Wowser!

One of the holy grail of tips so far.

Members having been scratching their head over how to temporarily disable the traction control for some time now. I always guessed it had to do with some combination of pressing the brake pedal and accel. I've tried some combinations when before but never considered the shifter.

Thanks a bunch. I've def. had opportunities to benefit from this living in Ottawa.

- everyone should print this and keep it in the glove box. I just did!

 

Thank you, this is a good tip!

Some day manufactures will realize the best way to get through deep snow is smooth constant power, not cutting power, then dumping it back on again. Until then, we have this trick!

Thanks!

Dang

 

This definitely works very well. I live on a steep hill and used it yesterday to get up in the snow. The car wouldn't go up without this, the system cut the power right off so I backed down followed the procedure and made it up. I have used it twice now in the last couple of weeks.
Great tip.

 

Works great! Had to disable mine to get up my driveway. Printed it and put it in the glove box for easy access.

THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!!!

 

It works for the Prius too!!! Thanks so much for the guide to turning off the traction control!

 

To fthebault,

I am greatful for the steps you have provided to disengage the Trac Control of my 2008 Camry Hybrid.

In the event of a snowfall, to get to my home in the Quebec Laurentians, I must turn left off from Northbound highway traffic to cross over 2 southbound lanes. If there is any slippage while starting between the northbound and southbound lanes to cross over the 2 soutbound lanes to enter a country road, the car will ocassionally stall while blocking the southbound lanes. Last year, I got lucky and missed having a fatal accident at this intersection.

The car will not climb steep hill near me if the snow is wet. However my 98 Accord has no such problem with the same hill under the same conditions.`

The 2011 Camry Hybrid sold in the US comes with a switch to turn off the Trac Control but the same 2011 car sold in Canada has no switch. I spoke with a Toyota Canada representative and my request to have that US model switch installed was refused.

For now the multi-step solution from fthebault is the best available option. However, in a pinch, if one finds one has to shut off the motor to go through the steps before turning the engine back on without Trac Control, the time to avoid an accident may not be available`.

Toyota has the solution, the switch that is standard equipment on its US 2011 Camry Hybrid. Their stubborn attitude about rectifying the problem is inexcusable.

Perhaps we can make a difference by bringing together all those with a similar problem for joint action, including media attention to get Toyota to move on this.

 

yes, new models have off switch. i test drove one with it.

 

Hmmmm.....

I've never had mine "stall". You may want to have the dealer take a look at it. For the traction control to realize it's spinning, it has to turn the wheels, so yes, it will apply power and spin, then cut it, then apply power again and spin, then cut it, etc. That makes it slow to move, but it should still move, and you might have to allow extra time make a turn. If your car is not moving at all, then if you turned off the traction control your car still wouldn't move, it's just the wheels would be spinning now. I've had trouble getting up a hill because of traction control, but never had trouble crossing other lanes of traffic.

Where the disable is handy is that you can apply constant power (even if spinning). The traction control tends to cut put, then apply too much, then cut it, etc.

Does that make sense?

Dang

 

Certain types of snow conditions, wet slippery snow, results either 1) in to total loss in power momentarily on a flat surface or 2) hesitation to lasting loss of power and momentum when climbing. The situation when crossing highway lanes occurs when the section between the highway dividing islands is slightly snow covered resulting in a little slip upon acceleration followed by a total loss of power while blocking oncoming traffic on a snow-free wet surface. By the time the power comes back on, there has been plenty of time for a major accident.

 

This is all a bit puzzling to me since all the way back in '91 my then new LS400 came with a Trac off PB. But there is a factory liability, safety issue, involved here. On the other hand my '01 RX300 came without one. Also, Canadian law may not allow for the factory to put in switch that disables a rather serious safety feature/device.

But maybe the "secret" is RWD vs FWD. Potential loss of directional control with RWD spin/slip is not so much an issue as with FWD or F/awd. With RWD slip/spin you still have the entire front tire traction coefficient available for maintaining directional control.