago I had my KO2s on a month longer than I wanted too waiting on new winter Hakka’s and it was white knuckle every day.

The traction control doesn't do all that much once you break the force of friction and are sliding. I’ve always felt like the traction control allows me to spin a lot in my ‘13 LX, although very difficult to get the rear loose.
 
coleAK said:
So in 2 months you have had new defenders and new KO2?
And I run KO2’s in the SUMMER, They suck in packed snow and ice. A few years ago I had my KO2s on a month longer than I wanted too waiting on new winter Hakka’s and it was white knuckle every day.

The traction control doesn't do all that much once you break the force of friction and are sliding. I’ve always felt like the traction control allows me to spin a lot in my ‘13 LX, although very difficult to get the rear loose.
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Yeah, first winter. I bought it ~3 months ago and it needed tires so I bought new Michelins. Two months later I wanted an off road setup so I bought KO2s.

It let’s the rear get plenty loose before it comes on. I can almost get sideways before it engages, which is different than my other cruisers in the past.
 
HGB said:
Yeah, first winter. I bought it ~3 months ago and it needed tires so I bought new Michelins. Two months later I wanted an off road setup so I bought KO2s.

It let’s the rear get plenty loose before it comes on. I can almost get sideways before it engages, which is different than my other cruisers in the past.
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I can get my 13 sideways if I really try. I’m running studded Nokian Hakka’s though so unless on solid clear ice it’s tough to lose traction. I’d do a hard reset like others said if it still does it I’d run figure out how to trouble shoot the ESC system.
 
Does your ABS seem to work correctly? I believe it and the traction control system both use the same wheel speed Sensors. If the ECU sees one wheel rotating much faster then the other, it should kill the throttle.
 
There are also 2 versions of the K02 now. 1 is M&S 3 peak rated the others are not.
 
Regardless of tires, as soon as there is slippage, VSC should kick in pretty fast, which is not the case for the OP. And from past experiences with Toyota, VSC is very aggressive in their SUVs.
 
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