How is the HiHy on Ice and Snow? Anyone ever get stuck?
I want to know how the traction control works on the HiHy?
I have heard that Prius people get upset because of getting stuck in ice and snow.
Oh wait, Found The Answer!
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...ght=snow+stuck
And here.
http://www.hybridchat.com/forums/toy...pect-vdim.html
Found this...
Oh my gawd! We finally got some snow in MN. I just found out that my wife's $36,000 Highlander Hybrid is 100% absolutely useless in powder snow. This thing will leave you stranded!!!! Do not buy one of these if you will ever need to drive off the pavement!!! I knew from reading the owner's manual that the Highlander Hybrid is not to be considered an off-road vehicle. And I used to be OK with that, that's why I have a Chevy
Silverado 4WD and it's awesome in deep snow. But this weekend I pulled that Highlander Hybrid into a parking lot that had about 8" of medium-weight snow (not fluffy, but not slushy either, good snowball making snow). And the vehicle instantly came to a complete stop!! Stepping on the gas pedal had NO EFFECT. The engine will not rev up, no power is applied to the wheels, and it just sits there like a freaking boat anchor!! What a horrible piece of crap!! This vehicle will leave you stranded if you ever try to drive in anything that will cause wheel slippage such as medium depth snow, loose sand, gravel, etc. In such a situation small 2WD drive cars would be able to keep going and you will be left stranded in your nearly $40,000 piece of Toyota crap!! I just called the service manager at the Toyota dealer and complained and she said "But it's unusual to drive one of these in 8" of snow". Bull crap! Our cul-de-sac often has that much snow in the event of one of our increasingly rare MN snowfalls.
Here
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh....php?p=2103131
And This ...
The Hybrid's problem is that it is equipped with a very fastidious (read "over-zealous") traction control set-up, and if the wheels are slipping a lot, particularly at low speed, as when crawling up a steep gravelly/rocky incline, the traction control system can apply the brakes to the point that the car will come to a complete halt. (This forced me to turn around on a narrow one-lane cliffside mountain road and make a 50-mile detour one day.) I suspect that this is somehow an effort to protect the electric motor system from over-revving. But it can, under the right circumstances, cause you a big headache. So far, it has not stranded me in a snow situation. Only that one gravel/rock/incline situation.
Never mind, I found my answer!
Oh, There will be a snow storm this weekend. Anyone want to play in the snow*
*FEH and MMH only!