Concerns For The Winter

[Chris Oldroyd]

Hey guys, I have been getting increasingly concerned about the performance of the CT-200h in the winter when the roads get icy and snowy. I have had a couple of instances recently where I have no traction in a bit of mud or grass and that does not bare well for the snow.

Yesterday I was parked on some wet grass and had a very slight rise to get back onto the road, the car just did nothing when I accelerated and I had to swing the steering wheel back and forth to get some grip to get off the grass. Is this normal and how should I approach the winter weather with regards to driving style or turning off traction etc?

Any advice would be handy.

Thanks

Chris

[Steverally]

Hi, first thing don't think you can turn off traction control, so you have to apply power very gently otherwise think it will kick in with symptoms you describe. Ideally try and let car move on tick over and take itself out of mud/snow, you may have to switch heating or a/c on to get the ICE running.

You could also get a set of snow socks/chains but these are fiddly to fit and are for short term use, alternatively you could invest in winter/snow tyres which really do make quite a bit of difference.

I ran a Prius for three winters and through the heavy snow of 2010 without any problems, that was with 17" standard wheels and tyres, I only had to use snow chains once in that period, the rest of the time was having a very 'light right foot' which seemed to work.

I've had my CT for 15 months now and last year I bought a set of winter wheels and tyres, they are put on the car at beginning of November and taken off at end of March. they really make a difference especially when temp is below 7 degrees.

I did see a 'Continental tyres' video of the benefits of winter tyres either on this or the Prius forum, having seen that you'd really understand the benefits of these tyres (sorry can't find the link to video)

[Rich2508]

I don't think it's necessarily a characteristic just of the CT, I remember getting our Ford S max stuck on the grass verge next to the pavement outside the in-laws, the traction control just cut the power. When we drove it in the snow it was no better or worse than anything else.

What I did last winter was to buy a set of Snow Socks, yes they were a bit fiddly to get on and off, until well practiced, but got me through some horrendous country lanes last winter in my previous Astra. Only issue is that you should not use them when the roads clear, so the 50 miles I did over the Peak District one day last winter to get my wife round her job as a community nurse meant putting them on about half a dozen times -probably amounted to an hour.... But putting into perspective it would have taken me longer than an hour to walk the 50miles which as the only alernative!

A freind got her Bmw Stuck in the snow on her gravel drive, it just kept digging a hole in the gravel and despite two pushing and trying to dig out would not shift for a whole week, until I went over with the snow socks. Five mins fitting and it drove straight off.

My lease company won't let us fit winter tyres, been at our own expense, so will be relying on the socks again this year if I look like getting stuck.

[microgerry]

I too have a set of winter wheels and tyres and can honestly say that they make a huge difference in traction in the colder temperatures. They were excellent when we were in the lake district at the end of March this year when the snow was bad. Our CT was the only car moving in the small village where we stayed.

[Luxes]

Here in Luxembourg-Europe wintertyres (tires?) are mandatory