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Had A Scare Of My Life


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This morning, I was driving my IS when all of a sudden it started to slip and I literally lost control of the car for that 8/9 seconds. I am still living that nightmare as I am typing this. Luckily, I was able to claim control of it. It started as I was going uphill in a bend. It was a left bend. I wasn't going fast as I had to slow down 200 yards before the bend when a car in front of me turned right. Once the car ahead turned, I accelerated but not fast though. In fact by the time I got to the bend I was on 4th gear, but I can feel that the car was losing speed then, and required to drop down a gear. However, before I even had time to do that, the car started to lose control. The rear end of started to go wide to the right, so I tried to correct it by turning the steering wheel the opposite way, but then the rear end stared to go wide to the left. For that moment, I thought that I was going to hit the cars coming from the opposite direction. There were parked cars on the left side of the road. I started to brake gently and eventually managed to slow down to control the car. It was raining slightly this morning, and I thing I was going about 25-30 mph up th hill.

I really thought I was going to hit the cars coming from the other side of the road. Thinking back now, I feel that I can not trust this car anymore. I know that rear-wheel drive is hard to control, but I was not driving fast at all. I thought this was supposed to be a safe and steady car but obviously it does not seem to be.

I have been going up this hill for the last 15 years in many cars that I have owned, from Rover 600, A4's, Focus, Zafira, CRV, Avensis, in all sort of weather, and have never had this happen to me before.

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From what iv read it sounds like a fuel spillage on the road added to the rain equals fooking slippy road..

Sounds like you had a heart stopping moment there matey, glad your ok and didnt hit any thing or anybody.

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I used to drive through the bus station in bath regularly when at uni. In the rain you used to have to go round the corner quite slowly as the diesel from the leaky buses mixed with rain was pretty slippy. And that was when i had a focus.

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Diesel was my immediate thought as well. Especially in the wet. As a biker then I know just how bad it can be. On the first day of learning to ride my mate who I was learning with slipped at a T-junction. Luckily it was only a bumped knee and nothing else but it shows you how it can happen. All the salt and grime doesn’t help either.

Don't lose faith so soon – the IS is a brilliant car – just an unlucky start

Take it easy :)

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I thought diesel too when I read this. Sounds like you've had a real scare, and I'm not suprise it's shaken you up, but I think you've just been very unlucky. It wouldn't have mattered what car you were in if you hit a fresh spill on a slightly damp road, going round a corner, even quite slowly - if there's no grip then there's no grip !

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Diesel or black ice. Tis cold out there at this time of year!

I remember a while back me and my bro were in different cars on the way to an Autosolo early one morning, i was behind him and we both skidded in syncro round the same roundabout (looked quite neat! lol) but theres was shockingly little grip, if either of us had been driving faster or not quite so on the ball it could have ended alot worse. When we stopped a few mins later we both said at the same time 'must have been diesel on that roundabout!' - must be a brother thing! lol

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I don't think comments on the probability of hitting a fuel spill (happened to me too, on an island, very scary) are going to calm you too much, as a new member of the forum, suggest you search for past threads on 'snow' where a number have been surprised in difficult winter conditions. My IS200 was reeeeeally touchy in bad weather. Soon after I swopped for the sportcross, which I bought with new rubber all round, she went down and got WIM'd (search for WIM/wheels in motion) and since then no problems, that have not been my fault for driving badly.

It is different driving a rear wheel drive car in slippery conditions, worse than a FWD in my opinion, and I am really careful when necessary.....but I would be whatever I was driving.

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Hi, thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated. I think you folks could be right in thinking it could have been a diesel spillage. I have been thinking all night and could not come up with any other explanation as to why it happened. Janet - my car is the SportCross like yours. It is fitted with 4 Continental tyres which are still in very good condition. The tyre pressures on all 4 is 32 psi which my OH inflated to the other day.

Just one thing I thought I should mentioned and hope if you folks think this could have been a reason for the slipping.

The day before, we took the car to a tyre center because the front passenger side tyre had a slow air leak. The mechanic checked it and show us that it was leaking from the inner rim due to slight rust particle causing lost of contact between rubber and rim. Anyway, he took the wheel of and polished it did what he had to do to fix the leak. Do you think that taking the wheel off and then putting it on again may have cause the alignment or tracking to be out of place.

It just a thought.

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Changing the wheel won't affect the alignment or tracking. But if the tyre was taken off (which I imagine it was), the wheel should have been re-balanced.

I would highly recommend a trip to WIM if you can make it, for a proper geometry setup (the factory settings are faulty). Or finding someone near you that knows what they're doing and can apply the WIM settings to your car (not the factory ones).

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As steve said it could be wheel balancing but i imagine that you would notice this when driving. There is no need to go to WIM, though Tony Bones is a geo legend, the WIM geo settings for the IS are publicly available on this site. Most of us run our tyre pressures at 35psi and this may help you too.

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Don't loose faith in Janet. - I wonder if you know how many times she's looked after you already?

My little skid light pops on now and then just too remind me my car is looking out for me :)

p.s if anyone else needs car counseling just write to me at Dear Bonita...

Hehehe

B x

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I may have read this wrong, but I dont think he meant his car is called 'Janet', I think he was talking to Janet RE her previous post. ;)

My cars called Lexie, not very original I know, but she often flashes her skid light at me, that might be just to tell me to behave as I can be a bit naughty in her sometimes. What does everyone else name their car? lol

Car counseling with Bonita sounds useful, mines busted!

Mike.

Don't loose faith in Janet. - I wonder if you know how many times she's looked after you already?

My little skid light pops on now and then just too remind me my car is looking out for me :)

p.s if anyone else needs car counseling just write to me at Dear Bonita...

Hehehe

B x

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A good set of tyres (Vredesteins are optimised for wet weather) and geometry can work wonder for the IS. Mine was dodgy when I first got it, the back end was a bit wayward in the wet but the tyres sorted it now with the geometry done too it's a solid handling car.

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LMAO!

:lol:

OMG I really should read things more closely!

I thought it was a bit of a shame to fall out with a car if you'd gone to the trouble of naming her! HAHAHA!

Car counseling sessions are still available on request tho! :)

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Aww am I the only oned that's named mine then? :whistling:

how much is a session please? lol

Mike.

LMAO!

:lol:

OMG I really should read things more closely!

I thought it was a bit of a shame to fall out with a car if you'd gone to the trouble of naming her! HAHAHA!

Car counseling sessions are still available on request tho! :)

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I may have read this wrong, but I dont think he meant his car is called 'Janet', I think he was talking to Janet RE her previous post. ;)

My cars called Lexie, not very original I know, but she often flashes her skid light at me, that might be just to tell me to behave as I can be a bit naughty in her sometimes. What does everyone else name their car? lol

Car counseling with Bonita sounds useful, mines busted!

Mike.

Don't loose faith in Janet. - I wonder if you know how many times she's looked after you already?

My little skid light pops on now and then just too remind me my car is looking out for me :)

p.s if anyone else needs car counseling just write to me at Dear Bonita...

Hehehe

B x

We must be using the same car mine is also called Lexie that hoebag :unsure:

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Aww am I the only oned that's named mine then? :whistling:

how much is a session please? lol

Mike.

No charge. I just want to do my small part in helping you two get back the bonds of trust so easily lost through bad roads and costly repair bills. :flowers:

B x

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p.s how imaginative are you guys with your car names?! Lol. x

My mates christened mine Shmoo as it's big and black like the whale in Free Willy! It also has another name but it's not PC so can't put that on here!

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p.s how imaginative are you guys with your car names?! Lol. x

My mates christened mine Shmoo as it's big and black like the whale in Free Willy! It also has another name but it's not PC so can't put that on here!

LMAO :whistling:

Will have to think up myself what it could be

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