Traction Control

[Wass]

Does everyones SEi have traction control or is mine the only one without it? My wife has traction control on her Prius Tspirit and it annoys me intensely on wet junctions by cutting the power out completely for a disproportionately long period. My Lexus is much easier to drive in such conditions since when I encounter wheel spin it is very easy to back off and re-apply the power in a manner which is far more controllable. I have read of other models of CTs having traction control which can not be switched off ( like my wifes prius).Is this true? Does anyone know whether the dealers can switch off the traction control when requested?

I was thinking of trading up a model sometime in the future but the traction control issue is a bit off putting.

[bt33]

Looks a pain in the "A" to do it everytime you want to but

here it is

http://srmotorcars.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-to-disable-traction-control-on.html

[tarhoy]

A quick way to test that the traction control is working would be to engage the Hill-start Assist Control. (It is not necessary to be on a hill).

For anyone concerned that the CT does not have a hand-brake - this is how Hill-start works. (It features in the UK manual - so applies to all CTs). To quote the US manual:

Hill-start assist control helps to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards when starting on an incline or slippery slope. (It is worth noting that the system works in both Drive and Reverse - tarhoy).

To engage hill-start assist control, further depress the brake pedal when the vehicle is stopped completely. A buzzer will sound once to indicate the system is activated. The slip indicator will also start flashing.

Hill-start assist control can be operated when:

- The shift position is in a position other than P.

- The parking brake is not applied.

- The accelerator pedal is not depressed.

Hill-start assist control:

- While hill-start assist control is operating, the brakes remain automatically applied after the driver releases the brake pedal. The stop lights and the high mounted stoplight turn on.

- Hill-start assist control operates for about 2 seconds after the brake pedal is released.

- If the slip indicator does not flash and the buzzer does not sound when the brake pedal is further depressed, slightly reduce the pressure on the brake pedal (do not allow the vehicle to roll backward) and then firmly depress it again. If the system still does not operate, check if the operating conditions explained above have been met.

[ColinBarber]

All Toyota/Lexus hybrids have traction control (VSC). I don't believe it is possible to turn it off easily on any of them as too much wheel spin can damage the hybrid transmission due to the torque from the electric motor(s).

Is your wife's Prius a Gen 2 or a Gen 3? The Gen 2 is far too sensitive and backs off way to much, this was improved with the Gen 3 and it is this system that is shared with the Auris/CT200.

[Wass]

Thats right Colin, my wife does have a Gen 2 Prius. However, having driven my CT in the snow, I haven't encountered the problems with the traction control intervening as other have witnessed and therefore perhaps I wrongly assumed that my base model CT wasn't fitted with traction control. If it does have traction control then its the very first car that I have owned which I have failed to sense the traction control 'kicking in' in which case it has to be of a very discrete design.

[Wass]

Now the roads are wetter, covered in leaves and ambient temperatures are lower, I am finding that if i really try hard in RED mode, I can make my CT200h SEi wheelspin.No lights appear on the dashboard and no buzzers sound.... I just hear and feel the wheelspin.

This indicates to me that my early 2011 car definitely does not have traction control (or VSC) . It has also confirmed to me that the standard suspension set up along with running the 16" wheels encourages excellent traction since I really have to make an effort to lose traction. Under ordinary circumstances the car is very swift off the mark at T junctions with almost total lack of wheelspin when in eco mode.

I have never owned a front wheel drive car with such excellent traction in everyday driving conditions. All my modern cars have had traction control which could be relied upon to kick in when pulling out of a tee junction even during dry weather. I am left wondering whether traction control is necessary at all on a CT?

A possible explanation of my lack of VSC ( which I think means vehicle stability control) is that when they were engaged on the initial marketing of the CT range Lexus marketing appeared to be experimenting with which options to fit onto which trim level.I have read articles about the popular SEL model which owners claim their car was fitted with a certain facility as standard and yet other SEL owners were having to pay extra for the option.

[Alex the kid]

Hi Wass, I can confirm ALL CT200h no matter what spec level have both TRC(Traction control) and VSC (Vehicle stability Control) When activated there is no beep etc from the car. If you push the brake in to do a hill start it will cause the TRC light to flash.

Alex

[Wass]

Hi Alex, guess what! No lights flashing when hill starting!

[chris_fletcher]

In that case Wass you havent activated the hill start feature. You have to push the brake pedal hard to the floor quite quickly to turn it on. You will get the beep and the flashing VSC indicator on the display. All CTs have both traction control and VSC even 2011 models, check the manual. My first was registered in April 2011 and had both

[Wass]

The manual tells me all about every option of every CT produced at the time, It isnt specific to any one particular variant of CT. This does not explain why I can get wheel spin if I try and occasionally when I don't try. I am not making this up guys, I have owned and driven numerous cars with traction control systems and all of them are detectable very easily by light on the dash, change in engine note,loss of inertia, cessation of wheel spin road noise and loss of torque steer effect. This car may well have it as standard,however it would appear that it has never functioned during my ownership of 15,000 miles. There is a light on the dash which illuminates when pressing the start button, however this is the only time when that light is ever seen to be illuminated.

[chris_fletcher]

Just because it hasnt activated doesnt mean your car doesnt have it and as I said in my last post, if the indicator on the dash does not come on when you try to activate hill start mode then you are not in fact doing it properley :-) I am on my 2nd CT and I havent had either TC or VSC activate at all in normal driving and my in my 2 RX300`s over 6 years only had VSC activate once on an icy bend where it worked briliantly to prevent a skid